Buying Pearls in Beijing

[Max Krusen]

Edit: Detailed buyer's experience/guide below for anyone interested in buying pearls in Beijing.

Hello everyone. So I am in Beijing studying Chinese for two months and want to purchase a pearl necklace and earrings for my girlfriend. My investment is $100 for the necklace and $20 for the earrings. She's turning 22 so I am planning on 6.5-7 mm size, preferably black since she has a darker skin tone. I know all of the basics about pearls, but require a few more details for what I want.

So my hope is to get saltwater pearls. I know Tahitians and South Sea Pearls are out of the question, but I have some questions about Akoya and "Chinese cultured saltwater pearls". I know Akoyas are not naturally black, I'd just prefer to get anything saltwater before going freshwater. Are there any Akoya necklaces available in this price range in China? I'm not expecting the greatest quality of course. As for the Chinese cultured saltwater pearls, I have a story for that. I walked into Marie's Dream Pearl's at the silk market on the 5th floor. I inquired about black pearls and she pulls out two types, one being a nice set of freshwater pearls and the other what she refers to as Chinese black saltwater pearls. This confused me because I thought Tahitians were the only saltwater pearls that could be black. I confirmed this with her and she said they were saltwater. I know they were not dyed because they were not black black and had a natural luster to them. China's saltwater production is relatively new, are black pearls possible? I am inclined to believe her because the top floor pearl stores only offer top quality pearls and have reputations to uphold, unlike the smaller pearl stands downstairs. The freshwater pearls, cultured for 3 years, were marked for 860 yuan (roughly $143) and the saltwater pearls, 4-5 years, marked for 2,000 yuan ($333).

This is not my first time haggling in a foreign country (and I am rather successful at it), but this is my first time buying pearls. I know a decent set of freshwater pearls go for about $15-$20, about $5 for earrings, so I'm assuming $100 should be able to get me some really good quality stuff. If anyone has bought pearls in China before I would appreciate their experiences. I never pay above 20% of the asking price, and usually pay 15%, but I am unsure if these higher class shops operate the same way. Again, I want saltwater pearls if possible, but if it is not meant to be, I will be more than happy getting the best set of black freshwater pearls $100 can buy. I plan on buying at the Pearl Market too, not the Silk Market. Please let me know what I should expect, and thanks in advance!

 

[jshepherd]

Hi Max,

With the budget you have, I would suggest sticking with freshwater pearls. The problem with inexpensive saltwater (especially in China) is that they have been short-cultured. The pearls were not in the water for 4-5 years as suggested. In fact, 4-5 months is a closer approximation. Only a few farms in Japan practice what is known as koshimono, which means the pearls have grown through two growing cycles, or approximately two years. The attrition rate has always been too high in China, and no farms that I know of have ever grown longer than a single year, and many farms only grow for 3-6 months = very short-cultured.

The reason you are better off not purchasing these short-cultured akoya is because the nacre is simply too thin. The nacre may crack and peel in a very short amount of time, leaving you with nothing more than a string of MOP beads.

Black is not a natural color in akoya, and Chinese saltwater pearls are indeed akoya - there is no other type. The pearls have been dyed - both the freshwater and the saltwater.

The Hongqiao market is a good place to get a good strand of pearls while in Beijing, and the top floor is where the most serious sellers are. I'm not sure whether or not you'd be able to get much of a better deal than the floor below, however, when only purchasing a single strand. Also, the sellers upstairs each have their own stalls below.

For your budget, you should be able to get a nice strand of very near round freshwater pearls with matching earrings. In the long term, she will be much happier with this.

 

[Max Krusen]

Thanks Jeremy! I've been browsing this sight for about a week now and noticed that you recommended Ling Ling's Pearls. I actually stopped by her shop the first time I went to Hongqiao and liked her selection, but was just browsing at the time. Does the 20% rule still apply to shops like Ling Ling's? When I was looking on the 3rd floor many pieces were marked from 10,000 to 60,000 so I'm assuming yes, but I'd rather not go in and insult her.

 

[jshepherd]

My pleasure.

No matter who you deal with there, everything is very negotiable. But just buying a single strand won't give you too much negotiating power. In fact, the best negotiating power you'll probably have it telling them (Ling Ling or other) that you post here and plan to post photos of the finished piece.

One last piece of advice, 10 karat does not mean 10 karat in China. It means gold plated. Go for true 14k or your clasp and posts will start to turn colors.

 

[Max Krusen]

Thanks again for your advice and I will definitely use it. I'll probably head over there next weekend, so I'll let everyone know how things work out. Pics coming soon!

