๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒฬ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ป ๐ท๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ and this is perhaps even truer in St-Gingolph. It is to this commune that the lake has been donating magnificent pearls of Lake Geneva for the last hundred years.
So put down your flippers and snorkel and leave the anodonts alone. There's no point in going over the bottom of the lake with a fine-tooth comb. The molluscs of Lake Geneva are in no way involved in the production of these pearls. They have been made since the 1920s by the Patural couple ๐ฎฬ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฑ'๐ฒฬ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ'๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐.
Natural" pearls are actually produced by certain molluscs, such as pearl oysters. When an irritating object enters the shell, the animal reacts by surrounding it with a layer of mother-of-pearl to protect itself, forming one or more pearls. Since the beginning of the 20th century, this natural event has been provoked by human beings to grow pearls.
The technique used in St-Gingolph is older. It dates back to the 17th century and is thought to have been discovered by a certain Franรงois Jaquin (see 60' on the ablette). ๐๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒฬ๐ฒฬ๐ฒ ๐ฎฬ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒฬ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐น'๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ. Its exact composition is not described and remains a manufacturing secret... ๐จ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐พ๐๐ฒฬ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฑ'๐๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒฬ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒฬ ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒฬ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒฬ๐ฒ. The protocol is repeated about twenty times.
The factory was doing well. It is said that in the 1950s, many tourists took the boat from Montreux to come to St-Gingolph to stock up on necklaces and other jewellery. At the time, the Patural company employed around thirty people and ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎฬ ๐น'๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐พ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ฒ.
Subsequently, under pressure from international competition and falling demand for pearls, the Patural couple's factory was forced to cease trading in the 1970s.
Today, the factory has been relaunched by Jean-Loรฏc Selon. Based on traditional know-how, the process has been refined. The traditional bleak shell has been replaced by that of the fรฉra, preferred for its brilliant white mother-of-pearl, while new pearls in the colours of the lake have been skilfully created. The result is a magnificent lake pearl that is both shock-resistant and environmentally friendly! Indeed, ๐น๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐ (๐น๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ) ๐พ๐๐ถ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ท๐ฒ๐๐ฒฬ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒฬ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฟ.
Photos : Fabrique des Patural, Drying pearly pearls - Les Perles du Lac
๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ :
- Le Temps(25 July 2020)
- Une info en 60' nยฐ7 The ablette, the pearl of fish".
- Lake pearls
