From the www.VideoSource.com Global Village Travel Guide and DVD, "Islands of the South Pacific". Stock footage available from videosource.com/search.html Transcript: The opalescent sheen of Tahiti's famous black pearls captures the eye and loosens the pure strings. The Black Pearls sold in Tahiti come from the Gambier and Tuamoto island groups where the salinity of the water in the clear coral lagoons favors the Black-Lipped Oyster. The oyster lives out its days hanging below structures like these. The cultured pearl begins as a piece of calcified shell which is cut into cubes and then reduced by stages to spheres. These spheres form the solid basis on which the opalescent luster will form. Each is carefully implanted into an oyster so that in several years, with a great deal of luck, the harvest will be ready. The Tahiti Pearl Museum presents the curious with a history of this industry and, of course, they are always willing to help a customer choose a pearl.........

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