I've been following Atlas for 4 years, during which most of the time it wasn't profitable. However, when they diversified their sales channels during the pandemic, the competitive pressure of acquiring new customers, especially from China, drove up prices. In China, there is high demand, live broadcasts showing the pearl harvesting process have been very successful. The supply of freshwater pearls is decreasing due to environmental conservation measures, and China's freshwater pearl production is also declining while demand is increasing.
Pearl production in China. Cultivation area.
It will take several years to see production recover for these pearls, and they are of lower quality than ours.
Furthermore, in the West, there have been some icons that have sparked interest in pearls.
Just as you say, the supply of pearls is inelastic. It takes 4 years to determine if an oyster will be able to produce pearls, and there's no guarantee that the pearl will be of good quality. We have a very good product, and in my opinion, a significant competitive advantage. We have the reproduction and growth of the oyster, which will provide us with a luxury product. However, this advantage also comes with the risk of manipulating a living organism in an open environment. Currently, this risk/opportunity equation is working very well for us.
I've been collecting auction results since October 2022, and I can assure you that we are at the peak of prices. This month's auction set a new record.
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