Hong Kong Street Market Pearls

[Luvglitz]

I just returned from Hong Kong. This was the starting point for our cruise to Vietnam, Thailand and Bangkok. Our first tour in Hong Kong was to the flower market, bird market and a brief stop at a small indoor jade market. As we were getting off the tour bus for shopping at the jade market, we were advised by our guide that we had a whole 15 minutes and not to expect anything of great value, and oh yes, to bargain hard. It is amazing what I can do in 15 minutes of shopping! I immediately spotted PEARLS at one booths. The pictures are of the strands I was able to buy. The pearls are 40 inch long fresh water strands, knotted as an endless strand. Pearls are about 12mm in size, and the pearls are all the same size. Luster is amazing on almost all the pearls except some of the pinks. I bought another strand that is very similar but more colorful less of the white pearls and more pinks. I it is the bottom picture. The pearls that look grey in the jpeg are deep lavender. I would have bought more but my husband was already tapping his foot as we were going to hold up the bus. I paid so little for these "street market" pearls I would have bought many more had I had the time. I think I will always think of this pearl opportunity as not what I bought but what got away!

 

[amti]

Wow! Congrats on your pearl purchase!

 

[nnguye20]

Luvglitz that's beautiful pearls you bought! I found it was strange that you had so little time for shopping, because that is when the tour guide gain extra money from bringing customers to shops.

 

[Jaye]

I agree with you Luvglitz. I spent the winter in Bkk and picked up some amazing bargains for GSS and Tahitians from reputable vendors such as Rio, and others at the Gem Fair. I had the help of someone int the business who knew who had the natural GSS.
And the great thing is that you get to see the pearls live, before buying.
Enjoy your trip.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Yowza! That is some strand!!

 

[jshepherd]

I hate to post this, but those look like shell pearls, not freshwater pearls.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Ooh, did you happen to perform the tooth test? Or examine with a loupe?

 

[Luvglitz]

The pearls pass the tooth test. These pearls are very similar to pearls that I bought from a reputable dealer at the gem show a few months ago at a significantly higher price. I’ll look more closely.

 

[Simply adorned]

Are they heavy pearls? Do they weigh more than your gem show strand?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Luvglitz, none of my imitation pearls pass the tooth test, but I do not have any "shell pearls", by which I mean imitation pearls whose coating is made of ground-up MOP. I could see where shell pearl might pass the tooth test. Please look at them with a loupe ASAP.

It is troubling that they are all the same size and round, and that the colors are so similar. I wasn't thinking when I first posted but now that I am really looking at the photos, I have to agree with Jeremy that they really do look like imitations.

It is so easy to let down one's guard when on vacation. I once bought a strand at T. J. Maxx marked freshwater pearls that were clearly imitations when I examined them closer. I felt a bit foolish then, and that I ought to have known, but I was able to get a refund. Returning items bought when traveling is another thing.

The coating would come off if wiped with acetone-- then you'd know for sure-- but you'd damage what might be an enjoyable strand of fashion jewelry. (As you probably know, I sometimes enjoy wearing nice imitation pearls.)

I just want to add that the tooth test is not 100% guaranteed. Real pearls can feel fake if coated, and fake pearls can feel real if grimy or maybe if the coating is made such that it feels rough. I also saw a $35 silver SSP-like pearl ring at T J Maxx last year that actually looked smooth under my loupe-- that was a first. But finding a real, huge, flawless SSP ring for $35? Not happening.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I showed this thread to my husband, and he said the fact that you only had 15 minutes made it more likely to make a mistake, because you didn't really have time to evaluate what you were looking at. I think he's right.

 

[Katbran]

Well the top photo did make me wonder.. the others are a bit fuzzy. In the end if they are fake and you didn't overpay..then you have some fun traveling pearls that you don't need to worry about.

 

[pearlescence]

Look at the flaws and the drill holes. they are the real give-aways usually. But the pearls do seem to be unusually large, round and homogeneous in colour for cheapies

 

[pattye]

Ditto what Pearlescence says. Check the drill holes. If authentic the edge will be sharp, if imitation, you will likely see a more rounded edge.

