The Best Cortez pearls of all: 2008-2015

I take off this week by continuing were last I left my blog entry…in an engagingly erotochromic post about the most beautiful Cortez Cultured Pearls of All times!

And we are going to start with the pearl that I personally believe is the MOST BEAUTIFUL CORTEZ CULTURED PEARL that we have ever produced from this farm. And this pearl was produced from the…

2008 Pearl Harvest

Before I tell you about this amazingly, stunningly beautiful pearl I will recount you of hurricane “Julio”, one of the fiercest hurricanes to have hit Guaymas. But fortunately this damage was done after we had harvested our pearls.

This particular pearl is prominently featured in our original “Sea of Cortez Pearl Video” and appeared several times in a thread over at the Pearl-Guide.com forum. It was part of a group of drop shaped pearls that I fondly called the “Drop Dead Gorgeous Pearls”.

This particular beauty had a striking luster to it -all-natural as expected- and at its base it had a very dark purple blue color that started changing into a rainbow of colors until the very tip became a beautiful lavender-pink color, and features amazing overtones. The pearl measures 9.5 mm at its widest and the colors are absolutely EROTOCHROMIC.

I was truly happy to sell this particular pearl to a very good pair of “pearly foster parents” that live in Tel Aviv, Israel. The Holy Land…to me this had a special meaning and over the years this couple became one of my dearest friends. Nora had the pearl set into a pendant-pearl enhancer to use with her Akoya pearl necklace for a very beautiful and striking piece.

The pearl is named “Epyolotli” which is the Nahuatl (Aztec) word for “Pearl” and it means “Heart of the Pearl Oyster”. I really like this name.

2009 Harvest

Then, a year later we also had more splendid pearls…not a single pearl that was equal to Nora’s 2008 pearl but that year was marked by larger than usual pearls.

2009’s largest and most beautiful pearl was sold to one of our US based buyers and I called it “La Bella” or “The Beautiful”: a lustrous, shiny 12 mm near-round pearl with a dark-green body color and a vibrant violet color.

Here you can see “La Bella” next to other gem grade Cortez pearls of around 10 mm in diameter.

That particular year we barely avoided the farm’s destruction by the disastrous effects of hurricane “Jimena”, which destroyed much of our State’s infrastructure . Guaymas was ravaged by it, so I may not have talked much about this particular pearl. Too much going on.

2010 Harvest

This was –for most Mexicans I believe- a year of shadows and lights: this year marked the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution and 200th anniversary of our Independence from Spain, so it was supposed to be a year of celebrations…but we were in trapped in a terrible economic recession and in the midst of violence –in some parts of our country, but not really around our area- due to the drug trafficking cartels.

But while trapped under conditions we could not help improve (we could neither issue moral fiber –nor brain matter- to our so called leaders) we kept doing what we believe in: growing beautiful and sustainable Cortez Pearls. That year’s harvest was really good and we had one particular pearl that I named as “Matrioshka”, a unique Russian doll-shaped dark purple pearl with beautiful green overtones.

I simply loved this pearl and its name just came out of my mouth when I took it out of it’s mother oyster. Measuring at around 10.5 mm it was purchased by my very good friends Jeremy (CEO of Pearl Paradise.com) and Hisano Shepherd, who had the pearl fitted into a lovely and colorful design made by Hisano. I was so happy to see this amazing pearl become a work of art! The chain actually paid the pearl a fitting homage by also having its contour. Lovely piece isn’t it???

2011 Harvest

The year 2011 was yet another challenging year. I actually don’t want to even talk about some of the things that happened, but I also mark this year as the beginning of my “personal awakening”,  so it was kind of waking up from a terrible nightmare and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  One must really be grateful for the “bad times” since they actually build up your character and allow you to become a better version of yourself.

2011’s best pearl was an incredibly erotochromic pearl. A chunky baroque pearl that was so dramatically different that it was like watching a person with a dual personality.

On one of its sides it was a beautiful cyan-true blue color and on its other side it had the same blue with golden and bright violet.

This pearl was purchased at the 2011 Pearl Ruckus by my friend Cathy. I don’t know if she gave this pearl a name but I had called it “Chunky”…I know! Not a glamorous name for a beautiful pearl but to me this name is really special…a pet name of sorts for someone I love.

2012 Harvest

Our worries were definitively not over. This year I fell ill and I was unable to photograph much of the pearls form this harvest. I don’t even recall a personal favorite pearl at all!

Probably the most relevant photo I have is of a group of light colored pearls with a much more colorful pearl. But the photo is simply too bad, totally missing its focus from the beautiful blue pearl in the group.

