A Pearl Story

In March 2014 my boyfriend Bryan took me to San Diego. It was a wonderful, sun drenched time in southern California. We met seals, sea lions, pelicans, and even the occasional starfish. When we weren't checking out the beaches and piers, we were at Sea World.
Sea lions at Sea World, San Diego

           
At Sea World on Mission Bay we feed sting rays (Bryan really connected with the sting rays), touched sharks, played with dolphins, and were all around marveled by the orca whales.

While we were in Sea World we happened upon the Pearl Factory stand by the Pacific Point enclosure. When I had told my sister that we were going to Sea World that morning, she'd immediately said “Bring me back a pearl!”. My sister had gone to a Sea World on a field trip a long time ago and she'd gotten a pearl from a pearl diver in the park, and its a memory that she cherishes dearly.

So when I came upon the Pearl Factory stand, I went “Aha! This is what she's talking about.” It was fairly close to what my sister described. At first I was discouraged because the first counter I came to was pearl rings, necklaces, and earrings and all of them were very expensive. I was disheartened until I went around the corner to the front of the stand there was a bucket full of oysters. And these oysters were only $14.99. Not too shabby.


It took a little bit of convincing for Bryan to join in with me, but we decided to open an oyster 'for my sister' ( I had already decided that we were going to have to open 2 oysters because I really wanted to try this out too).


The procedure was simple. Using a pair of bamboo tongs, you choose an oyster out of the bucket and set it on a wooden tray. From there a shopkeeper rings a bell and everyone yells “ALOHA!” before they open the oyster for you. While opening the pearl, the shopkeeper explains all the different procedures they go through. After opening the oyster and removing the pearl, they shopkeeper identifies the color of the pearl and then rolls it in a bowl or table salt to clean off any detritus from the outside of the pearl. They then clean it off with water, dry it, and let you see your bouncy baby pearl.


Our first pearl was a stunning and rare blue pearl. Bryan, who had started out reluctant, was marveled by the pearl and immediately wanted to open a second one, but first we wanted to look at settings for the blue pearl.

This is where the Pearl Factory gets you. Opening the pearl is relatively inexpensive but the settings for a pearl are much more expensive. Bryan and I both decided that we really wanted to set and keep the blue pearl for ourselves. I wanted a pretty setting in a pendant for the pearl but the prices were ridiculous! I desperately wanted a trio of starfish but the price of the pendant was $179.99!


I was starting to feel a little desperate as the shopkeeper showed me tons of settings I just could not afford. Then the shopkeeper showed us a plumeria flowering setting which was $99, but she offered to throw in our second oyster for free. The shopkeeper explained that the plumeria flower symbolizes love and passion. Bryan and I both loved the pendant so we jumped at the chance.


Our shopkeeper let Bryan open our second pearl, a very pretty cream pearl that was bigger than my blue pearl. Now we had to find a setting for my sister's pearl and the shopkeeper had the best idea, one of their top sellers, a whale's tail that the pearl dangled from. It was amazing!

Bryan, being a wonderful guy, surprised me by paying for my pendant AND my sister's! Of course I couldn't just put the necklace on and start running around showing everyone (I takes about a day for the appoxy to dry). As well, the chains for the pendants are an upcharge, so we skipped the chains and bought them on our own.

My sister with her pearl



I wear the necklace all the time and Bryan loves when I wear it.

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