Right in the center of the Japanese main island near Kyoto we find the Biwa-lake. The first pearl cultivation in fresh water was carried out here as early as the 1920s. We experimented with cores and implants and created beautiful colors that no longer exist today. Unfortunately, this beauty was short-lived, as the pollution in Lake Biwa increased significantly and high-quality breeding was no longer possible. However, what remains as a kind of seal of quality is the name Biwa pearl.

To this day it stands for freshwater cultured pearls without a core in the most beautiful and radiant colors and, due to their corelessness, also in the most unusual shapes. The color spectrum still includes cream white, white rose, salmon orange, dark wine red and purple.   

Most of the Freshwater pearls but comes from China today. Japan has been almost completely ousted by China in the freshwater pearl business. The larger, more round freshwater pearls are usually sold as China pearls or China cultured pearls. The smaller freshwater pearls, mostly in baroque form, are still called Biwa pearls. But the Chinese origin does not detract from their quality, because although the freshwater pearls are not shaped by the rough sea and without seeds, they are also unprecedented in their uniqueness in terms of shapes and colors.