But life carries on and on…the next year I saw a major improvement in my health. I truly thank God for allowing me to continue walking on this beautiful blue planet of ours.

Harvest 2013 – Down Under!

The year 2013 was marked by a good harvest: large and colorful pearls with high Chroma. And that year was also marked by having some of the best pearls shipped all the way to Adelaide, Australia.

This lovely trio of pearls went to a my dear friend: Dyann Pryor. And she has great taste in pearls! So, it was fitting to have these incredibly colorful pearls.

You can see some of “Raw Pearls” beautiful Cortez Pearl jewelry line if you visit their site.  I never had the chance to name the pearls…they just left so suddenly.

2014 Harvest

Last year’s harvest was the most abundant ever, reaching 5 kilos of Cortez Pearls. We also had some amazingly colorful pearls and also…who can forget the largest Cortez Cultured Pearl ever?!?!?!? Even if this large pearl was not the prettiest it was definitively out-of-the-ordinary. Here you can see “The Hulk” next to 4 smaller pearls (10, 9 and 8.5 mm) and it just looks Huge!

I named this pearl “the Hulk” due to its purple-green coloration and large size, but for a fleeting moment I considered the name “Barney” (yes, I believe I still suffer from the time spent watching the toddler’s TV program with my children…years go).  Decided to go all out on “The Hulk” since it just sounds more butch than “Barney”.

Specs: Baroque shaped, 17.1 mm in diameter, low luster B+ grade pearl.

Harvest 2015

Now, nearing the end of this story I can try to express some feelings I may have regarding these two posts: it has been over two decades of growing Cortez cultured pearls in the rich waters of the Gulf of California. It has been a story of both beauty and challenges so in essence it is Life itself for us.

For me each pearl harvest reminds me of certain periods of my life and I can re-live and feel the excitement of the “research days” when everything was new and we were making “pearl history”, I can also retell the pain of the “bad years” and –finally- also experience the calmness of my more “experienced years”.  Each one of these pearls in itself retells my personal story, just like a photograph reminds you of certain events and how you looked and felt like.

So, what do I want to say with this? That “Pearls are Like a Snapshot of a Person during a given moment of their Life”… Pearls are Your Personal History: the good, the bad and the experience you gain during life.  I don’t know if any other gemstone is the same, but for me this is True.

So now I finish up with the way all of this began, with a beautiful erotochromic pearl that will soon depart to its new proud owner in the United States…it has been named “Flamingo Silk” by its new owner, Nancy A.

Closing Remarks

I hope you have enjoyed this walk through memory lane and I thank you for listening a bit about my personal story…using my naturally colorful Cortez Pearls as stepping stones.

Until next time.

The Best Cortez pearls of all: 1995-2007

Technorati Tags: Cortez Pearls,pearl farm,Guaymas,natural colors,erotochromic,Pteria sterna,rainbow lip

Just a couple of days ago I published a photo of a single pearl…but not just of any kind of pearl, but rather of THE BEST PEARL OF 2015 and this beautiful bicolored pearl had a major impact amongst those that follow me on Twitter (@DouglasMcLaurin) and Facebook: in just a couple of days it was seen and shared by about 7 thousand people.

And this made me think back and remember certain pearls of previous pearl harvests that have been just as beautiful and colorful and that I call “Erotochromic”. Of course, they are always unique and different in their beauty. At that moment I told myself: “I have never reported those pearls like I have done this year and there might be more people that could find this information interesting”.

And so I told myself: I have to make a blog post to show others these very special and “Erotochromic” pearls that we have been harvesting for many years. Unfortunately it was not until 2007 when I finally had a good enough digital camera to shoot photos, and this ultimately means I do not have good photos of all these amazing pearls and some simply will reside in my memory.

So here goes part 1 of these Special Erotochromic Cortez Pearl Collection.

“Pinky” - 1995

Let me start with a bit of history: back in 1995 we were already producing our first experimental cultured pearls using our “Rainbow Lip Oyster” or Pteria sterna. I had this small group of 32 oysters and I was lucky enough to produce several pearls from these and there was this particular pearl…oval shaped and just 7 mm in diameter (those days our beads were very small (5 mm). I called it “Pinky” because of its delicate violet overtone…and my particular fondness for “Pink Floyd”.

I consider this petite beauty as our 1st Gem Pearl and I am proud to be its “dad” and not having sold it. “Pinky” is being exhibited at our jewelry store & Pearl Farm in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico and its value transcends its mere economic value: this is the 1ST GEM PEARL produced in Mexico and Latin America and –if we just consider Marine Pearls, as opposed to Freshwater pearls- “Pinky” is also the 1st CULTURED GEM GRADE PEARL GROWN IN THE AMERICAN CONTINENT.

