A helping hand in the Philippines

[Zeide Erskine]

Mindanao pearls

Mindanao pearls

Basically all these "baby South Sea" pearls are freshwater cultured and typically from China not from the Philippines.


Zeide

 

[jshepherd]

South Sea pearls are native to Mindanao, not freshwater.

The pearls you saw at the market were certainly Chinese freshwater. The colors described are classic Chinese freshwater colors; white, peach, and lavender.

This type of deception is not limitted to the Philippine pearl markets, similar selling happens in China as well. Nearly every seller I met when I first bought pearls at Hongqiao nearly a decade ago called plated clasps 10k. When I discovered the truth and confronted a supplier I learned it was "industry standard". They all knew it was not true, but they basically agreed to use the term 10k because buyers preferred it over plated.

 

[mandyshan]

hello .siggy .pearl products from china

hello .siggy .pearl products from china

hello ,siggy ,

i 'm from China after study your information noted you are looking for pearl products .It's really very nice that our hometown is specialized in making pearl products .Hope to contact with you and discuss each other how to make business .my mobile No. is 86-13065820117 .
or you can send eamil to me by sunnyue66@yahoo.com.cn
or my MSN mandyshan@hotmail.com
waiting for your response .


Mandy

Hello everybody!

As this is my first post, please allow me to introduce myself. I am a young man from Norway named Sigurd. I am in the middle of starting a new import company and in this occation i have researched the Norwegean market and found that Norway (one of the most expensive countries in the world) are in lack of good pearl importers. It has therefore been decided that pearl import will function as the backbone of the company.

The 31'st this month (31.03.06) two of my partners and myself are traveling to Manilla. As a start we are going to evaluate the market by investing around $3500 on pearls.

Allthoug one of my partners have lived in Manlilla for about a year, I feel that what we need is a friendly person, native or not, who speaks the native language and have a decent knowlege of the pearl market in the Philippines. I hope anyone on this forum that lives in the Philippines are interested in helping us!

Im sorry but i cannot promise great sums of money for this, frankly because we need to live very low budget down there. What i can promise you on the other hand is a good meal and a fair amount rounds of beer on our expence.

Any replies are most welcome!

Siggy

 

[anapuigvert]

Important

Important

Dear Sir ,

We are a a spanish import company and we want to know wholesalers of pearls in Manila .
We area travelling next week to Manila .
Kind regrads
Ana Puigvert

 

[islandboy]

Hello everybody!

As this is my first post, please allow me to introduce myself. I am a young man from Norway named Sigurd. I am in the middle of starting a new import company and in this occation i have researched the Norwegean market and found that Norway (one of the most expensive countries in the world) are in lack of good pearl importers. It has therefore been decided that pearl import will function as the backbone of the company.

The 31'st this month (31.03.06) two of my partners and myself are traveling to Manilla. As a start we are going to evaluate the market by investing around $3500 on pearls.

Allthoug one of my partners have lived in Manlilla for about a year, I feel that what we need is a friendly person, native or not, who speaks the native language and have a decent knowlege of the pearl market in the Philippines. I hope anyone on this forum that lives in the Philippines are interested in helping us!

Im sorry but i cannot promise great sums of money for this, frankly because we need to live very low budget down there. What i can promise you on the other hand is a good meal and a fair amount rounds of beer on our expence.

Any replies are most welcome!

Siggy

I'm an engineer who have worked extensively in development projects in the southern part of the philippines (davao, zamboanga and jolo). I have been back and forth to mindanao since 1992 and am currently doing 2 infrastructure development projects there. On one of my trips, I bought some fresh water pearl necklaces for my wife from the local traders. My wife told me that they are superior in quality than the ones sold in manila and that we could supply them to retailers who can discern and appreciate the difference. Personally, I know very little about pearls, which prompted me to do some background research, thus stumbling in this forum.

Unfortunately, there is an on-going war on terror down there. Even folks from manila would be averse to going to mindanao. I on the other hand, am obliged to go there from time to time. Maybe I could supply pearls to you and anyone interested at a more reasonable price than the obscenity being passed around in this forum. I'll post pictures of the necklaces I got next time.

 

[islandboy]

Hello everybody!


This is an interesting website, very informative and clear at the same time! Together with the threads, one of the best I've found to provide good information about pearls. Thanks.

As this is my first post, let me introduce myself. Coming from Belgium, I live in the Philippines for half a year now.

After having visited Greenhills Pearl Market (Manila) like so many tourists, I became interested in pearls and pearl farms in the Philippines. I found a lot of information on this site. (And I can say now: Luckily, I didn't buy much in Greenhills during these first visits).

At the moment, I am looking for some smaller-size good quality South Sea Pearls from the Philippines on request of some local jewelers in Belgium. Can someone give me good references?

