Pearls from Kobe

Kobe is known in Japan as the "pearl city". According to the City of Kobe, about 70% of the pearls traded worldwide pass through Japan, and much of the sorting and processing happens in Kobe. Pearlish is a pearl jewelry brand based in Kobe.

How Kobe became the pearl city

Kobe's pearl industry took off in the early Showa era, as round cultured pearls spread. The city sits close to the pearl farms of Mie, Ehime, Nagasaki and Kumamoto, and its international port made export easy, so pearls from across Japan came to Kobe. The soft light reflected off Mount Rokko is also said to suit the sorting of pearls by color and luster, and many pearl companies still cluster around Kitano.

Pearlish and Kobe

Pearlish is run by Kaspar Pearl Co., Ltd., a pearl trading company in Chuo-ku, Kobe. Since the 1970s it has worked with Japanese pearl farms and supplied pearls to jewelers around the world. In 2021 the family launched Pearlish, drawing on more than 50 years of choosing pearls.

From the pearls that arrive in Kobe, we pick ones with good luster and nacre and set them in jewelry you can wear every day. Read the family story on our History page.

Kobe pearl FAQ

Are pearls grown in Kobe?
Kobe is not a major pearl farming area. Pearls grown in Japan and abroad come to Kobe to be sorted and processed.

Does Pearlish have a shop in Kobe?
Pearlish is online only, and we hold pop-ups at department stores such as Kobe Hankyu. See our Events page for dates.

What pearls do you use?
White South Sea, Akoya, freshwater and Mabe pearls. Our Types of Pearls guide compares them.

Browse our pearl chokers, pearl necklaces and pearl earrings, made in Kobe's pearl tradition.