cultured pearls are an important economic factor in some countries
Unlike natural pearls, cultured pearls are always created by artificiallyplanting a foreign body into the oyster, mussel or snail. In China,

Japan, Australia and the South Sea, and here in particular in Indone- sia, the Philippines and French Polynesia, the production of cultured pearls is a vital part of the economy. For years, the growth rate is increasing. This is due to two factors: The rising demand for pearl products and the fact that natural pearls are increasingly rare to find.About 100 years ago, three Japanese gentlemen independently fromeach other looked for ways to cultivate pearls. The most famous was Kokichi Mikimoto, who went down in history as the father of the cultured pearl trade. For the production of cultured pearls, host mus- sels are collected and kept on artificial banks under ideal conditions (temperature, water quality). The creation of a cultured pearl starts by implanting a pearl nucleus. This complex ‘surgical procedure’ on the mussel is performed by highly qualified and often also highly paid experts. From this moment, it will take two to five years during which the oyster covers the pearl nucleus layer by layer with nacre. However, growing pearls is unpredictable. A mere 4 to 5% of cul- tured pearls end up with the ideal round shape. Most pearls have so-called ‘baroque’ shapes: elongated, flat, knotty, drop-shaped, etc.

Akoya pearls
This type of saltwater cultured pearl is grown around the southerly islands of Japan in the Pinctada martensii oyster.

Tahitian pearls
These are saltwater cultured pearls grown in French Polynesia aroundTahiti. The rarest and most expensive black Tahitian pearl has a glow- ing lustre with a peacock feather green colour.

South Sea cultured pearls
This pearl is grown in a huge cultivation area spanning from Northern Australia, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippine Islands, the Indonesian Ar- chipelago, French Polynesia all the way to Burma. The biggest production of South Sea cultured pearls is found in the Northwest of Australia, where they only use the Pinctada maxima oyster to grow pearls.

Freshwater cultured pearls
Today, these are mostly nucleus-free cultured pearls from freshwater growing areas.