Yokota Pearls

[Honey_and_Lemon]

Does anyone have experience with Yokota Pearls (http://www.yokota-pearl.co.jp/english/e-index.htm)?

They have a few ebay auctions up, for high dollar akoya strands and a website with some very nice Akoya strands up. They claim to be offering several grades of AA akoya, as well as necklaces priced at several layers above their Hanadama necklaces.

 

[Caitlin]

Necklaces several layers above Hanadamas? I don't understand. The link doesn't work.

 

[pearlescence]

Try http://www.yokota-pearl.co.jp/english/ or go to the home page and there is an english option top right. It is an odd design of website (first generation e-commerce not updated?) and I saw the dread phrase 'Tahitian Black pearls'. Mind you, we are dealing with folk whose first language is not english, so these may be real Tahitians, but the english translation does skirt around that issue and the photos aren't clear enough to be certain.
I don't know enough about akoya pearls to comment on their pearls or gradings

 

[Caitlin]

I have completed a thorough study of all of Yokotas info pages and looked at their three grades of akoya pearls. In the top info section under ?we offer AAA pearls? He says he uses the Mikimto a-AAA standard
And posts it here: http://www.yokota-pearl.co.jp/english/grading.html

We Offer Genuine AAA

AAA-A Grading System
For your information, this is popular standard for AAA-A Grading system though it is not generated by something public institutions.

AAA : The highest quality range of Japanese Akoya Cultured Pearl, almost no blemishes, that means at least 95% of the surface will be free from blemishes. Very thick nacre, and the surface will have a very strong luster. In multi-pearl pieces such as strands, bracelets, etc., a few pearls may not absolutely meet the indicated level because of emphasizing "matching".

AA : Thick nacre, and the surface will have strong luster. At least 75% of the surface will be free from blemishes. In multi-pearl pieces such as strands, bracelets, etc., a few pearls may not absolutely meet the indicated level because of emphasizing "matching".

A : The lowest jewelry-grade. Lower luster and/or more than 25% of the surface showing something defects.

.Here is part of his hanadama description on http://www.yokota-pearl.co.jp/english/hanadama.html

Laboratories's Hanadama criteria are rough, in fact, upper-middle grade pearls can pass the test

by these reasons, we can't say "With Hanadama Certificate" = "Hanadama Pearl(s)" = "The Best Quality Pearls".

Truly AAA pearls pass the Laboratory's Hanadama test, of course, but AA and possibly A+ pearls also may be able to pass the test.
We don't mean denying the certificate system, but actually, pearl necklaces with Hanadama certificate can be divided into some grades. So as we are a company specializing in pearls, we can not explain that "As this necklace comes with Hanadama Certificate, this is the highest quality." but have to explain the exact quality appraised by our own eyes.

He obviously sends less than his best to the laboratory if he sells a AA hanadama.

YOKOTA does not send best pearls for the certification, if the nacre is thick enough to pass and the customer wants the cert, he sends them off. Passing off lower grades as hanadama quality cheapens the whole process of getting the cert in the first place and his hyperbole on what hanadama means is hyperbole. No matter what he says, he does sell hanadama certified necklaces in its own category. And knowing he will send off a AA grade to get the cert does not win him any points in my eyes.

It actually makes other?s definition of hanadama, worth less.

Moving on to ?natural white akoyas? http://www.yokota-pearl.co.jp/english/enhancement.html:
He states in the first paragraph:

Basically, almost all of Akoya Pearls are needed bleaching process more or less because of blemishes.
Considering Akoya Pearl's attribute, more than 90% of white Akoya Pearls are needed to something treatment relating to bleaching.

There, he admits 10% are not bleached whiter.[/quote]

Skipping to the history of pearls, http://www.yokota-pearl.co.jp/english/story.html

Research into oyster cultivation began in China toward the end of the 19th century. This research was furthered in Japan by Kokichi Mikimoto, and by 1907 the first successful cultured pearl had been harvested.

In 1912, courts in Paris and London ruled that Japanese cultured pearls could not rightfully be called "pearls". Scholars throughout France and England, beginning with Drs. Jameson and Boutan, however, soon demonstrated that the physical composition of cultured pearls was not so different from that of natural pearls. Following this testimony, cultured pearls made their way out of the courtroom and onto the world market as a Japanese specialty.