Thanks,
F

PS: At Greenhills, except from the cheap Chinese freshwater pearls, all shops also sell necklaces from 8-9-10mm pearls, fairly round and with hardly any blemishes, white, pink, abricot or dark purple coloured, not dyed (price 3000-4000 pesos,60-80USD). They call them "Baby South Sea" pearls from the south of the Philippines (Mindanao).
Are these really South Sea pearls, or do we speak about cultivated freshwater Pearls -if so, are freshwater pearls also cultivated in Mindanao??

Is someone familiar with these kind of pearls, and with the Greenhills pearl market in general (where 15mm pearls are also offered, 10,000-25,000USD for a necklace)? Is it possible to do a good deal there when you watch out?

Hi.

I'd be happy to supply you fresh water or south sea pearls from jolo, sulu or the zamboanga penisula. I go there from time to time although I can't say I'm an expert in pearls. Give me a pm if you're interested.

 

[jshepherd]

The problem with those freshwater pearls is that they do not come from where you are buying them. They originate in China, and are then exported to the Philippines where they are sold as local pearls. But they are not Philippine pearls and the traders are basically lying to the buyers (unfortunately).

 

[islandboy]

The problem with those freshwater pearls is that they do not come from where you are buying them. They originate in China, and are then exported to the Philippines where they are sold as local pearls. But they are not Philippine pearls and the traders are basically lying to the buyers (unfortunately).

Even the south sea pearls?

I have personally worked on us-aid funded, infrastructure projects for the badjao community in zamboanga and have spoken with some of them. Apparently, they still dive for pearls there.

I'm curious. How do you distinguish from fresh water and south sea pearls? How do you know there aren't fresh water pearls in the philippines. I'd appreciate if you'd enlighten me.

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Island boy
The Philippines are an important source for south sea pearls. I read somewhere that the badjao still dive and some work for Jewelmer, a huge vertical business that covers the entire process of growing and selling pearls all the way to retail jewelry. They are not cheap pearls.

How do you distinguish from fresh water and south sea pearls?

South sea pearls are cultured with a bead nucleus; freshwater pearls are solid nacre so they rarely have the perfect round shape.

Freshwater pearls grow in mussels that live in fresh water. There are freshwater mussels in every happy creek and river, but there is no business which is growing them in the Philippines, yet. The Chinese produce so many at such decent prices, there is no financial incentive. One might be able to find wild grown pearls in the local mussels, but I think it takes hundreds of mussels being removed from their habitat to find ONE pearl. Maybe it is one in a thousand.

We have the same problem in America where there are more species of mussels than anywhere else, but cultivating them for pearls is hard, expensive, work. There is one company that is/was growing cultured freshwater pearls in the USA, but they are a small outfit.

 

[jshepherd]

Even the south sea pearls?
I have personally worked on us-aid funded, infrastructure projects for the badjao community in zamboanga and have spoken with some of them. Apparently, they still dive for pearls there.
I'm curious. How do you distinguish from fresh water and south sea pearls? How do you know there aren't fresh water pearls in the philippines. I'd appreciate if you'd enlighten me.

The South Sea pearls are from the Philippines, indeed. It is an important producer of South Sea pearls, in particular golden pearls.

As for the pearl diving, the only pearl diving on that side of the world would be meat/shell collection with the rare discovery of a single pearl as a chance occurrence, or work being performed on a South Sea pearl farm. The ancient art of "pearl diving" there never really was about the pearls, it was about the mother of pearl (the shell). Unfortunately, any of the stories you heard were just that - stories.

Caitlin is right about the freshwater pearls and China's production. There really is no other producer of freshwaters in the world. Sure, small operations here and there with production so low a single matching necklace is a challenge (think Kasumi in Japan), but you are not going to "happen" upon these. Anything purchased freshwater is going to be Chinese today, and guaranteed to be such if purchased in the Philippines or anywhere else in that part of the world.

Distinguishing between freshwater and South Sea is not difficult, in fact most people here can do so by a poor photograph. One way for a novice to tell in the Philippines would be size, shape, and price. If the pearls are small, in any way potato shape, or in a necklace yet under $1000 US (price for a low quality South Sea strand), they are Chinese freshwater. This is an unfortunate reality of the Philippines, and several people have come here to this forum after purchasing freshwater pearls, portrayed as local SSP from the Philippines, but so far each has heard the same bad news.

There was even a website created once by someone who bought "local" pearls in Thailand. Thailand has the same issue as the Philippines. So sure was this buyer of these pearls from Thailand that he created thaipearl.7p.com. The opening paragraph talks about buying pearls from a "farm" in Thailand. Unfortunately he is selling Chinese freshwater pearls and was tricked.

South Sea pearls are the industry's most expensive type of cultured pearl, with the golden variety leading the value. Production is always below demand, and harvests command a lot of money. The farms do not sell a few pearls here or there, they sell at international auctions or to large wholesalers. It is done on a multi-million dollar scale. This is why you do not see wholesalers all around the Philippines, and you will never see South Sea pearl peddlers unless they are selling indicator-type pearls or pearls that the producer could not sell (those they disposed of).

