different types of pearls : akoya

Akoya - The classic round white pearl historically produced around the islands of Japan but increasingly being cultivated in China. The Akoya pearls are cultivated in oysters. Since the oysters are relatively small, the pearls size will vary between 2 to 9mm. Just like freshwater pearl production, the saltwater pearl cultivation starts by implanting a perfectly rounded mother-of-pearl nucleus along with an irritant into the oyster. Only two, maximum four nucleuses can be hosted at the same time.