[jshepherd]

It was nearly 36 years ago that the first Akoya pearl was harvested in China- more than 50 years after the Japanese. The first Chinese pearls were harvested in the Guanxi province, in the city of Behai. This city is still today a well-known Akoya pearl center.

By the 1960's the Chinese farmers were experimenting with oyster hatcheries, and pearl farms were beginning to appear in Guangdong as well as other cities along the coast of Guanxi.

But as California was once swamped with gold miners, these pearling areas were overrun with new farmers looking to cash in on the new-found wealth. By the mid 1970's farming conditions had deteriorated so severely, and pollution was so rampant that the harvests were producing less than half of the previous crops.

The learning curve was a bit slow at this time, and conditions continued to get worse in the 1980's. During the 1980's pearl production had dropped to a mere 10 tons. While the 70's had a high oyster mortality rate of nearly 50%, the 80's brought the average to 70%. As conditions dropped so did quality. Farmers were partly to blame as they started to decrease the culturing time from 18-months to one year. While this cut their risk and investment, it also reduced the nacre average from 0.5 mm down to 0.4 mm on average.

By the late 1980's the government stepped in. Regulation was finally put in place and individuals and corporations were allowed to cultivate pearls under strict guidelines. Production began to spread once again and included Hainan province. Hatchery oysters began to replace wild catch, and the mortality rate began to improve.

Although regulation protected the environment and the farms, regulations did not stipulate how long pearls should be left in the oyster. By 1995 production had jumped to more than 30 tons, but many farms were only allowing the pearls to culture for 3-5 months, dropping the average nacre thickness down to 0.1-0.2 mm on many pearls. This of course dropped the value of the pearls considerably, driving prices from $2,300US per kilo in 1994, to $1,500US per kilo in 1995. These low-quality pearls poured into the market decimating the profit margins of many quality pearl merchants. Akoya pearls could now be purchased for $2-$300 per strand versus the $2-$3000 they cost a decade earlier. The average consumer, not knowing what to look for, was duped into buying these pearls that peeled, cracked, and became nearly worthless in a matter of months.

Production and price continued to drop in 2001 to a mere 18 tons, and an average price of $900US per kilo. This began driving many pearl farms out of the market. The gold-rush was finally turning into a real job.

Today we see a much brighter future for the Chinese market. Many farmers are beginning to see the big picture and are refusing to overpopulate their pearl beds, and are insisting on minimum culturing times. These farms are seeing the rewards of their forward thinking today with beautiful, high-valued crops. Many of the pearls from these harvests today rival any pearls I have ever seen in Kobe. The prices are still quite low, but the new value is tremendous. The pearls have much thicker nacre, up to 1 mm on many hanks. The shine and luster are a testament to the new skills and methods adapted by the Chinese.

[sayed Hani]

Dear Sir,

I am looking for a farm that are dealing with natural pearl that i can do business in my country. I am from Bahrain you know that allow only natural to be sale.

I am going to China on 26th july for searching for natural pearl, could please recommend me some place or you can give some address.

Thank you and waiting for your kindly reply.
Sayed Hani
email: sayed76@hotmail.com

[Caitlin]

Hello Sayed Hani

What is the Bahraini definition of natural pearl? Would it include Keishi? If so, you should be able to get some good sources for good Keishi in China. Some Keishi is even roundish.

Would "natural" include the 100% nacre freshwater pearls? These were stimulated to grow with a piece of tissue but the final result is solid nacre because the tissue dissolves.

Please let us know your progress.

Caitlin Williams

[jshepherd]

Unfortunately niether keishi pearls or freshwater pearls would fall into the natural pearl category. From what I understand only wild catch pearls are allowable by law in Bahrain. Freshwater pearls are certainly cultured, and keishi pearls are not natural as they are a bi-product of the culturing process.
I honestly do not think you will have any luck finding natural pearls in China. Try Jeremy Norris, a member on this forum, he has a good selection of natural pearls.

[sayed Hani]

Dear Sir,

Thank you for replying.
About what is the Bahraini definition of natural pearl? Entirely natural with no human help. Some Keshi it can be natural.
About freshwater? Not all, then what about Scotttish and Bavaran river pearls?
Sorry about my poor English.
Best Regards,

[Selectraders]

Keishi pearls are never naturals as they are the bi-product of the culturing process. What happens is a piece of the inserted mantle tissue breaks off and forms another pearl sac. The resulting keishi pearl has a weird shape because it has no real nucleus. So, keishi pearls are a result of human intervention like all cultured pearls.

