My 2022 Sea of Cortez storytime :-)

[yssie]

So the harvest happened.


Some deets I've been given the okay to share


Well. First things first. 2022 was a super special year for the farm. I mean, okay, every harvest is super special, given that this is the only place in the world where Pteria sterna is harvested at all... But this year was extra super special.

Pearl farms usually buy oyster spat. A way to guarantee (as much as anything can be guaranteed) a minimum of viable production. But noone's selling rainbow-lipped oyster seed, so the Cortez farm has always had to trawl their babies from the ocean...

The 2022 harvest is the very first harvest from oysters grown in a lab!!


They got about 4000 pearls this year. (That number includes keshi but not mabes). The oysters are implanted at ~2 years old and are harvested ~18 months later, so this year the farm got pearls from two types of oysters - the lab babies and the regular “wild” oysters collected from the ocean.

When I asked about how the labs had done I was fully expecting to hear that they’d gotten, y’know, maybe a handful of mediocre specimens. 'Cause when does anything ever work out right away? But get this, y’all: Of the 2022 Top Ten pearls *eight* were from lab babies. Talk about a resounding success!! These people are oyster-whisperers

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I reached out to Fernando early June and asked him to please keep me in mind for any bright blues that might show up. He said he’d let me know as soon as all the pearls were sorted, and a few days later he told me that Enrique and Manuel (two of the farm’s five grafters) had one they thought I’d love

These are the first pics that I saw of this year’s Top Ten:

By the time I saw these pics one pearl had already been spoken for - the ultra-contrasty greenie middle row second-from-left. I confess that in another year I might have been disappointed. But this year the one that grabbed me right away was that bright blue, and turned out that’s the one that they’d set aside for me! Suffice to say that they guessed right

Fernando pulled an oodle of other options for me and a friend as well My pearl budget is kinda limited this time round - to quote my husband “surely one extortionist jewellery project per year is sufficient even for you?" so it's just the one new pearl for me this year. Happily my friend is planning to bring more of this #gorgeousness home though!!

More pics of the 2022 Top Ten coming in a moment. No photos of the others I’m afraid, not sure I can share those. But I've got to say: Anyone who might be interested - DEFINITELY reach out to the farm!!! There are some seriously salivation-inducing specimens this year!! I've kind of figured out the grading, too - the graders really really really value smooth skin and near-round/clean drop shapes, and so those priorities are reflected in their selections for Top Ten... But both my friend and I want bright colour over everything else - so we both legit loved some of the #lesser pearls too

So now I’ve got Manuel pearls, Enrique pearls, Douglas pearls (he’s not active with the farm any more), and this year I’m adding a Guillermo pearl. The full set of historic and current Cortez graft personnel; the beady-eyed little collector on my shoulder is absolutely thrilled And I’m really looking forward to adding specimens from newer grafters Michelle and Mariana in future

 

[yssie]

Enrique posted a collage of the 2022 Top Ten on his IG:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg2gx73u0le/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link



- - - - - TOP ROW - - - - -

Leftmost:
Lab oyster implanted by Enrique 29th December 2020
Pearl: 11.2 x 12.3, graded G+ SN



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Second from left:
Lab oyster implanted by Manuel 14th January 2021
Pearl: 11.3 x 11.6, graded G SN



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Middle:
Lab oyster implanted by Manuel 4th January 2021
Pearl: 11.61 x 13.65, graded G+ SN



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Second from right:
Wild oyster implanted by Manuel 19th February 2021
Pearl: 11.28 x 11.97, graded G++ SN



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Rightmost:
Lab oyster implanted by Enrique 29th December 2020
Pearl: 11.1 x 11.2, graded G+ SN




- - - - - BOTTOM ROW - - - - -

Leftmost: Mine!!
Wild oyster implanted by Guillermo 27th December 2020
Pearl: 10.82 x 11.5, graded G SN
Nucleus: 8.5mm





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Second from left: This is the one that was spoken for early on.
Lab oyster implanted by Enrique 14th January 2021
Pearl: 10.55 x 10.7, graded G+++ SN



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Middle:
Lab oyster implanted by Manuel 23rd December 2020
Pearl: 11.3 x 12.6, graded G+ SN



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Second from right:
Lab oyster implanted by Manuel 8th January 2021
Pearl: 10.6 x 11.3, graded G++ SN



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Rightmost:
Lab oyster implanted by Enrique 17th December 2020
Pearl: 11.97 x 12.25, graded G SN

 

[yssie]

There’s some possibility that Fernando regrets giving me his number to text. I had… Um, some questions…


I asked how the implanters decide which oysters will be donors and which will grow pearls.

