Guayaquil is known as the pearl of the Pacific. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, Guayaquil was a mandatory port for large ships to dock. A poem by Tarquin Piguava says, “You have always been called the Pearl of the Pacific, because you shine like no other, giving warmth to your people.” We think of Guayaquil as a big city, however, its origins are in the port. Several rivers and canals flow around Guayaquil, sometimes creating white foam, which also inspired references to pearls in this city.

Guayaquil may be the pearl of the Pacific, but it is not the only one, this ocean is full of pearls that differ in rarity and color. If we travel to the other side of the planet, we will find French Polynesia and its islands, also known as the pearls of the Pacific. And now the question arises: what is a pearl and where does it come from? The birth of pearls takes place inside the shell, clam, oyster: it takes place inside these bivalves, that is, those that have two valves. The interior of these molluscs serves as a stomach for the creation and cultivation of pearls. It all starts when a foreign particle – be it a piece of shell, sediment, parasite – gets inside the bivalve. Inside this mollusk, a defense mechanism is released in which a substance consisting of calcium carbonate and a protein called conchiolin is secreted. This substance is also called nacre or nacre.

Nacre envelops this attacking particle, which can injure the soft tissue of the mollusk, and thus begins the development of the pearl. This process could be compared to the entry of a splinter or a needle into our skin. The growth of a newly formed pearl will take several years, sometimes even decades. Because of the time it takes and the natural conditions that must exist, finding a pearl in the clam ceviche we eat is highly unusual, though not impossible.

Shells filter water, accumulate particles in their shell that serve as indicators of environmental health…

People have learned to artificially create this scenario on pearl farms. A piece of shell is inserted into a mollusk and placed in the sea or lake, and after three to five years it is harvested. Farmed pearls are valued according to size, color and brightness. Although these molluscs are primarily prized for their taste and ability to form pearls, they do much more for us. Shells filter water, accumulate particles in their shell that serve as indicators of environmental health, and serve as a refuge for species. Furthermore, with their predatory behavior, they play an important role in the food chain, depositing nutrients in the ecosystem. In my case, my favorite mollusk is the giant clam, not only because of its large size, but also because of its psychedelic, out-of-this-world colors.

There are cities, islands, seas and even people that can be compared to pearls. There are pearls all over the world, some are rarer, others more brilliant, others of different sizes or ages, but they are all part of a necklace that together is worth more than individually. (OR)