Pearl farming starts with the oysters. Healthy mature oysters are carefully selected and go through a process known as grafting, a gentle and technical process. Grafting is where a small bead, called the nucleus, is inserted into the oyster with a piece of donor mantle tissue from another oyster. Quality of the pearl is greatly determined by the quality of the mantle tissue, so selecting mantle from healthy lustrous oysters is key. Once grafted, the oyster will slowly secrete nacre over the nucleus, forming the pearl. 

After grafting, oysters are put into protective baskets and suspended on lines in the lagoon for the pearls inside to grow. Oysters are periodically brought in from the lagoon to be cleaned to prevent overgrowth and ensure oyster heath. To do this, we suspend the oysters from a platform near the reef, for reef fish to clean, or clean them off by hand. Moving oysters to the reef provides a great food source for reef fish and has been shown to improve the overall fish population of the lagoons.

Pearls grow over a period of roughly 18 months. Once pearls are ready to be harvested the oysters are brought in from the lagoon and the pearls are very gently extracted. Once the pearls have been removed a second graft is performed. During the second graft, a larger nucleus of similar size to the harvested pearl is used. Second graft pearls are generally larger due to the larger nucleus and the oyster growing in size.

Everything we do at Anuna Pearl has our island, lagoon, wildlife, and community in mind.

• Our Farm and homes are entirely powered by solar energy.
• All water used for farming and daily living is collected rainwater.
• Our oysters are naturally cleaned by reef fish, providing a safe and abundant food source.
• We operate a self-sustaining aquaponic farm that helps feed our family, our team, and our community.
• All stones used in our jewelry pieces are lab-grown, allowing us to create beautiful pieces with a lighter environmental impact.