Flower Jem

Flower Jem We spread the word about the charm of pearls, focusing mainly on natural blue Akoya pearls.

24/05/2026

It is currently just before 4 PM. While editing videos, I accidentally fell asleep for a little while.

While showing the bracelet I made this morning to the customer, she suggested, “How about mint green thread?”

Mint green has become a thread color I use quite often recently. Even during a short phone call with my mother this morning, she said, “You’ve really been talking about that color a lot lately.”

At that moment, I thought:

“The mint green wave has arrived.”

So I immediately remade the bracelet using mint green thread.

The silver thread had a slightly more mature atmosphere, while the mint green version became softer and gentler. The biggest difference is that the mint green thread is slightly thinner, making the bracelet more flexible as well.

For a while, it seems Flower Jem will continue using mint green thread.

Actually, starting today, I had planned to begin using lavender-colored thread instead. But I am a very simple person — if even a small opportunity appears, I quickly jump onto that wave instead.

24/05/2026

The bracelet and earring set is complete.

The blue baroque pearls used for these earrings survived a tournament filled with many competitors all the way to the end. Even opponents suddenly descending from the seeded ranks were defeated with ease.

No matter how deep the blue color may be, pearls cannot win without a proper pair. And even beautiful pearls cannot survive the tournament if they have too many wounds.

They must walk safely to the customer’s table while carrying the main dish in the right hand, a drink in the left, and balancing seasonings on top of the head. Luster, smooth surfaces, wounds, and deep color all need to exist together at a high level.

Well… perhaps that was a rather confusing metaphor.

Many people want pearls that are both round and deeply blue at the same time.

However, from the perspective of pearl cultivation, the rounder the pearl becomes, the lighter the color tends to become. Round pearls often have thinner nacre layers, and thinner nacre contains fewer impurities, which is one reason why deep blue color becomes less likely.

Meanwhile, pearls with thicker nacre layers often develop deeper blue tones. Various impurities become trapped within the nacre, helping create those rich colors. However, blue color is influenced not only by impurities. It also seems necessary for a small amount of the prismatic layer — the material that forms the outer shell — to become involved, and the health condition of the Akoya oyster also affects the result.

The liquid secreted by Akoya oysters consists of both nacre and prismatic material. Nacre forms the shiny inner surface of the shell, while the prismatic layer forms the brown outer shell. The cells that produce these substances are used in pearl cultivation. Apparently, the key is to use cells that produce mostly nacre, while including just a small amount of cells that produce the prismatic layer as well.

Incidentally, these cells come from the part of the oyster that would roughly correspond to the “mantle” area in common shellfish.

Now the afternoon begins.

And I am about to enter my own tournament battle against sleepiness.

24/05/2026

The weather is beautiful again today. Well, actually yesterday was cloudy. Since today is sunny, I let the pearls from the bracelet I made last night enjoy a little sunlight.

Originally, these pearls were intended for earrings. They had already been sorted for earring use, and what remained were the pearls left over after making as many matching pairs as possible.

Basically, the highest quality pearls are first used for rings and earrings. Pearls for rings and earrings should ideally have no wounds, or perhaps only one. Once there are two or more wounds, it becomes difficult to hide them completely.

These pearls could not find matching partners, but even so, they still have very few wounds and strong luster, so the bracelet became something quite beautiful.

If I showed this bracelet to pearl dealers, the conversation would probably go like this:

“This? I made it from half-drilled pearls. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Oh? Half-drilled pearls? Well, that’s luxurious.”

This time, at the customer’s request, I used gold findings. I am gradually becoming more fond of the combination of blue and gold.

“Which do you like more, your father or your mother?”

“Mom…”

No, wait—

“Which is more important, your work or me?”

“Work…”

No, no—

“Which do you prefer, sushi or yakiniku?”

This is truly difficult. A hard decision.

Gold or silver — which color suits blue pearls better?

Yes… in the end, it is simply a matter of personal taste.

