John Latendresse, passed away July 23, 2000, three
days before his 75th birthday, he was the first successful North American
freshwater cultured pearl farmer. More than any other individual, Latendresse
was responsible for creating the North American freshwater pearl farming industry,
and he was voted one of the industry's most important people of the century
Following are excerpts from an interview that Mr. Latendresse gave in 1998.
On his early years: "When I first started in the pearl business,
I would travel up and down the river buying pearls from the fishermen.
Simply by chance, I met up with Morris Hanauer, then the owner of American
Gem and Pearl Company, who had driven down from New York with his wife,
also buying pearls along the river."
On founding the Tennessee Shell Company, which became the
primary source for American mussel shells: "The mother-of-pearl industry
was big business. The shells were utilized by the Germans who, in the late
1800s and early 1900s, used them for buttons and handles on eating utensils,
up until the early part of World War II."
On selling shell to Japanese pearl producers: "I lost money the first
year, because the shell was so cheap-$175 a ton back then. Now, [it sells for]
several thousand dollars a ton."
On how he acquired 75% of the Japanese shell business in
less than five years: "I sent a sample and then sent a shipment, which was
exactly what I said it would be, or better. So my success came mostly from
integrity and getting along with the people on the river."
On why the quality of Japanese pearls fell sharply in the 1970s:
"Duration [of a pearl's growth inside a mollusk] dropped from five to three
years, then to two years, and then to 18 months, one year, and then finally
eight months."
On the early Chinese pearl industry, which he helped get started and
which he warned about overproduction: "The Chinese didn't pay any attention
and remained disorganized. Every farmer had a few mussels, and I taught them a
few things, which I somewhat regret. But the Japanese would have taught them
eventually."
His response to leaders of the Japanese cultured pearl
industry, which were ready to cut their ties to U.S. suppliers.
(They had told Latendresse, "You are selling us more than 70% of the material
we use for bead. We do not feel that you belong in the Japanese pearl business.
Mikimoto is a national hero. We began it, and we don't feel that you belong
in it."): "There sure are a lot of Toyotas and Hondas in the U.S.,
and Henry Ford is a national hero."
On resourcefulness: "Back then, in order to get a drilling machine
out of Japan, you had to be Japanese, so I had my mother-in-law,
[who] was Japanese, order it for us."
On the future of the Japanese and Chinese pearl industries: "Having
been in the business as long as I have, I see the Japanese will become the
merchants. As China gets more people into university and college and
becomes more democratic, the Chinese will outrank the Japanese. The
Japanese may not be the largest supplier any longer, and when the water
in China [becomes] as polluted-as bad as the waters of Japan-then they too
will have less production."
On starting a cultured pearl industry in the United States: "Failure
after failure after failure. For 20 long years, in the lab experimenting,
testing the shells, the water quality, etc. We tested close to 500 bodies
of water for the best chance to grow pearl. Several million dollars went down
the drain to find all this out. And in 1983, we began to see some results.
[Nobody thought] it could be done."
John Latendresse passed away in 2000, leaving his legacy for
his family to continue. His wife Chessy, daughters Gina and Renee, and son J.K.
are involved with the on-going operations of the American Pearl jewelry facet of
the business. The farm is now in the possession of Robert G. Keast, owner of Birdsong
Resort, Marina and Campground in Camden, TN. The farm still is working, growing and
producing the pearls Latendresse founded in North America.
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