Korea Silver
Understand Classic Pearls
If youre an expert in pearls, then most likely youve come across some of the finest akoya pearls in the industry. For those who do not know what these are, akoya pearls are bead-nucleated pearls produced particularly in Asian countries like Japan, China, Vietnam, and South Korea. Akoya pearls have also been produced in Australia, but countries like Japan and China take the leading roles in its production. These pearls are cultivated in the akoya oyster, scientifically known as the Pinctada fucata martensii. These are found and farmed in Japan and China and are known for their shine, luster, and great quality. Also known as the classic pearl, the akoya pearls are generally white with overtones of rose, silver, or cream.
Among all of the cultured pearls being cultivated and sold in the market, it is the akoya pearl that is preferred, sometimes considered the perfect pearl, for jewelry.People love this type of jewelry because of
1) The akoya pearl has a wide size range. It can be as small as 2 millimeters and as large as 11 millimeters.
2) The akoya pearl tends to be consistently round or near-round, making them the ideal pearl to be used in jewelry such as bracelets and necklaces.
As mentioned before, the two leading countries in the akoya pearl industry are Japan and China. Japan was at first the major producer of akoya pearls in the world until China overtook her, the latter beginning its cultivation in the 1960s.Later, in the late 1980s, China started to dominate the world market by becoming the top producer of cultured akoya pearls in the world. And because of the increasing competition, Japan pearl farmers have begun concentrating in cultivating actual large akoya pearls since high quality akoya pearls that are sized over 8 mm are very rare in China.
If you are purchasing pearls, remember that the quality is determined by their type, shape, luster, smoothness and size.
Mo Farah wins silver at 10.000m men in Daegu S Korea world athletics championship 28/08/11