San Angelo – When it comes to images of the west side of our state, usually deserts and mountains come to mind. But when it comes to San Angelo, there’s a reason it’s called the Oasis of West Texas. With three lakes and the Concho River running through the heart of the city, it’s no wonder the area has been an important place for people since the Jumano Indians roamed here hundreds of years ago. The water has provided so much to the way of life around here, and that includes a unique pearl that is special to San Angelo. “The Concho pearl has its definite place in history,” said Mark Priest.
Mark is the owner of Legend Jewelers in downtown San Angelo. “There’s a lot of cool stuff that comes out of this earth,” said Mark.
Since 1976, this business has been his oyster. “Coming into the business, I didn’t know anything,” said Mark. “I was a dumb college student, and here it is 48 years later, and we still do that. A lot of what you see in the showcases are our own designs. You basically close your eyes and imagine something, and then a month later you hold it in your hand. Well, that’s kind of cool. Plus you’re dealing in gems and diamonds and whatnot.”
When Mark entered this business, he was aware of the Concho Pearl, a pink little bead that is unique to this area, but he never really thought much about it. “In visiting with other jewelers, manufacturers, gemologists, we learned that, ‘Oh my gosh, these are really rare,’” said Mark. “And then it just always kind of tickled me that it’s not only rare, but consider where we are in West Texas and we have this pearl, this pink and purple, lavender colored pearl, on the edge of the desert. So, that’s when I got interested in why do these mussel shells even produce pearls?”
Freshwater Tampico mussels found in the rivers and lakes around San Angelo have been making this gem for generations. “The Concho pearl in Texas, to me, represents a gemstone found in an area that’s just the least likely place it should be,” said Mark. “And in view of the fact that it’s a pearl, that’s to me what makes it really, really special. This is a really rare location to find something that comes out of a natural waterway where water is so scarce.”
These mussels come in all different sizes, each producing a different quality of pearl. “So this is one of the shells, this is an exceedingly large version,” said Mark. “There are very, very few of these found, and these were really only found in one area, because it was the only area around here where there was constantly water.”
The Tampico mussels in this part of the state have special traits that allow them to create some magnificent pearls. “It seems that our particular species of mussel shell, as it gets an irritation inside, has the ability to coat it with nacre,” said Mark. “Nacre is the shiny pretty part of the pearl we see, and that’s what the mussel, as it grows that pearl, that nacre is what creates the beauty, but ours are not white. The pearls themselves are pink and purple and lavender and natural fancy colors, not white, are exceedingly rare. I would say there’s not five places on earth right now that produce a pearl that would be comparable to the quality of what we have here.”
Mark and his team take the pearls and create some precious metal masterpieces with them. “We get pretty creative when it comes to the jewelry part,” said Mark. “We’re working both with mother of pearl, cut pieces of the shell out and use that, and inlay in the jewelry, as well as the individual pearls that are made into designs as well.”
Only a few of these Concho Pearls are Texas sized. “So, these are three of the biggest, prettiest, best representations of even what has been found over the past 50 years or so,” said Mark. “This particular pearl is the 12.1 millimeter. What is really amazing about this is by nature these pearls don’t tend to be round. A lot of times they have flat bottoms on them, or they can even be elongated and more of a barrel shape, but this specific pearl is virtually perfectly round, exceedingly rare. This one is $110,000.”
While less valuable than their flawless counterparts, some of the imperfect pearls are still super interesting to look at and wonder about their origins. “This other one gives you an idea that they can be baroque shaped, meaning irregular,” said Mark. “This literally looks like somewhat of a feather or a wing. The pearl is as beautiful on one side as it is on the other side. What would have started this inside the mussel, would it have been some little biological animal, parasite? This is more like a twig or a worm or something that would have been inside the mussel.”
These miniature marvels are now unfortunately hard to find, and that means more pearls are a thing of the past. “14 years ago, the State of Texas halted issuing any new licenses,” said Mark. “Anybody at that time who had an existing license and renewed it could retain that license, but all the licenses are gone now, so there’s no hunting at all, anywhere in the State of Texas for freshwater mussel shells. It could change, but I do not believe it’s going to happen right now. The central lake chain is desperately low, Travis, I don’t know where Buchanan is. Inks Lake is a constant level lake. So no, I don’t think so anytime soon.”
Keeping the legacy of these luminous gems is what matters most to Mark, making sure the Concho Pearl doesn’t become a part of San Angelo’s past. “The Concho pearl in Texas, to me, represents a gemstone found in an area that’s just the least likely place it should be,” said Mark. “And in view of the fact that it’s a pearl, that’s to me what makes it really, really special. By being protective of the species to ensure that we’re always going to have the pearl for the future, that’s the heritage of this area.”