PACIFIC PEARLS makes a specialty of unusual pearls, seeking out the most attractive and intriguing we can find at various price levels. Here we present images and descriptions of some types of pearls that are popular with our customers. We hope they can be useful to anyone curious about pearls.

Pacific Pearls is a family company, currently operating on a small scale in three countries. Since 1951 in Japan, we have been dedicated to pearls. We take pleasure in sharing the insights brought by long experience with producers, processors, fellow dealers, researchers, and with customers at all levels of the trade. This is what we hope to do here. We are open to questions, comments and criticism about the information we provide, and we welcome suggestions for improvement of content and presentation.

Pacific Pearls has long believed in disclosing all we know about our products, to the extent anyone would listen. In so doing, we convinced quite a few people not to buy any pearls, bored others into a coma, and attracted the ridicule of competitors worldwide. Nonetheless, we remain convinced that our recommendations are valued by many who have remained customers over years or decades.

Disclosure of information that may be unflattering to the product, eg production techniques, common treatments and enhancements, has traditionally been minimal in the pearl sector. By closing these gaps in customers’ understanding of pearls, we believe we can enable all purchasers to make more informed choices, and actually inspire some to become pearl enthusiasts.

The wealth of new pearl varieties that has become available in recent years has stimulated curiosity about just how they are produced. Some exhibit unfamiliar phenomena, which also cry out for explanation. Buzzwords abound, but good explanations of their meanings are scarce.

Having found our niche in unusual pearls, we are motivated to provide the most accurate description possible with pearls we sell. We cater to people who appreciate the subtly extraordinary, who do look closely, and who would prefer to know more about the things they sell and wear.