AKOYA PEARLS

Akoyas were the first spherical cultured pearls. In fact, when many consumers, and some jewelers, think of cultured pearls, it’s the Akoya pearls they envision in their mind.

Pearl farmers cultivate akoya pearls in the mollusk Pinctada fucata. Always abundant in Japanese waters, varieties of akoya oysters grow in China, Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, the Red and Mediterranean Seas, the Persian Gulf, the South and East African coasts and the Caribbean. Japan and China however, are the primary producers. Historically, the Japanese akoya oyster produces the highest quality cultured pearls due to its mild climate and moderately cold waters.

Japanese Akoya Saltwater Pearls

Japan is home to roughly 2,000 pearl farms. Ten percent are large industrial operations while the other 90% are independent farms. Japan is made up of four main islands and many smaller ones – almost 4,000 in all. Honshu is the largest island, followed by Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. Southern Japan is home to one of the largest akoya oyster habitats in the world. Together, Ehime, Nagasaki, Kumamoto and Mie perfection account for most of Japan’s total akoya production.

Chinese Akoya Saltwater Pearls

In the late 1980s, freshwater pearl farmers in China saw the market potential for culturing akoya pearls. The Chinese lacked the experience and technology Japanese farmers had developed over the decades so the first harvests (mostly 5mm) caused an oversupply of low quality akoyas. The farmers shifted their focus to sizes slightly larger, 6.5mm however the quality of these pearls still did not compare to Japan’s. Some Japanese processors opened their own farms in China (labor and manufacturing costs are much lower) and others provided processing advice. Today, both countries benefit from Japanese investment and technical involvement in China.

China's saltwater 'Akoya' Pearl farms are located on the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong Province (aka Canton Province), and in Guangxi Province at Beihai & Hepu, both in the southern part of the country. The Guangdong saltwater pearl farms are situated in a protected bay at Liusha Gang, some 400 km southwest of Hong Kong and Macau.

Akoya Characteristics

Akoya pearls range in size from 2mm – 9mm (average 6mm – 7mm) and pretty consistently occur in spherical shapes. Akoya pearls are either white or cream in bodycolor with yellow, pink or blue hues. Rosé and green overtones are seen and help increase the value of the pearl. Akoya pearls are cultured in the Pinctada fucata for a period of 8 – 24 months.

Akoya pearls generally go through a process of sorting, cutting and drilling, tumbling and buffing and finally matching and stringing. Akoya pearls are generally bleached in a mild hydrogen peroxide solution.

Akoya pearls can also be treated to alter their color and/or luster. Chemical and natural dyes, ultraviolet light or maybe even gamma ray radiation are all used on some akoyas to alter their appearance. Black akoya pearls generally obtain their deep dark color by irradiation. This treatment is very hard to detect so its typically assumed when seeing this color akoyas. Coating can also help improve a poor quality pearls surface. Materials used are lacquer, plastics and silicon and are not permanent.

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