Hong Kong-based Fukui Shell Nucleus Factory continues to make strides in the global cultured pearl industry.

With nearly 30 years of experience in the trade, the company has expanded its operations and now offers a full spectrum of products and services including pearl nuclei; pearl cultivation and processing; pearl accessories and jewellery as well as education and technology, revealed David Wong, project director of Fukui Shell Nucleus Factory.

The company also specialises in mother-of-pearls, with a focus on watch plates that are mainly sold to Swiss watchmakers.

In 2019, Fukui is focusing on four areas of growth: Achieving a steady supply of nuclei for pearl cultivators around the world; growing pearls in Hong Kong on a grander scale to capture the demand for Akoya pearls; increasing the use of its patented Metakaku technology; and developing high-end mother-of-pearl products.

Metakaku is a type of pearl nucleus with an embedded RFID tag that enables farmers to give each cultured pearl a unique identity right from the beginning of its formation.

Transparency and traceability

According to Wong, transparency and traceability are a means for product differentiation in the pearl sector.

“Sustainable development and pearl processing highlight what we want to convey to the public,” he noted. “There is an increased desire to educate the public about pearls to enable buyers to differentiate the pearls' origins. Competition becomes fiercer when the average quality of pearls increases. For instance, some Chinese freshwater pearls now look so much like Akoya to the untrained eyes.”

Transparency and traceability have become more essential to marketing and branding strategies in the pearl industry, especially when Hong Kong starts cultivating pearls in full scale.

“It is even more essential to differentiate Hong Kong pearls from the Japanese Akoya pearls. Hong Kong, just like Japan, has a rich pearling history,” he added.

The future of pearls

Wong cited a collective desire in the pearl industry to focus more on the pearls' uniqueness instead of their “perfection.” Technology and contemporary art are also inspiring new ways to look at pearls, particularly with the use of Metakaku to identify and personalise each pearl, and ma-ki-e (蒔繪）, an ancient Japanese art technique to make pearl jewellery.

Pearl farmers are likewise expanding into tourism by providing tours at pristine pearl cultivation sites that are not easily accessible to tourists.    

Digitalisation is also playing an important role in the future of the pearl business. According to Wong, the Internet has made it possible for retailers to sell their products on a wider and more accessible platform.

Fukui uses a hybrid operational model for pearl cultivation