Chinese Freshwater vs. Akoya?

[Trigon]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone knew of an easy way to tell how to tell if you are getting true Japanese Akoya pearls as opposed to Chinese Freshwater? Years ago, the freshwaters were easier to tell, but now with improved techniques, it seems they can rival the Japanese Akoyas. There is a big price difference, so how can I protect myself?

 

[pearlie]

Hi Trigon,

I''ll try to help you. It would be best if you had a strand of each in front of you to compare.

The luster on the Akoyas is the first give away. It''s different from the freshies. Deeper, silkier, satiny, more of a warm reflective glow. With both types of pearls in front of you, it is easy to see the difference.

Akoyas are bead nucleated, freshies tissue nucleated. Can you see down the drill hole? Loup it, and look for the conchiolin layer, the brownish/yellowish layer that is usually found between the bead nucleus and the outer pearly layer of nacre.

Freshies, being tissue nucleated, means that there is no spherical bead for the nacre cells to adhere to, so examine the shape of the pearls. Many of us suspect that the freshwater pearl farmers are removing a pearl from the mollusk, re-shaping it to be more round, and then placing it back in the pearl sac. However, many are still not perfectly round. You will potentially find some pearls on a strand of freshies that are round-ish.

I know of no way to tell if an Akoya pearl is a Japanese Akoya. Akoyas are farmed in China as well as other locations.

best of luck, and happy pearl hunting.

julie.

 

[Trigon]

Hi Julie,
Thanks for the info. Looking down the drill hole seems like good advice, as well as searching for some roundish pearls in the strand. I''ll give it a shot next time I come across a strand.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Check out the thread comparing pearls here. It is now hard to tell the difference. I got a strand of Freshadamas from Pearl Paradise yesterday for a gift for a friend and they are more beautiful than my
Akoyas. The luster is more beautiful and they are perfectly round and gorgeous. They rival any Akoyas I have ever seen.