[jshepherd]

I was actually fortunate enough to see a selection of the new pearls from Lake Kasumigaura. I had a customer that asked me about these pearls so I checked out an exporter based in Kobe. This is my take on those pearls:

Kasumigaura pearls are typically quite round, and do have an interesting color overtone. Most of the pearls were of a pink coloration. I compared them against a nice freshwater strand I had purchased from a farm based out of Wuxi China and the Chinese strand was 'hands down' a nicer strand. The Chinese strand was clean, had a brighter shine, and the color was deeper. The Chinese strand was 10-11mm, and the Kasumigaura strand was 10-12mm. I had purchased a hank of these Chinese strands for less than $300 each, while the Japanese strands were priced at nearly $3000!

I feel that at this time the Kasumigaura pearls are not a good value for the average pearl buyer. Not only is the cost prohibitive, it would also take a very trained eye to distinguish them from a good commercial quality Chinese strand. The only market I can see for these pearls is the pearl connoisseur. If one is interested in these strands I would strongly recommend waiting a few years for market forces to take effect and the prices to drop.