Farm Life — pearls

From the April 2021 issue of #thisispearl digital magazine   The owner of a wholesale pearl operation in Tokyo travels to Japanese pearl farming regions and learns how the pandemic has affected operations.   Hello, friends! Unlike numerous farm operations around the globe, most Japanese akoya pearl farms haven’t been affected health-wise by the coronavirus pandemic. Many akoya pearl farms are located in the countryside near my hometown of Shima-city Mie, a region in the mid-southern portion of Japan on the Pacific Ocean. Covid-19 cases in Shima-city in 2020 were close to zero, according to reports released in 2021. This meant...

From the February 2021 issue of #thisispearl digital magazine Farm Life Alexander Collins Pearls in Takaroa, French Polynesia The founder of a small Tahitian pearl farm talks tiny pearls and difficulties working with Mother Nature. Hello, friends. Pearl farming in an average year is not easy, but factor in a pandemic and the challenges are even greater. The most significant direct impediment for our farm in Takaroa, which is an hour-plus flight from Tahiti, was the lack of Chinese technicians and grafters who got stuck—and still are—in China after the 2020 Chinese New Year. As a result, our grafting output...

From the December 2020 issue of #thisispearl digital magazine Farm Life: Paspaley in North Western Australia Michael Bracher, executive director of Paspaley Pearls, weighs in on an unprecedented year in Australian pearling Dear friends, What a year it’s been! The markets were virtually closed for a good part of the year, Paspaley had significant staff costs in the remote regions of Australia, and Covid-19 presented some significant practical challenges in the early months. But our technicians and fleet crew went the extra mile this year and we are very grateful to them. Thankfully, Covid was our only big obstacle this...