About freshwater? Not all, then what about Scotttish and Bavaran river pearls?

This I am really not sure of. I do not know of any commercial harvesting in those regions in a long, long time...

[glatendresse]

I am grateful to read your correct explanation of "Keshi pearls". Many in our industry do not have the same view of keshi and/or freshwater tissue nucleated cultured pearls AKA "freshwater pearls". It is very clearly stated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that a pearl (natural pearl) is a calcareous concretion which has not been caused or induced by humans. "Keshi pearls" are a bi-product of pearl culture. "Freshwater pearls" are cultured pearls whether they are nucleated with a shell nuclei or tissue graft. I have added quotes around the terms "keshi pearls" and "freshwater pearls", because the FTC clearly states the following: "It is unfair or deceptive to use the word "pearl" to describe, identify, or refer to a cultured pearl unless it is immediately preceded, with equal conspicuousness, by the word "cultured" or "cultivated," or by some other word or phrase of like meaning, so as to indicate definitely and clearly that the product is not a pearl."
Translation: "Keshi pearl" is correctly identified as keshi cultured pearl. "Freshwater pearl" is correctly identified as freshwater cultured pearl. "Akoya pearl" is correcty identified as Akoya cultured pearl. And so on with all pearls that are cultured around the world. I do acknowledge that adding the word cultured to all the varieties of cultured pearls becomes excessive when writing or speaking about pearls, however, it is the correct way. Pearls created by mother nature were here first. And as a dealer of natural pearls, I reinforce the use of this terminology.

[Caitlin]

Gina
Thank you for this technical response. It is really definitive, especially coming from you.

Would you please add your website information for readers?

I hope you keep an eye on this forum and make comments in the future.

[jshepherd]

It is great to see you on the forum, Gina Latendresse. I have always been an avid reader of yours.

On this bit regarding Keishi cultured pearls , there is something else I would like to point out.

There was a time when Keishis were considered very rare and demanded a high market price. Today, however, there are so many around that no one can reasonably call them a rare occurrence any longer. I think that this growth is due in large part to 'intentionally cultured keishi pearls'. Think about it, a few random pieces of mantle tissue mean random pearl-sac formation...

[glatendresse]

Pearl bearing mollusks exist around the world in various ponds, streams, lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans. Scottish and Bavarian pearls are available. They are very rare. Why? (1) They are natural. (2) Pollution, overharvesting, and industry have created difficulty for the mollusks to thrive. (3) Natural pearl diving is not a profession as it once was previous to 1900. Also, natural pearls were and can be a bi-product of other industries. For example, before the plastic button was invented, buttons were made of Mother-of-Pearl which is the mollusk itself. In harvesting the mollusks, many natural pearls were found and consequently traded, bought and sold. Another factor of rarity is the identification. To my knowledge, none of the laboratories around the world are capable of identifying specific origin in regards to location, unfortunately. For instance, it is scientifically possible to determine saltwater and freshwater natural pearls by x-ray. And by examination, the conch, melo, abalone, and scallop varieties are usually identifiable by their unusual characteristics. Can one identify a Scottish or Bavarian pearl? If it comes from the source, it is likely. The Scottish and Bavarian pearls we have bought and sold have been white with a soft milky tone.

[Caitlin]

What are the distinctions between "real" pearls and "natural" pearls? Can a tissue cultured freshwater pearl be called a "real" pearl even though it is not a "natural" pearl?

I

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Caitlin,

Unfortunately this commercial distinction is not possible. Pearls whether declared as real pearls, genuine pearls, or natural pearls all have to be natural. All cultured pearl types can be called real or genuine if you say equally conspicuously the word cultured immediately preceding the word pearl.
Zeide

[writerpassion]

Hello. I am currently trying to do research online about cost comparisons for the Middle East and North African regions. Basically, I need to find information on the economics, costs, and productions in these areas and complete my presentation. Could anyone please help me with any of this informaiton or give me some ideas of places to find the informaiton. If anyone can help me out, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Best,
Melissa

You can email me at: schenk_melissa@yahoo.com

[MABE BRAZIL]

Hi Jeremy,
very interesting this scenario. Could you presents something like that about freshwater pearling industry. I think that they follow the same way, I am right.

Cordially

Ricardo