 

[GemGeek]

Hi Max! Isn't it amazing to get such specific feedback on one market in China? I'm sure your girlfriend will be thrilled with the gift and we await your return posts.

 

[Max Krusen]

It really is! I can't say I've had the greatest experiences with forums in the past, but I am extremely pleased with the helpful people here. Post coming soon.

 

[Max Krusen]

Actually, I have one more inquiry regarding irradiated pearls. So far I have read that irradiated pearls can be more colorful and will not fade over time. Since I am going for a set of black freshwater pearls, would it be better to get irradiated or dyed pearls? Are irradiated pearls more expensive, and are they as common in China as dyed ones? What are the advantages or disadvantages of irradiation?

 

[GemGeek]

Irradiated freshwater pearls tend to have an unreal iridescence on the surface, so a good dye job should look better. In saltwater akoyas, the bead inside turns dark, so there is no strange surface quality. Buy what looks good to you. A good dye job should look good and last the life of the pearls. That said, if you leave your pearls exposed to sunlight for extended periods of time, they may fade. They are not as common as dyed pearls and I haven't noticed a big price differential.

 

[Max Krusen]

Then I will be getting some dyed ones. Thanks!

 

[Max Krusen]

Success!

Success!

Hello everyone, I'm back with pearls! To begin, I'll detail what exactly I got with some pictures, and follow up with a walk-through on my experience on the 4th floor of Hongqiao Market for anyone looking to buy similar pearls.

So I ended up buying two pearl necklaces and two sets of earrings to match from two different stores. The first set is a beautiful strand of naturally pink freshwater pearls with a 14K white-gold clasp. They are 7mm with no blemishes, great luster, no pitting, and very near-round. Josephine(Josephine Pearls) pitched to me that they were AAA, but I am thinking that they are AA since they are not perfectly round pearls. I bought a matching pair of 8mm teardrop earrings with silver clasps. The purchase I am more excited about, and I know I said I wouldn't, is the strand of black-dyed Akoyas, also with a white-gold clasp. They are 7mm with very few blemishes and pitting, and have amazing luster and roundness. In the pictures the pearls look dark, but in person these pearls have the beautiful peacock shade. No grade was attached to these pearls during the pitch, but I'm hoping they are at least A grade, maybe AA. If someone is willing to give me their input I'd be grateful. I bought a matching set of black 8mm earrings with silver clasps. Unfortunately I could not get these pearls to match as well as the pink ones, which is expected since these are dyed.

All-in-all, I spent $108(650 yuan) on the Akoyas, $67(400 yuan) on the freshwater pearls, $33(200 yuan) total on two 14K gold clasps, and $20(120 yuan) total on both pairs of freshwater earrings. Walk-through on the experience (and haggling) detailed in my next post. Also, I was using my phone camera so please believe me when I say these pearls look more beautiful in person!

 

[jshepherd]

It sounds like you did well! I am pretty sure that Josephine Pearls is Ju-fen, the seller who sold me the first strand of pearls I ever purchased in 1996.

 

[Max Krusen]

Thanks! If she had a bird statue made of pearls back then, then it must be! Apparently that thing has been around forever.

Now for the story. Sorry for the long post. I just hope this serves as a specific guide to anyone wanting to buy pearls in China, as this was information I found useful.

Okay so I show up late at Hongqiao Market around 6:30 on Friday. The problem is Hangqiao starts to close down around 7:00 and people are forced to leave at 8:00, therefore there wasn't much time to shop around and barter. With this in mind I head straight to Josephine Pearls. I had originally planned to shop at Ling Ling's, but on the way to Hongqiao I ran into a buddy who had experience buying pearls in China. When he found out that my budget was $100, he recommended that I go to Josephine's first to try buying Akoyas. I was able to talk to Josephine herself and do business. I began by asking to see her selection of black Akoyas, and eventually picked out a peacock strand. In the case that I was unable to afford these, I also asked to see her selection of high quality fresh-waters, and picked out the natural pink strand. I brought another friend who picked out a piece as well. We performed the tests and the pearls checked out.

