I visited the akoya pearl culturing farm on Uwajima.

Uwajima, in Japan's Ehime prefecture, is among old and well known of Japanese akoya pearl culturing site.

Farmers breed oysters in hatcheries for about 6 months, and move young oysters in the bay waters around the pearl farm. Oysters grow there for 2 or 3 years.

They grow mature enough for nucleation. The white spheres in the foreground are the nucleus of pearls.

Tools for the sugery. The tips of those instruments are very thin and small.

Collecting mantle tissue of an akoya oyster that made good beads.

The pigment of this tissue determines the color of pearls.

Mantle tissue is cut in strip, a fatty layer is removed, then the tissue is cut into small square pieces.

The fine nucleus is made of natural shell. Only few factories have those materials and skill can make good nucleuses. This is why they're expensive.