These are natural pearls harvested from Queen conch creature known as the conch (pronounced “conk”) which lives in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The highest-quality examples are characterized by a distinctive “flame structure” that gives the appearance of a fire burning on the surface. Since the meat of the Queen conch is prized as food, it is generally harvested by fishermen, rather than being sought for its pearls. The pearls tend to be “by-products” of the harvest, discovered by the fishermen as they clean their catch.
Unlike other types of pearls, conch pearls cannot be cultured. Because of the spiral shape of the conch shells, not event he most skilled technicians can implant nuclei for pearls to form around. They exist solely as the result of a rare and splendid serendipity and gem-quality specimens are found in fewer than 1 in every 100,000 queen conchs.
Ranging in shape from raggedy ovals to nearly perfect orbs, their color can be yellow, white, beige, or pink. Mikimoto passes over most of the harvest selecting only the plumpest, pinkest pearls, especially those with the flame-like structure. Kano Kobayashi, Mikimoto America’s senior vice president of merchandising says, “Creating conch jewelry requires very skilled craftsmen. I know of only a few people who can drill a conch pearl for stringing into a strand.”
The one-of-a-kind earrings, necklaces, and rings are made in extremely limited numbers… just 7 pieces are available now in the United States.
