This is a near-round Akoya necklace with a strong radiance. Moreover, these pearls have not undergone any dyeing treatment. Compared to regular Akoya pearls, they appear very white. However, they have a thick nacre layer, giving them a powerful shine.

While I usually prefer Akoya pearls that are bluer in color, I love this white necklace. With its thick nacre layer, strong radiance, and moderate baroque shape, it has a unique charm. Perfectly round pearls can sometimes seem too flawless and unapproachable, but I find great appeal in pearls like these, with slight imperfections and non-perfect shapes.

Additionally, the pearls used in this necklace hold many memories. The company I work for produces a significant proportion and quantity of pearls compared to those harvested domestically in Japan. These harvested pearls are sold through special bidding events, making it extremely difficult for new vendors to purchase them. As an employee, I can buy a small amount. It took me about two years of effort and cooperation with clients of the wholesale dealer I handle to successfully purchase a portion of these newly harvested pearls. I faced numerous challenges and obstacles during this process, to the extent that I developed circular hair loss on my head. Despite being generally optimistic and positive, I was mentally devastated at that time.

Those are the pearls used in this necklace—pearls obtained after overcoming many difficulties and obstacles. By the way, the grade of the pearls used in this necklace is the third highest among the pearls we acquired. The highest grade pearls are used here.→ [ https://etsy.me/3IWTbeR]

This necklace may have a slightly weaker shine compared to those top-grade pearls, but it still has a stronger radiance than regular pearls. In exchange, the pearls used in this necklace have a few wounds and their surfaces are not perfectly smooth. As shown in the video, these wounds are not very noticeable. However, due to these drawbacks, the price is significantly lower. In essence, this necklace has the essential attributes of pearls, which are the thickness of the nacre layer and radiance, while also having some factors that lower the price, such as wounds and surface roughness. It’s like a restaurant that may have a slightly inferior appearance but serves the most delicious food, or a spacious house with a great view that is a little far from the train station, or a friend who may seem cold most of the time but is truly helpful when you’re in trouble…

I can’t find the perfect analogy, but the important aspects are obtained while willingly letting go of the non-essential ones, symbolizing the pearls used in this necklace. This applies not only to pearls but also to other things. In my current job of selling pearls, so I want to tell you that if you try to make everything perfect in terms of shape, nacre thickness, radiance, color, size, and the absence of wounds, the necklace would become quite expensive. It’s common to end up buying an unattractive necklace when trying to evenly meet each criterion within a given budget. Although I’ve been in this industry for only about ten years, I have been thinking about the charm of pearls every day, touching pearls daily, and living a life where I wake up and sleep with pearls. Before selling them to anyone else, I genuinely love pearls. It took me several years to understand what attracted me to pearls, but now I Know. I want to shout it out loud:

The allure of pearls lies in the thickness of the nacre layer and their radiance.

The priority of shape and wounds is much lower. Those things aren’t noticeable from a distance. Of course, preferences vary from person to person. Some may prefer necklaces that are more pinkish. Recently, these whitish pearls have become popular in Japan and China.
In the company where I work, we have been selling these whitish pearls as our main product for over 10 years. However, due to the recent pearl bubble, we currently have very few necklaces with such whitish pearls in stock. It’s quite ironic.

By the way, in Japanese, we refer to these whitish pearls as ‘Mu-cho-shoku.（無調色）’ ‘Mu’ means ‘without,’ ‘cho’ means ‘adjustment,’ and ‘shoku’ means ‘color.’ It’s quite literal. Conventional pearls undergo processes such as ‘stain removal,’ ‘bleaching,’ and ‘color adjustment.’ ‘Stain removal’ literally removes stains. Although the change is not significant, it becomes cleaner, similar to washing your face after three days of not doing so. This process removes impurities from the pearls. I would also like to have that treatment for my entire body. Bleaching is a process that removes 1% of the protein contained within the pearls. Newly harvested pearls tend to have a yellowish tint, but bleaching eliminates the yellow color. Naturally colored pearls, such as red or pink, retain their original colors. And when numerous pearls are arranged in a necklace, a process called ‘color adjustment’ is performed to achieve uniformity in the color of the pearls in the necklace. This process is similar to dyeing. However, in the pearl industry, it is not referred to as dyeing. In every article I’ve read, it is called ‘color adjustment,’ using an expression that denotes adjusting the color. It’s probably because ‘dyeing’ removes the sense of naturalness. I find it challenging to explain these aspects, especially in English. ‘Color adjustment’ is like a natural makeup, I suppose. In the pearl industry and in all the articles I’ve come across, ‘color adjustment’ is explained as ‘adding a little dye between the pearl layers.’ I also believed that for about six years. However, when I asked a processing company, they said, ‘No, no, that’s impossible. We actually penetrate the dye into the pearls from the surface.’ ‘Adding a little dye’ is color adjustment, and ‘thoroughly soaking the dye’ is dyeing. Basically, they are the same.’ I felt like I caught a glimpse of the dark side of the pearl industry.
Ah…I forgot what I wanted to say. This “whitish, Muchoshoku, non-toned” necklace has been “stained” and “bleached” and has not been “Color adjustment/toned”.