INSIGHT 睿智角度 PEARL REPORT | 49 | 2024-2025 The Pinctada maxima, as the only living organism that can produce a gem, requires clean and abundant waters to thrive. Therefore, marine environment is one of Autore’s most valuable assets since it is vital to growing beautiful and lustrous pearls. Echoing comments from other trade players, he said pearl production was slightly down in the latter part of 2023 and during the first semester of 2024. Specifically, Autore’s pearl farms in Australia suffered from reduced seeding in 2021 to 2022 mainly due to Covid-19 restrictions as well as loss of shell arising from internal travel curbs in Australia. This also resulted in the loss of seeded oysters as Autore had no staff at the farms to maintain onsite operations. “We expect production in Australia to climb steadily in late 2024 and early 2025,” noted Rosario. Autore owns and operates 10 South Sea pearl farms across Australia and Indonesia, harvesting more than 350,000 pearls per year. These pearl farms are in Lombok, Sumbawa and West Java, in addition to sites in Australia off the coast of Broome, Western Australia and Elizabeth Bay, Northern Territory. Extensive research and development are also at the core of Autore’s operations. Owing to continued investments in technology and production techniques, live shell specimens on its farms have tripled in number since the Covid era. The company is also harvesting a higher percentage of top-quality white pearls from both its Australian and Indonesian farms. Autore grades its South Sea pearls at its Sydney headquarters for distribution to prestigious jewellery houses and wholesalers around the world. Its clients can also source their pearl needs at four auctions held by the company every year. The pearl lots are displayed in Kobe, Japan and Hong Kong. Strong and sustainable Autore is certified sustainable across all operations, noted Rosario. With a solid focus on sustainability, upholding its social and environmental responsibility is deeply ingrained in the company’s philosophy. “The Pinctada maxima, as the only living organism that can produce a gem, requires clean and abundant waters to thrive. Therefore, marine environment is one of Autore’s most valuable assets since it is vital to growing beautiful and lustrous pearls,” he continued. As such, Autore dedicates time and resources to understanding the surroundings of its pearl farms and finding ways to minimise the ecological impact of its operations as well as ensure a balanced, diverse and undisturbed ecosystem. Autore is Certified Sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and is a member of The Pearl Producers Association, an organisation of Australian South Sea pearlers. Within Australia, farming entities are allocated a quota to ensure sustainable fishing of wild Pinctada maxima oysters and to guarantee abundant shells in the wild. The pearl specialist focuses heavily on hatchery-grown Pinctada maxima shell to minimise usage of its quota for
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