PEARL DIVING
Pears, Pearls, Pearls, Pearls
How Pearls Form
• A piece of sand or grit gets inside the oyster shell.
• Natural pearls also have parasites growing on their
shells.
• The oyster begins to cover the grit with a shell like
material, called Nacve.
• As more layers are added, the pearl takes shape.
• A pearl takes an average of 10 years to become mature.
• About 20% of oysters contain a pearl
Pearl Diving
• A pearl diver had a dangerous job.
• He wore protective clothing and had to deal with weather
and water conditions.
• The diver would go to the ocean floor and search for
oyster fields.
• He place them in his basket and return to the boat.
Boats had many divers searching for oysters.
• Divers can stay underwater for 1-2 minutes. Normally
they would find just one or two pearls in 50 or 200
shells!
Nose Clip
Pearl divers wore nose clips so that water
would not go into the nose while diving.
Cotton Suit
A cotton suit was put on to protect the skin
from jellyfish stings. Pearl diving was a
dangerous job requiring skill and courage.
Basket
The diver had a basket hung around his
neck to place the oysters in.
Stone Bag
A heavy stone bag was attached to the
diver by a line to make sure that he stayed
close to the line and near the boat.
TRADE
During the 19th and 20th century pearls were the
most valued export in the Arabian Peninsula. The
Nakhuda organized the sale of pearls. He usually
sold them to a pearl merchant.
Would you like to be a pearl
diver? Why or why not?
Jewellery
In the Bedu communities all of their
wealth was jewellery and livestock.
Thalers were melted down to make
bracelets, rings, hair ornaments and
anklets. Hirz was a box attached to a
necklace which contained the Quran.