Harvest of 2000

Back in the day we had no idea of “christening” our pearls with a name of their own. We had –of course- heard of famous pearls that had a unique name (“La Peregrina”, “The Big Lemmon”, “Hope Pearl”, etc.) but this was an idea we had yet to fully mature into action, but we already had “Pinky” and “Bebé” (“Baby” this one I will leave for another story…a sad one) with their unique names.

That year we officially had our 1st COMMERCIAL PEARL HARVEST and it was also the year we had our “Perlas del Mar de Cortez” trademark and Logo. That year we had several amazing pearls but I remember these two:

These round pearls barely exceeded 8 mm and 8.8 mm, one was violet with a dark green overtone and the other one had a fantastic dark green-blue color with golden-violet overtones. Both had excellent natural luster and were flawless…where are they today I wonder???

Harvests 2001-2003

Those were chaotic years for me and I did not have any precise records of the harvests. There is a whole story behind this but just so you understand a bit: in 2001 I left this beautiful pearl farming venture behind, said goodbye to all my friends and I started a new career in the touristic industry and then in education. Because of this I did not participate in the production nor harvests nor in certain catastrophic events such as hurricane “Marty” in 2003.

So, from the photographic records of Enrique and Manuel I was able of “rescuing” some amazingly beautiful specimens such as this oval shaped 8 mm “Gem+ NS” grade Cortez Pearl (“NS” stands for “National Selection” or you can simply translate it into another “+”, and this sub-grade is given to the most colorful –or “Erotochromic” pearls), this pearl was harvested in 2003 and was taken with the help of a professional camera (you can see the size of the lens on the pearl’s reflection).

The photo below shows some of the most “Erotochromic” pearls of 2002:

Up until this moment we did not name our best pearls systematically…and there is no obligation to do so yet. It is something that has to “feel right”.

Harvest 2004

This year was very interesting for us all: I returned to my post and became a “Founding Partner” (for the first time ever the farm was ours) and we had the help of our friend Alberto Tirado who helped shoot some professional looking  photos than those we obtained from our trusty Sony “Mavica” digital camera (it had a 3 1/4” floppy!) that took these amazing 640 x 480 pixel photos (half a Meg!) but its lenses were really good for zooming.

Here I have the best 4 pearls of the Year 2004…

Harvest 2005

Back then I still did not own a good enough digital camera. I had purchased an HP 2 Megapixel digital camera that took good enough outdoor photos but not on close-ups of pearls. Some of the best –and largest- pearls of this particular year appear on this photo. This year we start seeing pearls in sizes larger than 10 mm and up to 14 mm.

Harvest 2006

I finally have a nicer camera. I still own a Cannon digital camera with 8 megapixels with a good enough zoom lens. Here I present you with the most beautiful and colorful photos of the harvest…and many are clearly “Erotochromic”.

What is “Erotochromia”??? Well, I basically came up with this word about a week ago when I was looking at this year’s beautiful “bi-colored” pearl. I have defined it as a “Very pleasant and Intense color with a sensuous expression”. You may say this is just non-sense (you have a right to do so) but to me this is very real: these are pearls with such beauty  that just make my eyes turn white. Photos are simply not enough to show you’re their beauty…which –after all- is totally Dynamic.

For a short moment I believe I should have called them “Chromorgasmic” but thought otherwise.

Harvest 2007

Our harvests have slowly improved with every year: with more experience comes better judgment and even some technological improvements; under the threat of climate change we have tried to adapt to a changing environment by using different aquaculture techniques and methods. Overall, the size of our pearls has increased to an average size of 9 mm(up from 8 mm), and our pearl shapes have become softer too (initially our usual shape was of BAROQUE  shapes -80%-and now we are down to 60% and our Baroques look symmetric) and the luster and skin beauty have also improved.

On the photo above we arranged the pearls in a way that you can appreciate the range of colors we obtained in 2007’s Cortez Pearl Harvest, but you can easily id the most colorful ones.

Closing Remarks: This has been a very quick recap of some of the best Cortez Pearls of for 12 years. These Special Pearls are the ones that helped us trace a route to where we want to arrive…the “goal-setters”. What was our initial passion??? It is still the same as it was years ago: To produce the most beautiful naturally colored cultured pearls in the World, pearls that will cut your breath short…

In my next post you will see more pearls that have their own names and that defined that year in pearls. I hope you have enjoyed this small stroll through our harvests, so until next time