Pearl diving

[arca_tern]

This may sound outlandish, but I want to get a pearl for my fiance for Christmas (well, simply because I love her and will be down south).

I will be down in Del Mar, Cali for a couple of days mid-December, and then up in the Monterey Bay area at my Grandma's house in Santa Cruz visiting for Christmas.

My question is twofold: where, if anywhere, is there a viable oyster bed where I could do this, and what is the legality of this? Is it legal for me to harvest one? Does it depend who owns the adjacent shoreline? Do I need a fishing license to do it? Or will it be legal to bring it back across the border in Canada?

Merry Christmas!

arca_tern

 

[ReefTroll]

Not knowing much about the actual pearl industry, but having grown up near oysters galore, I think the chances of fidning a pearl in one that isn't actually farmed would be astronomically slim.

 

[turtle]

hey,

sorry to dash your hopes but not much chance of finding any pearls in wild oysters in california

f

 

[arca_tern]

what about the hawaiian islands?

 

[Jon]

One of my friends used to dive commercially for pearls in the Mississippi River. They dove on hookah and worked the clam beds on the bottom of the river. He said that using mask was next to useless because you couldn't see anything. He told me that they also used to dive with helmets on because of all the crap that flowed down the river and hit them in the head- like trees!

Legend has it that one of the pearls in the Queen of England's crown jewels came from a freshwater clam taken out of the Mississippi river by the Wisconsin town of Prairie Du Chien.

If you go through enough clams you might find something! Other than that i remember reading about a place down the coast a ways (California) called Jade Cove. You could try diving there and bring up a piece of jade for her ring.

Jon

 

[spaghetti]

It's a wonderful thing that you want to do such an outstanding special thing for her.

But if it's a hopeless quest as the guys here are warning you, if she asked you to do that for her, if she will be there with you in Cali to watch you in your attempts, and if for all the above reasons you're desperately asking yourself how can you fullfill her wish....

...just follow these simple instructions:
-buy an oyster and a pearl
-hide it in the sleeve of your wetsuit
-take a deep breath up and dive down
-Repeat several times, looking very concerned
-finally surface and start yelling: FOUND IT!! WOO-HOO! FOUND IT!!!
-most important: never tell her how it really went.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Bill]

I like Spaghetti's answer and I'll add my 2 cents worth. In Hawaii it would be a million to one shot and illegal but I have seen stores where you can buy an oyster and they guarantee a pearl is in it. They clean it and offer to set it on the spot.

One piece of advice from someone who has been married for 49.9 years and counting, don't even think of buying jewelry for a woman unless she picks it.

 

[nz676]

love the advice spaghetti' gave pure genius id follow it