Harvesting

The oysters are split open, the and pearl bag are cut by the the scalpel, and the pearl is removed. If the oyster has survived the past three years of gestation without any major problems, the harvester will place another core in the same position as the extracted pearl, without the need for another mantle. This occurs in about one third of oysters. Approximately 35% of the oysters produce good pearls, 20-30% die, 20% reject the nucleus, and 10% are poor quality pearls.