Imagine the incredible odds: it takes 1,000 oysters to yield just 10 pearls—one large and nine petite. Each pearl’s worth is sentimental and commercial, meticulously graded on size, colour, surface quality, lustre, and shape. But what makes these gems so rare? The answer lies in a delicate dance of nature. When an oyster’s mantle is injured by a parasite or attacked by a crab, it begins healing, forming a cyst that eventually crystallises into a shimmering pearl. In days gone by, after dawn prayers, divers would open the oysters gathered from the previous day, meticulously washing, grading, and sorting their treasures. What are the biggest markets for these pearls? Mumbai and Europe.
Fast forward to today, and we are in this traditional Arabic majlis at the Suwaidi Pearl Farm. Next, Obaid captivates us with a wooden box of small red pouches and tools once used to evaluate these oceanic wonders. He unties a pouch with nimble fingers, spilling a rainbow of pearls onto a vivid red cloth. As we conclude our visit in a charming showroom by the jetty—displaying pearls from Ras Al Khaimah, I resist the urge to splurge but leave with my heart brimming with tales of adventurous voyages, skilled divers, and a nearly extinct profession that once thrived beneath the waves. This experience wasn’t just a glimpse into nature’s treasure and a journey through time and heritage.
