Pearls-Part 2: Cultured Saltwater Pearls: Akoyas, South Seas Pearls, Tahitian Pearls


Published On: 11-14-2011 06:54pm

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  Cultured saltwater pearls are the reason most of us have been able to own pearls today !  They revolutionized the pearl industry when they appeared on the market, providing an exponentially greater supply of high-quality pearls than natural pearls could ever have given us.  While the Chinese successfully developed pearl culturing in the 14th century, it was the Japanese-developed process of bead-nucleus implantation [patented in 1907] that gave us our modern cultured pearl industry, started by K. Mikimoto in 1908.
  Mikimoto's pearls, called Akoya pearls, are produced by inserting a bead nucleus, usually of mother-of-pearl, into a pearl oyster.  {Did you know that pearl oysters are not from same family of pearls that produce the oysters we eat?  I didn't !}    The resulting pearl is round or nearly-so, and white or cream-colored,sometimes with a pink overlay.  Rarely growing to more that 7mm, they Akoya pearls grown in northern waters have a fine luster.  As opposed to natural pearls which are all-nacre and can last for centuries, Akoyas are up to 90% bead nucleus with an overlaid nacre coating.  They are now produced in many places in the world, but final processing is usually done in Japan.
  The large oysters and warmer waters of Hawaii, Polynesia and Indonesia produce the lovely South Seas pearls which come in shades of yellow, golden, cream and white.   Ttraditionally from 12-13 mm with upper limit of about 24mm, they are now also filling the market niche of 9-10mm, difficult to find in Akoyas.
  The famous black-lipped, warm-water oysters of French Polynesia give us Tahitian pearls in shades of purple, grey, bronze and black with overtones of green, yellow, purple and pink.  Like their South Seas neighbors, they are usually larger than 10mm and can grow to 24mm.
  The attached photo is of Tahitian pearls in a shell.  Hope you like it !
  Next week:  What the heck are freshwater pearls?








 

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