Origin of name
The name refers to two extraordinarily large conch pearls weighing 22.4
carats and 17.9 carats, given on loan to the National Museum of Natural History
of the Smithsonian Institution by Susan Hendrickson, the marine archaeologist
and collector of conch pearls, to be exhibited at the "Allure of Pearls"
Exhibition, held between March 18 and September 5, 2005, and co-sponsored by the
Gemological Institute of America, Paspaley Pearls Pty. Ltd. and Iridesse Pearls.
Susan Hendrickson had been a connoisseur and collector of conch pearls for
almost two decades. She purchased the pearls from the queen conch fisherman of
the Caribbean, who harvested them primarily for their meat which became a
popular delicacy. The conch pearls were actually a by product of this thriving
queen conch fishery. Susan Hendrickson has now gone into partnership with the
renowned Geneva-based jewelry maker Georges Ruiz, to turnout conch pearl
jewelry, which they believe would be the most popular pearl of the future, given
the natural provenance of the pearl, their extreme rarity, and the array of
colors in which they are found. Only one in ten thousand queen conches can yield
a conch pearl, out of which only about 10% are of gem quality. The variety of
colors in which conch pearls exist are pink, yellow, brown, white and golden.
The most sought after color in conch pearls is a salmon-colored orange-pink.
Besides their striking colors conch pearls, especially the pink and the
whitish-pink colored pearls, have a unique feature known as a "flame structure,"
a spectacular chatoyancy effect that appears on the surface of the pearl, as if
a fire is burning on the surface.
Susan Hendrickson's Conch Pearls
Characteristics of the Susan Hendrickson's
Conch Pearls
Weight, color, shape and flame
structure of the conch pearls
The two large conch pearls belonging to Susan Hendrickson's collection of
conch pearls are extremely rare specimens given the fact that the average size
of a conch pearl is less than 3 mm and average weight less than 1 carat (4
grains). The larger conch pearl weighs 22.4 carats, equivalent to 89.6 grains
and the smaller one 17.9 carats, equivalent to 71.6 grains. Both pearls have a
deep-pink color which is the most sought after color in conch pearls. The pearls
also have the characteristic flicker across their surfaces, known as the "flame
structure." Besides pink, conch pearls can also have other colors such as
yellow, brown, white and golden. White and brown colors are relatively rare in
conch pearls. The usual shape of conch pearls is either baroque or oval,
and both Susan Hendrickson's pearls conform to the latter shape, even though one
of them is somewhat spherical. Thus the Susan Hendrickson's conch pearls
undoubtedly qualify to be categorized under famous pearls on account of their
extraordinary size, color and shape.
Conch pearls are
natural non-nacreous pearls produced by the sea-snail Strombus gigas
(queen conch) found in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico
Susan Hendrickson's Conch Pearls are extremely rare
natural pearls produced by the sea-snail Strombus gigas, whose natural
home is the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. According to the technical
definition of "true pearls," pearls that produce nacre, a complex
organic-inorganic substance, that is responsible for their luster and
iridescence, are the only pearls that could be characterized as "true
pearls." Pearls produced by pearl oysters and freshwater mussels come
under this category. However, pearls produced by sea-snails, such as
conch pearls and melo-melo pearls, and pearls produced by giant clams,
do not qualify to be classified under "true pearls" as they do not
produce nacre, and hence do not have the luster and iridescence of "true
pearls." These pearls have a matte-like appearance like ceramic or
porcelain, and are said to be porcellaneous. Hence non-nacreous pearls
are just characterized as "calcareous concretions" made up of only
insoluble calcium salt, like calcium carbonate. These calcareous
concretions are in a way similar to the kidney stones in human beings,
which are made up of insoluble calcium oxalate. In conch pearls calcium
carbonate is found in the crystalline form known as calcite.
The presence of a
chatoyant effect in conch pearls make them unique among non-nacreous
pearls
Among the non-nacreous pearls, conch pearls hold a
unique position, as they exhibit a form of chatoyancy known as a "flame
structure" which produces a shimmering effect in pink and white pearls,
and sometimes in other colors,
reminiscent of a fire burning on the surface. Thus there has been a
recent move to reclassify conch pearls as "true pearls" given the fact
that in some conch pearls the spectacular shimmering effect surpasses
the luster, orient and iridescence of some "true pearls. Mr. Kenneth Scarrat, the director of the GIA in Bangkok argued recently that
conch pearls be reclassified as true pearls as they deserve this
distinction, due to their unique chatoyancy that imparts a unique beauty
on these pearls. The chatoyancy in conch pearls is caused by calcite
microcrystalline fibers that constitute bundles arranged in concentric
layers in a lamellar fashion. It is the interaction of light with these
micro fibers that causes the shimmering effect known as "flame
structure."
