Interesting Article out of Australia this Morning

[Mikeyy]

not good
But I have a practical question. what happens to all the oysters or mussels when a farm closes - do they just sit there still making pearls and waiting for someone else to harvest them?

Farms don't generally close. They are bought by other farmers.

 

[pearlescence]

okay,yes, I see that - but when lots of staff are made redundant then farming is clearly not as active so what happens?

 

[Mikeyy]

okay,yes, I see that - but when lots of staff are made redundant then farming is clearly not as active so what happens?

We are about to find out. You just asked the $64,000 question. Companies like Kailis and Paspaley have other business ventures. Fishing, Prawning, Piggery's, Real Estate and Airlines just to name a few. Farmers that rely on pearling exclusively will probably have a tougher time.

 

[jshepherd]

The freshwater pearl farmers have an easier time of it. When prices go South they switch from pearls to rice and fish. Pearls are an agricultural crop to them.

Market pricing is cyclical and as prices go down, so does volume. When prices go up, so does volume. This has happened with freshwater, akoya and Tahitian. Paspaley and others are trying to protect against that by not allowing a pricing slide.

 

[pearlescence]

so some of the big players have a policy a bit like De Beers?

 

[jshepherd]

It is necessary protectionism. They are doing the right thing. If they were to let prices slide, all their customers who are carrying inventory would be stuck with inventory worth less than what they paid. This has happened so many times with other types of pearls and hurts everyone in the long run. Buyers stop trusting the producers and refuse to carry inventory that is not immediately needed.

 

[MistofCassiopeia]

I would tend to agree with MWP. I rarely see clients buying pearls in jewelry stores. There are just so many excellent deals to be made online - with a better selection as well.

 

[AMc]

I would tend to agree with MWP. I rarely see clients buying pearls in jewelry stores. There are just so many excellent deals to be made online - with a better selection as well.

I feel compelled to mention that you don't really "see" very many pearls being stocked in a trad B&M in the first place, and that was true before and after the advent of online retail ventures. A trad B&M's base is diamonds and bridal, with a few fun anniversary trinkets thrown in for variety, it's never been in their interest to purchase, sell, learn about or promote pearls.

 

[MWP]

I feel compelled to mention that you don't really "see" very many pearls being stocked in a trad B&M in the first place, and that was true before and after the advent of online retail ventures. A trad B&M's base is diamonds and bridal, with a few fun anniversary trinkets thrown in for variety, it's never been in their interest to purchase, sell, learn about or promote pearls.

I think the point is without a doubt what demand exists today is being created by online retailers/buyers moreso than people shopping in B&M shops due to the value an online shop provides - in the pearl market. A b&m simply can't compete in the pearl market in just about every department from price to knowledge. In comparison to diamonds, there is such a choke hold on the diamond market, we don't see as much price differentiation like exists in the pearl market between b&m and online.

There are generally only small sections dedicated in b&m shops to pearls since the volume just isn't there. Further, diamonds have a significantly higher average ticket price (this is also why diamonds accounted for 80% of online jewelry sales in 2007 according to JWT) so more diamonds would be on the floor. However, there will always be that small display case devoted to pearls for that slice of the market that would "prefer" to buy in person or that other group that will simply never buy online - unfortunately. That being said, hopefully the "prefer" slice of the pie continues to shrink as more and more people become educated on the savings available from the online shops. Without a doubt we are aware of this fact, and the more people we make aware, the more demand we create.

 

[pearlescence]

One thing said to me all the time in Manchester over the Christmas market was 'why are your pearls so cheap?'
Some refused to believe they were real. many browsed, went to look at the B&Ms around then came back.
The pearl lovers who found me for the first time loved that I knew about pearls. Even if they were only buying a pair of low cost earrings I let them experience the Kamokas, South Seas and Cortez in stock as a teaser.