Conference Scientific Seminar: WA Pearls - The visible and invisible virtues of Australian pearls

This year our fabulous line up of Scientific Seminars that form part of our Federal Conference will be available for all to attend, either virtually via zoom, or in person at various local GAA hubs around the country. Contact your local division to book your place today! Note that starting time is Perth time, as the Perth division is hosting this event.

Australia is home to two cultivated pearls – Pinctada maxima, producing Australian South Sea pearls in our tropical north, and Pinctada fucata, producing Australian Akoya pearls in the cooler subtropical waters. Both species produce amongst the finest pearls in their categories on a global scale. While the five ‘visible’ virtues of pearls are widely understood, little is known about the ‘invisible virtues’ around the journey of a pearl from farm to market that is generating greater interest from a new generation of pearl consumers around the world.

A third-generation Pearler, James was raised at Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm village on the Kimberley Coast, 240km north of Broome, and his education spans from Cygnet Bay Primary School to gaining a Bachelor of Science, Marine Biology from James Cook University.

Since 2000, James has honed his skills in all facets of the pearling industry, learned the intricacies of aquaculture, marine research, commercial marine operations, jewellery wholesale, and retail, and remote tourism, while overseeing the adaptation, survival, and diversification of his historic family business – the oldest operating pearl farm in Australia.