Pearl has a history more fascinating and more regal than any other gem. Pearls from India are known from time immemorial. Admired all over the world as the finest of ‘Oriental Pearls’ they were in high demand all over the world. However natural pearl resources in India as in other parts of the world have depleted and pearl fishery was stopped in India about four decades ago. There is a huge gap between production and demand and the only option left is culture of pearls. The world trade of cultured pearl is reported to be over US$ 3 billion per year. The major pearl producing countries are Australia, Tahiti, Indonesia, Japan and China. India is one of the major importers of pearls importing pearls worth US $ 4 million every year to meet the growing domestic market demand. India has a wealth of marine pearl producing oysters and fresh water pearl mussels. Pearl producing oysters in India are Pinctada fucata in Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay and Gulf of Kutch and P.margeretifera in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Fresh water pearls have been successfully produced in three species of bivalves, viz., Lamellidens marginalis, L. corrianus and Parreysia corrugata.

Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has standardized the technology of culture of marine pearls and Central Institute of Fresh water Aquaculture (CIFA), that of freshwater pearl. Hatchery technology of P.fucata has also been successfully developed. A number of entrepreneurs in Orissa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have adopted the technology of Fresh water pearl culture and a Few projects with institutional finance and NABARD refinance have taken up in Andhra Pradesh for producing marine pearls. It is only a humble beginning and there is need for more concerted efforts for developing pearl culture in India.

The culture of pearls involves the following steps. 

1. Collection and conditioning of native pearl mussels

2. Surgical implementation of mantle grafts and appropriate nuclei in the internal organs of the recipient mussel

3. Post operation care of the implanted mussel.

       a. For fresh water pearl mussel culture, implanted mussels need to be reared in natural pond environment.

       b. In case of marine pearl oyster culture, farming can be either ‘on farm’ or off shore/open sea. Off shore culture can be of different types:            Floating Raft, long line systems or racks fixed on stacks.

Cultured pearls are grown on what are known as pearl farms. Several thousand oysters are nucleated and then cared for during the 2-5 years required for a pearl to grow and develop. Like any other form of farming, pearl farming can be as dependent on luck as it is on skill. An entire bed of oysters can be completely devastated by unpredictable and uncontrollable factors, such as water pollution, severe storms, excessive heat or cold, disease and many other natural and man-made phenomena. Although pearl farmers attempt to control as many of these variables as possible, pearl farming can indeed be a risky business!

The larvae are allowed to float freely in the water, under controlled conditions, until they are a few weeks old. In the wild, the larvae would then attach themselves to a rock or similar object, so the farmers provide “collectors” for this purpose. Over a period of a few months, the larvae develop into baby oysters. They are generally then moved into a separate "nursery" area of the farm. Here they are tended for around 1-2 years, until they have grown sufficiently large to be nucleated.

The process of nucleation is a surgical procedure, whereby a foreign object is implanted into the oyster. This object causes irritation, which the oyster counteracts by secreting nacre to surround the object; this produces the pearl.           

The larvae are allowed to float freely in the water, under controlled conditions, until they are a few weeks old. In the wild, the larvae would then attach themselves to a rock or similar object, so the farmers provide “collectors” for this purpose. Over a period of a few months, the larvae develop into baby oysters. They are generally then moved into a separate "nursery" area of the farm. Here they are tended for around 1-2 years, until they have grown sufficiently large to be nucleated.

Two basic methods of nucleation are used. Saltwater oysters are generally nucleated using a "bead", prepared from mother-of-pearl. First, the bead is surrounded by a small piece of mantle tissue taken from a donor oyster. The bead and tissue are then implanted into the oyster's gonad. The bead serves as a mold, or nucleus, around which the pearl develops. The resulting pearl will contain the bead at its center and will tend to develop in the same general shape as the original bead. The bead can be detected in the final pearl by x-rays.

Freshwater mussels are generally grafted using a piece of mantle tissue only, without a bead. This small piece of mantle tissue is placed into an incision in the host mussel's mantle instead of the gonad. Both sides of the valve can accept grafts, and an average freshwater mussel will produce 24 to 32 pearls per culturing cycle.

After nucleating, the oysters are given a few weeks to recover from the surgery. During this time, some of the oysters may reject and expel the implanted nuclei; others may become sick or even die. Most, however, will fully recover. The oysters are then placed in cages or nets and moved into the oyster bed, where they will be tended as the pearls develop. Depending on the type of oyster, this process can require anywhere from a few additional months to several more years!

After the pearls have been allowed to develop fully, they must be harvested. After the pearls are extracted from the oysters, they are washed, dried, and sorted into general categories. Sometimes, the pearls are polished by tumbling in salt and water. The pearls are then sold to jewelers, manufacturers, and pearl dealers.