The Pearl Hunter Returns
Nothing feels sweeter than returning home after a long trip. And that holds especially true for Terry Shepherd, a.k.a. “The Pearl Hunter,” who is recently back to the United States after one of his grueling—and legendary—trips to the Orient in search of the world’s finest pearls.
The Pearl Hunter’s exploits in his hunt for the ultimate jewel are legendary, so we corralled Terry and begged him to share some tales of his adventure abroad. It’s not easy—cracking him open can be as difficult as prying open one of the oysters that hold the reward of his quest. But once he starts “talkin’ pearls,” The Pearl Hunter gets a gleam in his eye that reflects the lustre of the jewels upon which he’s built his reputation.
Intrigue, strange cuisine, and unfamiliar territory are all obstacles that The Pearl Hunter must overcome on his quest for the world’s perfect pearl. Long stretches of dirt roads are common, as are harrowing rides in boats that might barely be deemed seaworthy in the Western Hemisphere. But they are all prices that Terry is willing to pay to bring the ultimate value and quality to his customers.
A picture is often worth a thousand words, so we’ll let some of the photos from The Pearl Hunter’s pearl safari do the talking. Some of the shots demonstrate what life is like for the Chinese Akoya pearl farmers, and others demonstrate some of the challenges inherent in Terry’s quest.
Here’s a shot of a remote road that The Pearl Hunter had to navigate for nearly two hours in order to reach the pearl farms. You might notice the cacti lining the road, but what you can’t see is the intense heat that The Pearl Hunter had to endure.
Sailing, sailing, over the seven seas: Terry’s water transportation is constructed of roughly-hewn lumber that is bolted together, and propelled by a belt-driven engine that has just enough power to make the trip to the pearl farm painfully slow.
With his shack in the background, here’s a shot of a pearl farmer tending to his valuable stock of oysters. Look carefully between the farmer’s legs and you’ll see a small trowel that he’s using to scrape off barnacles and other debris that can negatively affect the health of the pearl. Each floating raft/shack combo (which measures approximately 20 feet by 20 feet) typically holds two people...one to tend to the oysters while another keeps a watchful eye on things.
The Pearl Hunter likes to get up close and personal with his quarry. Here, Terry carefully inspects nets full of oysters that will produce high-quality Akoya pearls.
In order to start the pearl growing process, a mother-of-pearl bead must be inserted (very, very carefully) inside the gonad of the oyster. First, the gonad is cut, then the bead and a small piece of mantle tissue is inserted. As further display of his commitment to pearl quality, The Pearl Hunter himself is shown “getting his hands dirty” and planting the bead and mantle inside a few oysters. The bead is chosen based on the size of the oyster—a larger bead produces a larger pearl. Interestingly, the beads are harvested from the shell of a mollusk that grows in the Mississippi River of the United States. These mollusks have shells that are thick enough to produce a good bead.
And the mantle tissue? That’s taken from the inside layer of an Akoya oyster. Here’s an example of one such shell...note the lustre of the shell surface itself. The mantle is cut into extremely tiny pieces that measure approximately one millimeter square. The second photo below shows a line of this mantle tissue on a piece of glass. That thin white strip of mantle tissue will produce 50 or more pieces of tissue used to nucleate an oyster.
Once the oyster is nucleated, it must be pampered by hanging just inches below the water’s surface, where the warmer water temps treat the new pearl gently. They stay in this warm water for about 6 weeks before they are lowered 3.5 meters below the surface to the colder water. The Pearl Hunter is shown here with newly nucleated oysters.
The floating pearl farms are located in fairly close proximity to one another. Here’s a shot of one of the nicer farms that is located further out in the bay where the water is at its cleanest. Note the lines of rope attached to the floating buoys. The nets holding the oysters hang from these ropes.
After a long day of examining various pearl farms, what’s an internationally-known pearl hunter to do but consider what he’s going to have on his dinner plate? Here are some of the appetizing choices in a local restaurant. I wonder if these entrees come with a side of fries.
