Hello, ctrookie-ga!
There are some excellent sources pertaining to the pearl market in
the US, but it will require you to do some reading to pull all of the
facts together. However, from what I have found, it should not be
hard. Since you asked where to find information, rather than a
compilation of the information itself, I will steer you toward the
references and provide you with some brief excerpts. Then, you can
feel free to pursue them and glean more information if necessary.
For an excellent history of the pearl market, including major
exporters and importers, market share, trends, etc., read “Pearl
Power: How Did Pearls Take the Market by Storm,” by Morgan Beard.
Colored Stone (July/August 2002) at
http://www.tucsonshowguide.com/stories/jul02/pearls.cfm
Some excerpts follow:
“With South Sea pearls from Tahiti, Indonesia, and other sources
becoming much more available, and the huge influx of freshwater pearls
from China, the consumer market of the 1990s was suddenly faced with
more pearl options than ever before. Starting around the middle of the
decade, major markets like the United States and Europe began to
drastically increase their pearl purchases; in Europe, pearl imports
doubled in value between 1995 and 2000, while in the United States
they quadrupled.”
“What were the factors that led to this pearl boom? And can the
market be sustained over the years to come? To answer those questions,
you have to go back to the beginning.”
“The roots of the current pearl boom can be traced back to the late
1980s and early 1990s, when production of Chinese freshwater pearls
and South Sea pearls of all types began to increase.”
“Part of their success, she adds, was likely due to help from
Japanese pearl farmers who were looking for ways to boost their
profits. "The Japanese government was subsidizing research [in Japan],
and it's just that the Japanese had the technology to sell and were
able to accelerate the whole process."
“In the South Seas, too, farming was on the increase. In Australia,
the main source of white South Sea pearls, production remained fairly
steady. But up-and-coming sources like Indonesia and the Philippines
began to culture more and more pearls, bringing prices down.”
“Similarly, in Tahiti early experiments in pearl cultivation led to
greater investment in pearl farms, culminating in a boom in pearl
exports. Beginning in 1992, pearl exports rose every year, almost
tripling in value between 1992 and 1994.”
“Looking at global trade statistics, French Polynesia's pearl
exports shot up from $103.5 million in 1995 to $152.4 million in 1996.
Australia posted similar gains, with its exports rising 70 percent to
$200 million the same year. Indonesia's exports were high in the early
'90s and then fell in 1995 and 1996, but that was likely due to high
oyster mortality rather than problems with demand.”
“On the market end, U.S. pearl imports increased a staggering 168
percent between 1995 and 1996, from $89 million to $238.8 million.
European countries like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy
saw a more gradual rise in imports between 1994 and 1999 as pearls
became more accepted there as well. Pearls were riding high, the
market invigorated by new looks and increased demand.”
“And then came China.Although China had been known for its
freshwater pearls for years, the sudden flood that emerged in 1998 and
1999 took the market by surprise. Not only were there good-quality
pearls, but they came in an astonishing variety of colors, shapes, and
sizes — all for a couple of hundred dollars a strand, one-tenth the
price of Japanese akoyas.”
“Even more impressive than the variety was the sheer volume. At the
1999 Gemological Institute of America symposium, James Peach Sr. of
U.S. Pearl Co. estimated production of Chinese freshwater pearls at
between 800 and 900 metric tons, at sizes ranging from 1 mm to 15 mm
in diameter. By 2001, production estimates were up to 1,200 tons per
year and rising.”
“Also in 1999, U.S. pearl imports shot up 37 percent to $385.1
million. Much of that was undoubtedly fueled by consumer demand for
Chinese freshwater pearls, although South Sea pearls also played an
important role.”
“It was beginning in 1999 that a second wave of South Sea pearls —
both white and black — hit the market, sending prices spiralling
downward. Tahitian black pearls were more affected than white pearls
because there was less control at the source as new, inexperienced
players started up farms. Those farms produced mostly low-quality
pearls, but rather than destroy them, as the government wanted, the
producers were taking them directly to retailers in the United States
and elsewhere, pawning them off for hugely discounted prices. By 2001,
it was estimated that prices for commercial- and medium-grade pearls
were half their 1996 levels, while the top end remained stable.”