 

[Luvglitz]

The problem is the pearls are knotted, so I can’t see into the drill hole. I am reluctant to use acetone to really determine “real or fake” as that will mar what is a really pretty necklace. What is the old adage - “you get what you pay for”. I will eventually take one of the necklaces apart to shorten or wire. I will do further testing at that time and using acetone on one pearl for the real tell.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

That sounds like a good plan...why spoil it now? Besides, when you eventually take it apart, it may be apparent what they are without further testing.

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[pattye]

Completely agree with PD, have a fab trip, whatever the pearls are, they are beautiful on you! Even Chanel mixed her cultured and imitation pearls! Here's a photo comparing the drill holes ~

 

[jshepherd]

I am glad you're a good sport about it. I know the market you went into and it is a fun place to visit and shop, especially if you like negotiating. But even the jade is all soapstone.

You probably saw a lot of pearl sellers in Vietnam too selling freshwater pearls and calling them Vietnamese pearls. When I visited Hanoi and Halong Bay I saw a lot of them. One shop at Halong Bay was completely dedicated to pearls and had demonstration rooms showing pearl grafting. The shop was filled with Chinese freshwater pearls. There had a few strands of baroque akoya that could have been Vietnamese, but they insisted those were natural pearls.

 

[nnguye20]

I am glad you're a good sport about it. I know the market you went into and it is a fun place to visit and shop, especially if you like negotiating. But even the jade is all soapstone.

You probably saw a lot of pearl sellers in Vietnam too selling freshwater pearls and calling them Vietnamese pearls. When I visited Hanoi and Halong Bay I saw a lot of them. One shop at Halong Bay was completely dedicated to pearls and had demonstration rooms showing pearl grafting. The shop was filled with Chinese freshwater pearls. There had a few strands of baroque akoya that could have been Vietnamese, but they insisted those were natural pearls.

As a Vietnamese, I am sad to have to agree with the fact that our country's pearl market is flooded with Chinese freshwater pearls. There are many Vietnamese articles about this problem too. But I am surprised that even pearl-dedicated shops are flooded with CFWP too. Can I ask you how you can tell the Chinese and Vietnamese pearls apart, since I would assume they come from the same species of mussels? Is there difference in quality? When you talking about pearl shop, do you mean name-brand pearl shops or just regular pearl shops?
I really want to support my country's pearl industry, but I don't know the professionalism of Vietnamese pearl companies. I purchased a pair of dyed pearls from a national brand that have pearl farm in Phu Quoc, whose representatives told me the color was "real". And I never seen Vietnamese blue Akoya in Vietnam. Not in pearl shops, brand-name pearl showrooms nor even in google search. And it is such a shame that they don't even bother advertise nor acknowledge it.

 

[jshepherd]

As a Vietnamese, I am sad to have to agree with the fact that our country's pearl market is flooded with Chinese freshwater pearls. There are many Vietnamese articles about this problem too. But I am surprised that even pearl-dedicated shops are flooded with CFWP too. Can I ask you how you can tell the Chinese and Vietnamese pearls apart, since I would assume they come from the same species of mussels? Is there difference in quality? When you talking about pearl shop, do you mean name-brand pearl shops or just regular pearl shops?
I really want to support my country's pearl industry, but I don't know the professionalism of Vietnamese pearl companies. I purchased a pair of dyed pearls from a national brand that have pearl farm in Phu Quoc, whose representatives told me the color was "real". And I never seen Vietnamese blue Akoya in Vietnam. Not in pearl shops, brand-name pearl showrooms nor even in google search. And it is such a shame that they don't even bother advertise nor acknowledge it.

There are no commercial freshwater pearl farms in Vietnam, only a small akoya pearl farming industry. China is the only country growing tissue-grafted freshwater pearls, so they can't come from any other place.

All of the sellers who claimed to be selling Vietnamese pearls showed photographs of akoya pearl farms, not freshwater. They were simply lying, unfortunately.