Major haul in Kobe for Atlas

Atlas Pearls and Perfumes has said yesterday’s auction in Kobe was it’s most successful auction to date, selling $2.5 million worth of south sea pearls.

The company said the latest auction was a major milestone, with a 40 per cent increase in pearl prices since the first Atlas auction was conducted in May 2012. 

“We are very pleased with this auction result as it shows that there is a growing and sustainable demand for smaller pearl sizes across the world,” Atlas Pearls and Perfumes wholesale and distribution manager Tim Jones said. 

“Our success is directly attributable to the fact that we are considered the market leader in the 9-13 mm specialty pearl size and we are consistently producing harvests of the highly prized and sought after quality white colour pearls in this size range.” 

The company said the results of the auction were a testament that it had recovered from the lowest point reached in the GFC in 2009 in the worldwide demand for pearls.

In the first quarter of 2012 Atlas privately sold nearly 37,000 pearls, with the price for sellable pearls of JYP 4,800 per momme. 

In yesterday’s auction Atlas sold 64,000 pieces at an average price of JPY 10,700 per momme. 

“Previously, 70-80 per cent of our harvest was sold to just four different customers, but now we are selling our pearls to 50 of the world’s largest wholesalers,” Mr Jones stated. 

Between 2012 and 2014 Atlas has hosted nine auctions at the Japan Pearl Centre in Kobe, which is regarded as the traditional centre for pearl trading. 

Atlas has pearl farms across the Indonesian archipelago in Bali, Flores, Alor and West Papua, with it's head offices in Perth and Bali.

Atlas’ share price was unchanged at 8 cents per share at 11:45am WST.