 

[knotty panda]

Hi all! I didn't really take the time to read the whole thread, so my method of distinguishing freshwater from south seas may already be addressed, but I look for the sheen. White SSPs definitely have a satin sheen to them. Beading quality freshwaters have practically no luster to them, while the higher quality freshwaters have a reflective quality to them. Telling the difference between GSSP and freshwaters is easier because it's easier to spot a dye job.

 

[Giselle]

Hi all,

I've been a silent spectator to this thread for a while and find all the information really useful as like all of you, I am highly interested in pearls. They're elegant, have a wonderful embellished history, and - you must agree with me - give ladies a classic look.

I live in Europe and grew up in the Philippines and believe south sea pearls have a huge niche in the jewelry industry in the country where I reside now (Scotland). However, as I know it shall entail an ample capital, I want to be able to actually KNOW pearls, and this desire to learn led me to this site.

I am a little staggered to hear that the freshwaters in Phils have been imported from China. Like many victims, I have allowed myself to be lured into Greenhills and purchase several strands of pearls I believed to have been acquired from actual Filipino waters. Is it true that only south sea pearls are the only type of pearls that could be farmed in Philippines?

 

[jshepherd]

While South Sea pearls are not the only pearls currently farmed in the Philippines, the freshwater pearls you purchased at Greenhills were undoubtedly Chinese freshwater pearls. There is no freshwater pearl production in the Philippines.

Pearls from the Philippines are almost exclusively grown in P. maxima - they are South Sea pearls. There has been some farming of P margaritifera (Black South Sea or Tahitian) and some use of the Pteria penguin in mabe pearl production.

This forum is filled with stories from people who have purchased freshwaters at that market in the Philippines. As mentioned before, there are even a couple of Web sites in the US featuring "Philippine" pearls that are all Chinese freshwater. It is sad really...

The truth is the Philippines are a large source of some of the world's most valuable pearls. The leading producer is Jewelmer. But the market for these pearls is outside the Philippines, so it is not likely one would stumble upon fine gems at a good price at Greenhills. The pearls are sold at international auction and via direct sale to wholesalers around the world - wholesalers who pay a lot of money. It would make no sense for the producers to piece-meal the pearls out at Greenhills.

 

[Giselle]

I was a little upset to hear it, really. I have always disliked the mentality of Filipinos to hang onto foreign goods and flog them as their own, heading towards misleading their own countrymen.

I was in Manila recently and visited the Greenhills market once again, and the Jewelmer store in Makati, eyes wide open at the actual pearls as someone now laden with pearl knowledge. SSP are beautiful pearls, that is an understatement, really. What are the price ranges for wholesaling south sea pearls?

 

[Jones]

just to inform you,

Since a while I have been staying on the island of Palawan and there are 11 companies operating on this island and from several sources I have heard there is a farm which produces freshwater pearls located next to the town of Taytay.

but I agree that almost all of the FWP which are for sales in the Philippines originate from China. . ..

 

[perlas]

Philippines may be starting to explore freshwater pearl production. I was able to watch a tv documentary last year regarding blister pearl production in a farm in Laguna (Luzon Island). The main business is actually fish farming and just doing the blister pearl production on the sides...

 

[jshepherd]

Since a while I have been staying on the island of Palawan and there are 11 companies operating on this island and from several sources I have heard there is a farm which produces freshwater pearls located next to the town of Taytay.

but I agree that almost all of the FWP which are for sales in the Philippines originate from China. . ..

The town of Taytay is known for South Sea pearl production. The main body of water is the sound which is saltwater, of course. Freshwater experiments could be occuring in Lake Danao.There is talk of of experimenting in Cardona as well. But experiments may or may not produce anything of value, and any real freshwater pearl production would in the very distant future.

There is no question just about every "Philippine" pearl at Greenhills is a Chinese pearl.

 

[pearlsofpalawan]

Hi. This is my first post in this forum. I am a Filipino residing in the Philippines. A couple of my friends and I are into small-time pearl jewelry business. My friends started selling pearl accessories for just over a year ago and I've only joined them two months ago. I know little about pearls so I still have a lot to learn about them.

My friends and I have complete trust on our source from Palawan because, as we have noted, the pearls we get are of same quality we see in department stores such as Rustan's, Jewelmer and other jewelry stores. We also took time to look at pearls from Quiapo and Greenhills and we know that what they have are not like what we are selling. What is confusing for me right now is, based on comments on this thread, why it is believed that there are no production of freshwater pearls in the Philippines?

 

[jshepherd]

...why it is believed that there are no production of freshwater pearls in the Philippines?

Because there isn't. The freshwater pearls in the Philippines are Chinese imports. All the strands of freshwater pearls coming out of the Philippines and sold to unsuspecting tourists and locals alike are from China.

 

[Caitlin]

If you know of a freshwater pearl production farm in the Philippines, by all means, please tell us about it. We've been looking for years.