Notice how he edges around the actual truth; that two Japanese men stole cultivating round pearls techniques from Saville-Kent, and patented them in Japan, then sold the patent to Miki. We have a full article about this story on the front pages here. This is a bit sneaky, in my opinion. It is certainly not full disclosure and one brief sentence would have been far more ethical.

That famous lawsuit won them the right to call their pearls CULTURED pearls. They have no right to say pearls without saying cultured somewhere. That is in both CIBJO and the FTC regulations. That paragraph is just plain fudging the fact they had to be taken to court to force them to use the word cultured because they were implying they were natural pearls before the ruling. Hmphh.

Next, I looked at a AAA strand of pearls. The largest size goes for $5k. The AA pearls go for $4,500 for the largest size. Now the hanadama stand,@ $5k. He does not give it a grade, but substituted hanadama for the grade, so you have no idea what grade the necklace in the photo is. It also costs the same as the AAA grade- which means if it is AA hanadama, you are paying $500 for the hanadama certificate! That looks like a racket to me. First he denigrates it, then he proves it by selling less than an AAA as a hanadama.
[FONT=&quot]He makes it pointless for anyone to get a certificate for AAA pearls.

It is pointless to pay for a hanadama certificate when stuff lie this is going on.

I am sure his AA and AAA are fine to buy, even if very high priced! But he is as good a b-s-er as anyone.


One last remark. Yokota pearls are not less treated than any others, he himself does not say so anywhere and he does say 90% of all akoyas are treated. His pearls are what he says they are, but it is not worth it to buy the certificate![/FONT]
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[Honey_and_Lemon]

http://www.yokota-pearl.co.jp/english/ I just found it interesting that they were offering necklaces at price points above their "Hanadama" necklaces, at most retailers those are usually the most expensive.

 

[Amanda]

Try http://www.yokota-pearl.co.jp/english/ or go to the home page and there is an english option top right. It is an odd design of website (first generation e-commerce not updated?) and I saw the dread phrase 'Tahitian Black pearls'. Mind you, we are dealing with folk whose first language is not english, so these may be real Tahitians, but the english translation does skirt around that issue and the photos aren't clear enough to be certain.
I don't know enough about akoya pearls to comment on their pearls or gradings

I think they do claim them to be Tahitians only:

In the general meaning, pearls look like black are called "Black Pearl". But there are 2 types of Black Pearl. One is dyed black pearl. This may be freshwater pearl or Akoya pearl. The other is Tahitian Black Pearls cultivating with Black-Lipped Oyster in French Polynesia.

Tahitian Black Pearls are basically not dyed.

Yokota Pearls use the word "Black Pearl" only in case of the pearl is Tahitian Black Pearl.

 

[perlinda]

I sent them question regarding the different in prices of their Hanadama. And here is their response:

"Thank you for your question. We are glad to hear that you're checking our products. The price differences mean quality differences. Actually, Pearl Science Laboratory's Hanadama grade is not pinpointed, but range. In other words, there are variety of qualities of pearls in their Hanadama grade even the certificates say almost the same things. If you would have any specific questions, feel free to ask us at anytime. Thank you for your consideration.

- yokotapearls"

Someone on pricescope purchased from them and seems to be very happy with it http://www.pricescope.com/forum/pearls-new/hanadama-topgrade-freshwaters-buy-which-suppliers-t154860.html

 

[Jeweljunke]

Hi all. I haven't been here for awhile 'cause it costs me too much $$. But I do come by every now and then to see the new posts, and I caught this one. I have the Yokota Hanadama, and all I can say is I absolutely LOVE them. Here is a photo of mine 8.5/9mm, and I chose silver instead of pinkish. With Yokota, I think it is more a language and cultural thing rather than any type of intent to deceive. I have been 'friends' with the owner on FB since I purchased these pearls and his English is almost non-existent. He does not 'push' selling his pearls in the US, and in fact I only found his Japanese website first through a google search YEARS ago, and then found his English translation site. I bookmarked him until I was ready to buy. Now. I love PearlParadise and I love what I have purchased from them, and maybe would have bought my Hanadamas from them if I had known about PearlParadise at the time I was ready. But to say that "ANY of J's Hanadamas would blow his out of the water"...well, all I can say is I admire loyalty... I wouldn't trade my Yokota Hanadamas. IRL they are stunning. Photos never do them justice. Yokota is an honest Japanese businessman and does not deserve even a hint of ill-will.

