When we visit Disney parks and resorts we always try to look
beyond the “obvious” attractions. That is why my husband and I were so
intrigued the first time we discovered the large oyster tank in the Mitsukoshi
store in Epcot’s Japan pavilion. This was a “Pick a Pearl” station. We watched a few people through their process
of picking their pearl before we decided to do it too. This is how it works.
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| Japan pavilion in Epcot |
Once you decide you want to purchase a pearl, you will get a
number from the nice Japanese lady or gentleman behind the oyster tank.
Once your number is called, you point out the oyster shell
that you want. Since doing this I have
heard rumors that the ugliest shells produce the best pearls. I can’t confirm this because I do believe I
got some nice looking pearls and I don’t remember looking for the “ugly”
oysters.
The lady or gentleman behind the tank will pull out the
oyster you’ve selected and cut it open. They do this in front of you so you can
see the pearl as it is revealed. The pearls
will vary in size and color. The colors range from white to what they call a
champagne color and all shades in between.
Some oysters even produce black pearls. I have also heard of people
receiving “twin” pearls in their oyster.
That is great luck if you are trying to make a pair of earrings with
matching pearls.
My husband and I each picked an oyster. Inside the first one
was a cream colored pearl with a pinkish tint.
It was a pretty decent size at 7.5 mm.
When the employee measures the pearl to find out how large it is they
will than pound on a drum in celebration of your “treasure”. All the employees
behind the counter will clap and cheer!
The second oyster that we picked produced a pure white pearl
that measured 7mm. We were told that
getting a pure white pearl was pretty rare and that both pearls measured larger
than normal.
After our pearls were cleaned and polished, we had the option
of taking them home as is or purchasing a setting for them. We decided to have
the pure white pearl set into a ring and the other set in a necklace. We waited
about 30 to 40 minutes for our settings to be completed and were told to wait
several hours before wearing them and to not get them wet. This is true for all pearl jewelry whether it
is new or old, you should not get it wet.
This is one of our favorite activities in Epcot. I love that
my husband enjoys it so much as well. He refers to is as “treasure hunting”. It
is exciting not knowing what exactly you are going to get. I’ve done this
activity in Epcot about 10 times. I’ve made rings, necklaces, and pendants and
I have about a half a dozen loose pearls that I’ve packaged up and brought
home. At some point I thought I would
get two pearls that are similar so I could make a pair of earrings. I haven’t
been lucky enough to find “twin” pearls in my oyster yet!
When we first discovered “treasure hunting” for pearls, the
cost was $13 an oyster. It then went up to $17 and now I believe it is $20.
Although we enjoy the experience at the Japan pavilion, there
have also been pick a pearl stations set up near the Beach Club Resort and at
Disney Springs.
Have you ever done the pick a pearl at any of these locations?
