____________________________________   about

Keshi pearls forme as byproducts of any kind of culturing of pearls--from Japanese Akoya to South Sea pearls. The Japanese term "keshi" has been assigned to these pearls for their resemblance in shape and size to poppy seeds.

The forming of Keshi pearls is a rather interesting topic. In response to the nucleation, oysters are known to secrete nacre in order to isolate the foreign intruder in their system. However, some oysters secrete mantle tissue, which is more solid that nacre. As the oyster continues secreting nacre, layers begin to wrap not only the nucleus but the mantle tissue little-by-little as well. The result is tiny pearls without any man-made nucleus. Keshi pearls differ from natural "real" pearls in that the nucleus of real pearls is an infinitesmally small totally foreign intruder that enters the oyster in a natural process, where as the nucleus of keshi pearls is the organic matter secreted by the oyster itself. Though small in size, round keshi pearls are valued greatly in credit to their rather natural occurrence.

Nippon Taiyo is affiliated with large suppliers in the domestic keshi market and thus holds large quantities of keshi pearls, which are constantly in the rotation of assortment and stringing. The international demand of keshi pearls has helped us develop it as an export product.