"Hawaiian Pearls"

[Floridapearl]

Hi all, I just came upon this one - thought you might appreciate the "handmade artisan one of a kind collectors piece"

"genuine Hawaiian natural artisan multicolor freshwater pearl"

https://www.etsy.com/listing/507709468/genuine-hawaiian-natural-artisan?ref=shop_home_active_1

Quite the price at over 1000 $ - I saw an almost identical one with a silver clasp for 15.00 $

Cheers

 

[MMtwo]

There is a sucker born every minute. That's terrible.

 

[BWeaves]

" with artistic inlay of a solid 14K gold Hawaiian gold clasp. "

It's the cheapest fishhook finding you can buy. And it's not inlaid.

"Vintage handmade item"

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Not to mention the cheapest freshwater pearls you can get at any beadstore. $1,155.00 ? Sheesh. $10 maybe. $50 if the clasp is solid gold, and that's mostly the price of the clasp.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Nice catch, Floridapearl!

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

Who knew they mined for gold in Hawaii.

 

[Abi]

I wonder which island they're talking about... I live in Oahu and I've never heard of Hawaiian pearls, or Hawaiian gold.

In fact, I've only heard that sunrise shells are considered to be the gold of Hawaii.

 

[pattye]

Well, no sales so far. Lots of misrepresentation for sure.

 

[pearlescence]

I could claim my pearls were authentically from England and the gold could be welsh (cloggau welsh gold is a vanishingly small amount of native welsh mined gold mixed with any old gold but well marketed - check the adverts for cunning wording)

 

[jshepherd]

I wonder which island they're talking about... I live in Oahu and I've never heard of Hawaiian pearls, or Hawaiian gold.

In fact, I've only heard that sunrise shells are considered to be the gold of Hawaii.

That's because they don't exist

 

[JerseyPearl]

Maybe the next iteration of the pearl party scam...grow your own oysters and farm your own pearls.

 

[BWeaves]

Well, of course they are Hawaiian pearls. They were bought in a bead store in Hawaii, right?

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

I went to esty a few days ago and wrote the seller a note. This is the response I received yesterday. She has seen this thread.

genuine Hawaiian natural artisan multicolor freshwater pearl twist necklace with detailed 14K Hawaiian gold clasp inlay, listing #507709468

Hi wendy ,

Thank you for your message. I can certainly understand where you are coming from - especially with the advent of many cheaper alternatives in China which have affected genuine natural pearl pricing.

By way of background, pearl and coral has been our family trade for over 4 generations now. You are correct that there are currently no pearl farms in Hawaii - in around the 1970s and 1980s, my great-grandfather ran a small pearl and coral factory on the island of Maui learning the cultivating trade from pearl enthusiasts in Japan (when the Hawaiian laws permitted it). Those were the golden (or, pearlescent?) days. Though the business declined (and closed) due to the artificial pearls being mass manufactured in China, and Hawaiian laws subsequently changed, the Hawaiian labor costs that went into producing our pearls were indeed quite high.

The pearls were originally distributed via wholesale and most of our pearls were at the time sold to large corporations that sold the same pearls for 8-10x the price with the addition of a name brand as there was an exotic Hawaiian element. Eventually, due to the limited supply, the large companies shifted their strategies and focused on branding the Hawaiian design - resorting to sourcing the pearls from cheaper sources (namely, China). I am unable to disclose those companies due to confidentiality agreements.

I can understand your frustrations, as I do not intend for anyone to fall into a trap and pay exorbitant amounts for cheap items. That would be horrible. As the pearls are vintage Hawaiian pieces from over 30 years however, I am unable to recoup the costs we invested.

Thank you for drawing the forum to my attention. I truly do appreciate your thoughtful insights and hope I have not offended you.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

Mahalo,
Vivienne

 

[jshepherd]

You have to give her credit for a pretty vivid and creative imagination, lol. I am sure she didn't realize she was communicating with a pearl expert who would instantly know everything she wrote was a total fabrication.

Natural Hawaiian freshwater pearls cultivated with Japanese techniques, lol. I nearly choked on my cup of coffee.

 

[BWeaves]

Still doesn't explain the " artistic inlay of a solid 14K gold Hawaiian gold clasp, " either.

 

[pattye]

LFS, your eyes must have been twirling when you read this, good grief!! Thank you for taking time to contact her.

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

The letter pretty much speaks for it's self. I was speechless so I posted it here.

 

[Karman]

"...artificial pearls being mass manufactured in China"?
Is she implying that Chinese freshwaters nowadays are somehow fake pearls? Sheesh.

I hope no one believes that they can get a true natural (not cultured) pearl necklace for $1k (and of course, hope they do not believe any of the other BS of course).

 

[Naan]

Very interesting thread! Hawai don't grow any kind of pearls?

 

[JerseyPearl]

I did notice that the listing properly identifies them as fresh water pearls.

 

[jshepherd]

Very interesting thread! Hawai don't grow any kind of pearls?

No. There are no pearl farms in Hawaii. A guy from California tried in the 1990s. He's the same guy who tried farming pearls in California - Paul Cross. There is a photo somewhere on this forum of the freshwater pearls he grew here in California. I took the photo in his office about 10 years ago. From what I understand, he only seeded a few hundred saltwater shells for blister pearl production in the 90s and then the operation dissolved.

It's a shame nobody has actually tried farming freshwater pearls in those vast Hawaiian lakes though