[jshepherd]

Mr. He is trying to get into the Akoya game in Haian. He is a nice a personable guy, speaks English extremely well, and helps some factories sell at the shows. I do like him.
But I need to make one suggestion, Vigor, and I am stating it so that you are not later called out in a 'not so nice' fashion. You need to let people here on the forum and in the US know that you are a trader of Akoya pearls, and that you are attempting to find customers for factories. By coming across as a producer you will gain customers, but when they discover the facts, as all real buyers will, it will hurt your credibility. There is a large market for what you are doing, and you can be quite successful at it as it is so difficult for Westerners to contact farms and factories directly, so it would not be good to make such mistakes so early in the game.

Regarding the quality of the Akoya, you need to account for the pearls that would not grade as A, and be not salable n the US, and hardly so in China. The actual A grade is quite salable, and this is what is marketed to the markets and at the jewelry shows. Some AA grade may be found as well. The A grade and AA grade account for the vast majority of Akoya pearls found in most jewelry stores across the US. So it is selling, although it tends to paint Akoya in a poor light.

Anything below A grade will not sell to a knowledgeable buyer looking for quality, but it will sell to a buyer looking for very low end. Much of this product in his area is currently sold to locals (last time I was there a group from a television shopping show purchased a very large amount), to Korea, and to Japan.

What China needs to do is follow the lead of Xuwen Jihui Pearl Farm (Xuwen Pearl Paradise Pearl Farm) and culture pearls longer than 9 months. By simply adding 6-8 months the ratio of A grade and lower would drop tremendously, and market prices would rise. Would it not be great to have the low-end in the highest demand simply because it is difficult to find?