“Spurred by the increasing variety of pearls appearing in display
cases, pearl sales have climbed steadily for more than a decade. Loose
pearl imports into the United States rose from $72 million in 1994 to
$391 million in 2000, making it the world's largest pearl market and
accounting for approximately 38 percent of the world's pearl sales.
Although those imports dropped slightly in 2001 to $321 million, most
market watchers say the cause is likely the slowing world economy and
the aftermath of September 11, not fading consumer interest in
pearls.”
“Those imports translated into retail sales of $738 million in 1994
and $1.54 billion in 2000, according to Devin Macnow, executive
director of the Cultured Pearl Information Center (CPIC).” "We've seen
almost a 100 percent increase since 1994," says Macnow. "The return to
elegant dressing and the death of grunge" have boosted pearl sales,
while post-September 11, women have sought out pearls as a source of
"inconspicuous consumption."
“Pearl traders also attribute the growth in the market to the
diversity of pearls available. "This isn't the same cultured pearl
business that [we saw] 10 or 15 years ago," says Raymond Mastoloni Sr.
of Frank Mastoloni Sons. "We've had the advent of black pearls, the
popularity of white South Sea pearls, and [Chinese] freshwater pearls'
entry into the market. I think it's all for the better, as far as the
consumer is concerned. There's greater selection of merchandise he can
pick from. He's not just relegated to one 15-inch strand of pearls."
“While the United States is the leading consumer market for pearls,
Europe has played a role in the current boom as well.”
The article quoted from above has more extensive information on
worldwide production, market value and designer trends. I encourage
you to read the the article in entirety. Again, the article may be
found at http://www.tucsonshowguide.com/stories/jul02/pearls.cfm
Texas cultured pearls may be a new market source if production
succeeds as planned. Excerpts from a fascinating article titled “Texas
Cultured Pearls.” (2/2000) at
http://agnews.tamu.edu/agex/February2000.html follow:
“If researchers and potential producers who are backing them are
right, the gem could rise from the murky waters that feed into Lake
Anahuac near Houston to jewelry stores across Texas and the nation,
according to Dr. Leonard DiMichele, Texas Agricultural Experiment
Station fisheries researcher. DiMichele is heading a research effort
to develop a cultured pearl industry from mussels found in Texas
waters.”
“Currently, Japanese and other Asian markets have a firm grasp on
the cultured pearl industry though the United States literally shells
it to them, he said. Almost all of the nuclei, or shell substance that
is introduced into the mussels or oysters to initiate pearl formation,
is produced in the United States, then shipped to the Asian countries
to produce pearls that are sent back to the U.S. retail jewelry
market.”
"The southeastern United States has a large number of fresh water
mussel species with thick shells," said DiMichele, referring to the
nuclei industry. "There are other species of mussels in other parts of
the world, but most have been exploited to the point of not being
viable.”
"You can liken the economy of what we are doing now to Colonial
America you produce the raw material and ship it overseas for the
manufacturing, and then it gets sold back to you," DiMichele added.
"That is never as good an economic arrangement as doing the
manufacturing yourself.” Johnny Pillars of J&F Supply in Pioneer,
La., agrees. His company markets the nuclei overseas. Pillars would
like to have a new U.S. market and even his own pearl farm. He said it
is commonly accepted that freshwater pearls in the United States among
the most valuable.
"Well-known gemologists say the American freshwater pearl has no
equal," Pillars said. "We have been blessed with a better quality
animal, and that is why U.S. shell is used around the world to make
pearls."
“He expects the U.S. pearl farms to become a multi-million-dollar
industry. "Seventy percent of the pearls sold worldwide are sold in
the United States," he noted.
An article titled “Endangered Freshwater Mussel Species and Trade,”
concerning the environmental threat to freshwater mussels in the
United States, and the consequent impact on the cultured pearl
industry, may be found at
http://www.american.edu/projects/mandala/TED/mussel2.htm
Further references:
“Pearls in Transition.” Professional Jeweler.com (9/2001) at
http://www.professionaljeweler.com/archives/articles/2001/sep01/0901gs.html
“Word Cultured Pearl Market.” Professional Jeweler.com (9/1998) at
http://www.professionaljeweler.com/archives/articles/1998/jul98/0798gs1.html
I hope this information provides you with a good start. Let me know
if I can be of further help.
umiat-ga
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