23/05/2026

This Saturday, I left Osaka at 8 in the morning and headed for Kobe. Usually, I leave Osaka on Friday night. But this time, I thought riding my motorcycle in the bright morning air would feel good.

The cool morning air was refreshing. Since it was Saturday, many cars with license plates from other prefectures were on the road, looking as though they were carrying excitement and happiness for the weekend ahead. And alongside them, large trucks roared past as if declaring, “Weekends mean nothing to us.”

By 9:30, I arrived at my home in Kobe and began by cleaning my room, which looked as though three different groups of burglars had broken into it. Cleaning and organizing took until around 3 in the afternoon. After that, I thought I would start working with pearls, but instead I suddenly went for another three-hour motorcycle ride.

Only afterward did I finally begin making this custom bracelet.

Originally, these pearls were intended for earrings, so although they are baroque pearls, their surfaces are quite beautiful. These are the pearls I had already shown to the customer and received approval for, but while working, I replaced several pearls with even higher quality ones. Through our conversations, I could feel her desire for something truly exceptional. And unless I respond to that feeling, I cannot feel satisfied offering the pearls myself.

When it comes to quality, I am actually very timid. I feel that if I rely too much on optimism or self-indulgence, someday it will come back to hurt me. Everyone believes their own child is the most beautiful in the world, but other people may not always see things the same way. There are also people with far sharper eyes than mine.

Well, I still have many things I want to say, but Instagram has a character limit, so I will stop here.

Anyway, I am extremely satisfied now that my room is clean.

People say a room reflects the state of one’s heart.

Then what do pearls reflect…?

Hmm. That is difficult. I cannot think of an answer yet.

20/05/2026

Following last night, I made another all-knot pearl necklace tonight. Last night was G, but tonight was B. Among the baroque strands, B has pearls that are closer to round in shape, and in terms of quality, it is the second best after A.

That said, the luster is not especially strong. Most of the truly excellent pearls were taken by A, so B contains some pearls that appear slightly cloudy. However, because the overall shape is rounder, the necklace has a more elegant atmosphere as jewelry.

Last night’s G had such a deep blue color and strong luster that it almost looked digitally enhanced. Rather than elegant, it gave a luxurious impression. Tonight’s B, on the other hand, feels more like a necklace for adults.

Round pearls, but slightly weaker luster. Strong luster, but baroque pearls. Roughly speaking, these differences balance each other out in the end.

Since I personally love baroque pearls, I am the type who chooses to invest the budget into luster rather than shape. People who prefer round pearls are usually sacrificing either luster or wounds to some degree.

And tonight’s B necklace has a lighter blue color. Light blue pearls have a more soothing impression.

By the way, during tonight’s production, I tried applying candle wax to the thread. I hoped, “Maybe this will reduce tangling?” But it had absolutely no effect, and the thread tangled just as usual.

Now that the necklace is finished, I would love to list it immediately on Etsy and the Flower Jem website, but it is already approaching 1 a.m. Staying up late night after night makes my daytime work unbelievably exhausting. I keep telling myself I should sleep early for at least one day, but in the end I become too curious and make another necklace anyway.

And since I have been continuously making these 9 mm necklaces, it is becoming harder and harder to think of names for them. I will think about it slowly tomorrow. For tonight, I think I will quickly make this post and go to sleep.

Apparently it will rain tomorrow. The Akoya oysters will probably be happy about that.

19/05/2026

This beautiful wooden desk measures 250 mm thick, 2000 mm wide, and 600 mm deep. Somehow, using millimeters instead of centimeters makes it feel even larger. I also really love the appearance of this wooden desk. In fact, it feels even more comfortable than the work desk at my home in Kobe.

Tonight, I turned Strand G into a necklace from the fourteen strands labeled A through N, all created from the original selection of 763 pieces of 9 mm pearls. Personally, G is my favorite necklace of them all. The blue is almost excessively deep, and there are also those reddish tones that are always welcome in pearls.