Conch pearls, a by
product of the queen conch fisheries
Queen conches had been harvested by man since ancient
times mainly as a source of food. The meat of the queen conch is a
delicacy and very popular in the Caribbean and the United States. The
flavor is somewhat similar to that of scallops, clams and abalones, and
lacks the fishy taste found in most sea foods. Ancient man also had
other uses for the queen conches that he harvested. The shell of the
queen conch was used as bugles and trumpets, ink holders, hand weapons
and for the manufacture of jewelry. However, ancient man used ancient
techniques in the harvesting of the conches, and took only what was
needed for his survival from the sea. His exploitation was sustainable
and provided ample opportunities for the recovery of the populations. In
modern times queen conch meat is still valued as a nutritious and cheap
source of food in the countries of the Caribbean, and continues to be
exploited mainly for this purpose. The shells are also valued as
souvenirs, and used to turn out cameos, curios and jewelry. Another
important by product of the queen conch fishery was the very rare pearls
that were recovered from the queen conches. These conch pearls were
extremely rare and has a frequency of occurrence of one in 10,000.
The swaying
popularity of conch pearls
The rise and fall
of conch pearl popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
Conch pearls were popular during the late 19th and
early 20th centuries during the end of the Victorian period and
particularly during the Edwardian period that followed, and until the
beginning of World War I. The Queen Mary conch pearl brooch is a typical
example of a piece of jewelry of this period that incorporated conch
pearls. However, immediately after the end of World War I, the
popularity of conch pearls rapidly declined. The main reason attributed
to this loss of popularity was the successful culturing of Akoya pearls
by the Japanese in the 1920s, which made available a range of cultivated
pearls in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes and at affordable
prices. This was a terrible blow to the natural pearl fishing industries
of many traditional pearl producing countries such as the countries of
the Persian Gulf region, and Sri Lanka with its ancient pearl fishing
grounds in the Gulf of Mannar.
Conch pearls were
the only natural pearls produced after the collapse of the natural pearl
industry
However, in spite of the lack of demand, conch pearls
continued to be produced in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, as the
pearls were only a by product of another major industry in this region,
harvesting queen conch for their meat. Significant quantities of conch
pearls were produced in this manner but unfortunately there were no
buyers for these pearls. The only buyers for these pearls were pearl
enthusiasts and collectors who purchased them from the Caribbean
pearl fisherman and added them to their collections. One such pearl
enthusiast was Susan Hendrickson, the marine archaeologist,
paleontologist and professional diver, who built up one of the
largest collections of conch pearls in the world, during her diving
expeditions to the Caribbean, and the owner of the pearls under
consideration.
Surge in
popularity of conch pearls in recent years.
Recently there has been surge in popularity of conch
pearls, perhaps due to an increase in demand for natural pearls. All
conch pearls available in the market are necessarily natural pearls, as
attempts to produce cultured conch pearls have failed, due to the
sensitivity of the sea-snail, and the difficulty in gaining access to
the pearl-producing area of the snail, as a result of the spiral shape
of the shell. A combination of factors seem to have been responsible for
the increase in popularity of conch pearls. This include the natural
provenance of the pearls, combined with their rarity, the array of
colors in which they are found, the flame structure of the common
colors, pink and white, and the hardness and resistance of the pearls in
comparison to other pearls.
History of the Susan
Hendrickson Conch Pearls
The source of the
conch pearls
The source of the Susan Hendrickson's conch pearls is
undoubtedly the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico, the natural home
of the marine gastropod mollusk Strombus gigas, commonly known as the
queen conch. The queen conch is found in the territorial waters of
almost 36 countries and dependant territories in the Caribbean from the
State of Florida in the United States to the northern coast of South
America. The queen conch was one of the most important fishery resources
in this region sustaining a conch meat industry whose annual output was
around $60 million. Some countries that earned valuable foreign exchange
by the export of conch meat were Honduras, Haiti and the Dominican
Republic.
