Pearl Jewelry - The Story of Pearl Hunters

As long as pearls have been known to people, theyNaturally, this dangerous activity was reserved for the
have been a highly sought commodity for their beauty.desperate or the powerless - in many cases slaves or
It's only in recent times however that the industry hasextremely poor peasents. Today, this method is all but
taken the hunt for the perfect pearl to a wholeobsolete in most places of the world. The cheaper
different level. Today, the shiny orbs that we see on incultured pearls have become popular and are many
display in jewelry stores have actually almost alwaystimes the only pearls available to the consumer.
been grown in farms.There are however still a few isolated areas that
That's a far cry from the dangerous extraction andpractice this old art of pearl diving. Some of the finest
collection methods used before the invention ofnatural pearl speciments come from the gulf of
modern technology. In the past, not more than 100Bahrain. Here, divers still risk their health to retrieve
years ago, the only way to retrieve pearls was bywhat are considered the top of the crop in the world.
diving in lakes, floods and the ocean to pick them up,In fact, Bahrain wants no part of the sale of cultured
one at the time. The unfortunate divers who'se job itpearls, banned from trade. Bahrain is one of the few
was to do this, were often poor and lured by theplaces on earth that does an active job in trying to
relative large sums they could get. The diver wouldpreserve the natural habitat and waters from pollution.
sometimes have to dive as deep as 100 feet on oneIt's an interesting story and one that continues to
single breath of air. In order to preserve air and to stayfascinate buyers around the world. Somehow, the
submerged the longest, the divers would hold on tobeauty of the pearl grows when it's been retrieved
heavy stones on the way down.from the depth of the ocean.