And I learnt that the farm sorts their ~two year old oysters into three groups. First group is the most promising - biggest, healthiest (they can judge health by the shell), most colourful, most convex (convex oysters are better for pearls, flatter oysters get used for mabes). Then there’s a second group, and finally a third - they’re the smallest and least healthy and least colourful and most aggressive and grumpy.

One donor’s mantle yields enough tissue to nucleate multiple recipients. Sometimes there's enough material to nucleate ten hosts, sometimes it’s smaller and there’s only enough for three or four hosts... So the donor’s mantle is cut out and a bunch of oysters (both male and female) get “grafted” - that is, they have mantle tissue plus a nucleus bead inserted into their gonads. The Cortez farm uses the same beads as the rest of the farming industry: Spheres carved from Mississippi River freshwater mussel shell. And the whole snipping and implanting procedure apparently takes 45-60 seconds, and here’s something unusual: The donor is one of its own recipients! As in, the donor oyster is implanted with its own mantle tissue... And that donor regenerates its own mantle within a couple months.


So then I asked about the oyster grumping thing. And Fernando explained…

The 300,000-ish oysters that the farm keeps all get cleaned monthly-ish, in constant round-robin rotation. A quick scrub outside and a quick peek inside. And the oysters get used to being handled like that.

When it’s hot - like in summer - the oysters have to stay thirty meters deep to maintain temperature, so their caretakers dive and clean them underwater. But in winter it’s cool enough to just bring them up to the surface. Which means that in winter, during farm tours, the guides can actually open the oysters a touch to show visitors where the pearls form.

And apparently the oysters are mostly okay with having their privates prodded for display. Except when they’re not, then they like to clamp shut on the intruder.

So apparently Fernando’s fingers get chomped on fairly regularly. And apparently it rather hurts.

I died.

 

[yssie]

My new baby blue came in a couple days ago


I *love* the colour. This pearl is a genuine blue. Not green-leaning-blue like Tahitian blues, not grey-leaning-blue like akoya blues, just blue. With a violet rind and just enough teal in the body to temper the grey.

Grey was my biggest concern honestly. Back in 2019, when I first dove down this rabbit hole, I picked up a smaller round with what seemed like similar colouring - blue body and violet rind. That pearl looks amazing in the lightbox but it goes kind of murky really quickly outside that ideal lighting environment. Especially compared to my other Cortez pearls, most of which which hold their colour quite well. So I was worried this one might murk out too, but a friend pointed out that my older pearl has some warmth to it - which is basically destructive interference for a cooler colour. And she was right, this gal does hold its colour much much better, so the absence of orange/red/yellow is really helping maintain saturation

I know that it's hard to find comparison photos of Cortez pearls so I'll share some blues pics. I guess if anything they show that one really does need real-world pictures of these pearls as well, because lightbox photos are just glimpses in time that might or might not translate in other lighting environments. Which is nothing new, it's the same story with literally every other type of pearl out there


So... Where was I going. Love the colour. *Love* the colour. I'm let's say 8.5/10 on the pearl overall... Couple things I'd change if I could:
A) It's super smooth all over but I like my baroques lumpy!
B) Luster. Okay, well. I knew from the contrastiness in the original tray pics that luster wasn't wasn't to be anything to write home about... I guess I was hoping to be wrong anyway. But nope, I wasn't wrong, sadly!
A 10/10 for me would be a lustrous lumpster with exactly this same colour. But this was definitely a case of #YouTakeWhatYouCanGet, a true blue is so rare to begin with. Maybe one day when these oysters start taking custom requests


I also asked Fernando for a low grade grey pearl without any coloured overtone. Something to play with and cut open. The farm very kindly just gave me two halves, and they sliced them open for me too, and no joke nacre on these is hot 'n heavy, y'all



I admit I'm falling for these plain Jane greys. They'd be so pretty in a station necklace with a few super-colourfuls sprinkled in Or maybe alternating colourfuls and greys in a bracelet strand, that'd make the brights stand out that much more...