Susan Hendrickson
builds up the largest collection of conch pearls in the world
Susan Hendrickson
becomes a professional diver collecting aquarium fish, shells and
lobsters off the coast of Florida
Susan Hendrickson had worked for almost 35 years as a
professional diver, paleontologist and marine archaeologist in different
countries around the world. During her early years she had left her home
and was moving from city to city across the United States, living and
working unusual odd jobs in order to make a living. While living and
working in California she saw for the first time a tropical fish store,
selling aquarium fish to customers. She inquired from the store owner
from where he got his supplies of tropical fish, and was told that
people use to catch them in the tropical waters and send them to his
store. She immediately decided that catching tropical fish would be an
ideal option to pursue, not only to sustain herself but also to satisfy
her curious and adventurous predisposition. She learnt that the best
environment in the United States where tropical fish abound were Florida
and Hawaii, and therefore decided to return to Florida, where she was
originally based. In the 1970s, she joined a group of people in
the Florida Keys who collected and sold aquarium fish. Even though Susan
did not know how to dive, she had on the job training on diving and
became an expert diver in due course. The fish that were caught in the
tropical waters of Florida were sold to aquariums and pet stores around
the United States and Canada. Besides aquarium fish, she also collected
shells and lobsters in the Florida Keys for which there was a ready
market.
Susan Hendrickson
begins a collection of conch pearls while working as a professional
diver in Florida
It was while working as a professional diver in the
Florida Keys that she first came across conch pearls, that were found
occasionally in the queen conches that were harvested off the coast of
Florida. These glowing pink natural wonders aroused her curiosity and
she began collecting them, sometimes purchasing them from other divers
and queen conch fisherman. Conch pearls had no value at that time and
was purchased only by collectors.
Coincidentally around the 1970s when Susan
Hendrickson started her conch pearl collection, the conch-fishing
industry ignited in the Caribbean and experienced a rapid boom. By the
mid-1970s thousands of tons of queen conches were harvested and their
meat exported to meet an ever-increasing international demand. Initially
what began as a sustainable food business supplying the domestic markets
to satisfy the palettes of the local population, expanded in the next 20
years into a major export industry.
An important by product of this thriving conch meat
industry was the rare conch pearls, which were produced in substantial
quantities by these Caribbean States. Unfortunately there were no buyers
for these pearls as there was no demand for conch pearls in the jewelry
industry. The pearls were purchased only by pearl enthusiasts and
collectors, and prominent among these collectors was Susan Hendrickson,
the renowned marine archaeologist, paleontologist and professional
diver, who gained international fame for her discovery in 1990 in the
Black Hills of South Dakota, one of the largest, most complete and best
preserved fossil skeletons of Tyrannosaurus rex. She also took a keen
interest in the collection of amber and conch pearls during her
expeditions to the Dominican Republic and some other Caribbean
countries.
Susan Hendrickson
goes on expedition to the Caribbean and purchases more conch pearls
eventually building up the largest private conch pearl collection in the
world
Susan Hendrickson traveled through many Caribbean
States, from town to town, fisherman to fisherman and diver to diver,
always asking for conch pearls. Her first great conch pearl of
considerable size, a 10-carat beauty with excellent pink color and flame
structure, came in the late 1970s from a fisherman in the Dominican
Republic. In the absence of the fisherman, she negotiated with his wife
for three days, as she was reluctant to sell without her husband's
permission. Eventually she bought the pearl for $50, much higher than
the usual $10 she paid for a conch pearl. This was twice the amount that
was needed for an average person in the Dominican Republic to
survive for a month, which was $25. Hendrickson herself was surviving in
the Dominican Republic at that time on $100 per month. The market value
of a 10-carat pearl of that color and beauty would today be around
$25,00 to $35,000.
Susan Hendrickson continued her conch pearl
collection in the Caribbean particularly when she was based in some
Caribbean countries like the Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Cuba and
Honduras, where she undertook diving expeditions. She purchased the conch pearls from the queen conch fisherman
of these countries, and eventually built up one of the largest and most
valuable private conch pearl collections in the world. Starting as a
pearl enthusiast and collector in the mid-1970s, Susan Hendrickson
eventually became the world's leading authority on conch pearls.
The possible
countries where the conch pearls originated
Some of the countries where Susan Hendrickson
undertook diving expeditions in the Caribbean were the Dominican
Republic, Bahamas, Cuba and Honduras, all of which had thriving queen
conch fisheries. Thus the Susan Hendrickson's queen conch pearls might
probably have originated in any one of these four countries where she lived and
worked, and collected conch pearls.
