China body presents testing guidelines for freshwater pearls
HONG KONG, September 21, 2011 – The China Pearl Exchange of Wannian County at Jiangxi Province in central China plans to introduce standard testing guidelines for fresh water pearls in a bid to bolster the domestic industry.
China’s National Quality Standard Testing Policy will be the first of its kind to be introduced to the industries in China and Hong Kong.
At a press conference to launch the initiative, B.K. Chow, Managing Director of the Wannian China Pearl Exchange, said he believed standardisation of testing of pearls would protect the Chinese industry and lead to an increase in prices.
China accounts for much of the world’s fresh water pearls by volume but a fraction of their total value.
Japan, which introduced standardised testing guidelines for pearls in the 1960s, has seen strong benefits for its domestic industry, Chow said.
“We will follow a similar pattern (to Japan),” he said.
The China Pearl Exchange is likely to be in full operation by the autumn of 2013 after the expected implementation of the standard testing guidelines, he added.
The exchange will provide a one-stop service along with semi-processing, trading, wholesaling, retailing and exporting activities of freshwater pearls and jewellery items.
