Vietnam: Shell Nuclei, Pearl Hatcheries, and Pearl Farming

GEMS & GEMOLOGY FALL 2020 V is a land of great diversity and beauty. From the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City to the beauty of Hạ Long Bay and Hoi An (both UNESCO World Heritage Sites), there are innumerable places of interest. Economically, Vietnam is beginning to see significant investment from a wide range of businesses, domestic and foreign. While still dependent on agriculture, the country is emerging as a major player in the electronics and oil/gas industries, among others. These factors, together with a robust tourism industry, are resulting in an expanding population with greater prosperity than ever before. Jewelry, including pearl jewelry, ranks high on the list of luxury items, as there is a significant range of price points at which disposable wealth can be spent. From the costume jewelry sector to high-end offerings, there is something to suit all tastes. While cultured pearls, accounting for 99.9% of the market since the early 1900s, do not usually fall into the higher-end bracket, there remains a healthy demand from consumers (Shor, 2007; Heebner, 2015). The choice of bead cultured pearls in the marketplace is also diverse. Consumers may choose from the usual imported gray to black Tahitian bead cultured pearls, “golden” bead cultured pearls from the Philippines or Indonesia, and bead cultured pearls produced in China. Hạ Long Bay (figures 1 and 2) in northern Vietnam is where most pearl farms, producing predominantly “akoya” (Pinctada fucata martensii) pearls, may be found. These farms are a mix of independent operations and joint ventures with the Vietnamese government. A prime example of the latter is Spica, a Vietnamese-Japanese joint venture that has produced bead cultured pearls for more than a decade. Some farming activity is also found in the waters off southern Vietnam at Nha Trang, as will be seen later, and Phu Quoc (Strack, 2006). Vietnam has produced saltwater cultured pearls commercially since the 1990s. However, the first attempts reportedly began in the 1960s (Strack, 2006). Today, based on the 300–400 kg production from the two farms visited in this report, the country is estimated to produce approximately 2,000 kg per annum. The majority of the production is akoya, with a smaller quantity of Pinctada maxima, and much of the production is currently exported to China, Japan, India, and the United Sates. When the harvests are good, the quality tends to be higher, but the opposite also holds true.