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Freshwater – Large freshwater were everywhere! Supplies of all sizes up to 10-11mm were very plentiful and prices for all but the best qualities remained at similar prices to last fall. Pricing on the finest qualities was up about 10-15%. We also saw limited supplies of 11-12mm and 12 up strands. While most of these were somewhat pitted, off round with lower luster, there was a very small quantity of amazingly high quality. The finest examples of these rivaled some South Sea strands and cost about 2/3’s less. Keep in mind that it can take up to eight years to grow a freshwater pearl as large as 12mm. During that time many things can and do happen that affect the quality. Weather, water temperature, pollution, and disease can claim the fragile mussels that they grow in. Because of this, most pearl farmers are either unwilling to take the risk of producing such large pearls or simply unable to afford waiting that long.

We also had the opportunity to search through an extremely large lot of very round and very vibrant natural colored 9-10mm and 10-11mm loose pearls. We hand selected the very finest and brightest colored pearls from the lot and were able to make three of the most exquisite and rare necklaces we have ever seen.

We found many other unusual strands in all shapes and sizes. We bought many strands of large freshwater keshi and ringed pearls that rival their South Sea and Tahitian counterparts. Most of these will have jeweler’s costs of $100-$200.

Akoya – The most popular sizes in the U.S. are 6-6.5mm and 6.5-7mm. Guess what was virtually nonexistent? 6-7mm sizes in better to top qualities! Sure, there was plenty of good (and not so good) quality 6-6.5mm and 6.5-7mm Chinese Akoya (note: the quality is getting better with each harvest) but they still do not compare to the deep luster and superior quality of fine Japanese Akoya. When we asked many of the suppliers where their top quality 6-6.5mm Japanese goods were they just laughed! This confirmed what we’d previously reported from our last trip to Japan; the new harvest of better to top quality Japanese 6-6.5mm and 6.5-7mm goods was so small that only the two largest Japanese pearl houses were able to purchase these goods. (Luckily, we have a very close relationship with one of these!) Prices are sure to be up on these sizes in the best qualities by the summer as old stocks are sold off.

Tahitian – While supplies are holding and we had no trouble finding what we needed, prices are up. On average we are paying 15-20% more than we did six months ago for most qualities. At the Robert Wan Tahiti Pearl Auction, we found reserve and actual bid prices to be up as much as 25%! We were also able to find a few more strands of beautiful multi colored. These were quite clean with vibrant colors with jeweler’s costs in the $2,700-$4,000 range. Larger goods (12mm and up) were very scarce and difficult to find.

This Pearl Perspectives will take a look at the tremendous changes taking place in the world of freshwater pearls.

One of the most interesting trends in the Pearl Market today is the continued emergence of fabulously large freshwater pearls. The Chinese freshwater farmer continues to produce larger, rounder, more colorful, and more lustrous pearls. The very best of these rival South Sea in size. It takes six to seven years to produce a freshwater pearl 12mm or larger. The gem quality pearl is quite a rarity a lower percentage of freshwater pearls produced are breathtaking gems but the quantity of freshwater is far greater than any other type of pearl. The farmer is getting more patient letting the mussel to lay down more nacre and grow larger. More

It is our belief an enhanced knowledge of the cultured pearl product category results in greater sales and an increased passion for pearls.

In Zhuji and surrounding areas, pearl farms, or pearl paddies, are scattered among other agricultural enterprises along the highways and in urban backyards, pools of brown muddy water, 1-1.5 meters deep, marked by float lines festooned with green plastic soda bottles or irregular chunks of Styrofoam. Larger farms have all their necessary buildings perched along the paddy dikes, including the farmer's homes, thatch-roofed nucleation sheds, and hatcheries.

Dear Peter --

You may recall meeting at Vegas 2004. I was going through the stacks of business cards from that show and I spotted some writing on the back of your card that indicated you wanted a PDF file of my gemstone (pearl) adventure story to China. If good things come to those who wait, then the attached PDF file should be a good thing indeed.

Paul E. Holewa
Managing Editor, Instore Magazine This is a nice story

This section looks at trends both in the market and in the world of pearls.

Red Carpet Awash with Color and Pearls at the 77th Annual Academy Awards

DALLAS, March 7— Some of the biggest stars dazzling the red carpet at this year’s Oscar’s opted for a flash of color or a dash of pearls to drive home the glamour of their look. More

This article appeared after the last Hong Kong show so we went out to investigate.

Above are bead nucleated freshwater pearls, they look just like their tissue nucleated siblings but are quite rare.

It takes six to seven years to grow a tissue nucleated 11mm Freshwater Pearl and after waiting all that time there is a 60 percent chance the pearl will not be round,

the most valuable shape. That is why bead nucleated freshwater pearl cultivation experimentation draws such interest in the pearling community. Using a bead along with mantle tissue, as is done in all saltwater culturing process, has the prospect of reducing the time it takes to produce a large pearl by half or more. In theory it will produce rounder pearls.

So while we were in Asia we set off to find out the current status of bead nucleated freshwater pearls. What we found was that there was some product on the market. Mainland Chinese pearl farmers did have some product (see picture above) but not in commercial quantities yet. The product we saw was loose, not in strands, most was of poor quality baroque with tails like baroque Japanese Akoya or drop shape. Some was round, nice goods. There was general consensus that no one cultivating these pearls have made a profit. The technique is still in the developmental stage. There are problems still to be overcome, such as the fact that a juvenile mussel can accept 40 tissue implants but only 3-4 beads, reducing the output by a factor of 10. The other problem seems to be that the pearls are not as round as desired. All pearl cultivators are notoriously secretive, so any information is difficult at best, but the market does not lie--there is no flood on the market now. The freshwater cultivator has proven to be as innovative as anyone in pearling and I personally would not bet against them. China is aiming at increasing pearl cultivation, improving processing techniques and expanding sales. We will watch the developments closely.

A recently completed shopping complex in the Hongqiao district of Shanghai is hoping to attract both local and international buyers to its new high-end pearl market. The shopping complex is called “Hongqiao Xintiandi”, or Hongqiao New World. The Shanghai Pearl Center purchased, for an investment of US$15.6 million dollars, the ground floor and first floor of the complex. The name is very reminiscent of the Hongqiao pearl market in the Chongwen District of Beijing.

Recently pearl farmers in Zhejiang Province formed an association to further enhance the image of Chinese freshwater pearls in the international market and restore trade confidence, one of its first acts was to pass a resolution on stockpiling lower-end freshwater pearls. We are watching to see if they can reduce the amount of poor quality product on the market. This is a tactic the Japanese were quite successful at and recently Tahiti also adopted a similar tactic.

Large Classic Three Piece Sets

Fun & Fashionable

These freshwater necklaces are nice but we need to make room for some new styles.