Susan Lee Hendrickson - A
Short Biography
Her early days at
school
Susan Hendrickson was born in Chicago, Illinois, on
December 2, 1949. However, she grew up in the suburb of Munster,
Indiana, and was the middle of three children, with an older brother and
a younger sister. She enjoyed going to school and was more intelligent
than the average student in her class. From her younger days she always
showed a tendency and curiousness to know more about everything in
her environment. To satisfy this curiosity she became a voracious
reader, reading almost anything she could lay her hands on, and usually
finishing a book a day. While at school she joined the school swimming
team and performed excellently in all swimming competitions. Her love
for swimming and being in the water served her very well in later years,
when she became a professional diver.
Susan Hendrickson
Susan begins to rebel
and has a hard time fitting in at school
However, around the age of 15, Susan Hendrickson, the
perfect and well-behaved child who would be the pride of any parent,
began to rebel. Hendrickson herself confessed that she had a hard time
fitting in at school. Her mother compared her to a square peg in a round
hole, too bright and too far ahead to fit in. Her reading habit had
placed her far above her colleagues in the classroom, and aroused her
curiosity and urge to known more about things in a practical way, rather
than acquiring that knowledge theoretically around the four walls and
dull atmosphere of a classroom. It is said that at the age of 16, Susan
Hendrickson often lied to her parents telling them she was visiting a
friend's house, but instead sneaked into the city of Chicago and sat on
the docks of the Navy Pier, secretly wishing that she was far away.
Hendrickson later told a Chicago Tribune reporter, "I was bored, I hated
my high school, and I hated my home town."
Susan moves to
Florida for a change of environment. The turning point in her life
Her attitude brought her into conflict with her
parents, and things came to a head when there were several heated
clashes between her and her mother Mary. Finally both mother and
daughter agreed that a change of environment might help in setting
things right, and it was decided that Hendrickson should move in to her
uncle and aunt's house in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where she continued
her high school. While at Florida, one day she was rebuked and grounded
by her uncle and aunt for staying away from home one whole night. This
incident was the turning point in her life when she decided that she
could confidently face the world single-handed, and be independent from
her parents control. She dropped out of school and went to live with her
boy friend, and never came back home again.
The challenges faced
by Susan after she gets married
The newly married couple sat down and planned their
future together. The boy liked to dive and she too loved the water; so
they planned to work on a shrimp boat in Lafitte, Louisiana. However,
they ran into trouble in Louisiana and their plans did not materialize.
They were then compelled to move around the country living and doing odd
jobs in cities from San Francisco to Boston. Things were becoming
difficult for the young couple and they constantly ran short of money.
It was then that Susan tried to open a line of communication with her
parents, and her father agreed to loan her a small sum of money, which
she used to make the down payment for a 30-foot sailboat at California.
They lived on the sail boat for two years at California, and made a
living by painting and varnishing the boats of their wealthy neighbors.
It was while at California, that she walked into a tropical fish store,
and decided that one day she would catch these fishes and supply them to
the market to make a living.
Susan becomes a
professional diver catching tropical fish off the coast of Florida
After two years in California the couple separated
and Susan Hendrickson and her boy friend went their separate ways. As
she made up her mind at the tropical fish store previously, she decided
to catch aquarium fish for a living. She learnt that the best waters for
tropical fish in the United States were the waters off the coast of
Florida and Hawaii. Susan Hendrickson then decided to return to Florida,
where she was formerly based, and joined a group of people who collected
and sold tropical fish. She then began life as a diver, receiving on the
job training on diving, while catching tropical fish and collecting
lobsters and shells. The fish they caught were sold to aquariums and pet
stores around the United States and Canada.
Susan reconciles with
her parents and after passing the high school GED equivalency test
explores the possibility of following a program in Marine Biology
After working for about an year as a diver, Susan
Hendrickson moved to Seattle, where her parents had relocated, and tried
to re-establish the family bonds she had once broken. She was 21 years
of age now, and once again thought of completing school. After passing
the high school GED equivalency test easily, she approached the chairman
of the Marine Biology Department of the University of Washington, to
explore the possibility of enrolling in their programs, but having
learnt from the chairman that she could only aspire to become a research
scientist, dissecting fish or taking pollution counts after seven long
years of study, she decided against joining the program, and opted to
continue her chosen career as a professional diver. However instead of
returning immediately to Florida, she remained in Seattle for another
year, working as a sail maker. After this she once again moved to
Marathon, Florida, where she resumed her career as a professional diver.
