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STORY B SHEUNG
A hundred-year-old trailblazer.
THE first pearls to be cultured and commercialised were akoya pearls. The akoya saga dates back to about a hundred years ago, when the Japanese discovered and improved the techniques of pearl culture using akoya oysters, a Pinctada fucata species native to the Sea of Japan.
Decades after, pearl culturing has spread to new horizons, bringing out new beauties such as the intriguing black pearls of Tahiti, the majestic South Sea pearls from Australia, and the chatoyant golden pearls from the Philippines and Indonesia. Still, when talking about pearls, the first image that comes to most people's mind remains the classic neck-length white akoya pearl strand adorning ladies of good families in discreet elegance; or long ropes of akoya pearls swinging and swaying around dancers in the libertine days of the 1920s.
Strengths and limits
Round and lustrous pearls are found in all pearl categories - akoya, South Sea, Tahitian, freshwater. But when comparing the harvest crops, the difference becomes evident. An akoya crop has the highest percentage of round and lustrous pearls. Over 80% of the pearls in an akoya harvest are round, compared with 30% in a South Sea crop, 20% in a Tahitian pearl harvest, and less than 5% in a Chinese freshwater pearl crop. It is therefore not surprising that the roundest and the most uniform pearl strands one can obtain is usually from an akoya pearl crop.
The sizes of akoya pearls are relatively limited as the akoya pearl oysters are relatively small compared with other pearl oyster species. An adult akoya oyster measures between 8cm and 12cm, the size of our palm, and has the potential to grow one pearl from 5mm to 10mm, or several smaller pearls of between 2mm and 4mm. Nowadays akoya pearls above 9mm are becoming so rare that their prices can be higher than South Sea pearls of similar sizes. On the other end, akoya pearls below 6mm face stiff competition from the lower-price alternative of Chinese freshwater pearls. The most in demand are akoya necklaces in diameters of 6mm to 8mm.
The natural colours of akoya pearls range from white, yellow to grey, with a tint of pink, yellow, green and blue. As the pearl market values white pearls with a pink tint, nearly all akoya pearls are bleached and colour-enhanced to give the desirable pinkish white. A few pearl suppliers stock natural coloured akoya to meet a niche demand for unbleached gems.
Buying akoya
When selecting a quality akoya pearl necklace, one should watch out for the following factors: akoya pearls are not always reputed for good nacre coating. One should make sure the nacre covers the entire pearl surface, showing no cracks nor bumps. Nacre should be thick enough to give a shiny lustre. When an akoya pearl necklace is sold, for example, as 6mm to 6.5mm, no pearls should be below 6mm, and their difference should not exceed 0.5mm.
There is a generalisation that Japanese akoya pearls are of better quality than Chinese akoya pearls. Actually, all pearl producing countries yield both good qualities and poor qualities, depending on many different factors including farm sites and cultivation methods. A good necklace is the result of an experienced company selecting good quality crops, light bleaching and tinting to bring out the natural beauty, and fine sorting to give homogenous sizes and matching tints and lustre.
Until the 1970s, akoya pearls were the dominating pearl category, accounting for over 80% of the global pearl market value. Today, akoya pearls take up about 25% of the pearl market share, bypassed by South Sea pearls which have become the leading pearl category in value. In the next PearlTalk, we will see how Japanese pearl cultivation knowhow laid the groundwork for the development and success of South Sea pearls.
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