Japanese Akoya Pearls
ISE SHIMA, JAPAN
Seeking out the finest Akoya pearls, Oceana partnered with family owned farms that specialize in producing Japanese Akoya pearls, for over three generations.
For over a hundred years, the sheltered inland sea areas across Japan have been home to the Japanese Akoya pearl. It was in these brisk waters that the secret of pearl farming was discovered and the world's first cultured pearls were grown from the Pinctada Fucata oyster.
Though much smaller in size compared to South Sea pearls, Japanese Akoya pearls exhibit intense luster and are considered to be the finest small saltwater pearls in the world.
The inland sea coves known as Ago Bay in the Mie Prefecture of Japan are not only regarded by many to have the ideal marine environment for growing Akoya pearls, but also as the spiritual home of Japanese pearl farming.
Pearl farming here is almost always a family business, with time-honed pearl farming skills passed down from generation to generation.
Before the method for farming oysters was discovered, wild oysters were required to be fished from the depths of the bay. The Ama, a sorority of female free divers were vital in retrieving the wild Akoya oysters from the dangerous depths of the bay, their bravery and beauty becoming a part of legend of the Japanese Akoya pearl.
Today however, pearl diving is a thing of the past, reserved mainly for the tourist museums around Mikimoto's pearl island Museum. Today, pearl oyster farms cultivate oysters by growing them in pocketed nets that are securely suspended from timber rafts just below the surface.
Akoya pearls are only able to effectively grow one pearl at a time, with a single pearl taking over a year to grow before a single pearl is harvested, a work that requires patience dedication and hardwork. Harvesting is seasonal, taking place in the coldest months of the year - from December to February as the pearls harvested during that time are of brighter luster than any other time of the year.