The  Hanadama Pearl Standardization

                                            

  To set a new standard for grading above the Mikimoto GIA AAA grade, the Hamadama pearl brand was established.

 Hanadama is a Japanese word meaning rounded flower, and the name given to the highest quality Akoya pearl by the founder of Mikimoto, Kokichi Mikimoto. Their scarcity and high pricing makes them difficult to find in retail jewelry shops, and little known outside Japan.

  Because there is no standard, each store and fine pearl brand can, and do claim to have the finest quality of pearl sold. Even distant quality Hamadama pearls are sold at outrageous prices of hundreds of dollars a pearl. Independent pearl grading systems, like the Pearl Science Laboratory (PSL) in Tokyo, have been established to help certify the quality of Hamadama pearls for the first time buyers.






                                                   


                                                               Background


 In 1996 a devastating virus destroyed a large part of the pearl shellfish in the Bay of Ise - the main saltwater home of the Akoya pearl. Hybridizing with Chinese shellfish, which had developed a resistance to the virus and have thrived in the Bay once more, saved the Japanese Akoya pearl cultivation.

  Because the pearl comes from living shellfish forms, individual differences of quality are very distinct. Those also perfectly round without imperfections are without equal in the gem trade and comprise less than 1% of all pearls cultivated.

The pearl, as a jewel, has no worldwide-recognized quality-grading standard in the jewelry industry, being still ambiguous to those in the cultivation industry itself. This explains the common confusion of pearl buyers in the international market for the exact grade of pearl owned.

Only when the layering of the mother of pearl shines through to perfection, like the unfolding petals of a flower, color, shape and imperfections determine the truly exquisite quality. When the layering of the mother of pearl is complete, the spirit of the pearl is very strong, and when the color and shape remains completely round, with no imperfections, you have a true gem of nature.

                                                    
                                                                   Update
In late 2007, several corporations including Mikimoto in Japan, joined together to try and resolve Hanadama pearl standardization, but were not successful.