Help! Newbie Travelling to Manila

[aliraetanner]

Hello Pearl experts,


I tried scouring your previous threads on Greenhills, in Manila, and found some great info, but hoping you can shed some light for me as a total newbie!

I have always loved pearls; studs, double strand necklaces, chunky or unique bracelets are some of my favorites.

I will be traveling to Manila with work next week and would love to get my hands on a few mid quality pieces as gifts for my sister, mom, myself etc - and maybe 1 semi- splurge piece depending on price.

I will be going to Greenhills mall with one of my local colleagues, and will also be at MarketMarket.

i'm mostly concerned about a) being a newbie b)buying something under false pretenses c)getting ripped off on SS pearls.

specifically looking for large (~12MM) single stud earrings (white and black), black pearl bracelet (medium quality), single large pearl pendant (white or black)

Can any of the experts suggest specific vendors i could go to that people have had luck with in the past? Give me an idea on what would be a reasonable purchase price (with a local shopper) any suggestions on what to look for, what to avoid.

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[jshepherd]

It isn't easy to give advice on purchase prices because that is going to depend on you and the quality that you select. To give you an idea of the range, you can buy a 16 mm Tahitian or South Sea pearl that is complete junk for $20 - poor nacre, luster, surface, etc. You can purchase a very fine 16 mm pearl for $10,000 dollars. You can also purchase just about anywhere between too. There are buyers for every grade.

The most important piece of advice I can give you is going in knowing the product first. If you haven't done it yet, take this course. Use the coupon code PP10951 to get it for free. This will arm you with knowledge - you will know more about the pearls than the vendors do.

Also, none of the pearls at Greenhills come from Mindanao. This is repeated by nearly every vendor in Greenhills. The second someone tells you that, you will know they are not being honest with you. There are no pearls produced in Mindanao. All the pearls you see at Greenhills have been sourced from Hong Kong or Mainland China. This even goes for the gold South Sea pearls, which the Philippines does produce.

 

[pattye]

Welcome, aliraetanner,

Please do report on your shopping adventure! Remember the black freshwater pearls are dyed. You may be able to negotiate the best prices on the fun, unique pearls that aren't round. Check prices at some of the vendors here (such as PP) to help you set a price range to spend for each item, then you'll know when to walk away.

 

[Jwymark]

It isn't easy to give advice on purchase prices because that is going to depend on you and the quality that you select. To give you an idea of the range, you can buy a 16 mm Tahitian or South Sea pearl that is complete junk for $20 - poor nacre, luster, surface, etc. You can purchase a very fine 16 mm pearl for $10,000 dollars. You can also purchase just about anywhere between too. There are buyers for every grade.

The most important piece of advice I can give you is going in knowing the product first. If you haven't done it yet, take this course. Use the coupon code PP10951 to get it for free. This will arm you with knowledge - you will know more about the pearls than the vendors do.

Also, none of the pearls at Greenhills come from Mindanao. This is repeated by nearly every vendor in Greenhills. The second someone tells you that, you will know they are not being honest with you. There are no pearls produced in Mindanao. All the pearls you see at Greenhills have been sourced from Hong Kong or Mainland China. This even goes for the gold South Sea pearls, which the Philippines does produce.

I totally recommend taking this course. I have completed it and it's really good.