 

[perlinda]

Thank you for sharing! You're also the one who posted on pricescope about Yokota hanadama. The pearls look so pretty that my friend who was looking for Akoya immediately contacted Yokota about it

 

[Caitlin]

Jeweljunke,

Nice pearls, almost flawless to the eye, but look up Gem Geek's untreated hanadama thread. The difference leaves yours, as pretty as it is, in the dust. It is so luminous and has so deep a play of orient, it is visible in photos.

Yours is a typical bleached AAA akoya, and there is nothing wrong with them, they are high quality, but what orient there was, was been destroyed by the bleach, though the ball bearing luster remains.

The point here is that Hanadama means the certified top of the AAA range. It should not mean a lesser grade than AAA.

 

[Jeweljunke]

Hi Caitlin. Yikes! It seems like I am a babe in the woods when it comes to shill posters. I bow to your experience and knowledge with that. But I would bet my bottom dollar that it has nothing to do with Yokota Pearls. Yokota is a one man operation, who just does not seem interested in the USA market. I shared a copy of this posting with him through Facebook, but his English is so limited, I doubt he will come here to defend himself.

Sorry I haven't been here in a while, I'm trying to be a 'good' girl and save some $. Does not seem to be working though, instead of pearls, I'm buying gemstones. Been over on Pricescope in the Colored gemstones forum. I feel I am hopelessly lost in pearls, gems and anything shiny!

 

[Jeweljunke]

Hey Caitlin. If I had known about the untreated Hanadama when I was looking, I have no doubt that is probably the way I would have gone. They are stunning.

 

[Caitlin]

He does not have to defend himself. He has already stated his POV. His honesty is not in question and I am sure he will not lose reputation or customers because someone brought up his name.

This issue is more political than factual. It has people with different POV's.
I understand that many American dealers get Hanadama certs on their best akoyas. These certify the amount of nacre is thicker than on low grade akoyas.

This guy uses a lab that will certify strands that are less than AAA, thus rendering the hanadama designation into a turmoil. My only complaint about yokota is they sell hanadamas at all- after purposefully designating them as lesser quality the best of his best-.

He is fighting against the standard others want to uphold.

The other person I am alluding to shares the same POV re hanadamas- and it is a bit of an odd man out view. Perhaps Yokota is the source of that POV and other sellers have expressed his POV for at least a decade- that I know of- but it probably goes back to the 50's or 60's when such alliances were being born.

 

[dkan 168]

Gem Geek is an expert photographer of pearls, and perhaps for that reason, her untreated PP Hanadamas looked more luminous than Jeweljunke's Yokota's Hanadamas. I suspect Jeweljunke's pic does not do her necklace justice.

DK

 

[Jeweljunke]

Thanks DK. They are much nicer than my photos could possibly show. Maybe with the new camera that I have on pre-order/waiting list, a Canon T4i, I can get a better photo. But I have nothing to prove, so it is moot.

Caitlin - I really doubt that Yokota knows the villainous 'other person'. But none of this makes any difference, as you say everyone has a POV on this subject. So I will let it rest there and will not post further on this point, but to say that the best pearls that ever existed may not have a Hanadama Cert. That still makes them the best pearls ever.

 

[Honey_and_Lemon]

Caitlin, I've been lurking on pearl guide for a while, before I started posting. I learned about Pearl guide while looking for info about buying pearls on eBay about year ago.

I asked about Yokata, because on eBay they have some buy it now auctions for akoya strands in the mid four digits. Given all the issues with buying on eBay from international sellers, that is not the sort of thing you buy lightly. Hence I asked on Pearl-guide if anyone had any experience with them.

