Pearl diving was an important industry in the United Arab Emirates. Divers would spend months at sea from May to September, diving for over 12 hours per day to depths of around 10 meters to harvest pearls. They traded exclusively in Indian rupees and measurements. Divers lived on boats called sambuks with large crews and brought supplies like rice, flour, goats and dates for energy and vitamin C to last their months-long trips. The most common pearl colors were cream and silver-white, while black pearls were the rarest.

1. PEARL DIVING IN UAE
Made by : Hamdiya Ahmed

2. DEFINITION OF PEARL DIVING
Pearl diving means: the act of diving for the precious gems pearls.

3. 6 FACTS ABOUT PEARL DIVING
•Pearls divers would be at sea from mid-May to early September.
•Pearl Divers would dive for 12-14 hours, before sunrise, and till sunset.
•Ten meters is how deep on average a pearl diver goes.
•All trading was done in Indian Rupees. All units of measurement and scales are in Hindi.
•Sweet and salty water, the combination is the best environment for oysters. And the pearls gathered
from these oysters are the pearls with the best color.
•At the Dubai Museum, some facts that leap out of the descriptions. "In 1905" a sign says "the
revenue from pearl sales was Rupees One Million. Pearl divers made three main journeys between the
5th and 9th month each year. Summer was the busiest time.

4. FOOD DURING PEARL DIVING
• People in the past travelled on boats called “sambuks” to go pearl diving. These had
crews of about twenty men. The men were usually away for at least four months
during the summer. They used to take with them a large number of men, servants and
cooks, as well as several goats. They also took supplies of rice, flour and other food.
They usually ate one meal of freshly caught fish and rice in the evening. During the
day they ate dates to give them energy and vitamin C. They took fresh (sweet) water
with them in a large wooden container .Their ages were between 20 and 40.
Sometimes even boys as young as 14 would go pearl diving.
This is a boat called “sambuks”

5. WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON AND MOST
RARE COLORS OF A PEARL
• Colors generally range from cream, to silver-white (most common), to black (most
rare). But there are also color overtones reflected across a pearl's surface.
This picture shows that the color of a pearl is reflected from
the color of its shell.