Reviving a timeless tradition in the UAE

Emirati Abdullah al-Suwaidi open oysters to look for pearls. Last month, Abu Dhabi authorities announced that the world's oldest natural pearl, found just off the capital at Marawah Island, would be displayed for the first time at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the local outpost of the famous Paris museum

Emirati Abdullah al-Suwaidi demonstrates how his ancestors would pick up oysters off the seabed, at the Suwaidi's pearl farm. Suwaidi's project, one of a handful of operations in the United Arab Emirates, comes against a backdrop of increasing awareness of cultural traditions, such as falconry and camel racing, and efforts to promote and preserve them.

His tools are simple: a sea rock that hangs off his foot to weigh him down, a nose plug or ftaim, and a basket.

Emirati Abdullah al-Suwaidi displays pearls cultivated at the Suwaidi's pearl farm

"From the 15th century onwards, the pearls from the waters of the UAE were prized possessions in Europe and throughout Asia."

Aboard a traditional dhow, the same vessel that Arab pearl divers of the past would set sail in for months at a time, Suwaidi changes from his traditional Emirati dress to an all-cotton black diving suit, or shamshool.

Emirati Abdulla al-Suwaidi sinks to the seafloor - weighed down by a rock attached to a rope - where he starts to gather and pick up oysters and place them in a basket hanging from his neck.

The oysters live in cages suspended from buoys that float close to the shore.

After being "seeded", some 60 percent will produce pearls, compared with just one in 100 among wild oysters.

Many Emirati families can trace their ancestry to a time when they were involved in the pearl trade, which served as the foundation of their modern-day wealth