[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Folks,

Interesting news from Australia, akoyas have just gotten bigger and better http://www.abc.net.au/widebay/storie...1.htm?backyard

Zeide

[pattye]

Hi Zeide,
So that means the amount of nacre on the bead is what is produced in approx 1 year? About how much could that be? From previous discussions it seems it would be less than 1mm?
Pattye

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Pattye,

If it were even 0.5mm of the radius that would be amazing news that they certainly would have stated if it were true, which it probably is not. However, these are larger pinctadas and seem to be of the radiata kind that grows somewhat faster especially with some growth hormone help, so calling them akoyas is probably more a figure of speech referring to the nucleation and treatment processes as well as the final look of the product. Anyway, it appears that the Japanese are now competing with the Australians over the market in large akoyas after they already lost the market in small akoyas to the Chinese.

Zeide

[pattye]

So, Zeide, do you think that kind of mussel would take multiple beads? This is all so fascinating. Wish the article had more pictures of the actual pearls.
Pattye

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Pattye,

Since they are calling their product akoya, I assume that this is first and foremost due to the nucleation technique. That, in turn, indicates no more than two large bead implants per shell.

Zeide

[effisk]

The General Manager of Port Stephens Pearls told me that the Coral Sea Pearls project in Hervey Bay was entirely dependant on Port Stephens Pearls. He also told me the project was a failure.

I'm not sure what to think about that. I'm going to ask him a few more questions.

[Kevin Canning]

well it will be interesting to see how the Japanese handle the Aussies taking over the market for larger akoyas. We all know the propaganda they have spewed against the Chinese now I'm sure the Aussies will get some heat.

[effisk]

It will be more difficult this time, the background is different.

China was known for flooding the market with cheap freshwater pearls. Australia is known for its expensive south sea pearls.

Australians are not ready to produce akoyas in large quantities yet, they are not a threat at this stage. I think they will focus on the domestic market in the coming years. Plus, the investors on this projects are Japanese ...probably looking at cleaner alternatives to their increasingly polluted bays.

There is another interesting endeavour to watch at the other end of the country in the Abrolhos islands and in Shark Bay: cultured black pearls with indigenous P. margaritifera.

[purepearls]

I feel this is a very smart move on the part of the Japanese investors. They have found a great resource to capitalize on and it will be very interesting to watch their progress.

I am really interested in to see what the luster is like based on the warmer water temperatures in that area.

[effisk]

Here's an older article/interview of David Williams:

http://www.abc.net.au/landline/conte...5/s1477190.htm

[effisk]

And this is where the pearl farm is set up:

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=14...80509&t=k&om=1

The pearl farm comprises four sites in this area.

source: http://www.deh.gov.au/cgi-bin/epbc/e...oposal_id=1106

[effisk]

Hi, me again.

Here is a picture from the company in charge of the Port Stephens Pearls pearl farm development (can't remember its name, I'll try to find it and post the name).

On the left, a pearl grown in Port Stephens. On the right, a Japanese akoya. Same cultivation time (or so they say).

I guess the water temperature has something to do with it, but from my little experience it doesn't explain such a difference.



oh, I almost forgot. The Japanese akoya is obviously bleached, but its Australian counterpart doesn't seem to have suffered any post-harvest treatment.

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi FX,

I still wonder about the "akoya" designation, though, the Aussie nacre looks like fine white radiata. Pinctada martensii is inherently colored. Albinos with pinkish white nacre are very rare in that species and have been basically bred out of the Japanese hatchery stock entirely. Still, just the briefest look at the Australian cultured pearl doublé (i.e. 30% nacre or better) shows that the Aussie product is clearly superior. It does not have any lavender-pinkish rhodium-vapor bling, though, so they are not quite up to the capital M yet.

Zeide

[effisk]

Would you be able to distinguish the shells?

Here are a few photos from the PSP website. I have tried to compare the radiata and the imbricata on google images but they all look the same to me.

I thought the radiata sp only grows in the persian gulf, the red sea and in the mediterranean. They say on the PSP website it is an indigenous species they're using.

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi FX,

If the bottom picture is their hamaage, then they do look like martensii only that martensii are not native to Australia. Pinctada radiata occurs throughout the entire Pacific and Tahiti and Hawaii were once famous for their white pearls from radiatas long before anybody took interest in the black pearls. Pearl Harbor was named after the Pearl River in whose estuary the finest white radiata pearls of the entire Pacific used to be found. This has always been attributed to the rich freshwater inflow and low salinity of the bay. Check Pearls of Pearl Harbor for details.

Zeide