Honestly, I'm not sure where all of your paranoia comes from, real John Birch society stuff, with conspiracy's dating back to the 1950s.

I'm not questioning Hanadama pearls at all. I just found it interesting that whereas at the US vendors the Hanadama strands are the top of the line, at yokota, they are offering to get you an optional Hanadama certificate (for $75) on strands they call AA and some they call AAA.

That is all.

 

[Caitlin]

I agree. Certainly not all of the best akoya pearls are certified hanadamas. But less than the best should not be. My only point....

 

[Caitlin]

I am alarmed at the conclusions to which you have leaped. I did not use the word conspiracy, unless all business relationships are conspiracies. It is not John Birch stuff and there are no conspiracies! It is pearl philosophies and POV's which I thought I made clear. My apologies. But I doubt you looked closely at my carefully considered words before jumping to conclusions.

For example, We have on this forum Kojima pearls' Sarah. Kojimas's pearl mentor, Fuji Voll, came from a family who lived in Japan for years, starting when Fuji was 14, in the 50's, and built relationships with Japanese pearl producers. Fuji's family was not the only one there at the time, either. Back in the 50's was when akoyas were just beginning to explode in sales and the pioneer families that were there first, made deep connections that have lasted to this day.

I am sorry I did not take time out to explain pearl history to you so you would not make such assumptions. I am not sorry, actually, I expect you to know what you are talking about before you throw loaded words about. I am irritated you developed an opinion and criticized my remarks, rather than asking question to clarify your lack of pearl history knowledge. And that kind of insulting dialogue is not the standard here.

Pearls are deep and mysterious and you would not believe the intrigues over the ages.

This is not one of those, it is different suppliers in Japan in competition with each other and different large buyers in the US who inherit the politics of their Japanese sellers.

There is one seller whose name I do not care to publicize who has had this hanadama thing clogging up his nose for years and has tried to blow his dammed nose on other sellers for years. If you were a pearl-guide historian and read lots of old threads, you would know this.

As a 7 time poster who acts like an expert while remaining anonymous, (That is rather cowardly, don't you think?) I think you might already know it and are blowing your nose, too. Otherwise, you are way, way out of your depth as far as pearl history and anthropology go.

 

[GemGeek]

Caitlin, there are reasons why you could be misreading Yokota.

There are quality differences among Hanadama strands - a spread just like he said. And they are certified by Japan Pearl Science Laboratory. I've seen higher quality certified hanadamas than Jeremy has, but they are way more expensive. The pearls in the photo look awesome, by the way.

Jeremy often has AAA akoya pearls that are good enough to send to Japan Science Laboratory to certify as Hanadama, but he doesn't because it's a pain in the rump. That is why a seller may offer to have akoyas certified as part of a purchase. There are sellers that have pearls that would be top-end Hanadamas, but it's so obvious that they don't bother to have them certified. I actually had someone laugh at me when I suggested it. I hope this helps explain.

The PP natural whites are amazing and I highly recommend them as they are priced extremely well and you can be sure you are getting unbleached and unpinked beauties.

P.S. As soon as I saw "John Birch" I knew you'd go ballistic.

 

[Caitlin]

I am saying he says he is of the school that insists the word hanadama means nothing, even while he sells necklaces of lower than top AAA quality with that name. http://www.yokota-pearl.co.jp/english/hanadama.html

Why is no one hearing what I am saying?

That really muddies the water when other people think it is only for the top end of AAA or sellers who only certify the top end. Only some people want certified hanadama and those people want the top end of AAA certified as hanadama.

He did not discuss the various labs he mentioned or what their individual standards for giving the label are. Until he said 'labs' plural, I thought there was just one lab.

And while you are here, is the GIA privately owned? or it is a "public appraisal" lab? I suppose that means govt funded. If it is privately owned, he discounts it as legitimate.

In any case, no one has disparaged the company, just the way the term hanadama is used by the company.

I didn't think I went ballistic; my heart never speeded up. I was just annoyed that I was compared to fascists in a challenge instead of just being asked to clarify.

In any case, I thought I was clear, but I do not mind people asking instead of reaching absurd conclusions, then posting those.