Laura Griffin Designs

After visiting Turtle Head Isle, we headed towards a nearby freshwater pearl farm on Lake Taihu. When we walked inside, we were ushered into a small room with a long table to sit down. Each seat had a cup of tea in front of it.

A pearl farm representative began to explain the uses of freshwater pearls. To our surprise, pearls are not only used for adornment, but actually have proven medical benefits. They can be ground into powder which is later placed in topical skin creams or beverages for ingestion. In fact, the tea that was sitting in front of us contained pearl powder in it! (We promptly drank it up.)

Apparently, the Chinese have been using pearls for medicinal purposes for over 2000 years. Used internally, pearl powder is believed to detoxify the system, clean and clear the skin, remove age and liver spots, give skin a younger appearance, adjust your body energy, calm the liver, relieve stress, treat sore throat, adjust the nervous system, regulate metabolism, improve eyesight, treat insomnia, and energize the body. Sounds like the miracle drug, eh?

When used topically, pearl cream is famous for keeping skin smooth, soft, & lustrous. It is also used in the treatment of open sores, burns, & cuts. Here are boxes of the magical day & night “pearl cream”.

According to Chinese history, artists in the Tang Dynasty began using pearl powder on their faces when putting on stage makeup. This practice spread to women in high society until Empress Dowage of the Ching Dynasty began taking Pearl Powder internally as well as applying it to her face. She found that it resulted in improved complexion, softer skin, and a more youthful appearance. Supposedly at age 74 she appeared to be in her 40s. Hmmm…not sure if any kind of powder can provide that miracle?

We then discussed how to judge the value of a pearl. Pearls are judged on 4 main characteristics: Size, Shape, Lustre & Color. Obviously the larger the size and the rounder the shape…the more valuable the pearl. The lustre is simply the shine of the pearl…and the shinier, the better. Certain colors of pearls also have inherently more value because they are more expensive to make. Pearl farmers discovered over the years that they can control the temperature & lighting of a mussel’s environment, and the mussel will naturally produce pearls of different colors. Currently, the most valuable freshwater pearls are gold-colored.

Next we watched a demo of how to open up a mussel & find the pearl inside. Click on more for these images. If you’re not a fan of gooey innards…I’d suggest you skip this part. *LOL*

A cultured freshwater pearl is created when an irritant such as a small round bead is placed in a mussel. (FYI – I say mussel instead of oyster because oyster’s are saltwater mollusks.) The mussel secretes layers of nacre (otherwise known as “mother of pearl”) around the bead to protect itself. This in turn, forms a pearl. Depending on the desired size, you can wait 6 months to several years before opening the mussel and removing the pearl(s) inside. Below are pics of a large mussel being opened for the first time to reveal the pearls within.
Open wide!

Found some!

Still looking, but think I feel some more there!

As you can see, each mussel will produce 10-20 pearls. Some are permanently stuck to the shell and can’t be used. The rounder pearls will be used in jewelry. The odd-shaped pearls will be ground into pearl powder.

After the demo, we entered the pearl farm store. Here is the strand of “natural” colored pearls that I picked up for only around $45 USD. They look impressively round considering the ones I normally see state-side (like the cheap asymmetrical ones in your local US bead store). I need to restring them with a higher quality finding, but I’m happy with the purchase.

Now that we had satisfied our spending urges, it was time to get back outdoors & visit more beautiful Chinese gardens.