Akoya Pearls Natural Beauty
Pearls have been a jewelry staple for centuries. In fact, they were one of the first natural gems ever to be discovered. Their simplicity and classic beauty has led to their consistent popularity throughout the years. Pearls themselves form naturally inside of oysters. In the beginning of the 1900\’s a way was discovered by which pearls, specifically akoya pearls, could be predictably harvested. Over time, cultured akoya pearls became known for their superior beauty and luster.
Wild naturally occurring pearls, and cultured pearls are actually formed in the very same way. A pearl will be produced within an oyster, if a small object such as a grain of sand becomes entrapped within its shell. The oyster responds by forming a small cyst around this foreign object. The cyst in then slowly filled with a milky white substance know as nacre. Over time, the nacre forms smooth layers which become the actual pearl itself.
Prior to the introduction of the culture method of pearl production, pearls were discovered simply by chance. It was not until the early 1900\’s that a gentleman from Japan by the name of Kokichi Mikimoto discovered a way to essentially force the creation of a pearl.
Mr. Mikimoto\’s technique involved the careful opening of a live oyster. He would then insert a small round piece of shell within the body of the oyster. The oyster would then be placed back within the ocean the natural response of nacre secretion would begin. This process of manually inserting a small piece of shell within the oyster is called nucleation.
The culturing process was perfected over time. During this process, it was discovered that the akoya oyster was specially suited for pearl harvesting. The resulting pearls produced were well know for their high quality and lustrous finish. The natural habitat of these oysters is primarily around the southern coast of Japan. Pearl farmers now raise this species within hatcheries so that they can carefully control and monitor the conditions, creating the best possible environment for the oyster to thrive.
The entire process of pearl cultivation takes approximately 10 to 18 months. The successful production of a pearl can be somewhat hard to predict however, as the oysters themselves can be very fragile. Many of them do not even survive the process of nucleation.
Many believe that the akoya pearls have the highest luster of all cultured pearls. It is thought that this is due to the climate of the area where most of these beautiful gems are produced. The waters off the coast of Japan where these oysters grow are 10 to 15 degrees cooler than other pearl producing locations. These cooler temperatures may cause the nacre coating to be secreted more slowly forming a more compact gem structure. The resulting pearl is thus more reflective and lustrous.
Only 1 percent of pearls sold today are found naturally occurring in the wild. The other 99 percent sold are cultured varieties. When presented with a beautiful, quality cultured pearl, it is easy to see why these gems have become so popular.