Pearls of the Haifatneh

"The trail of her dress flowed in the breeze, not unlike waves over the water,
An iridescent gleam in the corner of my eye.
I set my course to see what I might find,
But when I glimpsed her string of precious pearls, I then knew better than to bother."

- Bhasker, Hashir of Durgha-Bangh, 3989 CE

Thanks to the multiple, disparate rivers draining into the Haifatneh Sea, plus the Sea's connection to the vast northern ocean via the Strait of Andaen, the Haifatneh Sea and the rivers that feed into it are host to an abundance of pearl-producing mollusks.

Freshwater Pearls

Haifatnehti freshwater pearls are mostly sourced from the numerous rivers feeding into the sea's southern coast from the Tahwame Bounds, where locals who forage on mussels are inclined to check them for pearls just in case they can make a deal with the next traveling merchant who visits. That said, mussel agriculture has emerged in the Ban-Saukkan Bay in the far northeast of the Haifatneh Sea, where the relatively shallow water and extended tidal zone accommodate the raising of mussels on rafts and ropes.
Freshwater pearls' thicker nacre makes them less lustrous and therefore less valuable on the market than saltwater pearls. As freshwater pearl farming becomes a more widespread practice, the price difference will undoubtedly grow.

Saltwater Pearls

Haifatnehti saltwater pearls originate from the oysters that are widespread across the sea. (A natural history note: Given the counterclockwise of the oceanic currents flowing through the ocean outside the Haifatneh Sea, it is likely that the Haifatnehti species of oyster is the progenitor of those in the Great Lai Bay, despite the fact that Te-Dai merchants insist that their oysters are qualitatively "different" from Haifatnehti ones.) Many subspecies of oysters can be harvested for pearls, though the so-called "glass oysters" are valued mainly for their delicate shells.
Saltwater pearls are wild-harvested and therefore vary considerably in quality, but among them are the most lustrous pearls, and their consistent roundness compared to their saltwater counterparts makes them more desirable for jewelers.

Pearls in Haifatnehti Fashion and Art

Freshwater pearls, given the variety of shapes and even colors they can appear in, are a ubiquitous decorative element in modest clothing and accessories in Haifatnehti fashion; some are even given to children as gifts. Pearlers and jewelers also prefer to have their apprentices practice their art using freshwater pearls. Higher fashion, however, normally calls for the higher-quality saltwater pearls, even to the extent that at social functions, a person's status may be readily judged by the quality of the pearl necklaces or earrings they are wearing.
Nacre (mother-of-pearl) features even more prominently in Haifatnehti art, given that it can be harvested from a great many varieties of mollusks (and there is no shortage of mollusks to be found in the region). The material is widely used in everything from tile and other architectural decorations to inlays for the fingerboards or decorative features of the djrud (pictured below).

Special-Nigra-Wood-Arabic-Oud-Instrument by Unknown

Economic Significance

As soon as the predecessors of the Haifatnehti people began to populate the Haifatneh Basin, mollusks became a valuable source of food for them; pearl-harvesting followed shortly after, making pearls among the luxury goods to leave the region.
Within the markets of Haifatnehti cities, pearls are, compared to most alternatives, a rather inexpensive good for use in jewelry; in foreign inland markets, the value of Haifatnehti pearls skyrockets by comparison. In virtually any settlement featuring some kind of central market, one can readily find a merchant or tradesperson who is qualified to appraise the value and veracity of pearl jewelry. While fake pearls are not common in a market that is so rife with real ones, unscrupulous traders and villagers may very well try to dupe foreigners into handing over large sums of coin for so-called "precious jewels of the sea" that were, in fact, gleaned from that day's mussel catch.
The sheer number of pearls exported from the Haifatneh Sea has long proven to be an unwelcome source of competition for sellers of saltwater pearls in in the empire of Te-Dai, not the least because the wide variation in the quality of Haifatnehti pearls results in a glut of cheap alternatives to Te-Dai merchants' premium oyster pearls. Such are the headaches caused by this competition that import taxes on Haifatnehti pearls have occasionally been cause for diplomatic incidents, particularly with the merchant-princes of Andaen who are not shy about wielding their political power in sometimes heavy-handed defense of their business interests.