New pearls from China

[carolineg]

On a recent trip to China, I bought these pearls from a woman who my friend says is trustworthy. I wish I had known what questions to ask her, but I did understand that she "grows" them herself...or "farms" them? She said that she places pieces of clams into the shell of a live clam and it takes about 5 years to produce a pearl. She also said that she may find two of this sized pearl each year. Most of the pearls are 12mm, some are 11mm. Does anyone know about this type of pearl and what their value might be? Thanks!View attachment 14765

 

[KAC]

they are freshwater pearls, actually grown in mussels not clams. Its hard to tell the quality or value without a close up picture, nice big size though.

 

[pearl guide]

Is that a necklace or a bracelet? If necklace, those are some nice, large pearls.

 

[carolineg]

On a recent trip to China, I bought these pearls from a woman who my friend says is trustworthy. I wish I had known what questions to ask her, but I did understand that she "grows" them herself...or "farms" them? She said that she places pieces of clams into the shell of a live clam and it takes about 5 years to produce a pearl. She also said that she may find two of this sized pearl each year. Most of the pearls are 12mm, some are 11mm. Does anyone know about this type of pearl and what their value might be? Thanks!View attachment 14765

 

[carolineg]

Thanks for replying. It is a necklace, pearl to pearl is 17" long. I attached close-up photos with a fish eye lens and think it made the foreground pearls look larger than the rest but it really enhanced imperfections that you can't see with your eyes. Mussels...wow! you can really tell by looking at them? I was just buying smaller pearls where the lady strung them after you pick out the pearls and clasp you want. I asked her what was the largest pearl she had and she pulled out these. I thought they were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! It didn't matter that I am totally uneducated on pearls. Instantly, I could tell they were real and understood at least a little why people appreciate them so much. I'm sold...bought them immediately, picked the clasp and she knotted them up! The thing is, knowing that I don't know anything about pearls, I am just curious as to how rare the size is, are they good quality, and a general idea of worth, so that I know if they should be appraised and insured. To me they are priceless because of the trip and experience and I would not sell them because of that. If I knew they were good quality, then I could presume that the smaller ones are too and I would have my friend purchase more for me. Thanks for your input. I've really enjoyed reading other threads.

 

[Mary Montpezat]

Carolineg - did you say that the seller said she only finds two of these pearls a year? Wow - that means she sold you all the pearls this size she has found in the last 17 years. That would be some honour! Do you think she meant that she finds only two herself, and that she actually purchases pearls from other growers?

 

[carolineg]

Carolineg - did you say that the seller said she only finds two of these pearls a year? Wow - that means she sold you all the pearls this size she has found in the last 17 years. That would be some honour! Do you think she meant that she finds only two herself, and that she actually purchases pearls from other growers?

Yes, she said she personally finds that many. It seemed like kind of a big deal to her. She said, through my friends translation, that she's been growing for a long time and has only sold 7 similar. I'm sure she is a very small business...she just had a stand in an old village. The next day we went back to see her again and she had 2 more strands that were almost as nice as mine that she had gotten from her brother. I know you can't trust everyone, but she seemed sincere. We spent a lot of time sitting and visiting while she strung the ones we bought. It was a fun experience.

 

[pearlescence]

I would think a small pinch of salt as to the number of pearls...she may or may not have a farm. If she has a farm does she sort and drill all the pearls herself. Most farmers sell to big pearl factories which process the pearls

 

[Mary Montpezat]

7 necklaces is 123 years' worth of pearl growing with finds at 2 pearls a year ... something isn't quite ringing true there!
The Chinese are very business savvy - I don't think there are any naive little sellers there!
Just having "a stand in a village" may not be a real indication of the size of the business.
Here is my conjecture: was she quite elderly? She could be manning the stall as her contribution to a family business.
In other developing countries as a tourist I have encountered "little, regional" stalls with exactly that kind of (excellent and sophisticated) marketing strategy: put gran on the stall, because she's plausible, and she's earning her keep.
Behind the stall I bet there's a savvy, largescale and hard-nosed family business with much bigger fish to fry.
Also, don't be taken in by "rustic, peasant" clothes on stallholders.
I also know a couple of Romanian origin who made a fortune in the cafe and hotel trade. She wears towelling flip-flops and pretty much her old peasant look. She and her husband are worth at least $20 million...

 

[carolineg]

I guess I was thinking 2 of the ones I have. Presuming that they probably get more of other colors, etc. I wasn't too worried about being taken, it was obvious they were real and felt like it was a good deal for both of us. She was actually about 35 to 40 yrs old and was nicely dressed as was her husband who was working with her. I was just more curious what the market value would be in the retail market.

 

[Mary Montpezat]

Carolineg you've raised a really interesting question for me and it's something maybe the experts on the board could clarify.

