Ten-Nyo Akoya, Any Ideas?

[BWise]

Came across this term from a Chinese vendor (that I trust), Googled it but could find little information.

Fortunately I can type/read Chinese, which really helped in this case. I located the source, the Pearl Science Laboratory (PSL) that issues Hanadama certificates, and found the official definition: http://www.sinjuken.co.jp/image/en.pdf

The rest of their website was in Japanese, I read the pages to the best I could (with Google Translator of course). Very intriguing.

From what I could understand, to be certified as Ten-Nyo grade, the pearls must be first certified as Hanadama. They are then tested again for Tennyo grade. So the cost of Tennyo cert is high due to this process.

So my fellow pearl lovers, have you heard about Tennyo pearls? Or better yet, have you seen them in person? Are they truly prettier than Hanadama?

On an unrelated note, I wonder if there is any difference in the rate of yellowing, for "Pinked" akoya vs. "Natural White" akoya?

Thanks in advance for any info you may share!

 

[ckrickett]

Can you point me to the Japanese site? I can read a bit of Japanese may be able to help. I have never heard of it and am intrigued

 

[BWise]

Can you point me to the Japanese site? I can read a bit of Japanese may be able to help. I have never heard of it and am intrigued

That would be great! Here is the link: http://www.sinjuken.co.jp

 

[NacreLover]

Came across this term from a Chinese vendor (that I trust), Googled it but could find little information.

Fortunately I can type/read Chinese, which really helped in this case. I located the source, the Pearl Science Laboratory (PSL) that issues Hanadama certificates, and found the official definition: http://www.sinjuken.co.jp/image/en.pdf

The rest of their website was in Japanese, I read the pages to the best I could (with Google Translator of course). Very intriguing.

From what I could understand, to be certified as Ten-Nyo grade, the pearls must be first certified as Hanadama. They are then tested again for Tennyo grade. So the cost of Tennyo cert is high due to this process.

So my fellow pearl lovers, have you heard about Tennyo pearls? Or better yet, have you seen them in person? Are they truly prettier than Hanadama?

On an unrelated note, I wonder if there is any difference in the rate of yellowing, for "Pinked" akoya vs. "Natural White" akoya?

Thanks in advance for any info you may share!

You may want to inquire prior to purchase about the treatments and long term repercussions of doing so. Natural pearls are harder to find than treated pearls since this seems to be the norm.

 

[NacreLover]

I am just throwing this out to you for consideration. There are fake Hanadama grading certificates out there. I have seen one. The seller was selling a strand of pearls but the certificate showed a necklace and earrings. The MM size and number of pearls in the strand were even off. Unless you know exactly what a genuine certificate looks like it's easy to be tricked by unscrupulous sellers.

 

[BWise]

I am just throwing this out to you for consideration. There are fake Hanadama grading certificates out there. I have seen one. The seller was selling a strand of pearls but the certificate showed a necklace and earrings. The MM size and number of pearls in the strand were even off. Unless you know exactly what a genuine certificate looks like it's easy to be tricked by unscrupulous sellers.

Hi NacreLover, thanks for the warning!

Although I was tempted, I don't have plans to buy any Ten-Nyo pearls although I trust that vendor. They've even sent me pictures of the certificate of a strand and I have no reason to doubt its authenticity. But I know what you mean and I've seen other sellers using the Tennyo term loosely.

I just want to know more about this term/grade of Akoya.

I've visited Japan, and of course I buy many products made in Japan (cars, electronics...) There is a devotion/obsession in Japanese culture to everything they do or make. The devotion/obsession is probably the driver for perfection (or near-perfection). It is no surprise when it comes to pearls, the Japanese standard is set for perfect round and mirror-like luster - even it means some treatments will be required to produce that. At least that has been the standard for Akoya.

That makes me even more curious about Tennyo grade, which is not mentioned much in the US market.

 

[BWeaves]

I've never heard of Ten-Nyo Akoya pearls before.

A quick Google search brought up several listings for Ten-Nyo akoya pearls with silver clasps, or gold "toned" clasps.

If these pearls are even better than Hanadama grade, then why are the clasps cheap? Why aren't the clasps solid gold?

That makes me fear that the word "Ten-Nyo" is being thrown around unscrupulously by a few bad vendors.

 

[BWise]

I've never heard of Ten-Nyo Akoya pearls before.

A quick Google search brought up several listings for Ten-Nyo akoya pearls with silver clasps, or gold "toned" clasps.

If these pearls are even better than Hanadama grade, then why are the clasps cheap? Why aren't the clasps solid gold?

That makes me fear that the word "Ten-Nyo" is being thrown around unscrupulously by a few bad vendors.

Hi BWeaves, thanks for chiming in.

I would not throw out the "Ten-Nyo" term just because Google search returned with some cheap clasps.

Ten-Nyo is clearly listed at the PSL website. If that is not trust-worthy, then we might not believe in "Hanadama" either - they are from the same source.

I've seen many Ten-Nyo listings in Asian market, authenticity of the claims unknown though. If anyone is curious, copy/paste this "アコヤ真珠 天女" and Google. That's Japanese for Ten-Nyo Akoya

I wonder why we don't see these top of the line pearls offered in the US market. One theory I heard, that the certificate for Ten-Nyo is about twice as much as that for Hanadama since the pearls must be tested twice. That could be one of the reasons. That said, many Hanadama we see in the US market may as well meet the Ten-Nyo standard, they are just not certified that way.

 

[BWeaves]

No no no. I'm not bashing the Ten-Nyo or Hamadama grades.

I'm just saying that I was curious, because it was a new term to me.

I was very concerned that Google returned pearls that did not look like the best of the best.
It means that people are using the term like when they call badly dyed freshwater pearls "Tahitians."

Like all purchases, you have to trust the vendor and know that they have the real deal.