Susan gets a second
breakthrough in her career as a salvage operator
The next breakthrough in her
career as a professional diver came in the summer of 1973, while
visiting diver friends in Key West, when a friend asked her to help him
rescue a large boat that was stuck on a reef. After five days of hard
work the freighter was salvaged from the reef. This was Susan
Hendrickson's first salvage job, and even though the work was tough, she
gained first hand experience in carrying out a salvage operation. The
novel experience opened new avenues for her as a professional diver, and
she moved to Key West, where she offered her services as a salvage
operator. In this new role she helped salvage several sunken boats and
planes from the sea.
Susan gets yet
another breakthrough in her life as a Marine Archaeologist
In the year 1974, Susan Hendrickson was invited by a
group of divers to
participate in a marine archaeology project, involving a historic
shipwreck off the coast of the Dominican Republic, which she gladly accepted.
This opened yet another field in her chosen carrier as a professional
diver. During her stay in the Dominican Republic she fell in love with
the country and its people, and returned whenever she got the
opportunity. She also pursued her passion for collecting conch pearls
during her visits to the country.
Susan becomes a world
recognized expert on amber and is introduced to the exciting fields of
Entomology and Paleontology
Susan visits the
amber mines in the mountains of the Dominican Republic
It was during one such visit to the Dominican
Republic that she decided to take a trip to the mountains of the
republic which were famous for their amber mines. Amber is a fossil tree
resin, a clear orange yellow substance that originated from
resins, secreted by epithelial cells of resin ducts, in the tree trunks
of coniferous trees of the class Gymnosperms like Pine (Pinus),
Cypress (Cupressus), Junipers (Juniperus), Araucaria, cedar (Cedrus),
firs (Abies), redwood (Sequoia), spruces (Picea) etc. Conifers have a
fossil record extending back about 300 million years to the Paleozoic,
in the late Carboniferous period. Most modern coniferous Genera are
recognizable from fossils 60-120 million years old. The resin produced
is sticky and gum-like and tiny insects can be trapped in this
secretion, and get fossilized producing amber. As the resin hardens and
becomes buried in the earths crust it can sometimes preserve the tiniest
forms of pre-historic life. Thus amber can provide a fossilized record
of previous life dating back to millions of years. Amber of good quality
is considered as an organic gemstone, and used in the manufacture of
ornamental objects and jewelry.
Susan helps build
the amber collections of museums and universities in the United States
and overseas
When Susan reached the amber mines in the mountains
of the Dominican Republic, the miners showed her some golden lumps of
amber mined by them, with embedded and well preserved insects inside
them. Susan was fascinated by what she saw and began reading all
literature she could lay her hands on about amber. When she returned to
the Dominican Republic again she attempted to dig in search of amber
herself, but soon realized that one could spend a whole year digging for
amber and yet not recover a single specimen of amber. She then decided
to buy amber specimens directly from the local miners, paying $10 to $35
for each specimen. After purchasing sufficient quantities of amber, she
carried them to an entomologist friend in Gainesville, Florida, to study
the embedded insects, and he was able to identify several new species of
fossil insects, that were new to science. Her dealings in amber
eventually made her a world-recognized expert on amber, and her
assistance was sought in building up major collections of amber in
museums such as the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History,
the American Museum of Natural History of New York City, and the natural
history museums of Karlsruhe and Stuttgart in Germany.
Susan meets Peter Larson in Peru while
on a whale fossil expedition and joins Larson's fossil hunting crew in
South Dakota
Susan Hendrickson also collaborated with the Swiss
Paleontologist Kirby Siber in building a fossil museum outside Nasca in
Peru. Siber and Hendrickson struck a friendship, and it was Siber who
pursued Susan to hunt for larger fossils, and invited her for a whale
fossil expedition in Peru in 1985. Their team worked six winters in the
deserts of Peru, and uncovered several enormous whale fossils, as well
as seals and dolphins. While in Peru, Susan was introduced to the South
Dakota fossil hunter Peter Larson with whom she established a
partnership that eventually had a bearing on Paleontology for years to
come. She worked with Larson for three summers in South Dakota, digging
for fossils. But the summer of 1990 turned out to be the most memorable
in her life, that led to the most sensational discovery in the history
of Paleontology and propelled Susan Hendrickson to the status of an
international celebrity.
