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What is a Biwa Pearl?
Biwa Pearl is a freshwater Pearl cultivated in a mollusk
only in Japan's Lake Biwa. Biwa Pearls are produced at
lake Biwa, Japan using freshwater clams. They are
irregular in shape but have good color and luster.
Instead of a bead a small square of mother of Pearl in
inserted into the clam. These Pearls require three years
to produce good results. Smoother and more lustrous than
fresh water Pearls from China. The Biwa Pearl industry
was started by an ex-colleague of Mikimoto, a Dr. Masao
Fujita. He operated on the first Biwa shells in 1924 and
harvested the first Biwa Pearls in 1925. He only
harvested a few Pearls and they were all baroque and
colored. The method they used was very similar to the
method used in Pearl production in Lake Kasumigaura. A
drilled mother-of-Pearl bead was inserted into the
mollusk along with a piece of mantle tissue.
In 1914, Pearl farmers began culturing freshwater Pearls
using the Pearl mussels native to Lake Biwa. This lake,
the largest and most ancient in Japan, lies near the
city of Kyoto. The extensive and successful use of the
Biwa Pearl Mussel is reflected in the name Biwa Pearls,
a phrase which was at one time nearly synonymous with
freshwater Pearls in general. Since the time of peak
production in 1971, when Biwa Pearl farmers produced six
tons of cultured Pearls, pollution and overharvesting
have caused the virtual extinction of this animal.
Japanese Pearl farmers recently cultured a hybrid Pearl
mussel — a cross between Biwa Pearl Mussels and a
closely related species from China, Hyriopsis cumingi,
in Lake Kasumigaura. This industry has nearly ceased
production due to lake pollution.
Quite soon after their initial success with cultured
saltwater Pearls, Japanese Pearl farmers experimented
with freshwater mussels in Lake Biwa, a large lake near
Kyoto. Initial commercial freshwater Pearl crops
appeared in the 1930s. The all-nacre Biwa Pearls formed
in colors unseen in saltwater Pearls. Almost instantly
appealing, their luster and luminescent depth rivaled
naturals because they, too, were Pearls throughout.
Natural Pearls
A natural Pearl is a Pearl that forms in nature with no
human intervention. Natural Pearls, What is a Natural
Pearl Natural Pearls are grown in wild oysters. The
process begins when an irritant, such as a grain of sand
or a piece of shell, gets inside an oyster's shell...
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Freshwater Pearls
Freshwater Pearls are a kind of Pearl that comes from
freshwater mussels. They are produced in Japan and the
United States on a limited scale, but are now almost
exclusive to China The U.S. Federal Trade Commission
requires that freshwater Pearls are referred to as..
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Biwa Pearls
Biwa Pearl is a freshwater Pearl cultivated in a mollusk
only in Japan's Lake Biwa. Biwa Pearls are produced at
lake Biwa, Japan using freshwater clams. They are
irregular in shape but have good color and luster.
Instead of a bead a small square of mother of...
Read more...
Saltwater Pearls
Although freshwater Pearls can be grown in mussels and
other mollusks, saltwater Pearls are always grown in
oysters. Most saltwater Pearls are harvested in the Red
Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the coastal waters of India
and Japan. Generally, saltwater Pearls...
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Cultured Pearls
Cultured Pearls are those in which humans take a helping
hand. By actually inserting a foreign object into the
tissue of an oyster or mollusk, Pearl farmers can induce
the creation of a Pearl. The same natural process of
Pearl creation takes place...
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South Sea Pearls
South Sea Pearls is a generic name for the
Pearls, usually 9mm-16mm in size, produced by the two groups of large
Pearl producing oysters. These oysters can grow to 25-30 cm in size, and
are much rarer than their Akoya counterparts....
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Tahiti Cultured Pearls
Tahiti cultured Pearls are Pearl concretions
that are secreted inside the black-lipped Pinctada Margaritifera species
of Pearl oysters cultivated mainly in the lagoons of French Polynesia.
They consist of thick Pearly layers containing organic substances..
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Akoya Pearls
Akoya Pearls are found only in Japan, China,
and Vietnam. Japanese Akoya Pearl farms are shifting towards the warmer
Chinese waters, where these Pearls take only half as long to grow.
Overtone colors of Akoya Pearls include white, cream, rose, silver, and
green...
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Mabe Pearls
Mabe Pearls are large, hemispherical cultured
Pearls that grow attached to the inside shells of oysters. Mabe Pearls
are of hemispherical shape, grown against the inside of the oyster's
shell, rather than within its tissue. Mabes occasionally appear in
nature...
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Blister Pearls
A blister Pearl (also called a button Pearl)
is a Pearl that developed attached to the inside of a mollusk's shell.
This type of Pearl must be cut off the shell, and is therefore
hemispherical. Because of their shape, blister Pearls are mostly used
for earrings...
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Rainbow Mabe Pearls
In general, you would think that all Pearls are round
shaped or spherical. However, Mabe Pearls are not
completely round. They come in various shapes. The
subtle hues give it a unique presence, a quality that
can't be found in other Pearls. Mabe Pearls are suitable
for...
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Mother of Pearl
Mother of Pearl, also called nacre, is an
iridescent layer of material which forms the shell lining of many
mollusks. The Pearly internal layer of certain mollusk shells, used to
make decorative objects. Also called nacre. Pearl oysters and abalone
are both sources of mother of...
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Keshi Pearls
Tiny Pearls, some a little bigger than a grain
of sand, which form naturally in many cultured Pearl oysters. Keshi is a
Japanese word for "poppy seed". Thus, keshi is also called the seed
Pearl deriving the name from its size. Keshi Pearls are irregularly
shaped...
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Back to 'All About Pearls' Summary
Ever since the ancient Egyptians first started creating
jewelry, Pearls have become one of the highest regarded gemstones. Even
today Pearls still hold their value due to the rarity of "mother nature"
creating this form of jewelry. Pearls are created from a core. The core
of a natural Pearl is simply a fragment of shell or fishbone, or a grain
of sand that strays into the unsuspecting Pearl oyster's shell. To
protect itself from this irritant the oyster secretes multiple layers of
nacre, forming a Pearl...
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What is a Biwa Pearl?