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My four cool-hued Cortez pearls:

 

[yssie]

Seems like this bracelet is doomed to yearly redo


Debated between Pattye's Rose and Pink threads, went with the cooler pink this time.



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The little nub at the bottom is one of the plain Jane grey halves. That silver is such a pretty neutral



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And some late night phone snaps of it all strung up With the one spare for #emergencies, very mind clean





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So this is either the fourth or fifth incarnation of this bracelet. It's by far my favourite.

The first iteration (2019, when I originally got it) had too much filler. #2 was better colour-wise, but it was too long for me and I didn't have the right size graduation to take just one pearl out. #3 was the perfect length but colour distribution was off - too many cool pearls at the ends and too much warmth in the middle. I think there was a #4 rearrangement of #3 that didn't actually improve anything.

This version is just so nicely balanced IRL. A(nother) friend noted the quadrant of cool... I reckon this is *exactly* what my eyes were picking up on, but my brain didn't get to actually calculating it this way

 

[yssie]

Sunny day with wispy clouds...




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[yssie]

In the lightbox:




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[yssie]

And last lot, heavier clouds - perfect pearls weather




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[Tartansparkles]

Beautiful, just beautiful.

 

[Cerulean]

There really were some remarkable pearls in the harvest this year, but a blue as bright and pure as your new pearl is really something special. It’s a standout

And each time you share pictures and videos of your bracelet - I am just stunned by how beautiful it is. You’ve so artfully tended to, tweaked and improved something that I thought was already perfection! The changes you’ve made never would’ve even dawned on me. But you have a great eye, beyond a great eye. You’ve earned your status as the pearl whisperer

 

[88_star]

I'm just stunned. The bracelet, the blues, the whole process. So fascinating and rainbowy and peacocky and shimmery!! I'm in love!

 

[marymm]

Super interesting @yssie so appreciative you shared the process and the pics and your thoughts and commentary ... a vicarious pleasure indeed!

I think your new blue Sea of Cortez pearl is glorious, and the latest iteration of your Sea of Cortez bracelet is truly sublime ... just magnificent.

 

[lovedogs]

Omggggg I am dying. Love love this bracelet. I was strongly considering one of the top 10 options but decided against it (for now anyway). Yours is incredible!

 

[Snowdrop13]

Very cool!

 

[lissyflo]

And last lot, heavier clouds - perfect pearls weather
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See, it’s good that you’ve got clouds and downpours when everyone else has no rain. There’s always a silver lining!

I so want to see this in the flesh. It’s stunning and I love the yearly evolution with new harvests!

 

[CMN]

What a unique and special bracelet!

 

[Slickk]

Wow! That bracelet is to die for! So lush and luxurious. That blue pearl is the one I love the most too!! Thank you for interesting the story of how they originated. Enjoy!!

 

[dk168]

Beautiful, thanks for sharing!

DK

 

[icy_jade]

@yssie

Lovely lovely pics as usual. Can you pls post pics of the bracelet in the sun? Am curious how it looks under the sun (since it is so sunny where I am). Seeing your gorgeous pearls is making me wish to set my SoC mabes…

 

[Ann]

In the lightbox:




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Spectacular! I am a sucker for bracelets and your new baby is perfection. Now I "have" to go down that pearl rabbit hole again.......

 

[Begonia]

Seems like this bracelet is doomed to yearly redo


Debated between Pattye's Rose and Pink threads, went with the cooler pink this time.



- - - - -

The little nub at the bottom is one of the plain Jane grey halves. That silver is such a pretty neutral



- - - - -

And some late night phone snaps of it all strung up With the one spare for #emergencies, very mind clean





- - - - -

So this is either the fourth or fifth incarnation of this bracelet. It's by far my favourite.

The first iteration (2019, when I originally got it) had too much filler. #2 was better colour-wise, but it was too long for me and I didn't have the right size graduation to take just one pearl out. #3 was the perfect length but colour distribution was off - too many cool pearls at the ends and too much warmth in the middle. I think there was a #4 rearrangement of #3 that didn't actually improve anything.