The sensational
discovery of the well preserved and most complete fossil of
Tyrannosaurus rex by Susan Hendrickson
The day was August 12, 1990. Larson's fossil hunting
crew, who worked for the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research
founded by him, had explored six outcrops of Cretaceous rock that day,
but decided against looking at the seventh and final cliff in the area
as dusk was drawing near. They decided to call it a day and was about to
leave the site, when to their surprise they found one of the tires of
the truck had gone flat. Four men in the group left with the tire to get
it fixed, while Susan stayed behind. The sun was now setting quickly,
and Susan was getting tired of waiting. She saw that this was a good
opportunity for her to explore the remaining unexplored cliff, and
decided to take a walk across the valley towards the cliff face,
accompanied by her dog. She reached the base of the cliff, and still
keeping her head down began to look for loose bones that may have fallen
from the rocky ledges. She noticed some small bone fragments lying on
the ground. Curious of what she saw on the ground, her next natural
reaction was to lift her head up and gaze at the face of the cliff, to
look for the source of the bone fragments on the ground. She was
dumbfounded at the amazing sight that beheld her. She saw about eight
feet above her head, three dinosaur backbones, which obviously she knew
was the bones of the great Tyrannosaurus rex. She quickly walked back to
her base and yelled at Larson, and together they ran over to the site.
Larson too was amazed at what he saw, and confirmed that the vertebrae
and the leg bones belonged to Tyrannosaurus rex.
The challenging
task of excavating the fossil skeleton from its rocky tomb
The next challenging task for the crew was to free
the fossil skeleton from its rocky tomb. The use of heavy machinery
would have damaged the skeleton; so the crew was compelled to use
handheld tools such as shovels, picks, and crowbars. As they got
closer to the skeleton they had to use smaller and smaller equipment. It
took a little more than two weeks for the crew to completely excavate
the fossil skeleton, and to their astonishment they found that it was
almost 90% complete, making it the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex
specimen ever unearthed. It was also the largest, with a length of 42
feet, a height of 13 feet at the hip, with 200 well preserved bones, including the longest T. rex tooth
ever found, which was one foot long. The age of the skeleton was
estimated around 67 million years, yet most of her bones were in
excellent condition and had a high degree of surface details, even
showing places on the bones where muscles, tendons and other soft
tissues rested against or were attached to the bones. The completeness
of the skeleton helped scientists to learn new facts about T. rex. One
of the significant bones discovered on the skeleton by scientists, was
the furcula or the wishbone, which was similar to that found in birds,
thus upholding the theory that modern birds evolved or are related to
dinosaurs. By studying the skeleton scientists were also able to
estimate the speed at which T. rex was able to walk and run, being
around 6 m.p.h. and 15 m.p.h. respectively, which was much slower
than the previous estimates.
Peter Larson
christens the fossil Tyrannosaurus rex as "Sue" in honor of its
discoverer Susan Hendrickson
Larson then moved the excavated skeleton to his lab in
Hill City, in South Dakota, after paying $5,000 to the land owner
Maurice Williams, in whose land the fossil was found. They cleaned and
studied the bones of the Tyrannosaurus, which they christened "Sue" in
honor of its discoverer Susan Hendrickson.
Larson's plans for a
Paleontology Museum in the Black Hills thwarted by Maurice Williams'
legal action claiming the fossil skeleton
Larson planned to reassemble
the bones and make it the centerpiece of a planned Paleontology museum
in the Black Hills, but unfortunately Maurice Williams the land owner
had filed legal action in early 1992, demanding the fossil back,
claiming that the deal under which he received $5,000 in August 1990 for
the specimen found in his land, was not valid, because the bones of
"Sue" were a part of his land, which was actually owned by the Sioux
tribe, and held in trust by the U. S. Government.
The court decides in
favor of Maurice Williams who puts up "Sue" for sale at Sotheby's New
York City. "Sue" sold for a record breaking $8.36 million to the Field
Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois
The court case was not
resolved until January 29, 1996, when the bones of "Sue" were awarded to
Maurice Williams, who decided to put it up for sale at Sotheby's
Auction House in New York City, on October 4, 1997. Larson attempted to
purchase back the fossil at the auctions, and had sent representatives
to the auction armed with a million dollars, half a million dollars more
that the price the fossil was expected to fetch at the auctions.
However, what transpired at the auction was astounding and went beyond
the expectations of all concerned, the original discoverer and owner
Peter Larson, the new legal owner Maurice Williams, and the auctioneers
themselves, Sotheby's Auction House, New York City. "Sue" was sold for a
staggering $8.36 million, and the successful bidder was the Field Museum
of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois.
