In 2020, the Ha Long Pearl Company's three products of Akoya pearls, Tahiti pearls and Southsea pearls were recognised as the national 5-star OCOP product and became one of the first 20 products in the country to receive a 5-star OCOP rating.

 At the same time, the product also meets international quality, meeting Japanese standards - a country with strict criteria for pearl quality.

Creating sparkling pearls requires diligence, ingenuity, and passion for each worker's craft. Although pearl oysters grow up, become adults, and undergo artificial implantation of pearls; it is a natural process; human influence only accounts for 10-15%, including gathering, cleaning, and implanting nucleus in pearl oysters. However, this is a very difficult technique.

Nguyen Thuy Huong - Director of Ha Long Pearl Company shared that every worker who implants nuclei in pearl oysters is like a surgeon, because it is a very difficult technique; if not done well, the oyster may push the nucleus out or may die. Even a worker who has been trained for 5 years may not know how to do it. This technique requires workers to put in a lot of effort.”

Normally, after being implanted, mature Martensi pearl oysters also need 24 months to secrete nacre layers, covering the nucleus in layers and creating a 3-9mm Akoya pearl. After removing the pearl, the pearl oyster also ends its life cycle.

Ha Long pearls are saltwater pearls, so they have outstanding advantages and are completely different from freshwater pearls. Under ideal conditions, if seawater pearls have a lifespan of up to hundreds of years, freshwater pearls have a durability of only 20 to 30 years.

Seawater pearls have natural colours, created by millions of living cells from oysters, so each pearl itself, in addition to its main colour (black, yellow, white), also converges all five colours under each angle of different refracted light. Therefore, sea pearls are also known as "feng shui solvers".

"Pearls are available in many countries and places, but pearls born in the heart of heritage are only found in Quang Ninh" - Ms. Huong affirmed. 

It is not an exaggeration to call Ha Long pearls “heritage” pearls, a product given by nature. However, the "secret" of Ha Long pearls lies in the cultural technique. Applying advanced techniques from Japanese experts, Ha Long Pearl Company has researched and successfully built an artificial reproduction process, collected and bred rare oyster species with beautiful colours, to bring to the market different and high-quality pearl products.

That's why “heritage” pearls are assessed by experts as having high purity, a thick layer of mother-of-pearl coating, and many luxurious and attractive natural colours. The quality and beauty of Ha Long pearls have truly conquered domestic and foreign tourists. 

In 2015, Ha Long pearl products of Ha Long Pearl Joint Stock Company were recognised as OCOP products of the city. Following that success, over the next 2 years, Ha Long pearls were respectively rated 4 stars and 5 stars at the provincial OCOP product evaluation and ranking contest.

In 2020, the Company's three products, Akoya pearls, Tahiti pearls and Southsea pearls, were recognised as meeting the national 5-star OCOP product standards and became one of the first 20 products in the country to receive OCOP 5 stars. At the same time, the product also meets international quality, meeting Japanese standards - a country with strict criteria for pearl quality.

“Why don’t we build a brand for the locality from our own resources, labour force and intelligence, rather than exporting raw products that only bring low value?

Why don’t we build a brand for the homeland, for Vietnamese people?”

Businesswoman
Nguyen Thuy Huong

It can be said that each pearl is a source of pride, passion, and ambition of businesswoman Nguyen Thuy Huong, but few people know that behind the pure sparkling beauty of these pearls is also her sweat, tears and her youth. To build the Ha Long Pearl brand today, Nguyen Thuy Huong had to go through many difficulties.

Since taking over the Viet Nhat (Vietnam-Japan) Pearl Joint Venture Company from the Japanese partner, Huong and her husband have strived to realise their dream of building the Vietnamese pearl brand.

“It is good luck for us that in 2007, Quang Ninh provincial authorities supported investment, so we decided to buy the Vietnam - Japan Pearl Joint Venture Company and invest in our own production,” Huong recounted.

At the time of takeover, the company’s facility was located in Ha Long Bay, with an area of over 30 hectares of sea surface. After taking over the company, Huong and her husband worked to improve the infrastructure and completed the work in 2009. With the knowledge gained from his training period in Japan, Huong's husband has been able to apply it to production.

However, in the initial period, the company still mainly exported raw products to a number of markets such as Japan, Hong Kong (China), the Republic of Korea, China and some European countries. That is not Huong’s ultimate goal in doing business because it brought about low economic value. In addition, Quang Ninh's pearl products have not yet established their own brand when exported.

Huong once wondered: “Why don’t we build a brand for the locality from our own resources, labour force and intelligence, rather than exporting raw products that only bring low value? Why don’t we build a brand for the homeland, for Vietnamese people?”

This motivated Huong and her husband to build Ha Long pearls into a Vietnamese pearl brand. The company has adjusted its business strategy, not only artificially breeding, but also covering the stages of culture and product manufacturing, thus creating the first closed process on raising mussels for pearls and making pearl jewellery in Vietnam.