Now comes the haggling. Josephine started out with 8,250 yuan (about $1,400). I low-balled her with a 400 yuan comeback. She laughed in disbelief as all good sales people do and proceeded to bring out some pearls "more suited" for my price range. I told her I'm not interested in anything else and will give her a real offer when she gives me a real price. It took about 20 minutes to convince her I was serious about this purchase, after which she immediately lowered her price to 5,000 yuan. I raised my offer to 600 yuan and again she tries to divert my attention to her other pearls. After another 5 minutes we are back on track and over the course of ten minutes I am able to get her down to 2,500 yuan. At this point she is being pretty stubborn, so I mention I can always came back after I've looked around and asked the other sellers. This allows me to get her down to 1,500 rather quickly. During this time period I have steadily raised my offer up to 900 yuan. I know I am reaching her actual number because she starts to look a little reluctant to go down anymore. After a few more times of threatening to walk out she starts coming down to 1200, the whole time punching numbers into her calculator that she won't let me see. I am more than sure that she was determining which price she would start losing money at. I have come all the way up to 1050 (1000 being my intended max) and threw in a sob story that the extra 50 was my dinner money and how I can't eat dinner now, along with a line that she was very beautiful (a tactic often used jokingly in Hongqiao). She then agrees to give me both pearls for 1050 yuan ($175). After this she wants to know which clasp I wanted. I had actually completely forgot about the clasp so I asked how much for a 14K gold clasp. She wanted 250 ($41.50) apiece. I thought I had read somewhere that Jeremy had said a gold clasp should cost about $6, so I said no and asked to just purchase the pearls as I did not feel like bartering anymore. This whole transaction took a little over an hour to complete.

I returned to Hongqiao on Sunday to get clasps and matching earrings. This time I went straight to Ling Ling's. I asked for Ling Ling but the sales lady said she was out to lunch and buying a shipment of pearls, so we began to conduct business. Before anything else, I pulled out the pearls I had already bought and asked her what she could tell me about them. Without asking any questions, she was able to tell me the pink pearls were high quality freshwaters and the black pearls were definitely saltwater, so I was happy knowing I got what I paid for. I then pick out the earrings and clasps and begin to talk prices. She starts off with 80 yuan per pair and 100 yuan per clasp. I had already told her that Jeremy had recommended Ling Ling's to me, and she was able to figure out who I was talking about. For this reason she started off her prices extremely low compared to other stores, but I figured I could still talk them down a bit. I start with the clasps and mention that I was told I could get them for $6, and she said this was the case about ten years ago, but now gold was more expensive in China than before. After 5 minutes she would still not budge so I figured she really was giving me her best price. I was able to talk the pearls down to 60 each and didn't care to barter much more since they were already low. They strung up the pearls for me and gave me some water while I waited.

Since I'm studying Chinese, at least 50% of the conversation was in Chinese, so this was one of the more important tools when bartering for a great deal. The other part is to just make bartering a fun game and to make the seller like bartering with you. I always joke around a bit but still stay firm on my offers, and you will always need to threaten to walk out to get the best price. Also, when bartering with Josephine, the fact that they were closing and had already spent an hour on me was a huge assist for getting them to settle.

I highly recommend both shops, Ling Ling's and Josephine Pearls. Neither one will cheat you on the quality. Josephine tried to stretch the truth sometimes, but never flat out lied, and it was a very relaxed environment to do business. If you can barter and know what your looking at, this will be a good shop to go to. Ling Ling's was very relaxed and the saleswomen were very helpful. I feel like even if I hadn't mentioned Jeremy I would have had little trouble doing business. Recommended for the less experienced hagglers.

Finally I would like to thank ya'll, Jeremy Shepherd and GemGeek, for your guidance. You made my first pearl buying experience a great one!

 

[BAS]

Wow, that is a terrific story! Thanks for all the details. I love the part where you cry poverty and inability to buy dinner -- perhaps only topped by where you compliment the Seller's physical beauty.

But... I think I'll stick with buying from Jeremy...!

 

[pattye]

Max,

Excellent negotiation, great story and lovely pearls! I've giving this thread 5 stars, but it is worth 10!!! Thanks so very much for taking time to share it with us!

 

[juliebeth]

thanks so much for telling the story! that was great! i could never do it.

 

[Caitlin]

I agree. I gave the thread 5 stars and the OP a star for each post. This thread is full of useful information and fun!

 

[CeciliaW]

Is it true that you can buy a 14K yellow gold pearl clasp for less than $10 in China?

I read his post several times and I'm very surprised by the low low prices being discussed.

Wow.

 

[GemGeek]

You are a clever buyer. The only real leverage you have is to walk away, or to up the quantity. If they come running after you, great. Your tactics were very much like the ones I employed when I lived in Nigeria.

 

[jshepherd]

Is it true that you can buy a 14K yellow gold pearl clasp for less than $10 in China?

I read his post several times and I'm very surprised by the low low prices being discussed.

Wow.

No, it's not possible. Gold costs the same no matter where you are in the world. It's a commodity. It all depends on the weight of the clasp. The OP wrote, as I read it, he got two clasps for $33. That is possible for a small, filigree clasp.