Shanghai Pathways

China's pearl industry is a microcosm of how the country is moving beyond low-wage jobs and imitating foreign producers. 

 

For two decades, China has been the world's bigger pearl producer, flooding the market with small and cheap pearls of costume-jewelry quality. But now, pearl farms, like other business across China, are stating to innovate and automate as wages surge, particularly for blue-collar workers. 

 

Grace Pearl is one of the largest companies in Zhuji, a town in Zhejiang province. Grace Pearl is known for its “Edison” pearls. In this method, genetically selected mussels are implanted using tiny beads instead of mollusk tissue. “Edison” is a backhanded tribute to American inventor Thomas Edison.

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What Are Edison Pearls?

Edison pearls are the brainchild of brother and sister Weijian Zhan and Weiyu Zhan. Their family runs Grace Pearl Factory and has over 40 years’ experience in pearl farming. They spent three times more than the industry average budget on pearl farming research over the past 12 years and cultivated a new species of giant freshwater pearls with exotic colors & saltwater pearls’ quality. Most freshwater pearls are nucleated by tissue, but Edison cultured pearls are nucleated with beads, exactly as saltwater pearls. The beads are implanted into mussels, selected through genetic research, with a special technique – a secret which is guarded closely. More importantly, Edison pearls cost a fraction of the saltwater variety. 

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Grace grows pearls in Zhejiang and, as real estate and labor costs have risen, also in inland Jiangxi, Hunan, Anhui and Hubei provinces.

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In this trip, you will get an insider's tour visiting this famous factory, visit Freshwater pearl farm, the biggest pearl market in China and learn everything about the Edison pearls. 

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