| The just use larger bead implants. Overall the akoya in China will have thicker nacre than their Japanese counterparts with faster nacre deposition. There really is no point in culturing small akoya in Japan any longer as no farm can survive this way and compete with the Chinese.
It is important to note that the size of production is not left to chance. The farmers know what they are going to produce, and usually have an entire harvest within a single millimeter, give or take.
The Chinese have not yet mastered the technique to produce larger akoya, although they probably will soon, and production will completely cease in Japan. Currently the largest consistent size coming from China is 7.5mm, although this last year has shown some promise in the 7.5-8mm. The current typical method of operation uses 2 nuclei, one small and one slightly larger, in every shell. Some operations do use a single, larger nuclei to grow 7.5-8mm pearls as well. Other operations use multiple small nuclei to grow the increasingly popular 5mm and 4.5mm pearls. These sizes are getting very popular, and although they wholesale in China (to Japan) for around $70 per strand, the strands I have seen coming from Japan are in the $250 range. |