Chinese Edison Freshwater pearls, cultivated in Zhuji, are changing the international pearl landscape in surprisingly fascinating ways.
Be it the large, round, and strikingly lustrous Edison pearls whose massive range of colours make them ever popular among pearl lovers all over the world. Or, the medium size, white, round pearls that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are wearable or the really small. Or even the really small, but equally lovely baby Freshwater pearls, that are allowing pearl designers to both have fun as well as create jewellery pieces of exceptional beauty. Each of these pearls brings its own unique charm and allure to the world of pearls and jewellery.
Zhuji – The Pearl Capital of China
All these pearls come from Zhuji City, which is renowned as the “Pearl Capital of China.” With over 60 years of growth and development, pearls are the most important industry of this city.
Today, Zhuji is the world’s largest freshwater pearl production, processing, and sales centre. And within sales, the city boasts a wide variety of products, including loose pearls, finished pearl jewellery, as well as derivative products such as beauty and wellness items.
Zhuji accounts for 80% of China’s pearl production and 73% of the global pearl market. And within Zhuji City, Shanxiahu is fast becoming recognized as the quintessential “Pearl Town” of China.
An integral part of Zhuji’s ethos is the city’s commitment to continuously improve its pearl sector through technological advancements and innovations in pearl production. This, in turn, has led to the development of higher quality Freshwater pearls.
Many of these new developments have successfully addressed important challenges faced by Chinese Freshwater pearls, vis a vis their saltwater counterparts. Thus, challenges concerning the shape of pearls (the newer Freshwater pearls being round instead of near round or off-round), as colour (a substantial increase in the range and saturation of colours becoming available), and size (smaller, medium size as well as large Freshwater pearls are now being produced commercially) have been successfully overcome, leading to an overall positive impact on the quality and diversity of pearls being produced in Zhuji.
Additionally, the city government has been supporting pearl producers and traders in reaching a wider global audience through a unique, unexpectedly popular and highly successful sales channel – Live Streams.
As a result, in the past year, online sales of Chinese Freshwater pearls from Shanxiahu have skyrocketed. Today, Shanxiahu hosts five major live streaming platforms including Taobao and Douyin.
These live streams have had a massive impact on sales – in 2024, the total sales exceeded 50 billion RMB, with online sales accounting for over 60% of Zhuji’s total pearl revenue.
Zhuji Pavilion at the HKTDC Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show
At the 11th HKTDC Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show, Hall 1 of the AsiaWorld Expo was dedicated entirely to pearls. The hall, however, was organized into separate pavilions, with each pavilion dedicated to exhibitors from a specific part of the world.
One such pavilion was the Zhuji Pavilion, where multiple exhibitors from Zhuji had set up their booths with a vast array of Chinese Freshwater pearls. These pearls came in all shapes, colours, sizes and quantities imaginable. Suffice to say that the best of Zhuji’s pearls could be seen at every booth, and the variety was such that it attracted numerous buyers.
Interview with the Vice Mayor of Zhuji City, Mr. Wenjin Chen
At the busy Zhuji Pavilion, I got an opportunity to sit with Mr. Wenjin Chen, Vice Mayor of Zhuji City, to discuss the pearl industry in Zhuji, the latest innovations in Chinese Freshwater pearls and how the government of Zhuji is helping pearl farmers and traders find new markets across the globe.
Please could you tell us a little bit about the pearl industry in Zhuji?
There are more than 2000 pearl farmers/pearl producers in Zhuji. In addition, there are more than 3000 pearl traders.
Why is it important for Zhuji to have its own pavilion at the HKTDC Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong is important to the pearl industry of Zhuji because first, we have been exhibiting here for many years. In addition, Hong Kong gives the pearl producers of Zhuji an international platform which allows them to reach a global market.
In terms of sales, the Zhuji pavilion’s objective is to reach a goal of 200 million RMB from the sales and business transactions at the HKTDC show. However, we are hoping to reach 1 billion RMB in new orders as a result of the show.
What buyers are you trying to attract to Zhuji or who do you see as the target consumers of Zhuji’s Freshwater pearls?
We would like to see our products become popular all over the world but especially in the North American market. In addition, we want to continue to grow in Europe, especially in the EU, including in France and Italy, where there is demand for beautiful pearls.
Also, India is a market where we are planning to expand. At present we don’t have a huge presence in the Indian jewellery market, but there is a lot of potential there.
Even so, USA is the biggest market for Zhuji’s freshwater pearls and that’s where we want to see substantial growth.
Could you tell us a little more about the pearl industry in Zhuji and what sets it apart from pearls being produced in other parts of the world?
In Zhuji, there is great emphasis on technological innovations, at every stage of pearl production, but especially with pearl farming. We are focusing on producing bigger and better pearls, pearls that are round and exhibit more vivid colours and very high lustre. All this has been made possible through the introduction of the bead-nucleated Freshwater pearls.
These new pearls come in a wide range of natural colours including pink with gold overtones as well as many shades of purples.
Also, the bead (nucleus) itself may be of a specific shape. Thus the pearl that grows around it will take that shape. Therefore, now we are able to produce pearls of different shapes.
Have you faced any challenges with producing and selling pearls from Zhuji, and if so, how have you overcome them?
The only challenge we face is how to improve our own business and operations. This encompasses improvements in technology as well as innovations in the pearl culturing process. In addition, another challenge, which again comes for our need to continuously improve, is how to find and leverage new sales channels.
Recently, we have seen tremendous growth in Live Streams as a sales channel. The expansion of our sales market has been outstanding through this sales channel. For instance, many Live Streams are done in English, for English speaking buyers.
How is the Chinese government supporting the efforts of individual pearl producers who are doing Live Streams to reach different parts of the world?
The government offers financial support to pearl producers and sellers. In addition, the government has also set up studios for Live Streams that pearl sellers and pearl farmers can use for conducting online Live Stream sales and transactions.
The government is also providing training to the next generation of pearl farmers and sellers to sell online through Live Streams.
Why is Live Streaming such an important avenue for the sales and promotion of Zhuji’s pearls?
With Live Streams, there is no restriction on the time at which they can be conducted. Also, with Live Streams, you can reach a very large number of buyers. This makes it a very important sales channel for pearls
Could you tell us a little about the traditional, tissue-nucleated Freshwater pearl production?
Both types of pearls are important. Each has its own unique place in the Chinese pearl industry. For instance, the traditional tissue-nucleated Freshwater pearls are often used in jewellery but also in the beauty and cosmetics industry.