The Pearl Hunter’s exploits in his hunt for the ultimate jewel are legendary, so we corralled Terry and begged him to share some tales of his adventure abroad. It’s not easy—cracking him open can be as difficult as prying open one of the oysters that hold the reward of his quest. But once he starts “talkin’ pearls,” The Pearl Hunter gets a gleam in his eye that reflects the lustre of the jewels upon which he’s built his reputation.
Intrigue, strange cuisine, and unfamiliar territory are all obstacles that The Pearl Hunter must overcome on his quest for the world’s perfect pearl. Long stretches of dirt roads are common, as are harrowing rides in boats that might barely be deemed seaworthy in the Western Hemisphere. But they are all prices that Terry is willing to pay to bring the ultimate value and quality to his customers.
A picture is often worth a thousand words, so we’ll let some of the photos from The Pearl Hunter’s pearl safari do the talking. Some of the shots demonstrate what life is like for the Chinese Akoya pearl farmers, and others demonstrate some of the challenges inherent in Terry’s quest.
Think that a taxi is a large yellow car? Think again. Here’s a taxicab, Chinese-style.
Here’s a shot of a remote road that The Pearl Hunter had to navigate for nearly two hours in order to reach the pearl farms. You might notice the cacti lining the road, but what you can’t see is the intense heat that The Pearl Hunter had to endure.
Sailing, sailing, over the seven seas: Terry’s water transportation is constructed of roughly-hewn lumber that is bolted together, and propelled by a belt-driven engine that has just enough power to make the trip to the pearl farm painfully slow.
With his shack in the background, here’s a shot of a pearl farmer tending to his valuable stock of oysters. Look carefully between the farmer’s legs and you’ll see a small trowel that he’s using to scrape off barnacles and other debris that can negatively affect the health of the pearl. Each floating raft/shack combo (which measures approximately 20 feet by 20 feet) typically holds two people...one to tend to the oysters while another keeps a watchful eye on things.
The Pearl Hunter likes to get up close and personal with his quarry. Here, Terry carefully inspects nets full of oysters that will produce high-quality Akoya pearls.
In order to start the pearl growing process, a mother-of-pearl bead must be inserted (very, very carefully) inside the gonad of the oyster. First, the gonad is cut, then the bead and a small piece of mantle tissue is inserted. As further display of his commitment to pearl quality, The Pearl Hunter himself is shown “getting his hands dirty” and planting the bead and mantle inside a few oysters. The bead is chosen based on the size of the oyster—a larger bead produces a larger pearl. Interestingly, the beads are harvested from the shell of a mollusk that grows in the Mississippi River of the United States. These mollusks have shells that are thick enough to produce a good bead.
And the mantle tissue? That’s taken from the inside layer of an Akoya oyster. Here’s an example of one such shell...note the lustre of the shell surface itself. The mantle is cut into extremely tiny pieces that measure approximately one millimeter square. The second photo below shows a line of this mantle tissue on a piece of glass. That thin white strip of mantle tissue will produce 50 or more pieces of tissue used to nucleate an oyster.
Once the oyster is nucleated, it must be pampered by hanging just inches below the water’s surface, where the warmer water temps treat the new pearl gently. They stay in this warm water for about 6 weeks before they are lowered 3.5 meters below the surface to the colder water. The Pearl Hunter is shown here with newly nucleated oysters.
The floating pearl farms are located in fairly close proximity to one another. Here’s a shot of one of the nicer farms that is located further out in the bay where the water is at its cleanest. Note the lines of rope attached to the floating buoys. The nets holding the oysters hang from these ropes.
After a long day of examining various pearl farms, what’s an internationally-known pearl hunter to do but consider what he’s going to have on his dinner plate? Here are some of the appetizing choices in a local restaurant. I wonder if these entrees come with a side of fries.
posted by Greg at 12:39 PM
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