____________________________________   about

The term "cultured pearls" is vaguely used to refer to any form of pearl that is produced through cultivation. However, the first form of cultivation began with the harvesting of the small Japanese Akoya oysters. Thus, we prefer to restrict the term to refer strictly to these pearls Japan is known for.

The cultivation process of cultured Japanese Akoya pearls is a phenomenon of nature's methods of protecting and healing itself. Farmers initially insert a round nucleus into an Akoya oyster. To battle the irritation caused by the nucleus, the Akoya oyster secretes nacre, which wraps around the nucleus in layers. Since, the post-nucleation survival rate of these oysters is merely 50%, the ratio of oysters in the farming process to oysters that actually end up producing cultured pearls of quality is infinitesmally small. Thus, the small percentage of round and lusterous pearls that result after the approximate ten months of cultivation are truly valued.

Nippon Taiyo has been in the cultured pearls business since it initially set up its base in Kobe. As a result, this is the department in which we have our greatest expertise. Thanks to our emmense inventory size, we are able to carry literally all varieties of sizes ranging from 2mm to 9mm, as well as all imagineable qualities of colors, luster, and surface.