The shell beds are farmed by Tasaki, the Japanese pearl- and diamond- design house that has been harvesting the rare, brown-lipped pearl oyster here since the 1970s. The Akoya, a small white pearl ...

Japan's akoya oysters have been preëminent among cultured pearls ever since Kokichi Mikimoto first established the industry in the early part of this century. But since 1994, something has been ...

which are much rarer than freshwater pearls. Akoya oysters only produce a maximum of two pearls at a time, whereas a single freshwater pearl mussel can produce over 24 at once. The fancy footwear ...