This article first appeared in the Pearl Report 2023-2024.

Established in 1999, China-based Dragon’s Pearl Co Ltd specialises in saltwater pearl farming and wholesale, with domestic jewellery brands as its core clients. The company also developed its own finished jewellery line under a registered brand – Akoya® Jewelry. The aim is to offer top-of-the-line Akoya pearl jewellery.

Tapping into opportunities arising from emerging online retail trends, the pearl specialist’s new brand leverages livestreaming as a way to reach out to a wider range of digital-savvy customers. Livestreaming sessions are instrumental in collecting data on buying behaviours and trends, which in turn, enables the company to deliver products that fit the needs of end-consumers, according to Cai.

“Be it livestreaming or online stores, success in the digital space ultimately depends on high-quality products, professional value-added services and robust supply chains,” he noted. “These are the strengths of our company, which we have painstakingly built in more than 20 years.”

Citing an unprecedented growth in pearl sales in China, Cai said prospects are bright for the domestic pearl market, which he described as having just entered a “stage of personalised consumption.”

“More and more consumers now wear pearl jewellery to match their outfits for self-expression as a nod to the product’s emotional resonance. Imbued with meaningful connotations of motherly love and purity, pearls are poised to enjoy long-term demand in China,” he stated. Among the fastest-moving products in the market today are top-quality white Akoya and South Sea pearls, according to Cai. Amid growing demand and slower production across all pearl categories, prices are likely to remain high in the near term, he added.