Akoya Pearl

"Akoya Pearls" is the general name for pearls cultured in the waters of Japan. Another name is "Japanese Pearls". Akoya pearls are cultured by the scientific name "Pinctada fucata martensii". In fact, Akoya pearls can be cultured in Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Australia, and other countries. Due to the cultivation and processing technology over the past 100 years, coupled with effective marketing, Akoya pearls have made Japan a global leader in the pearl industry. Moreover, this name is also synonymous with high-quality pearls.

The Origin of Akoya

However, not many people know the origin of the name Akoya. Akoya was originally an ancient place name located in Agubi Town, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is about an hour's drive south from Nagoya. The word Akoya was first recorded in the Kokin Wakashu (Kokin Wakashu) of the Heian period in Japan (around 976-987). The pearls collected at that time were called Akoya pearls. Over time, as the pearl industry developed, this name was also widely used by the Japanese.

At present, Ehime Prefecture , Nagasaki Prefecture, Mie Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefecture, Saga Prefecture, Kyushu and other places are the main production areas of Akoya pearls in Japan.

Akoya Globalization

Even in modern times, as long as the pearls are cultivated from the same type of pearl oysters, they can be called Akoya pearls. Just add the country name in front of "Akoya pearls". Even places with a longer history of pearls than Japan and that produce pearls will add "Akoya" as a gimmick to attract customers as long as the pearl oyster species are the same. For example, Chinese South Pearls are also called Chinese Akoya Pearls, Hong Kong Akoya Pearls, Vietnamese Akoya Pearls, Australian Akoya Pearls, etc.

Characteristics of Akoya Pearls

color

Akoya pearls come in three main colors: white , silver-blue , and champagne gold . Gold and the rarer black may also appear. Depending on the sea area, the distribution of colors also varies.

We also see pink pearls in the market. Generally speaking, these are harvested. In order to make the pearls more suitable for the market, these pearls will be adjusted in color before being made into pearl jewelry.

size

For round Akoya pearls, 13 mm is the largest known size. It is said that this pearl was cultivated by the Mikimoto Pearl Cultivation Research Institute in Japan in collaboration with a research institute in Kyushu, using local natural pearl oysters. However, due to quality issues, it is still only in the research stage.

Generally speaking, the size of Akoya pearls on the market ranges from 5 mm to 8.5 mm. As pearl cultivation technology has improved over the past decade, the size of pearls that can be found on the market has also increased to around 10 mm. The larger 12 mm pearls can even be found in the collections of Japan's top pearl shops.

quality

About 10 years ago, there was only a difference between ordinary pearls and flower pearls (はなだまhanadama). At that time, flower pearls were the highest quality among pearls. With the advancement of technology and the market, and in order to better distinguish other qualities, the Japan Pearl Science Research Institute has already introduced more detailed grade names. The current pearl market mainly uses the research of this institute as the description of Akoya pearls.

The above information is translated from the Japanese Pearl Science Research Institute

If you want your pearl jewelry to receive this title, the quality of the pearls is important, and the owner must then ship the jewelry to a research institute in Japan.

The cultivation environment of Akoya pearls

The Akoya pearl oyster (Pinctada fucata martensii) can be found along the coastlines of countries in the western Pacific Ocean, including Hong Kong, China, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Australia, etc.

Since pearl oysters prefer to cling to coastal rocks or nearshore areas, the water depth for breeding should be close to their habits, which can be between 1.5 - 3 m.

Pearl oysters have a large appetite, so they should be placed in the center of the sea. On the one hand, the area is large enough and full of nutrients. However, the sea is always an unstable environment, and breeding here will always face unstable weather conditions such as typhoons. Therefore, in order to balance high-quality nutrition and the stability of the breeding environment, the inner bay surrounded by mountains on three sides would be the best choice.

As for water temperature, 15 - 25 degrees is the best. Salinity is about 25 degrees.

Breeding time

In the past, it took more than a year to cultivate pearls at Akoya. The quality of the pearls is due to the long cultivation period, so the pearl nucleus is covered with a thick layer of pearl. In the industry, these pearls are called Koshimono (a product that spans a year).

However, from 1996 to 1999, Japan faced a large number of deaths of young pearl oysters for three consecutive years. The reason is inseparable from climate change. Pearl farmers also realized that they would face serious losses if they continued to cultivate with traditional methods and habits. Now, most Japanese pearl cultivation time has been reduced to less than 1 year, and even half a year. We all call it " Tounemono ".

Breed evolution

If you can't change the environment, you have to evolve yourself. Japanese pearl farmers used hybridization technology to combine China's Martens' pearl oysters with Japan's Akoya pearl oysters. This combination has become a new generation of varieties that can not only produce pearls, but also withstand the changes in Japanese waters. Moreover, due to the improvement of breeding and processing technology, even if the time is shortened, the quality can still be maintained very well.

Climate Change

Global climate change has led to various crises in the marine ecosystem. We have noticed that the methods of pearl farming have changed. Because of these changes, not only pearl oysters are affected, but shellfish in different waters around the world are threatened with death.

Since 2018, there have been many reports of sudden deaths of shellfish around the world. Among them, the Japanese pearl farming industry has once again faced the death of all young shellfish since 2019. And this situation continues to this day. If this continues, what will be the fate of Japan's Akoya pearls?

The Heritage of Akoya Pearls

Because of his contribution to the pearl industry, Kokichi Mikimoto's craftsmanship of pearls was promoted from Japan to the world. Since the 1950s, Japan's pearl farming technology has been introduced to Hong Kong and helped Hong Kong develop its own pearl farming industry.

Afterwards, the entire set of pearl farming technology, including pearl nucleus production, pearl farming , processing technology , etc., was also spread to the world. Fukui Pearl was fortunate to become one of the few companies in the world that could handle the entire set of Japanese pearl technology and combine it with Chinese technology to develop its own Hong Kong Akoya pearl farming and operation model in Hong Kong.

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