Our pearl oysters are sourced through a combination of sustainable wild collection and hatchery breeding. In Australia, wild oysters are carefully collected by our divers under strict government quotas, while both Australia and Indonesia utilise advanced hatchery programs that selectively breed healthy broodstock to produce young oysters.

Larvae are nurtured in controlled hatchery environments before settling as juvenile oysters. Once strong enough, they are transferred to our ocean farms where they grow on suspended long-line panels for approximately two years.

Throughout this period, every oyster is regularly cleaned and monitored to remove naturally occurring marine growth, allowing it to feed efficiently and remain healthy.

When the oysters reach maturity, highly skilled technicians perform the delicate seeding process.

A perfectly round nucleus, crafted from the Mississippi mussel shell, is placed inside the oyster alongside a tiny piece of mantle tissue, known as the saibo, taken from a donor oyster.

The donor tissue forms a pearl sac around the nucleus and begins secreting nacre, the luminous natural substance that creates a pearl.

The seeded oysters are returned to the ocean where nature takes over.

Over the next two years, the oyster slowly deposits thousands of microscopic layers of nacre around the nucleus. This slow process creates the thick nacre, remarkable depth and signature lustre for which South Sea pearls are renowned.

Unlike many other pearl varieties, South Sea pearls are not dyed. Their natural colour and beauty are entirely created by the oyster itself.

Once the pearls have reached maturity, they are carefully harvested by experienced technicians.

Healthy oysters may then be re-seeded to produce a second, and sometimes even a third, South Sea pearl during their lifetime.

Following harvest, every pearl is transported to AUTORE's Sydney headquarters where it undergoes a meticulous grading process that can take between six and twelve months.

Each pearl is individually weighed, measured and assessed entirely by hand using the AUTORE Five S's™.