"Sue" is reassembled
by Paleontologists and put on display at the Field Museum
The bones of "Sue" were reassembled by the Field
Museum with the assistance of paleontologists like Dr. Chris Brochu. The
team of scientists adopted a new technique in the reassembly in
which each bone was surrounded by its own small metal frame, enabling
researches who wished to study any bone to simply unlock the particular
frame and remove the bone. The completed mount of "Sue" was unveiled at
the Field Museum on May 17, 2000. The skeleton of "Sue" is mounted in a
posture reminiscent of the live animal temporarily distracted while
hunting. The original skull of "Sue" is displayed in its own display
case on the second floor balcony that overlooks the Sue mount. A mural
painting depicting "Sue" in her Cretaceous environment, painted by the
renowned paleoartist John Gurche, is appropriately displayed near the
skull, overlooking the skeletal mount.
Susan Hendrickson's
inborn desire to explore leads her to team up with Franck Goddio, the
renowned French marine archaeologist
The discovery of "Sue" the largest and most complete
Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever discovered was undoubtedly the climax of
the challenging and adventurous career of Susan Hendrickson, the
professional diver, marine archaeologist, paleontologist, conch pearl
collector, and amber expert. Her multiple interests in life
reveals a determined woman with a never ending curiosity about
everything in her environment. According to Susan Hendrickson, her life
had mostly been about her freedom to explore. Being able to go wherever
the next project takes her, and not knowing where that might be, was as
important to her as breathing. Having made the most sensational and
greatest discovery in her life, one would hardly expect her to relax and
rest on her laurels, given the determined nature of the woman and her
inborn desire to explore. Thus in the year 1992, she teams up again with
the renowned French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio, who heads the
organization known as The European Institute of Underwater Archaeology,
sponsored by the Hilti Foundation. This organization has conducted some
of the world's most exciting and productive excavations.
Susan Hendrickson
takes part in the salvage operation of the Spanish galleon San Diego
carried out by Goddio's team
In the year 1992, Franck Goddio's team had discovered
a 400-year old sunken Spanish galleon called the San Diego in the waters
off the Philippines. The San Diego was a cargo ship that had been
carrying goods, mainly Chinese porcelain from Chinese ports to
Spain and then to other markets in Europe. The Spanish galleons first
called at Philippines before taking the transpacific route to Acapulco
in Mexico. From Acapulco the goods were carried overland by mule train
to the port of Veracruz on the gulf coast, and then loaded into Spanish
Galleons that sailed to Cuba. All the galleons that sailed from Vera
Cruz in Mexico, Portobello in Panama, and Cartagena in Colombia,
assembled at Havana in Cuba, and the entire fleet sailed together from
Havana, and through the straits of Florida entered the Atlantic Ocean.
They then sailed across the Atlantic to various ports in Spain.
In the year 1600 the San Diego was used as a battle
ship and was lost in the South China Sea off the coast of Philippines.
The ship remained at the bottom of the sea for 400 years before it was
rediscovered. Franck Goddio's team including Susan Hendrickson, started
salvage work on the ship after it was discovered. A huge water dredge
was first used to remove large quantities of sand and rock covering the
wreckage. Subsequently the salvage team was able to recover substantial
quantities of submerged cargo from the ship, which included 570 large
stone jars, 430 gold and silver coins, and more than 800 pieces of
beautiful, blue-and-white Chinese Ming porcelain. Besides this 400
chicken eggs and human bones were also found in the wreckage. According
to Susan Hendrickson the excavation of the San Diego shipwreck was the
best shipwreck excavation of her life.
Susan Hendrickson
takes part in two marine archaeological expeditions in Egypt with Franck
Goddio's team
Susan Hendrickson's greatest marine archaeological
expeditions were undoubtedly the two expeditions she took part in Egypt
still under Franck Goddio's team. One was the discovery of Napoleon
Bonaparte's fleet of ships sunk in the "Battle of the Nile" by Admiral
Nelson's British fleet in 1798 in an area called Aboukir Bay. The other
was the discovery of the city of Herakleion and Cleopatra's Royal
Quarters built on the Isle of Antirhodos, submerged in an earthquake
2,300 years ago, also in the Bay of Aboukir.
Discovery and
excavation of Napoleon's lost fleet
Napoleon Bonaparte set sail to Egypt in 1798, with
365 ships and 50,000 men. This was a military campaign to conquer Egypt.
