Akoya Pearl Grading - mikimoto vs Pearl Paradise

[saltyorfresh]

hi

Got very confused over the grading system... i read on American Pearl that the Hanadama brand is below AAA, AAA1 and AA (above AA1) on the mikimoto scale. i also read on a Jap online seller that what they sell as AAA are higher grade than Hanadama. I understand that each company may have diff grading system, but on PP, it advertises that Hanadama as the finest there is. Should I be comparing miki's AA with PP's Hanadama?

Appreciate any input! Thanks!

[Pearl Dreams]

Hanadama is a certification given to the best of the best AAA Akoya pearls by a lab in Japan. There is nothing higher than hanadama where Akoyas are concerned.
This article on P-G covers the topic:
http://www.pearl-guide.com/hanadama-akoya-pearls.shtml

Mikimoto AA by definition would not be hanadama-- only some of their AAA strands could potentially be. Same goes for PP or any vendor-- and if some vendors have inferior pearls that they grade as AAA, such pearls (if submitted to the lab) would not be certified as hanadama.
Vendors submit strands to be examined by the lab and certified if they qualify. Here is a certificate from another thread:

http://www.thepearloutlet.com/images...ficate-9-b.jpg

[pearlescence]

And of course since hanadama is the award of one lab in Japan, not every AAA pearl is necessarily lower than hanadama, it just hasn't been to that lab. It could be just as good.

[Pearl Dreams]

Wendy-- or Jeremy, or anyone who knows-- are vendors charged a fee when they submit strands to the lab? (I would expect that, but I don't recall reading it.)

[pearlescence]

Hi PD and sorry for barging in before, your explanation was clear and succinct, but I wanted to add that smidge to clarify. I don't know for sure, since I have very little to do with akoya pearls but I would be most surprised if there was not a fee - which would be reflected I assume, in the premium which certification presumably attracts.
Wasn't there some blue tag thing starting up a while ago instead of Hanadama...vague memory....ah-ha http://www.pearl-guide.com/jpea-blue-tag.shtml fairly meaningless
Hanadama - good and rigorous standard (half strands submitted fail)
blue tag - nope, pearls would have to be terrible not to receive blue tag

[Pearl Dreams]

Wendy,

You weren't barging in at all-- as I'm not a vendor I certainly welcome the input of those "in the know", and you brought up an interesting point-- a vendor (e.g. maybe Mikimoto?) may not choose to get certification of a strand that would have qualified as hanadama, if they felt that their reputation was sufficient, and they wished to avoid paying the fee. But the certificate would give peace of mind to a buyer-- to me, anyway, especially if I were buying online and could not see the strand before buying.

Rather like buying any jewel that had a GIA appraisal as opposed to merely a seller's claims of origin, treatment and quality-- give me the appraisal rather than just the say-so of a seller!

American Pearl doesn't have the best reputation on P-G for supplying accurate information.

[saltyorfresh]

This is where I read about Hanadama being lower grade than AA.

http://www.americanpearl.com/qualitycheck.html

It doesn't correspond with what I read from this forum and what I researched so far.

[jshepherd]

This is where I read about Hanadama being lower grade than AA.

http://www.americanpearl.com/qualitycheck.html

It doesn't correspond with what I read from this forum and what I researched so far.

There is actually a good reason for that. What you read here on this Website is backed by research. You are able to read discussions and articles and then research books such as Strack and countless other Websites, and you will be able to collaborate the information. Elisabeth Strack wrote the definitive 21st century bible on pearls, and runs one of the most highly respected pearl labs in the world.

The link you posted above has information that is, as far as I know, only available in one place anywhere - that Website.

This link should be very insightful for you, and on its own, completely explains the situation. It is a snapshot from the Internet Wayback Machine that shows how that particular Website described hanadama just a couple of years ago - as their Collection Quailty.

http://web.archive.org/web/200602070...9mmcolqua.html

Hanadama and pearl grading hasn't changed, and the Internet never forgets. For example, this was written by the president of American Pearl and is still live online, connected to their site -

http://pearl-education.com/blog/

Hanadama is being described as BETTER quality than American Pearl's AAA BY American Pearl.

In addition, there has been mention of Hanadama Pearls, which are not unlike AAA quality in the fact that they are perfectly clean (unblemished). Except Hanadama pearls have thicker nacre (the skin of the pearl) and higher luster (extremely high versus the very high of AAA quality). According to the Pearl Science Laboratory who publishes the certificate, Hanadama is the best quality grade for Akoya pearls which originate from Japan. One must also understand that the Hanadama Certificate available from the Pearl Science Laboratory discloses the nacre (or skin thickness) of the pearls. It is common knowledge that pearls are bought and sold and primarily valued based on their weight. That is, thicker nacre or thicker skinned pearls result in heavier, more lustrous, more durable and therefore more valuable Hanadama pearls. So if you see a Hanadama pearl strand with .4mm of nacre thickness on each side of the pearl, please understand that this strand can be worth much, much less than a similar strand that has .55mm nacre thickness on each side of the pearl. After all, the difference is 20% and 33% for pearls with .6mm nacre thickness.