Pearls by Angela Carol

Freshwater pearls from China

Through out the years the freshwater pearl has been known as many different things but mostly the freshwater pearl has been known as something that was not anywhere as superior as the saltwater pearls.  Freshwater pearls have been known as rice krispies and have been sold at a fraction of what other pearls have been sold for.

Many years ago when the idea of cultivating pearls first began China had produced not so much a true pearl but what is considered to be shell mabes.  These were pieces of pearls so to speak.  The Japanese were actually the first to culture true pearls.  There was a lake called Biwa and it is located near Kyoto.  The very first of the freshwater cultured farms were done here in the 1930’s.  These freshwater pearl farms in Biwa produced many freshwater pearls that were in colors that no one had ever seen before.  They were very appealing to many people and they truly rivaled natural pearls because they were really pearls throughout and not like the shell mabes that china had produced for years.

Through out Japans history with things like World War 2 the flow of these freshwater pearls from Biwa went uninterrupted.  With so many people absolutely loving these pearls they became very popular by the 1950’s, Japan was selling these freshwater pearls on strands for significantly less than other types of pearls.  They were so very popular indeed that all freshwater pearls had begun to be called “Biwa” whether or not they were from the Biwa lake region or not.  There were actually laws that made it illegal to call them Biwas if they were not from the Biwa Lake.  By the 1970’s the lake was producing many fine freshwater pearls.

A decade later though the lake was quickly being polluted by development of the country, the pearl farms were dying out because they could no longer produce quality freshwater pearls. Pollutants were being poured into the lake by industries and farms and hotels that were springing up around the lake.  At this point China tried to make a come back onto the freshwater pearl market.  Although Japan had cornered the market on freshwater pearls for many years China felt that they could grow freshwater pearls that rivaled Japan’s.  They did indeed try and during the years between 1970 and the 1980’s freshwater pearls from China flooded the market.  They managed to produce freshwater pearls that were to become known as “rice krispies”. These were considered very sub standard compared to the freshwater pearls that had come from Japan years earlier.  Unfortunately China’s reputation for cultivated freshwater pearls was damaged. 

It was damaged so much that no one in the industry really even took notice of the second wave of freshwater pearls from China during the years of 1984 and the year 1991.  China at that point started to buy expertise from other countries on how to create the freshwater pearl that was highly desired.  They learned different techniques and procedures for creating a much better freshwater pearl.

The freshwater pearls that are coming out of China today are exquisite.  They are highly developed and have wonderful shapes and luster about them.  They are also being produced in very vibrant colors like peaches and oranges.  In the 1980’s China would dye a large number of their freshwater pearls and they have learned over the years that the natural colors are much more desired.  These new freshwater pearls that are coming out of China today really do rival the best of what Japan had to offer years ago in Biwa.