Freshwater Pearls From Japan?

Believe it or not, until a short while ago, all freshwater pearls were called Biwa Pearls. Lake Biwa is the name of a very large and ancient lake that is fed by over 500 rivers. Lake Biwa had been used to culture freshwater pearls, from around 1914, until the 1980's saw the decline of pearl culture due to pollution from housing and resort encroachment, industrial and roadside run-off.

Pearl production peaked at around 6 tons annually. And as history repeats itself so many times pollution and over harvesting killed the population of mussels that were the mainstay of Biwa pearl culture. History repeats itself because in the 1500's the Caribbean Sea and the Baja area of the Pacific were huge naturally producing pearl areas. These areas were stripped out by the Spanish search for resources.

Biwa pearls were known for their brownish purple colors with high luster. Biwa Pearls were nucleated as most freshwater pearls are today, that is with a piece of the soft mantle tissue that lines the shell. This technique is different than the way that saltwater pearls are nucleated, that is with a small round piece of mother of pearl. Soft tissue nucleating creates a pearl that is all nacre, much like a natural pearl.

The Japanese have taken to growing freshwater pearls in Lake Kasumigaura. They use a cross between the descendants of the remaining Biwa mussels and Chinese mussels. Some of the mussels from Lake Kasumigaura are actually nucleated with rejected akoya pearls.

They still do produce akoya pearls, Japan once the undisputed ruler of pearl culture has just about given up the culturing of pearls, freshwater and saltwater, because of pollution and rising costs.

They have become the distributor of much of China's pearl harvest of akoya pearls.

By Patrick Cavanaugh