From Ocean to Blue Pearl Jewellery: The Journey of an Arapawa Blue Pearl
What makes an Arapawa Blue Pearl unique?
Most people know the soft shimmer of a classic white oyster pearl, but have you ever heard of the rare abalone pearl? These ocean-born gems are something truly special. Blue Pearls are formed inside abalone, or paua, a unique marine mollusc celebrated for its dazzling, rainbow-hued shell found along New Zealand’s coastline, making them one of the most striking pearls New Zealand offers.
Unlike oyster pearls, blue pearls require extraordinary patience and care. It takes four years for an abalone to mature, and another four for a single pearl to grow. That’s eight years of quiet life before a rare abalone pearl emerges, each a slow-crafted treasure shaped by time and skill. The outcome? One of the finest examples of pearl jewellery crafted with natural beauty and integrity.
How it all started
Arapaoa Island: The accidental Dream
Welcome to Arapaoa Island. The second largest island is the Marlborough Sounds, probably the best place you’ve never heard of (unless you’ve taken the ferry from Wellington to Picton and wondered, “What’s the stunning chunk of land over there?” That’s us!).
We’re nestled at the northeast tip of the South Island of New Zealand, with Queen Charlotte Sound giving us a scenic hug from the west and Tory Channel doing its dramatic ferry-pass thing to the South.
Now, how did we end up here? Well, back in 1993, while taking a totally casual six-week break from diving for sea urchins in Northern California, an unplanned detour landed us in the Marlborough Sounds. One look at Whekenui Bay on Arapaoa Island and boom, we bought the place. On a whim. No big deal.
Of course, to meet our financial needs, settling down meant going back to the United States to live on a boat and dive full time. Which also included getting married (priorities) and spending another five years underwater to pay it off. Romance, saltwater style.
Every year, we’d return to the island for six weeks to chip away at the dream, starting with restoring the accommodation on the island. Fast forward a few decades, and we’ve got ourselves a beautiful paradise, a sheep or two, and a blue pearl farm that blossomed into one of the finest sources of pearls New Zealand now boasts.
Each rare abalone pearl is crafted with time, care, and deep respect for nature. From here, we create meaningful pearl jewellery that carries the soul of the sea and the spirit of our island life.
So here we are: making a living off the sea and the land, and still slightly amazed that one impulsive holiday turned into all this. Arapaoa Island is equally stunning and slightly ridiculous in how perfectly it all came together.
How is a pearl created?
The Art of Spawning Paua
Spring on the farm is when life begins, quite literally. Spawning our Paua marks the start of what becomes a rare abalone pearl. The beginning of a journey that will one day lead to the creation of some of the most unique pearls New Zealand offers.
But, like all things with nature, it’s a process that demands knowledge, patience, and, above all, respect. There's no rushing it.
The first step is selecting ripe abalone that haven’t yet released their spawn. We separate the males and females to encourage a more controlled process.
To trigger spawning, we mimic a storm's brewing, a cue paua have evolved to respond to; we add just a touch of hydrogen peroxide to the water. This supercharges the oxygen levels, as if nature were sending a signal: It’s time. The abalone recognise it immediately.
It’s a clever natural trick. The hydrogen peroxide stays in the water for around three hours, after which we clean the tanks. Then, we wait.
And yes, the males are usually the first to show off. Typical. The females follow soon after, releasing their precious eggs into the water. But here’s the fascinating part: We don’t need every paua to participate. Just one or two willing donors can create the beginnings of a thriving generation.
Once the eggs are in the water, we carefully siphon them off and introduce them to the sperm. And this is where the true magic happens. Watching fertilisation under the microscope, those tiny sparks of life forming in real time, is nothing short of breathtaking. It’s a humbling and awe-inspiring experience, one that lays the foundation for every rare abalone pearl and future piece of handcrafted pearl jewellery.
The Beginning of Our Rare Abalone Pearl
Every rare abalone pearl is a long journey. Creating a blue pearl is a slow and delicate procedure. They are taken out of their tanks and put into warm water so they are soft enough to work with.
A mabe insert will slide into the gut of the abalone, and then it is passed along where the drill will make small, careful holes in the shell. Another insert will be pulled through the hole and pulled tight next to the shell; we use a spatula so the meat of the abalone is not touched. Each shell usually has three to four inserts, which go into a cold water recovery tank to rest.
It is essential to feed them constantly with seaweed during the growing months. This marks the beginning of a transformation that will take four years. That’s right, four years.
This moment begins the path to exquisite pearl jewellery. While many commercial farms rush the process, we honour it. Our pearls, some of the most celebrated pearls New Zealand is known for, don’t force nature’s timeline. We give each pearl the time it asks for, not the time we demand.
The rare abalone pearl is a story of patience and deep respect for nature. And when you hold one of our blue pearls in your hand, you’re holding more than something beautiful. You’re holding a whisper from the ocean. A tale of quiet craftsmanship. A piece of a rare and respectful way of life. This is how a blue pearl is born with deep respect, with time, and always with heart.