A British fleet led by Admiral Horatio Nelson engaged Napoleon's fleet
in a battle known as "The Battle of the Nile." Napoleon Bonaparte's
flagship L'Orient exploded and most of the other ships were sunk in an
area called the "Bay of Aboukir" Napoleon Bonaparte was thus forced to
abandon his attempt to conquer Egypt. The L'Orient was reported to have
carried a great deal of gold, silver and copper coins. In 1998, exactly
two centuries after the famous "Battle of the Nile" Goddio's team
including Susan, located the L'orient and began its excavation. The team
was able to bring up most of the gold, silver and copper, together with
cannons, muskets, cooking pots, bottles, tools and swords from other
ships in the fleet.
Discovery and
excavation of the submerged city of Herakleion and Cleopatra's Royal
Quarters
The excavation of Napoleon's lost fleet was followed
by the excavation of the submerged city of Herakleion, and Cleopatra's
Royal Quarters in the year 2000. During these excavations an important
statue of a priest holding Osiris-Canobos from Cleopatra's private
temple was also recovered. A shipwreck dating from Cleopatra's time, and
Mark Antony's home, the Timonium, was also explored by the divers. The
submerged city of Herakleion had yielded some remarkable treasures such
as colossal 18-foot statues, sunken ships and gold jewelry. These
treasures lie 30 feet below the water on the sands of the Bay of Aboukir.
Susan Hendrickson,
her life in retrospect
Susan Hendrickson now lives on the Island of Guanaja,
off the coast of Honduras. On one occasion Susan Hendrickson is reported
to have made the following comments : "I do this type of work, like
my other passions, mainly because I am like a child who never grew up. I
love to look for and find things. The thrill of discovery is a real
emotion, like a "rush," the excitement is worth the days or months of
hard work and keeps me going on an on, looking for more. I've been very
lucky in my life to be able to follow what I wanted to do. Like the
others, I do this because it's great! To try to rationalize the reason
for following this career, it is to further education, knowing the past
is important, but really I just selfishly love this work."
The above comments made by Susan Hendrickson clearly
explains her philosophy of life and justifies the course of action she
had taken throughout her life. Her never ending desire to explore was
motivated by the thrill of discovery, and kept her going on and on. This
also explains the fiercely independent stance taken by her throughout
her life, making her the master of her own destiny. She also confesses
that one of the reasons for choosing the career she did, was to further
education. The whole world undoubtedly recognizes the enormous
contributions she has made towards the development of science, in the
fields of Paleontology, Marine Archaeology, and Gemology (amber and
conch pearls). Her desire for exploration and discovery are indeed
qualities of a great scientist. However, what is astounding is that all
this was achieved not by an academic who had gone through the great
halls of learning of a higher educational institution such as a
University, but by an ordinary high school dropout who was
disappointed by the dull atmosphere of a classroom. Her great
achievements in life must be food for thought for educationists and
educational policy makers, who should endeavor to make education more
meaningful to the child, making it more practical oriented and giving
opportunities to the child to explore and discover things by himself or
herself. It was clearly a failure of the system that made a gifted child
like Susan a school dropout, prompting her to follow her own course to
explore her surroundings and acquire knowledge on her own, reading
voraciously on what interested her and getting guidance from leading
experts in the field. Susan was essentially a self-educated woman. The
University of Illinois recognizing the contribution made by Susan
Hendrickson towards the advancement of science, awarded her an honorary
doctorate (PhD) degree, which she gratefully accepted.
Related :-
1)
Queen Mary Conch Pearl Brooch
3)
Drexel Pearl
External Links :-
1)
www.wingsworldquest.org
2) www.dinodata.org
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References :-
1) Sue Hendrickson - Susan Hendrickson's website,
www.sue-hendrickson.net
2) Beneath the Sands of Time : Explorations with Sue
Hendrickson - Anne L. Doubilet. www.explorers.org
3) Sue Hendrickson - From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
4) Susan Lee Hendrickson - www,wingsworldquest.org
5) What About the Susan Who Found Sue - A Portrait of
Susan Hendrickson - by Steve Brusatte.
www.dinodata.org
6) The Allure of Pearls -
www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/pearls/intro.htm
7) The Allure of Pearls- GIA, Events & Trade Shows
8) Conch Pearls - www.pearl-guide.com
9) Gem Profile 10 : Conch Pearl, www,airesjewelers
10) Conch - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
11) Strombus gigas - From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