This version is just so nicely balanced IRL. A(nother) friend noted the quadrant of cool... I reckon this is *exactly* what my eyes were picking up on, but my brain didn't get to actually calculating it this way

That's an impressively tidy bead tray! Very beautiful bracelet!

 

[yssie]

I owe y'all responses!!!!


Just gonna drop these here real quick for @icy_jade and I'll be back in a bit once my brain's working again


Edit -
UV index is about 8 here today, partly cloudy... These pearls fluoresce red/pink and I feel like you can actually see some extra reddishness in some of the "sunny" pics
All taken with a camera. No white balance adjustments, just picked a generically neutral preset. And no aperture adjustments either, only shutter speed.

 

[yssie]

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[yssie]

With a multicolour Tahitian strand and a silver drop Tahitian bracelet, figured they might help with behaviour comparisons...

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[yssie]

 

[Tartansparkles]

@yssie I wish you'd write a book: the 101 on how to buy pearls. The 'cloudy' photos are mouth-watering. I spent all summer going back to the same CMW Tahitian pearls over and over (they were circles and a mix of yellow/blondish with some cherry pearls thrown in). My plan, since they were lovely and bright, was that they would have been specifically for bright, sunny, short-sleeved days. But never having seen Tahitians in real life and all the grief that comes with an overseas non-refundable sale, by the time I was ready to pull the trigger they were gone. But the up-thread comment about Tahitians being for cloudy days make me wonder if I would have been disappointed. Your pictures and commentary are enjoyable, entertaining and educational.

 

[icy_jade]

@yssie these pics are wonderful. Thank you so much for taking them for me. I was wondering if they would be gray blobs to be honest. Didn’t think about the red fluoro. So interesting!

My Tahitians are so colorful, anything new I get must match or exceed them…

Edit: I am absolutely on ban island so I’m just asking in a moment of weakness after seeing @yssie ’s beautiful pearl p*rn

But the up-thread comment about Tahitians being for cloudy days make me wonder if I would have been disappointed.

Nono I have Tahitians that are wonderful in all conditions and I love them. Only the lousy Tahitians only look nice in cloudy conditions.

Look for Tahitians with strong body colors or INTENSE peacocks. I live in a sunny tropical country and I would never wear Tahitians if they are just gray blobs in the sun.

 

[yssie]

I'm back!!

Brain didn’t really wake up, though, so PS is getting the squirrelly side of my communication capabilities tonight.
They’re a bit short on leash but comprehensible

 

[yssie]

@Cerulean Thank you love!!

OMG I’m glad my budget had a hard limit this year!! I definitely could have blown - um, a lot more, let’s just leave it at that

I honestly kind of expect that folks must be, like, at least a bit eye-rolley seeing this same piece done over again and again but y’all are so sweet to humour me But I’ve learnt this about myself: When it comes to pearls the only things I’ll ever actually wear are stud earrings and bracelets. So these compulsions must be funnelled in very specific ways

Pearl whisperer. I mean, I’ll take the win

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@88_star Thank you!! These pearls will never cease to amaze me. I still look at them and marvel that they came out of lil’ ol’ oysters. It just doesn’t seem plausible. And yet.

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@marymm Thank you so very much!! That’s so sweet of you

I know every new pearl is the #best, the way I yak But I gotta say I really really *really* do love this one. It’s just the perfect baby blue. I can safely say that whatever I do to this bracelet next year - this blue’s not going anywhere

 

[yssie]

@lovedogs Thank you!! It all worked out so nicely and mind-clean-ly for me - 2022 Top Ten plus Guillermo specimen, two #wants addressed by one happy Easter egg

But now I’m super curious about which one you were thinking of… I’ll email at a not ridiculous hour tomorrow

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Thank you @Snowdrop13!!

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@lissyflo Now there’s something I didn’t consider and you’re not wrong 



Thank you so much!! And one of these days that meet 'n greet will most definitely happen... But yeah, I'm really gonna be hoping for some pearl-inappropriately dry sunshine to celebrate it with

I was playing with the little silver halves earlier… I specifically requested for grey with no overtone, I wanted a low grade specimen, but these actually do have some multicoloured iridescence. It’s very faint. But it’s there. These oysters just can’t help themselves, apparently. Little overachievers.