Golden Pearls

PALAWAN, PHILIPPINES - DECEMBER 2009: Jacques Branellec has arrived to inspect the new harvest of golden pearls on the Taytay oyster farm, having piloted a helicopter to Palawan, 500km from Manila, where he lives. Thousands of pearls have been harvested in one week. A good quality pearl is work around 500 Euros, but prices can be a lot higher for 'perfect' pearls. Jacques Branellec is a director and co-founder of pearl production company Jewelmer International, set up in 1979, which has six pearl oyster farms in the Philippines. They specialize in production of golden pearls, and are the only company in the world able to produce them. Each pearl takes 5 years to grow, under very carefully controlled conditions, and can fetch huge sums of money when developed to perfection. (Photo by Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images Reportage)