The Son of a Farmer Walks Into a Jewelry Store...

The Son of a Farmer Walks Into a Jewelry Store... his name is Yu Deng.  Yu Deng is the son of a pearl farmer located on an island off the coast of Hong Kong.  He and I share the fact that we are both second generation businessmen, having followed our father's business paths, and are both in the jewelry business.

Yu's father started his career as a humble cultured pearl farmer.  The process of growing freshwater pearls involves implanting a mother of pearl bead into a freshwater mollusk to serve as the nucleus for a lustrous pearl.  The result of placing this bead within the mollusk is that the mollusk coats the bead with a substance called nacre.  With the right conditions (proper water temperature, clean freshwater and time) the nacre increases and a beautiful freshwater pearl is formed.  The mollusks are hung in wire cages suspended from floats.  It's the farmer's job to maintain these cages and keep the mollusks in good condition.

On this particular day, Yu was showing me some of the latest pearl harvest.  Over time Yu's father now has his own harvest of cultured pearls and one hundred other farmers working for him.  The latest harvest included a fabulous natural pink strand of pearls that measured about 10 1/2 to 11 millimeters in size.  You can see the natural color in the photographs attached.

Well, that's all for now!

Your Friend in the Jewelry Business,

Mark Grader

Grader Jewelers, Inc.

www.gradergems.com, Groton, Norwich, Waterford

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