Akoya necklace making video | Flower Jem

This is a video of the making process of a necklace currently on sale on Etsy.
( flowerjem.etsy... )
Below is the product description on Etsy.
This is an Akoya pearl necklace.
These pearls have many natural wounds.
They look like a white film is covering the pearls.
There are also wounds that look like white powder scattered on them, as if makeup powder has stuck to them.
All of these occurred while the pearls were inside the Akoya oysters.
The cause is the poor health of the oysters. When Akoya oysters become unhealthy, they sometimes secrete this white substance in addition to nacre. Pearls found in oysters that died during cultivation are often completely covered in a hard white coating, resembling a layer of white paint.
This pearl is not in such a bad condition. The wounds are noticeable when viewed up close, but from a distance, it looks like a lovely necklace. You can find more details in the video I’ve posted on TH-cam for those interested.
This necklace is also made with Flower Jem's signature all-knot technique.
This time, the thread is gray. And this time, I made an effort not to emphasize the thread too much.
I'm not quite sure why I did that myself. Maybe I thought it would be a bit more subtle if a little thread was visible between the pearls.
The pearls are round in shape. The nacre is thick. The thickness of the nacre is important. It plays a crucial role in supporting the luster of the pearls.
No matter how lustrous a pearl is, if the nacre is thin, the shine will appear superficial.
Just like no matter how well-dressed a person is, without education and sophistication, people might not find them attractive.
I believe the luster and thickness of the nacre in pearls have a similar aspect.
The price of this pearl necklace is quite low, I think.
That's because this necklace was not purchased to be sold on Etsy.
I bought these pearls for a new wholesale customer of mine.
However, the customer ended up not buying this necklace.
They told me in July that they needed a necklace like this, but the schedule changed to January.
So, to clear out inventory, I decided to sell this necklace on Etsy.
And because of that, the price of this pearl necklace is at an extreme discount right from the start.
When looking at this necklace up close, I think the price is fair, but from a meter away, it feels too cheap. I repeated this back and forth for a while. However, I don't want to receive complaints from customers who buy this necklace, so I set the price as it is. I believe customers will be satisfied with this price.
The nacre is thick, so although there are many wounds, these pearls have a calm luster.
Even if the luster is strong, if the nacre is thin, it won't feel very attractive.
These pearls are not high quality, but they have a deep luster.
The necklace can also be used as a bracelet when wrapped twice around the wrist. My wrist is 15 cm, and when wrapped twice, six pearls are left over, making the ends of the bracelet dangle. It seems to fit wrists up to about 20 cm.
Today is June 29, 2024. The rainy season has finally begun in Japan. Today was unusually sunny but humid and muggy.
I was at home making this necklace. In the middle of it, a wholesale customer visited me at home.
He operates a pearl gacha in Japan. I create the pop advertisements for his gacha machines.
He came to request the production of these pop advertisements.
His pearl gacha machines are installed in about 30 locations from Tokyo in the north to Okinawa in the south. If 1 dollar is 160 yen, you can get an Akoya pearl necklace, ring, or earrings for $6.25 from the gacha machines.
Pearl gachas first appeared in Japan about three years ago, and they still seem to be popular.
One of them is installed in Dotonbori in Osaka, which is like Times Square in New York, and it sells nearly 1,000 items a month.
Most of the buyers are Chinese. It's common knowledge in the industry that China's demand supports the Japanese Akoya industry.
This has been the case for about 20 years. Japanese people don't buy that many pearls.
Japanese people mainly buy pearls for weddings and funerals. Very few people buy pearls regularly simply because they like them.
However, pearl production has been declining year by year, so this level might be good. If Akoya pearls become more popular, the prices will skyrocket. In the past three years, Akoya pearl prices have reached all-time highs, but it seems they will calm down and stabilize from now on.
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Flower Jem ｜ Pearl Bless You
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