I’ve had a few requests for some Japanese Akoya Saltwater Keshi in loose form. Lo and behold we had a collection from a few years ago. They range from 1 mm to about 3 mm. Nice colors.
We are back blogging afer a long nap!
It is estimated tha the Japanese Akoya production in Japan will be less than 15 tonnes this year. As the keshi harvest is less than 1% of the total production, it means that our little Japanese Akoya saltwater keshi pearls are becoming very rare indeed!
Contrast the production of Japanese Akoya Saltwater keshi to the production of Chinese freshwater pearls which in 2005 produced 1500 tonnes, and by some estimates will be over 2000 tonnes this year!
Keshi pearls have been in the spotlight recently in bridal magazines. A number of you have asked if these keshi are drilled by hand. Well the smaller pearls of about 2mm or less are indeed drilled by hand. Typically there are losses of up to 20% mainly due to the cracking of the pearl.
Keshi is a term traditionally used to describe natural saltwater pearls as well as pearls resulting as a byproduct of the Japanese culturing process. However today, the word keshi is now used to describe any pearl without a bead nucleus that is produced by the culturing process regardless of the ocean or freshwater body in which the pearl comes from.
After a long hiatus, we are back online posting.
Due to an overwhelming demand, the Pearl exporting Company has introduced chocolate keshi to the market place. These are natural Japanese Akoya keshi saltwater pearls that have been enhanced to chocolate color.
Keshi is derived from the Japanese word meaning “poppyseed”. It’s very simple. There are many diffent opinions of where the term originated, but the fact remains that keshi is of Japanese origin.
Hello again
Some of you have asked for the links to the JCK articles regarding the interview with Sundeep and Giuseppe, here it is. http://jckonline.com/article/CA6377952.html
Also another article has appeared on the National Jeweler Network regarding a new product of diamond encrusted keshi. http://www.nationaljewelernetwork.com/njn/content_display/colored_stones/e3i4e706249a1ab6d2fc25afe786468cdfa
How do you see the overall market today?
The Japanese Akoya saltwater keshi pearl market is not only stable but growing. This is due primarily to freshwater pearls flooding the market. What is happening is that designers are looking for something unique and different. Our Japanese Akoya keshi are a rare product and no other vendors can deal with supply, drilling, stringing, designing, and then putting the strands on clasps. Therefore, the Japanese Akoya keshi, market is strong and will continue to be strong for the foreseeable future. With less production each year, we forsee continuing demand for this type of pearl.
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