South Sea Pearl
South Sea Pearl
South Sea pearls are among the largest commercially harvested cultured pearls in the world. The average size of a South Sea pearl is 13 mm, with most harvests producing a range of sizes from 9 mm to 20 mm. The South Seas lie between the northern coast of Australia and the southern coast of China. These waters are the native habitat of a large oyster known as Pinctada maxima. This oyster grows up to 12 inches in diameter, and can be nucleated with a much larger bead than other saltwater oysters such as the Akoya.
There are two varieties of Pinctada maxima, the silver-lipped and the gold-lipped. The two are distinguished by their distinct coloration of the outer edge of the interior. This type of shell is also known as mother-of-pearl, and is responsible for the coloration of the cultured pearls produced.
There are four reasons South Sea pearls can grow to such large sizes, dwarfing many of their other saltwater pearl counterparts. These reasons are: the large size of the Pinctada maxima, the size of the implanted bead, the length of time the pearl is left to grow in the oyster, and the oyster’s environment. Due to the size of the oyster, it is able to accept a large bead.
In Indonesia, Lombok pearl being honored as producer of foreign exchange in the country. Because Lombok pearls are produced by the scenic island which is included in the category of south sea pearls in the world. So, no wonder that pearls of Lombok is been looking by pearl lover, both inside and outside the country.
Lombok nowadays is deserved to be proud for outperforming other pearl producing countries such as Australia, Tahiti, Myanmar, and Philippines. Even, the data of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries said that Indonesia is now the leader of the exporting country of sea water pearls. No wonder because Lombok has been producing pearls since long time ago and become a major pearl producer in the country.