Japan has dominated the pearl market for years but according to a report from Reuters, the pearl empire is facing a crisis. The cultured pearl empire created by Kokichi Mikimoto has had a run of over one hundred years but now the decrease in jewelry sales and the rise of the pearl industry in China is changing things. The Reuters report says that domestic production hit a high of 88.5 billion yen ($900 million) in 1990 but last year's number was one fifth of that. Growers who have been cultivating pearls for years are considering getting out of the industry. Pearl farms are closing down as the market shifts.
In China, growers have had great success in cultivating pearls that can be as big and round as the prized Japanese akoya pearls. China has 50 times Japan's pearl production capacity and can flood the market with cheaper pearls. Japan is also facing competition from South Sea and Tahitian pearls. Japan now imports more than double the amount of pearls it exports.
Another problem may also be that the market for pearls just isn't there anymore. Pearls are considered traditional and are often out of favor with young people. Pearls were once a classic gift for life transitions like graduations and weddings but that is not as common anymore. Tiffany & Co. announced the closing of their pearl-only Irdidesse stores in March of this year. Also while the diamond industry has made huge promotional efforts to educate consumers, most people don't know why they should choose one type of pearl over another. The company that started it all, Mikimoto, has learned to roll with the times selling pearls from a variety of places and combining pearls with diamonds to create a variety of jewelry styles.