However, in the early days of operation, although both Huong and her husband already had many years of experience in pearl farming, Ha Long Pearl Company faced failure due to the lack of experience in producing cultured pearls in seawater. It happened when the rain and storm came, strong waves and strong winds swept away mussel rafts, leaving her and her husband empty-handed. But thanks to their passion for work, Huong and her husband decide to start over and turn the business failure around.

When the company grew larger, she at times offered training to local residents in the hope of getting them involved in certain stages and creating livelihoods for them, but not many could acquire the difficult technique, so her idea also failed.

It has faced multiple difficulties and failures, but according to Huong, the greatest challenge her company has ever been confronted with was the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, production stalled, buyers dropped, and all capital was trapped in unsold products. Her company’s revenue mainly came from tourists but the sector was frozen, so revenue was almost zero.

Recalling that struggling period, the businesswoman with more than ten years of experience could not help but sigh. “At that time, I was in complete despair and didn’t know what I should do since everything requires money, nothing can be done without capital,” she said.

To sustain the company’s operation, Huong had to reduce the workforce and retained only the key personnel. She and her husband even resorted to selling their own assets to pay the workers in the hope that the pandemic would be over soon and tourism and production would resume. It was not until August 2023 that the company’s operation made a full recovery. It was like Huong and her husband had to start again from scratch.

“Indeed, there were times when I wanted to give up but the passion pulled me back. Looking at the shiny pearls, regardless of the elements, my passion for the oysters and their pearls with their own vitality awakens, impelling me to overcome all difficulties to continue pursuing my dream,” shared Huong.

The company is now employing about 100 workers. One year before the pandemic, the company harvested about 200 kilograms of raw pearls each year, but now the output was only up to 20-30% of the pre-pandemic figure.

Although production has not recovered to the pre-pandemic level, everyone at the company has a great passion for their job and is determined to preserve and develop the Ha Long pearl brand. Therefore, however difficult, they will not flinch from joining hands in developing a product that characterises their homeland value.

My homeland is blessed with such a majestic heritage by nature, why is there no tourism product that really makes beautiful impressions on tourists?

I really want to create a tourism product that is compatible with the reputation of Ha Long heritage.

Businesswoman
Nguyen Thuy Huong

Not only producing precious pearls, Nguyen Thuy Huong wishes to make Ha Long pearls into a product that beautifies and affirms the value of the world natural heritage of Ha Long Bay.

“I was born and grew up in Quang Ninh, a province with great strength of tourism, so I always want to contribute to the development of the province's tourism industry. I always pose a question that my homeland is blessed with such a majestic heritage by nature, why is there no tourism product that really makes beautiful impressions on tourists? I really want to create a tourism product that is compatible with the reputation of Ha Long heritage," Huong confided.

With such a desire, although many units offered to buy the company's raw pearls, Huong did not purchase. She wants to keep those "heritage" pearls shining right on the heritage land, so that tourists from all over the world will come, touch each pearl with their own hands, listen to the pearl's life story, and feel the breath of nature. As a result, visitors can feel the sparkling and lively beauty of Ha Long pearls.

Huong launched a tour to experience the practical activities to learn the process of making colourful and shiny pearls at Ha Long Pearl Joint Stock Company.

When visitors come to the company, they will witness firsthand every process of forming precious pearls, from culturing to harvesting. Tourists will be meticulously introduced to the types of pearls and each stage of pearl production. Visitors can also explore and choose for themselves, the most beautiful and quality pearls, crafted with the utmost sophistication.

To meet the diverse needs of tourists, the company has launched six language versions telling the story of the life of the “heritage” pearls. More tourists have participated in her tour, mostly from Europe, accounting for 60% of the total number of tourists. Customers like the story she tells about Ha Long pearls and trust the quality of each pearl.

“Once, I witnessed an elderly couple who came to the company to choose pearl jewellery - a gift which the man respectfully gave to his beloved partner. I felt extremely moved” Huong said. She noted that the elderly male customer decided to choose a product that carries the quintessence of her homeland’s heritage, created by the skilful hands and creativity of the people of Quang Ninh, to express his love and appreciation for his wife. It made Huong feel very happy and proud. 

On another occasion, a group of about 40-50 international visitors came to visit the company and they shouted in unison, full of surprise and joy, upon observing the process of cultivating pearls. According to Huong, that happy image serves as a source of motivation to help her be more steadfast on the difficult but sweet journey she has chosen.

According to Huong, developing tourism products is not only an economic activity but also promotes Vietnamese culture and the pride of Vietnamese people. The local authorities have also supported her in operating tours, to enhance the value and vitality of her homeland’s heritage, such as facilitating the company to install roofs to block rain and sunlight. 

However, Huong hopes to receive more attention and support from the authorities to complete this tour and turn it into a unique tourism product, connecting tourists to Ha Long Bay heritage and creating a deep impression on tourists.