Melo Pearls

Melo pearls are also called Vietnamese Orange pearls. They are a different kind of pearl altogether. They don’t come from oysters or other mollusks, the way other pearls do. They come from predatory sea snails that populate the coasts of Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand. The process is the same as for normal pearls - a foreign substance is introduced to the inside of the gastropod shell and a pearl is formed over time.

The difference is that the pearl produced is non-nacreous. It is a natural calcareous concretion, which means that the chemical process that takes place inside the snail is different from the process that takes place inside an oyster for a traditional pearl. The result is a pearl without luster – the surface of the pearl is much like a piece of porcelain.

Though some clams produce non-nacreous pearls without luster, the thing that makes a Melo pearl unique is its color and its flame-like pattern. Because in most cases a pearl takes on color attributes of its shell host, the Melo pearls come out in varying shades of orange. They can range from dark orange to the palest shade of orange (almost white) and have an interesting flame – like design that occurs naturally. This can be caused by lamella, which occurs in thin layers over the surface of the pearl.

These types of pearls are very rare, about as rare as Tahitian pearls, (also known as Tahitian black pearls or sometimes just called black pearls) and current research shows that unlike the Tahitian pearls, Melo pearls have yet to be cultured successfully. In fact, some say that the color fades with time, leaving a non-lusterous orb.

Since so many people are keen to research and study these pearls, so enterprising fisherman are harvesting them and selling them to the highest bidder. Veteran fishermen in Burma say that the likelihood of finding a Melo pearl is one per one thousand Melo snail shells. Even though dealers and traders are keen to get their hands on one of these beauties now, the Melo pearls have traditionally been used practically. In fact, certain religious sects treasure the shell of the snail more than a pearl that would be found in it. The shells were used as horns in certain religious ceremonies.

As for the Melo pearls, up until buyers had an interest in them, the people in these costal villages would create ashtrays and dishes out of the shells and would give the round Melo pearls to their children to play marbles with. As for what happened to the non-spherical pearls, we can only hope they were used decoratively rather than tossed back into the sea.

While you might not be able to buy a Melo pearl necklace at this time, you can soothe your urge for a special and rare pearl by looking into Tahitian pearls, which come in stunning shades of black; or South Sea pearls, which come in warm gold colors.