Off the coast of Japan’s verdant Saikai National Park, the Kujukushima Islands lie scattered amid a sprawling network of narrow inlets. Their name literally translates as “99 islands,” though there ...

An curved arrow pointing right. South Sea pearls are the largest cultured-pearl variety, sometimes reaching over 20 millimeters in diameter. The Pinctada maxima oyster can take up to five years to ...

BOCA RATON, FL (November 4, 2009) – For more than 25 years, all attempts at culturing pearls from the queen conch (Strombus gigas) have been unsuccessful—until now. For the first time, novel and ...

Visitors to Ago Bay can learn about the history of cultured pearls at the museum on Mikimoto Pearl Island. Mikimoto Pearl Island/JNTO Ago Bay's calm waters and sheltered inlets are perfect for pearls.

They called him the king of pearls. Mikimoto Kokichi, the son of a noodle-shop owner, seemed unlikely to play a role in transforming the jewelry business — or influencing fashion, for that matter.