| We receive questions from customers comparing cultured Chinese and Japanese Akoya pearls on a daily basis. It's our responsibility to educate our customers about the truth. Change is inevitable! Yes, Japanese Akoya pearls used to be better than Chinese Akoya pearls. This is no longer the case, nor has it been for a few years. It is the jeweler's responsibility to keep up-to-date on what is going on in the jewelry industry. It is unfortunate that consumers are still being misinformed about so many different things.
I would also like to mention the topic of cultured pearls. One of the biggest misconceptions is that cultured pearls only encompass Freshwater pearls. If you as the consumer ever see an advertisement for a piece of jewelry and it says "CULTURED PEARL BRACELET", the company is referring to Freshwater pearls most of the time. I truly do not understand why this has become common practice, especially among large retailers. Cultured pearls include Freshwater, Akoya, Tahitian, and South Sea pearls among others. I feel like using only the word "cultured" without using the type of pearl is deceptive. |