With its warm climate and perfect water temperature, Phuket's western coast is ideal for pearl production. The island is often referred to as the Pearl of the Andaman, but it wasn't until the 1960s that pearl farms were set up and pearls were cultivated locally. Today, there are farms on many of the small islands off the coast, several offering day tours.
Cultured pearls can be bought individually, as a strand, or as part of a piece of jewellery. The three main types of pearls cultivated in Phuket are Mabe, Akoya and South Sea. When choosing pearls there are five points to consider: lustre, surface, shape, colour and size. Top-quality pearls have a lustrous gleam and smooth surface and are perfectly round.
A visit to the Phuket Pearl Industry Company (58/2 Moo 1, Thepkrasatri Road, Baan Sapam, Muang;
The company tour reveals that cultured pearls are the same as natural pearls in almost every way. The difference is that nature is given a helping hand when pearl-farming technicians surgically implant a nucleus into an oyster. This consists of a small bead and a piece of mantle tissue, around which the oyster secretes the layers of crystalline substance, or nacre, that form the pearl.
Mabe Pearls are the cheapest variety, taking about a year to mature for harvest, and are produced by oysters commonly known as Golden Wing or Black Wing. Akoya Pearls are from 2mm to 10mm in diameter and grow from the Pinctada Fucada oyster. When an oyster reaches a width of 5cm to 10cm, it is taken from the sea and a bead is carefully inserted. The oyster is then left in pearl-farm waters for up to two years before being harvested.