Unlike akoya oysters, which can yield a few pearls, a single freshwater mussel can produce as many as 40. China now has 50 times Japan's pearl production capacity and the pearls are much more ...

Today, China’s freshwater pearl market accounts ... more specifically, Japan’s Akoya pearls. That is because Chinese pearl farmers have caught up so fast that they are even producing their ...

As testimony to China's achievement, their freshwater pearls are round enough and good enough to pass as Japanese akoya. China already sells round white pearls up to 7mm for perhaps a tenth the ...

As a result of China’s output, pearl prices have dropped dramatically ... Colors are equally diverse, ranging from the bright white of the Akoya variety to freshwater pastels to Tahitian black ...

Akoya pearls, grown in Japan ... They grow naturally in the Queen Conch shell and are especially popular in China, says Bach. One out of about 10,000 conches will produce a pink pearl.

China: The leading pearl producer globally ... Japan: The second-largest pearl producer, famous for its Akoya pearls, which come in various colors like white, pink, green, and rose.

It can grow up to 30cm in diameter, compared with the Akoya oyster in Japan and China whose average size is eight to 13cm. In addition, South Sea pearls are harvested after two years, compared ...

Off the coast of Japan’s verdant Saikai National Park, the Kujukushima Islands lie scattered amid a sprawling network of narrow inlets. Their name literally translates as “99 islands ...