Is the size of a cultured pearl determined by the size of the "bead" that is put in the oyster? That would beg the question: why would larger pearls be special and expensive, if they are just nacre cultured around a bead that happens to be larger? There would be little additional time needed to cultivate a larger pearl that just has a larger basis, surely.

It also leads me to ask - why would a farmer be "finding" large pearls if they are seeding them in the oysters in the first place? They would know how many larger "beads" they had put in the oysters, so how many larger pearls to expect. Which would make the "I find only two of these a year" a bit specious.

Pardon my ignorance of the process - would one of the experts maybe like to clarify the reason why large cultured pearls are regarded as valuable? Of course, in the days when pearls were natural, a large natural pearl would have taken a long, long time to produce and be quite rare.

Looking forward to learning about this!

 

[jshepherd]

The bead does make the difference, but only in beaded pearls. Freshwater pearls are, for the most part, all nacre - no bead. With saltwater pearls, larger pearls are still rare because not all shells can handle large beads. Otherwise, producers would only use the largest beads available. With Tahitians, often the larger pearls come from the second operation - the pearl is harvested and a second nucleus the size of the harvested pearl is introduced into the pearl sac. These second-generation pearls will, of course, be larger. This is due to the size of the bead. But second operations usually result in fewer high-quality pearls and the attrition rate is much higher. This makes quality large pearls more rare and valuable, even though much of the size is related to the bead.

 

[est190]

I can't answer any of the pearl cultivation questions, but I can tell you that those pearls look really nice (particularly the top 2 in post #4). Nice reflections! More importantly, it sounds like you had a really nice experience buying those pearls--and that makes them more special. Any online retailer can sell a great strand of pearls, but those pearls won't come with a story about the little old lady in china that sold them to you.

As far as the actual content of the story goes, it shouldn't come as a shock that some things may be lost in translation (putting it mildly) and that deceptive sales practices and false advertising are par for the course in China. How many chinese vendors are selling 8.5-9mm AAA real natural japanese akoya strands with solid 14k clasps for $50 on ebay!!! Some of the sellers are getting smart enough though that they can make the offer tempting by setting a price high enough that you might actually think it's legit, but low enough that if it's legit, it's a great deal. Those are the sellers that scare me the most, because you just don't know.

 

[GemGeek]

The most important thing is that they made your heart sing!

 

[Caitlin]

This sounds like a really nice version of the "buy a pearl in an oyster" tourist gambit. The woman may well be connected to a pearl farm if only by relationship, and knows a bit of local lore, maybe even by experience, but she did get the necklace from the local factory to sell to tourists, possibly on spec- she pays when the necklace sells. She is local and does have some relationship to the local pearl scene and knows how rare the nice sized pearls are. It is a nice necklace and probably costs less than the same size and quality anywhere else. It is not the top quality for luster, but it is really pretty. She is kind of a local pearl tour guide.

I am sure she is par for the course honest and she sells a great product -with impossible to match memories. A winner, in my estimation, since the necklace really is one that would be hard to get and cost a lot, anywhere else.

 

[Mary Montpezat]

Thanks pearlers for all the clarifications! Amazing topic.

 

[carolineg]

Thanks form the information. I never thought to realize that farmers could place larger beads to produce larger pearls. Thanks, jshepherd, for your input. Yes, there is no question that the Chinese can tell a good story, no different than when you're in Mexico, the US, or at any other tourist spot. It doesn't really matter to me whether or not she was truthful to the details of her business. Gem geek, you are absolutely right...they made my heart sing. It would be different if she had lied about them being real or something else that they are not, but she didn't and as far as her saying they were clams instead of mussels, that could have easily been lost in translation. So I love them and I'm stickin with her romantic story because it sounds good to me. I guess it is hard to put a value on them when you look on eBay and find all kinds at all different prices and it seems that jewelers may not even be able to tell. It seems to me that the popular opinion is that they are nice pearls, so I may have my friend go back and purchase more to give as beautiful gifts

 

[pattye]

Congratulations on your purchase; it's very pretty and enjoy the compliments you are sure to receive!

 

[carolineg]

Thanks for the info, jshepherd, I'm finding that pearls are a very complex subject due to the many ways that they can be produced. I think that what it boils down to for me is that the popular opinion is that they are a nice set and a fairly large one at that. I think I'll have my friend go back and get more for me to give as gifts. I don't really care if the lady told me not so true stories about how she farms them by herself. It does not matter. It would have been one thing if she had lied to me about the pearls themselves but she didn't. The difference between mussles and clams was probably lost in translation. Yes, gem geek, you are right, they made my heart sing and we had a great time with this Chinese lady for about 2 hrs while she strung all of our pearls (and was she ever good and fast) She was not boastful, she just answered questions that my friend asked through us. It was one of the highlights of our trip. Most vendors, not just chinese, will glorify their story. Just go to Mexico or anywhere and you will find the same thing, but that's not the point here. Thanks for your knowledgable input, I am very happy with my purchase