Vietnamese Akoyas-a report from Ha Long Bay
Dear Friends of the Akoya: I am a hard-core pearl tourist, inclined to rush off to see a necklace anywhere in the world. When Terry and Jeremy began talking about Vietnamese Akoyas, I grabbed my credit card and booked a trip to Hanoi via Air Asia.
Who have I been talking to for three days? Professor Dinh Xuan Ba (Vietnam's first entrepreneur) who owns 8 companies including Vietnam Pearl, managed by Nguyen Manh Thang (www.Vietnampearl.com.vn).
Professor Ba and Thang took me out to their pearl farm on Ha Long Bay. Ha Long Bay is the world's premier place to cultivate sea pearls. Currently sixteen companies cultivate various types; two companies are Vietnamese.
Starting January 1, 2009, foreigners may buy (free-and-clear) property in all of Vietnam AND long-term rent (hassle-free) hectares of sea property for aqua culture. Professor Ba is currently using 58 hectares of 260 hectares that he leases and has millions of Akoyas.
Pearls too yellow, too small? Not a problem according to Thang. Thanks to new technology, Vietnam Pearl will offer two-summer Akoyas for sale following the winter harvest of 2009. Look for large, 1.0-1.5mm nacre pearls in the first quarter of 2010.
According to Thang, mantle tissue mostly determines pearl color: blue-ish mantle tissue produces yellow pearls. Want a different result? Change the mantle tissue. I've signed up for 30 necklace sets for March of 2010: half multi-color, half pure white. Have $1M rattling around in your pocket? You can use some of Professor Ba's hectares and have your own pearl farm.
What do I think? I have a PhD in Economics and have participated on many rural development projects. I like these guys. Not enough to sell my townhouse in La Jolla, but enough to invest $1M if I had a spare million. I give you my word--- these two guys are upfront people. If you want a safe "adventure" and to have your own pearl farm, supervised by Professor Ba and Thang, contact them. If you are more adventurous and want to start from scratch, wait until January 1.
What does Vietnam Pearl have at present? small A Akoyas with .5 nacre. However, they now have enough capital (finally) to leave their Akoyas in the sea for an additional year. I am excited about their potential. They are willing to produce those Akoya necklaces that I liked at Mikimoto's- the ones with 16 shades of pink, starting at a strong pink in front and gradually going to white at the clasp.
See you guys at the sorting sheds in Hanoi, Christmas 2009 and in March of 2010.
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