Akoya Pearls
The Akoya Pearl is one of the most well known types of pearl available to buy today an the name is usually associated with quality.
What Are Akoya Pearls?
Akoya pearls are produced from the saltwater Akoya pearl oyster (Pinctada fucata) often cultured by means of the Mikimoto process. They're difficult to cultivate with less than half of the oysters surviving the nucleation process and less than 5% of the pearls actually produced being considered of high quality. The difficulty of production is, of course, reflected in the price.Akoya pearls are known for their high levels of lustre and are popular in a wide variety of jewelry including pendants, earrings and bracelets. The colour varies, usually it's a white or cream but may have touches of pink, silver or yellow. Pink tends to be the most expensive shade.
Japan vs China
Traditionally the Akoya pearl has been associated with Japan, however (as with so many other industries) China is becoming increasingly dominant in the world market. If you buy an Akoya pearl necklace today then the strand is likely to combine both Japanese and Chinese stones.The Akoya oyster is one of the smaller pearl-producers so the stones themselves tend to be relatively small, usually between 3mm and 7mm in diameter with the larger sizes being more popular. With the increased competition from China many Japanese producers have begun concentrating on producing larger stones of 8mm plus. Chinese production tends to concentrate on the smaller sizes.
For most people none of that matters - all that counts is the quality of the product, not its origin.