Since a long time ago, pearls are one of the most desired gemstones known to humans. They are the only gemstones which are derived from a living being – Pearl Oyster, which are found in oceans and rivers throughout the globe.

In the olden days, natural pearls were majorly sourced from Basra in the Persian Gulf but as their production started dipping because of the near extinction of oysters in the region due to augmented sea pollution, researchers started working on developing a methodology to generate pearls in an unnatural setting and the result of this hard work was Japanese businessman- Kokichi Mikimoto producing the world’s first cultured pearl from Akoya oyster in 1893.

Formation

Pearls are broadly classified into two categories based on their formation: natural and cultured. In their jewellery guide, Saffron Art explains:

• Natural pearls are formed when a foreign object enters a mollusc such as a mussel or oyster. Due to the nature of the process and the rarity of chance, natural pearls are often very expensive and valuable

• Cultured pearls are formed in the same way but with one crucial difference - the foreign object is introduced into the mollusc by man. Some of the finest pearls in the world today are cultured in pearl farms.

 • Pearls may be either seawater or freshwater pearls, depending on the water body that the mollusc inhabits.

Characteristics

• Lustre or glow is one of the most important qualities of a pearl, referring to the reflection of light off the surface of a pearl and the refraction of light from its layers of nacre.

•The shape of the pearl is also an important characteristic. A common misconception about pearls is that they are usually round, but pearls (especially large ones) are rarely perfect spheres. Pearls may be either round, off round, semi-baroque or baroque.

•The size of the pearl is important to the price it commands, as large, round pearls are extremely rare in both natural and cultured pearl types.

• Pearls also vary greatly in colour depending on the species of mollusc from which they are formed. While  pearls are traditionally thought of as white, they may also be pink, gold, silver, grey, green and black, among other colours.

Types of Pearls

• Akoya Pearls: The Akoya oyster is very commonly used for culturing pearls as it tends to yield pearls of a very high quality. These are cultured seawater pearls, with Japan and China being the highest and second highest producers of the pearl. Akoya pearls are coveted for their extremely high lustre and rounded shape and are usually either white or cream with overtones of gold, pink, or silver, although they may also be dyed black.

• Biwa Pearls: The term Biwa Pearls refers to high quality pearls which were cultivated by molluscs in the waters of Japan’s largest lake. Lake  Biwa was among the first places where pearls were cultivated, but increasing pollution in the lake has compelled pearl farmers to stop cultivation.

• Freshwater Pearls: These pearls are cultivated mainly in the ponds, lakes and rivers of China and are among the most popular pearls today as they are less expensive than many of the other pearl varieties available in the market.

• Mabe Pearls: Mabe Pearls are hemispherical pearls that grow rounded on one side and flat on the other, as they are grown along the inside of the oyster’s shell. Mabe pearls are also known as Bouton or Blister pearls.

• South Sea Pearls: These pearls  are produced in the seawaters of Thailand, Burma, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia and the French Polynesian Islands. The most common oysters used are the Silver Lip and Golden Lip Pearl Oyster, which produce among the largest and most expensive pearls in the world. The South Sea Pearl takes approximately two years to form and includes colours such as white, silver and gold.

• Tahitian/Black Pearls: Tahitian pearls are cultivated in other parts of the French Polynesian islands from where they are sent to Tahiti for export. Tahitian Pearls, which come from the Black Lip Pearl Oyster, are also known as Black Pearls because they are the only naturally black variety of pearls. These pearls also come in other dark hues, including green, grey, blue, silver, purple, and brown.

Trade in India 

• The demand for pearls in India has always been very high owing to the rich history and traditions. The demand of pearls in India is still so high that to take advantage of this, many countries import pearls from other markets and add value to them, just to export to India. Many government agencies have tried- out with pearl farming in Gujarat, Vishakhapatnam, Kerala, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and more, but they have their own restrictions.

 • Hong Kong and UAE are few of  the major countries to export pearls to India. Hong Kong accounted for around two-thirds of India’s worked cultured pearls imports in FY2015 (HS Code 71012200; amounting to $429 million of a total of $666 million). UAE accounted for roughly the same amount in the first half of FY2016 ($343 million of a total of $532 million). Interestingly, just the trading hubs but majority of pearls are actually produced in China as fresh-water pearls from China are the easily accessible and are cheap. Hence, the Indian market is swamped with pearls from China.

City Of Pearls

• Hyderabad – City Of Pearls has a long history of its love affair with pearls. More than 400 years ago, the love for gems amongst Nizams made them import pearls from the Persian Gulf, especially Basra. Currently, Hyderabad has a thriving pearl trade and is home to more than 1,500 shops selling pearls. In past few decades, the Hyderabad’s pearl industry has seen lot of change from designs to the art of drilling but has always maintained its reputation.

• Hyderabad- is known for its craftsmanship especially the way its skilled artists drilled and threaded pearls into gorgeous necklaces. The city specialises in processing and grading pearls and drilling a hole in a pearl is a highly skilled job which is second only to diamond cutting. Cheap labour enhances its commercial position all the more. But the skill seems to dying slowly due to availability of machines these days.

Facts and Figures 

• The reciprocal (inverse) relationship between volume and value of India’s cultured pearls imports has left one and many baffled in recent years, noted The Dollar Business in  one of their features. For instance, in FY2014, while the volume of India’s cultured pearls imports fell by 12.5per cent y-o-y, value of imports rose by 9,126 per cent y-o-y. Again in FY2015, while import volumes shrunk 42 per cent, value increased by 87per cent.

• To check for anomalies in import statistics, The Dollar Business quoted Uttam Maji, Deputy Director (Import) DGCIS. He said that the import value figures of FY2014 and FY2015 for cultured pearls worked have been checked. It has been found that from the middle of FY2014, pearls in high values under the ITC (HS) Code 71012200 have regularly been imported from Hong Kong. This is the main reason for surge in the value of cultured pearls imports. It continued during FY2015 also. In fact, the trend continues in FY2016 as well. In the first half of FY2016, India imported just 5,890 kg of cultured pearls for a mstaggering $531.90 million, i.e. about at $90,305.60 per kg (Ministry of Commerce, GoI data).

• The reason for this abnormality is believed to be under pricing. Until the last few years, India’s pearls trade had massive under pricing issues, which have now been taken care of following several crackdowns by customs authorities.

Fake Pearls

• One of the major issues faced by pearl industry is the gush in the invasion of cheaper and low-graded simulated varieties. Previously only restricted traders use to trade that too only in high quality pearls but these days there are numerous shops selling pearls and most of them are bogus. This has affected the margins and profitability too.

• It is a business built on trust but selling fake pearls fraudulently has created a negative impact on the pearl business which has led to a certain level of discomfort amongst the buyers.