The Pearl

Blog post and photography by Peter Hemenway

The precious pearl is the only gems created by a living animal. They are formed when a microscopic foreign object finds its way inside a mussel or oyster.

Saltwater pearls account for only five per cent of global pearl production, with freshwater gems making up the remaining 95 percent.

At a pearl factory a worker begins the process of working with an oyster that eventually will be producing a marketable pearl.

Selling pearls in the village of Pandangbai

Pearl farm in Indonesia