Authenticating and Identifying Cultured Pearls With RFID

Pearl cultivators, wholesalers and pearl jewelry retailers have long been affected by the lack of traceability in pearls and the inability to distinguish between variations of similar-looking pearls. Fukui Shell Nucleus Factory, a Hong Kong provider of equipment and services to the pearl industry, has successfully developed a solution consisting of a tiny radio frequency identification tag embedded in a pearl’s nucleus that could transmit an ID number to an RFID reader. The tag makes it possible for pearl farmers, wholesalers, retailers and customers to identify and track a pearl 9 millimeters (0.4 inch) or more in diameter, from its origins as a nucleus until a customer’s purchase of the harvested pearl. Learn how the technology is currently being used to prove the pearls’ authenticity, origins and history, as well as future plans to develop a database that would contain information about the tagged pearls and share it with participating supply chain members.