Free Diver Finds Pearls

Enjoy a video of a free diver and others diving for pearls in the Persian Gulf.

So, not every diver needs a scuba suit and lots of fancy Seiko diver watches. These underwater divers do just fine with only a few simple diving tools.

They use a nose clip, a mesh basket and finger guards....and a weight on a rope, which is manned by a very trusted and loyal friend from up above.

They operate their own sort of divers alert network.

Notice there are no divers helmets. I do think to do this type of diving it would take a master diver, don't you? So, is this what's called a skin diver?

I took the video of a video at the Dubai museum, which is a fantastic museum....very enjoyable and informative. I thought maybe one of the guards was annoyed at me for taking so long at each display, but as it turns out, he was thrilled at my enthusiasm and offered to take a photo of me by the stuffed camel.

Pearl diving basket nose clip finger guards
Pearl Diving Basket, Nose Clip & Finger Guards

There is also a heritage "diving village" on the shores of Dubai creek and that is where I met this older gentleman who makes divers supply, which are nose clips out of horns, mesh baskets and also the finger guards the pearl divers in the Persian Gulf used when searching for Pinctada radiata pearl bearing oysters.

Pearl Diving Tool Maker
Pearl Diving Tool Maker

I purchased a nose clip with string, a mesh basket and finger guard....just in case next time I'm visiting the Persian Gulf I would want to try my hand at gathering pearl oysters. Well, maybe, I will leave that to the experts, but I love having some unique pearl gathering souvenirs from the Dubai diving village.

I wondered if this diving supply maker had been a free diver himself, but he seemed to have some difficulty hearing or understanding me when I asked him.

Pearl traders are few and far between these days, but I did happen to meet a few and caught these guys on camera...with permission, of course.

More about the fascinating skill of pearl diving.

Pearl Divers
Ama Divers of Mikimoto Pearl Island
Diving Dangers
Pearl Divers in Mexico
Nineteenth Century Account of Pearl Diving
Pearl Divers Equipment
Historical Pearl Diving Account
Times & Depth of Pearl Divers
Pearl Divers in Australia
Ama Divers of Japan
Pearl Diver Math Game
Pearl Diving in Gulf of Mannar
Pearling Methods Around the World
Badjao Divers of Philippines
Australian Pearling

Go to main pearling page after free diver.

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