RFID Tags Are Being Used to Track a Pearl’s Movement From Farm to Market

A Hong Kong-based company that supplies the shell nuclei to major cultured pearl producers in French Polynesia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Japan and China is embedding RFID technology in its product to track a pearl’s origin and movement along the supply chain.

Developed for more than a decade by the Fukui Shell Nucleus Factory, the technology called Metakaku® places a wireless RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) digital tag into each shell bead, which, in turn, becomes the nucleus of an Akoya, South Sea or Tahitian cultured pearl.

Each RFID tag is assigned a unique reference number that refers to the exact location where the pearl was harvested.

“As sustainability becomes increasingly important to consumers, this technology can play a vital role in telling the complete story of these gems,” said Tom Moses, GIA executive vice president and chief laboratory and research officer. “The integration of RFID details with GIA Cultured Pearl Reports represents a significant step forward in efforts to enhance traceability and transparency in the pearl industry.”

When the GIA detects cultured pearls containing RFID-tagged nuclei, it will add a comment to its grading report referencing the pearl’s unique RFID reference number.

“Stories have the power to create meaningful connections with pearls, inspiring us to seek deeper understanding and build stronger bonds with these precious gems,” noted David Wong, innovator of Metakaku®. “Through [this technology] we hope to provide value and new perspectives that encourage exploration and inspire greater opportunities for every single pearl that is harvested.”

In a 2013 interview with RFIDjournal.com, Wong revealed that Fukui Shell looked into several ways of applying RFID technology to the pearl industry. Drilling a hole in a pearl to embed an RFID tag would be destructive, Wong said, while laser-printing an ID number on its surface also could result in damage. Therefore, the company sought to create a unique ID that could be accessed from the nucleus through the pearl.

Wong told RFIDjournal.com that customers who are assured of a full record of a pearl’s origins and history are more likely to make a purchase.

GIA, best known for creating the diamond 4Cs and the GIA International Diamond Grading System™, has been a leader in identifying and classifying natural and cultured pearls since 1949.

GIA has contributed to revising the US Federal Trade Commission’s pearl guidelines for the jewelry industry and is responsible for working with major pearl companies globally to develop comprehensive standards for describing pearls. These standards are called the GIA 7 Pearl Value Factors™: Size, Shape, Color, Nacre, Luster, Surface and Matching.

Credit: Image courtesy of the Gemological Institute of America.