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Words by Aquila Bergstrom, model and archaeologist. Images by Saskia Koerner
Aquila Bergstrom reflects on her visit to our farm at Pungu Island in Flores, Indonesia. The journey of a pearl from ocean to jewellery box, and why, once you have stood in the waters where pearls are grown, you never quite wear them the same way again.
Before visiting the Atlas Pearls farm at Pungu Island in Indonesia, I already loved pearls. I loved the way they could feel both timeless and modern, soft and strong, simple and incredibly luxurious all at once. I had worn them as jewellery, admired them as objects, and understood them in that familiar way many of us do, as beautiful pieces that seem to carry an elegance of their own. What I did not expect was how dramatically that understanding would change after seeing where they begin.
Standing in the idyllic waters off Pungu Island, surrounded by the remoteness of the pearl farm and the natural world that makes these pearls possible, felt worlds away from jewellery counters, velvet boxes, and polished finished pieces. There was something almost surreal about seeing the beginning of the process in such a wild and beautiful setting. The water, the light, the movement of the farm, and the people working there all made it clear that a pearl is not simply made. It is grown, cared for, waited on, and shaped through time, environment, patience, and expertise.
The water itself was unforgettable. As an avid sailor, I have seen my fair share of tropical places, but the snorkelling off Pungu was genuinely a highlight. The water was so pristine and brimming with life that I could not help but ask my guide at Atlas if he minded whether I hopped in for a quick snorkel. It felt impossible to stand there, surrounded by that kind of clarity and colour, without wanting to be in it. Fish moved everywhere beneath the surface, light shifted across the water, and the whole place had that rare feeling of being wild enough to remind you that nature is the whole point. It truly felt like paradise found.
What stayed with me most was the slowness of it all. Pearls are not instant, and they cannot be rushed into being, they are the result of a relationship between people and place, between the oyster and the ocean, between skill andtrust. In a world where so much is mass-produced, immediate, and disconnected from origin, there was something deeply grounding about witnessinga process that still depends so heavily on nature.
Many people wear pearls without ever seeing the extraordinary places behind them, which is part of why the visit felt so special. It pulled back the curtain on something most of us only ever see in its final form. We see the finished pearl, but not the water it came from. We see the jewellery, but not the farm, the hands, the weather, the waiting, the marine life, or the landscape that shaped it.
Being at Pungu made me realise that provenance is not just a technical word, it is emotional, and it changes the way you connect with an object. It gives a piece memory before it even becomes yours.
Since visiting the farm, my Atlas pieces feel different to me, I no longer see them only as jewellery. I see them as pieces with a journey, shaped by specific waters, specific hands, and a specific place that will forever remind me of that summer in Flores, Indonesia.
That is what I love most about Atlas pearls, they are beautiful, obviously, but they are not anonymous. There is a story behind them, and as an archaeologist, I am always searching for the human connection to things and places. With my pearls, I now know part of their origin story, and I can revisit it every time I wear them.
Aquila Bergstrom is a model and archaeologist with a lifelong love of the sea. Follow her journey at @paradisefound and www.aquilabergstrom.com
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