Biwa help please!

[J. Larry Railey]

Could someone please explain to us what a Biwa pearl is? Is it considered a Biwa beacuse of the area it comes from in Japan or is Biwa a name for a specific shape of a pearl? Thanks.

JLR/jag
J. Larry Railey

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Larry,

Biwa is strictly a regional designation and anybody selling Biwa pearls nowadays should better be darn sure about the provenance. Lake Biwa ceased production in the early 1990s. Some sellers now incorrectly use the term Biwa pearl to mean stick pearl and some older jewelers still use the term to refer to all freshwater cultured pearls. That is not actually correct or accepted practice.

Zeide

 

[J. Larry Railey]

Thank you Zeide, greatly appreciated.

JLR/jag
Larry