The Nishimura family has been farming freshwater pearls in Japan’s Lake Biwa for the last three generations. In 1976, the BIWAKO brand was created and born out of three generations of cumulative work with raw materials, design, manufacturing, and control of the entire cultured pearl supply chain.

It all began with Mr. Saburo Nishimura who started his pearl farming and trading business back in 1976 while consulting for Japan’s first department store where he quickly realized that there was a growing consumer demand for pearls.  

In 1980, Saburo decided to embark on a journey to combine pearl resources from around the world starting along the equator and visiting Fiji, Tahiti, Indonesia, Australia, and New Guinea. As a result, he found BIOTEC in 1988 to provide technical support to major pearl farms around the world.

It took Mr. Saburo 50 years to complete a grand tour around the Pacific where he was immersed in the world of cultured pearl technology and the globalization of pearl trading. With a deep understanding of the pearl world, Saburo returned to Lake Biwa, the starting point of pearl farming, which led to the founding of BIWAKO's pearl jewelry brand in 1976.

BIWAKO was never a consumer facing brand, until now. Today, BIWAKO represents the newest generation of the Nishimura family continuing this rich family tradition with Aiko at the helm. Her mission is to reimagine the long-standing history of traditional Japanese pearls by offering sustainable, modern, and timeless heirlooms that will be passed down for generations to come.