Clutches for Less

Posts Tagged ‘cultured pearls’

For hundreds of years, China and Japan have been the leader in the saltwater and Akoya pearl market. In the earliest days of pearl harvesting, it was difficult to find pearls that was both high in quality and had a perfectly round shape. Mikimoto was the man to develop and produce high quality, round cultured pearls in Japan and changed the pearl market forever.

Mikimoto began his first pearl oyster farm in 1888 where he began to develop his method for creating round, high quality cultured pearls. After working with the pearls, Mikimoto began distributing these cultured pearls in 1897 and continued perfecting his methods. During these years, Mikimoto ran into some competition from some other biologists developing their own pearl techniques. Mikimoto and other scientists used similar techniques - they would insert a piece of mantle tissue into the oyster, causing a pearl to form. After some fights and adaptations to patents, Mikimoto made arrangements with another biologist in 1916 and was able to really develop his business.

Mikimoto spent many years developing his cultured pearl techniques and it paid off. Mikimoto began culturing classic white Akoya pearls and was successful. He was however always intrigued by black and silver pearls and wanted to culture those as well. He began culturing Black South Sea Pearls in 1914 and his efforts eventually became a success in 1931. It was in this year he cultured a giant 10mm black South Sea pearl. After having so much success culturing pearls, Mikimoto said “I want to adorn the necks of all the women of the world with pearls.” His dream was an eventual success with women worldwide recognizing Mikimoto’s name and wearing his pearls everywhere.

This new technology for developing cultured pearls really helped Japan’s business take off. By 1935, Japan had over 350 pearl farms producing high quality cultured pearls by the millions. Eventually, the uprising slowed and Japan was left with an oversupply of pearls. Mikimoto began to promote his pearls overseas in the United States and Europe. He opened up stylish boutiques in Paris, London, New York, Chicago and many other cities making his brand one of the first Japanese brands to have international recognition.

Because Mikimoto’s pearls were cultured and not “natural” he ran in to a lot of criticism. He was constantly defending his product stating that his pearls were only of the highest quality. At one time, he even went as far as to publicly burn thousands of low quality pearls to prove that he sold only high quality cultured pearls. To further establish his reputation, he also took his pearls to the 1926 Philadelphia World Exposition where he displayed a replica of the liberty bell covered in pearls.

Even though Mikimoto died in 1954 his name and his brand live on today. Mikimoto was the official jeweler of the 2003-2008 Miss USA pageant, the 2002-2007 Miss Universe pageant and the 2001-2008 Miss Teen USA pageant. He was also posthumously awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure. Today, his pearl necklaces and other jewelry are still sought after and extremely valuable.

If you are fortunate enough to examine many high -end, fine pearl necklaces, you probably have seen some of the highest quality akoya pearls in the industry.If you are new to pearls or simply haven't learned about how they are made, akoya pearls are created with a tiny material being inserted into the oyster. They generally are produced in Asian countries such as South Korea, Vietnam, Japan and China.Though Akoya pearls are produced throughout the world in such places like Australia, the countries such as China and Japan are known to be the largest producers of this magnificent gem.  These pearls are cultivated in the akoya oyster, scientifically known as the Pinctada fucata martensii.This type of pearl is farmed and gathered in China and Japan and are prized for their luster, shine and higher quality.Akoya pearls are often considered the classic pearl. They are the ones that are generally admired in stores. They are usually white with overtones of cream, rose or silver. 

Among all of the cultured pearls being cultivated and sold in the market, it is the akoya pearl that is preferred, sometimes considered the perfect pearl, for jewelry.The two main reasons are as follows

1) The akoya pearl is the smallest to be produced, with its size ranging from about 2 to 11 millimeters.

2) The akoya pearl tends to be consistently round or near-round, making them the ideal pearl to be used in jewelry such as bracelets and necklaces. 

As mentioned before, the two leading countries in the akoya pearl industry are Japan and China.  Japan was at first the major producer of akoya pearls in the world until China overtook her, the latter beginning it’s cultivation in the 1960s.  It was only until the late 1980s when China succeeded in becoming the number one producer of akoya pearls in the world market.  And because of the increasing competition, Japan pearl farmers have begun concentrating in cultivating actual large akoya pearls since high quality akoya pearls that are sized over 8 mm are very rare in China.

When choosing pearls, consider the size, luster, shape, smothness and type.