Four Years Beneath the Waves
Each abalone nurtures its pearl for four long years, coating it with rich layers of nacre. The resulting rare abalone pearl glows with mesmerising hues, shimmering blues with flickers of green and purple. No dye, just pure nature.
Every pearl is shaped by the sea and influenced by subtle variations in water temperature, diet, and the health of the abalone. This diversity makes our pearl jewellery unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere, a truly one-of-a-kind expression of the sea. It's this exquisite variation that places the Arapawa Blue Pearls collection among the finest pearls New Zealand can offer.
The Harvest: A Moment of Discovery
When the time is right, our team carefully harvests the pearls. Each rare abalone pearl reveals itself after years of silent transformation. This is a moment of wonder, not just for the beauty revealed, but for the culmination of four years of devotion. We don’t just see a pearl; we know the journey. The growth. The partnership between human hands and knowing we’ve played a part in something naturally perfect.
Our finest pearls go on to live new lives as elegant pieces of pearl jewellery that carry this story within them. Every creation is designed to honour the long journey that brought the pearl to light, from Blue pearl necklaces to pearl earrings and delicate bracelets.
Whether you wear them to elevate your everyday life or save them for unforgettable moments, Arapawa Blue Pearls carry more than beauty; they carry a living story of the pearls New Zealand has in devotion to sustainability and the love of a family who believes nature makes the best artist (though Corey Broughton might argue for a tie). As the mastermind behind every Arapawa Blue piece, Corey turns these ocean gems into wearable works of art. Nature may have started it, but Corey finishes it with flair, one stunning design at a time.
Read about Corey here.
Sustainability of a rare abalone pearl
Helping the Abalone Thrive Again: The Comeback Shell
Let’s talk about the abalone, a legendary mollusc that's had a bit of a rough patch. Imagine being the life of the party (hello, iridescent shell and ocean bling), and then suddenly, everyone wants a piece of you. Between overfishing, poaching, climate shifts, and people poking around tide pools for dinner, our abalone friends have taken a nosedive in numbers.
But don’t worry; they're making a comeback, and we’re playing abalone matchmaker to help get them back on track. We've embraced a practice that's deeply meaningful to us: reseeding. By carefully repopulating them to their natural ocean habitat, we're doing our part in helping this precious species recover and thrive for future generations.
This work not only helps the abalone but also ensures the future of blue pearls and the creation of each rare abalone pearl, formed slowly and respectfully in harmony. These extraordinary gems represent the very best of pearls New Zealand, rooted in sustainability and care.
Abalone have a rather romantic way of reproducing: they're what's called "broadcast spawners. This means they release eggs and sperm into the water and hope for the best.
A female abalone can lay between 6 to 8 million eggs (take that, Easter Bunny), but only a tiny fraction are ever fertilised and mature.
So, we carefully spawn male and female abalone in separate tanks for our reseeding projects. Call it a spa getaway with a specific goal: to help them spawn in a controlled environment.
Success? Oh yeah. This gives us a high fertilisation rate, up to 90%. After nine days, around half survive to become tiny baby abalone. Eight months later, after nurturing in grow-out tanks, we typically end up with about 270,000 little shell warriors, strong and ready to return to the sea. That’s 270,000 chances to restore balance, biodiversity, and the legacy behind every piece of our pearl jewellery.
We aim to leave the ocean better than we found it so that future generations can continue to draw life and beauty from its depths.
The Golden Rule of Gathering: Take One, Leave Many
Here’s where you come in. People taking too many abalones from one spot breaks up the spawning biomass and causes the downward spiral we often see in some areas. If you’re diving or collecting, remember this ocean etiquette: If you find a cluster of ten abalone, high-five yourself for the discovery, and only take one.
Leaving the others means they can keep the rare abalone pearl love story going, and we all get a happier, healthier ocean.
Because when we respect the ocean, it gives back. A shimmering swirl of a thriving reef, full of life, mystery, and yes, thousands of tiny, hopeful abalone.
These incredible ocean creatures and the treasures they create, including some of the rarest pearls New Zealand has to offer, can thrive for thousands of years.
Shell Yeah, We Care
Why do we do this? Because every blue pearl represents more than beauty. It symbolises our relationship with nature. And through our reseeding efforts, we’ve helped restore tens of thousands of abalone to the sea, the foundation of the pearl jewellery you wear with pride.
These efforts don’t just support us; they ensure pearls New Zealand can celebrate for generations.
Every blue pearl has a story.
A Piece of the Ocean, a Story of Your Own
You're not just wearing pearl jewellery when you wear an Arapawa Blue Pearl. You wear time. You wear care. You wear a rare abalone pearl steeped in story and shimmering with the love of land and sea.
These pearls, some of the rarest pearls New Zealand has to offer, reflect sustainability, resilience, and beauty. Let them be a part of your story.
Join Us in Protecting the Ocean
Support our mission. Share the story. Wear the sea’s beauty proudly. With every blue pearl, with every piece of our pearl jewellery, you're helping restore the sea and celebrate some of the most breathtaking pearls New Zealand has nurtured.
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