During tonight’s photography session, the light I had recently bought at a 100-yen shop already broke, so I photographed everything using only a small desk lamp. Even so, the necklace looks so beautiful that it almost feels “over-edited.”

In reality, these pearls contain many wounds, and there are also many pearls with rough surfaces, but honestly, they do not bother me enough to matter. I can simply say, “Please enjoy them as much as you like.”

Both this G strand and the next-quality H strand are extremely deep blue, so I am considering keeping one of them for myself. Their luster also has a slightly aggressive brilliance and strong presence.

I remembered something an older pearl dealer once told me:
“I prefer lighter shades of natural blue. They feel more elegant.”

That does not mean G lacks elegance. Rather than elegance, it simply feels overwhelmingly luxurious.

The gold clasp also suits it very well. And perhaps I am the only one who feels this way, but I think these pearls match beautifully with my favorite wooden desk.

This all-knot necklace also uses the method I recently invented — or rather, discovered — which allows the knots to remain large while keeping the finished necklace soft and flexible.

I would like to write much more, but Instagram has a 2,200-character limit, so I will write as much as I want on my website instead.

Well then.

17/05/2026

This morning, I began listing the 9mm necklace [I]. I decided to name it “One More Turn.” I also wrote an article about the origin of the name on Etsy or the Flower Jem website. If you actually read the unnecessarily long article, your final impression will probably just be, “Hmm, I see.”

Since the weather was so nice, I photographed the necklace out on the balcony. The birds were a little quieter than usual this morning. Normally they are very lively, almost as if they are having endless conversations with each other, but perhaps today they all went somewhere together.

Quite a long time ago, sparrows built a nest on top of the outdoor air conditioner unit on my balcony. I felt sorry for them, so from that point on, I stopped using the air conditioner entirely. And after more than four years of not using it, the air conditioner eventually broke. Even during the brutally murderous midsummer nights in recent years, I lived in Kobe without air conditioning, quite literally risking my life to protect the sparrows’ nest. But recently, the nest has become vacant.

They still come to the balcony often, and whenever they notice me, they scatter away as if shouting, “Hey! He’s back!” On rainy days, I would watch sparrows carrying food to the nest with their feathers completely messy from the rain. I was deeply moved by the sight. I had never seen a disheveled sparrow before, and somehow they looked incredibly cute to me. Humans and sparrows alike seem to spend their days running and flying around simply to stay alive.

Of course, there are also dogs like Lulu, who spend most of the day lying around sleeping. Well, actually, Lulu was practically dragged by my father to the rice fields and vegetable garden almost every day. So in a way, she could be said to work half-days regularly herself. She truly hates going to the fields. Every morning, when my father calls out, “Lulu! Come here!” she silently stares at my mother’s face. My mother laughs and says, “Don’t ask me for help only at times like this!” Then she picks Lulu up and hands her over to my father. Lulu quietly accepts everything with the completely expressionless face of a monk in trai

16/05/2026

An Akoya pearl necklace. This natural blue baroque necklace is one of fourteen strands created from the selection of 764 pieces of 9mm pearls. This is the fourth necklace made from them. One of them was ordered, and today the customer received it and sent me a message filled with deep emotion and joy. Their eyes were shining even more brightly than the necklace itself. Another necklace is currently under discussion, and another one is now available for sale.

Among the fourteen strands, I am gradually turning the higher-quality strands into necklaces and listing them. This necklace carries the code 9mm-I, and it has a transparent, fresh blue color. The 764 pearls were first divided into two groups: pearls with deep blue color and pearls with lighter blue color. The lighter-colored pearls tend to have shapes closer to near-round, while the deeper blue pearls tend to have stronger baroque shapes. It almost feels as though the color and shape are proportional to each other.

And this time, Flower Jem may have made a discovery of the century. Until now, for all-knot necklaces, I tied each knot by passing the thread through a single loop three times. More precisely, I passed the thread through one loop three times. This time, however, I repeated the action of passing the thread through one loop twice, and then repeated that again. In other words, each space between pearls now contains two double knots.

