CIBJO invites you to join the 19th Home Gemmology webinar,
looking at history and background of cultured pearls
Taking place in two sessions on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, the upcoming Home Gemmology webinar will be presented by Rui Galopim de Carvalho, and co-hosted by Edward Johnson. It will provide an overview of the vast world of cultured pearls.
The webinar will look at the development of the cultured pearl industry, from the very early attempts to farm and harvest pearls in a controlled environment by Mikimoto in Japan in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It will examine subsequent trials involving different types of molluscs, both saltwater and freshwater, in other parts of the world.
Participants will be introduced to the various cultured pearl varieties, and the relationship with the molluscs that grow them. The webinar will cover saltwater Akoya, South Sea, Tahitian, Fijian and the Sea of Cortez, and several freshwater varieties. Keshi pearls will also be discussed, as will cultured pearl nomenclature.
Photo credits: The Pearl Dagger sculpture by Ian Fabre © Enzo Liverino