Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago with rich fisheries and maritime products. One of such products is the South Sea pearl, arguably one of the best types of pearl. Not only endowed with rich natural resources, Indonesia also has an abundance of artisans with high craftsmanship skills.
As a country situated at the crossroad of two oceans and two continents, Indonesian culture displays a unique mix shaped by long interaction between indigenous customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage offers the world a variety of pearl jewelries craftsmanship. One of the world’s top players, Indonesia has been crafting and exporting pearls to the international market, such as Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. According to statistics, the export value of pearl grew 19.69% in average per year in the period of 2008-2012. In the first five months of 2013, the export value reached US$9.30million.
As the leading producer, Indonesia, one can assess their beauty in terms of luster, color, size, shape and surface quality. Pearls with the majestic color of Imperial Gold are produced only by oysters cultivated in Indonesian waters. In terms of luster, South Sea pearls, both natural and cultured, have a very distinct appearance. South Sea cultured pearls are superior in size, and are generally between 10mm and 15 millimeters. When bigger sizes are found, rarer pearls above 16 millimeters and occasionally in excess of 20 millimeters are highly prized by connoisseurs. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then South Sea Pearls offer a myriad of opportunities of beauty to behold, as no two pearls are exactly the same. Due to the thickness of their nacre, South Sea cultured pearls are found in an exciting variety of shapes.
Indonesia produces South Sea Pearls that are cultivated from Pinctada maxima, the largest species of oyster. Most of Indonesian pearl exports are originated from Bali, Jakarta, South Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara provinces. As an archipelago with a pristine environment, Indonesia provides the optimum environment for Pinctada maxima to produce high quality pearls. Indonesia’s Pinctada maxima produce pearls with more than a dozen of color shades. The rarest and most valuable pearls produced are the ones with gold and silver colors. Various range of delicate shades, among others, silver, champagne, brilliant white, pink and gold, with the Imperial Gold Pearl as the most magnificent of all pearls. The Imperial Gold Color Pearl produced by oysters cultivated in pristine Indonesian waters is in reality the Queen of South Sea Pearl. Although Indonesian waters is the home for South Sea pearl, a regulation is needed to control domestic trade and export so as to ensure the quality and price of pearl. The government and related parties have built stronger relationship to solve the challenge. In the case of Chinese pearls, which are cultured from fresh water mussels and suspected to have low grade, the government has taken some precautions such as by issuing the Fishery and Maritime Affairs Ministerial Regulations No. 8/2003 on Pearl Quality Control. The measure is necessary as Chinese pearls which have low quality but look very similar to Indonesian pearls. can become a threat to Indonesian pearl production centers in Bali and Lombok.