Perhaps this explanation may not fully make sense in words, but with this method I was able to maintain flexibility while also making the knots larger. I have experimented with many methods before, but this is the first time I have tried this one. Until now, whenever I made the knots larger, the necklace would lose its softness and flexibility. But if I prioritized flexibility, the knots would become too small and almost disappear. Tonight, I truly began knotting absentmindedly without thinking about anything, but somehow my hands started moving on their own and arrived at this method naturally. If the next two necklaces also turn out well, this may become the definitive Flower Jem all-knot technique from now on.

16/05/2026

At a customer’s request, I selected several pairs of 8mm pearls. I spent quite a long time making around twenty pairs, but after finishing, I realized that the color of those pearls was too light. When you keep looking at pearls for a long time, your eyes gradually become accustomed to them.

So first, I prepared several pearls with a very deep blue color, and then I created the pairs while keeping those pearls in mind as a reference.

Today was also the final day of the Kobe International Jewellery Exhibition. I did not have any particular business there, but I stopped by for a short visit.

Back when I was a company employee, attending exhibitions like this meant greeting business partners and others in the industry. But now, I no longer need to do any of that, so it felt very relaxed, almost like taking a walk through a field.

This year, there seemed to be fewer Chinese buyers, and some pearl dealers appeared to be experiencing significant drops in sales. It also seemed that wholesale purchasing itself has decreased.

I also heard that Chinese buyers, who are the main buyers in the pearl industry, are no longer purchasing finished or semi-finished pearl products as much as before. Instead, they are increasingly buying pearls in their raw harvested state. They no longer need to rely on Japanese processing, because they are now able to process and sell the pearls themselves.

On the final day, there were fewer visitors, and many exhibitors looked tired and somewhat idle. While thinking about how difficult it must be to pack away so many gemstones afterward, I slowly rode my motorcycle home.

Then my motorcycle stalled.

15/05/2026

It’s Friday, so I returned from Osaka to Kobe tonight.

The other day, I received an order for a 7mm pearl bracelet from a customer, so I immediately began selecting pearls. I prepared what I believed to be both high-quality pearls and medium-grade pearls, but when I look at them on video, I find myself confused because the differences are not very visible.

The pearls placed closer to the front have smoother surfaces, while the pearls farther back gradually become rougher in texture. However, this distinction does not seem to come across well in video.

Tonight, my sleepiness has finally reached its limit, so I will continue tomorrow. I want to keep experimenting so I can somehow convey even a little of the surface texture differences to the customer.

By the way, tomorrow is the final day of the Kobe International Jewellery Exhibition, so I think I will stop by for a short visit.

Ah… I’m so sleepy. Good night.

10/05/2026

I extended the 9mm necklace I made yesterday by adding more pearls, making it about 3cm longer for a total length of 50cm.

I was deeply honored because the customer who ordered this necklace was someone who had previously purchased blue pearls from Flower Jem four years ago. One day, she happened to wear those blue pearls again and remembered Flower Jem. Then, when she looked at Etsy, she found this 9mm necklace newly listed there and immediately decided to order it.

I felt truly happy that we were able to reconnect once again through blue pearls.

With those warm feelings in my heart, I spent Sunday afternoon making this necklace with the all-knot method while livestreaming the process. However, I became so sleepy that parts of my memory from the middle of the work are missing. Apparently, the warmth of the customer’s feelings made my body warm as well, which led to my sleepiness.

住所

Kobe-shi, Hyogo

ウェブサイト

アラート

Flower Jemがニュースとプロモを投稿した時に最初に知って当社にメールを送信する最初の人になりましょう。あなたのメールアドレスはその他の目的には使用されず、いつでもサブスクリプションを解除することができます。

事業に問い合わせをする

Flower Jemにメッセージを送信:

ショートカット

共有する

カテゴリー