Becky arranged to meet with a foremost supplier shortly after a major harvesting of pearls. As we shared a meal with this pearl professional, he said that Becky had already chosen the best that he had to offer. He knew many others were looking for the unique and unusual pearls which she had selected. You, her customers, clearly enjoy wearing these distinctive pearls.

I'm not going to give my entire tea talk on pearls, but I can share a few interesting points from this expert: I asked how one gets the various colors in the fresh water pearls.  He said that the mollusk or mussel may produce many pearls – as many as 20 from a single mollusk! — with a range of colors! I then remembered the careful removal and color sorting in the pearl "factory" that we visited in China. Those skilled harvesters could not predict or explain the color either.

He also brought to my attention that the Japanese had developed disease-resistant (saltwater) oysters which were not susceptible to the disease that had previously dramatically reduced the production of Akoya Pearls. So, we should be seeing a rejuvenated production within the next year or two.