Pearl Inside a Pearl

by Lori Benton
(Santa Barbara)

My father became a commercial abalone diver in 1949 up in Avila Beach. I grew up in the industry and have had, thanks to my Dad, some amazing stories. One of the really good ones is that he was cleaning a big red abalone and found a beautiful pearl ... inside this pearl is another smaller pearl. You can hear it rattle when you shake the big one. It's about the size of a large marble and absolutely beautiful.


Dad dove up until the early 60's, when the oil companies starting putting up oil rigs off the coast of Santa Barbara (where we live). He opted for a little more money and began working on the rigs. The beautiful little beauty is still here, reminding me always of a life of adventure and when things got tight, we ate lobster and abalone for dinner. Good stuff! Thanks for letting me share.

Comments for Pearl Inside a Pearl

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Apr 10, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar
Thanks for sharing
by: Kari

Hello Lori,

Thanks for sharing about your father's diving experiences. I'm sure he has many stories to tell. The pearl you mentioned sounds very interesting...something I've never heard of before. I've heard of pearls being inside of bigger pearls, but never in such a way that they rattle.

If you ever get a chance to take and send a photo I can easily add it to your page for you. Email me at: karipearls(AT)gmail(DOT)com if you ever want to add a photo.

I have never tasted abalone...someday I will try that. Thanks again for taking the time to write.

Apr 08, 2009
Rating
starstarstarstarstar
Mesa
by: Lyn,



Hi, Lori
Is your dad's name Bob?

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Abalone Pearls.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.