Gem News International Gems & Gemology, Fall 2024, Vol. 60, No. 3

International Jewellery Kobe 2024

Moemi Ogawa and Asumi Sanbonmatsu

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Figure 1. A strand of akoya pearls and a pair of earrings ranging in size from 9.02 to 9.49 mm. Photo by Asumi Sanbonmatsu; courtesy of Kuwayama.
 
Figure 1. A strand of akoya pearls and a pair of earrings ranging in size from 9.02 to 9.49 mm. Photo by Asumi Sanbonmatsu; courtesy of Kuwayama.

International Jewellery Kobe (IJK), held at the Kobe International Exhibition Hall every spring, is one of the premier international jewelry trade shows in the Kansai region of western Japan. Since Kobe is known for its pearl industry, pearl dealers exhibited in more than 100 booths out of 441 total. Overall, the show drew nearly 14,000 visitors.

Many vendors exhibited akoya bead cultured pearls, mostly in 6–8 mm sizes. With unusually large akoya bead cultured pearls from 11.0 to 12.2 mm seen at the Tucson show earlier this year (Summer 2024 GNI, pp. 255–256), the authors searched for similar sizes but only found them as large as 9.0–9.5 mm (figure 1). Some dealers said that 11 mm would be the largest size found at the show.

Figure 2. Tahitian pearl strands in 7–9 mm size (left) and golden South Sea pearl strands in 8–10 mm size (right). Photos by Moemi Ogawa; courtesy of Tanaka Pearl.
 
Figure 2. Tahitian pearl strands in 7–9 mm size (left) and golden South Sea pearl strands in 8–10 mm size (right). Photos by Moemi Ogawa; courtesy of Tanaka Pearl.

Meanwhile, small sizes (less than 10 mm) of Tahitian and golden South Sea bead cultured pearls are currently on the market (figure 2). The smallest Tahitian at the show was 7 mm, and the smallest golden South Sea pearl was 8 mm. The small Tahitian pearls featured various shapes, colors, and overtones, with very good to excellent luster, and some pits and blemishes on the surface (figure 2, left). According to one salesperson, these small Tahitian pearls were from the Philippines. He noted that pearl farmers are producing small Tahitian and golden South Sea pearls due to an unprecedented increase in demand. However, high-quality small pearls are still rare. On the other hand, very few South Sea white pearls were found below 10 mm in diameter, which might suggest a low demand due to the availability of akoya.

Figure 3. A conch pearl necklace offered at IJK. Photo by Asumi Sanbonmatsu; courtesy of Fiore Y.A.C.
 
Figure 3. A conch pearl necklace offered at IJK. Photo by Asumi Sanbonmatsu; courtesy of Fiore Y.A.C.

One vendor offered uniquely designed conch pearl jewelry (figure 3). These conch pearls had typical porcelaneous structures such as granulate, silk, and the highly prized flame structure.

The next IJK show will be held May 15–17, 2025.

Moemi Ogawa is a diamond grader, and Asumi Sanbonmatsu is a diamond grader specialist, at GIA in Tokyo.