Oysters and pearls

After around two and a half years the oysters are large enough to start producing pearls. This process is started by a graft, a painstaking procedure similar to surgery. A successful grafter uses sterile and razor-sharp tools, antibiotics, an eye for detail, and a very, very steady hand. The mantle of a living oyster is the organ that produces the splendid iridescence called nacre, for which pearls are valued.