GemGeek
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Paspaley trims its sails...
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pearlescence
purveyor of pearls UK/EU
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Ouch
#PRfail
(and they could probably not operate like that in the EU - abuse of a dominant market position - breach of competition laws)
#PRfail
(and they could probably not operate like that in the EU - abuse of a dominant market position - breach of competition laws)
jshepherd
Pearl Paradise
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Nerida told me about this article while I was in Hong Kong and I had to look it up because it referenced our company. I think the way it was written was a bit unfair to Paspaley; sort of a Stephen Bloom approach to reporting. Comparing giant South Sea pearls to a 6.5-7 mm freshwater in terms of price only tells me the writer was very biased.
Ramona
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I had the same impression. The writer certainly was not a fan of the company. What I was surprised about is his indication that the luxury market is lagging.
pearlescence
purveyor of pearls UK/EU
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I got the feeling that Paspaley had shot themselves in the PR feet with the secrecy etc. Reading it as an Ex Journalist it comes across that the PRs made it very difficult for the writer to write the piece. When you meet PRs like that it very easily has a negative impact on the piece (I'm not saying the journalist has a right to interviews with everyone he wants or anything like that but there are ways to deflect and there are ways)
Caitlin
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whew. Another shirtsleeve to shirtsleeve in three generations story, except that only includes the pearl business. It sounds like the family has established itself far beyond pearls to the point where pearls do not matter to their power or influence- just to their charisma, which is a bit tarnished.
I have been unkind to them since I first took at look at them in 2005-6 -I forget which- when I saw and even tried on some of their "Goddess" necklaces at the Gem show in Tucson. (They were in partnership with Stuller). The pearls were big and white and round, but they had no emotional zap. When they are that large, the luster is not not as typical as some of the the 11mm or so which have all that iridescence and satiny depths. I did not see that kind of Paspaley pearl for several more years, so I was a bit snotty about the product, from the beginning of my acquaintanceship.
Then I heard about the way they pearl farmed. The big boat(s)IMO, were huge ego trips from the beginning. Products of a bloated self-importance. My snottiness about them was nothing compared theirs about themselves!!! I saw that they fancied themselves as immensely important suppliers of the world's finest pearls to Kings. They were squarely in the Tavernier/Rosenthal mode of top down sales. They were just like Mikimoto’s ambitions, only with bigger pearls, even more worthy of the worldliest wealthiest playing the same old collect-the-pearls game -from the kings' end. The big boat was as much to cater to buyers and put themselves into those social circles who visited each others' outlandish yachts, as it was a production tool- Why, a pearl-producing luxury yacht was unique in both the pearl world and in the yacht world!
Now, I am thinking, "This was never about pearls; it was about the Paspaley family making it". The pearls may or may not work out. The Paspaley family won the gamble, even if the pearl company part becomes a relic- not saying it will, just saying it longer matters to the fabric of the family; they made it. I got the feeling in the article, that when the Paspaleys ruled pearls, they ate up the competition so there was was almost always only themselves with a firm philosophy of gorging on the competition and becoming larger or cornering something larger, the Texas of pearl companies. Ultimately looking to join the circles of which conspicuous consumption is the major ambition.
Ooops. Suddenly or maybe not so suddenly, as it has happened in almost too many commodities before pearls, Asian interests started producing better at far lower cost. (I could blog for awhile on that topic,, LOL)
So, I don’t feel sorry for the Paspaley name, family, or pearl business, but see an opportunity for all those smaller producers to get back into business. Kamoka-like pearl farms such as our favorite in Tahiti, where several families make some aspect of farming the pearls part of their whole life process. I like the idea of dozens of farming families in competition to find more sustainability or more colors or pearls, instead of money alone. Maybe like the rodeo tradition of so many American farm and ranch families who compete among themselves for quality in farming, ranching, breeding, in ways far beyond the prizes given to horses and cowboys in the ring. I just see opportunity for more of that kind of pearl farming, which we know is already happening in several countries right now-.
Thus, the Paspaleys become a blip on the Sea of the History of Pearls, lasting about as long as the pearls did around Margarita Island when the conquistadors found them.
I have been unkind to them since I first took at look at them in 2005-6 -I forget which- when I saw and even tried on some of their "Goddess" necklaces at the Gem show in Tucson. (They were in partnership with Stuller). The pearls were big and white and round, but they had no emotional zap. When they are that large, the luster is not not as typical as some of the the 11mm or so which have all that iridescence and satiny depths. I did not see that kind of Paspaley pearl for several more years, so I was a bit snotty about the product, from the beginning of my acquaintanceship.
Then I heard about the way they pearl farmed. The big boat(s)IMO, were huge ego trips from the beginning. Products of a bloated self-importance. My snottiness about them was nothing compared theirs about themselves!!! I saw that they fancied themselves as immensely important suppliers of the world's finest pearls to Kings. They were squarely in the Tavernier/Rosenthal mode of top down sales. They were just like Mikimoto’s ambitions, only with bigger pearls, even more worthy of the worldliest wealthiest playing the same old collect-the-pearls game -from the kings' end. The big boat was as much to cater to buyers and put themselves into those social circles who visited each others' outlandish yachts, as it was a production tool- Why, a pearl-producing luxury yacht was unique in both the pearl world and in the yacht world!
Now, I am thinking, "This was never about pearls; it was about the Paspaley family making it". The pearls may or may not work out. The Paspaley family won the gamble, even if the pearl company part becomes a relic- not saying it will, just saying it longer matters to the fabric of the family; they made it. I got the feeling in the article, that when the Paspaleys ruled pearls, they ate up the competition so there was was almost always only themselves with a firm philosophy of gorging on the competition and becoming larger or cornering something larger, the Texas of pearl companies. Ultimately looking to join the circles of which conspicuous consumption is the major ambition.
Ooops. Suddenly or maybe not so suddenly, as it has happened in almost too many commodities before pearls, Asian interests started producing better at far lower cost. (I could blog for awhile on that topic,, LOL)
So, I don’t feel sorry for the Paspaley name, family, or pearl business, but see an opportunity for all those smaller producers to get back into business. Kamoka-like pearl farms such as our favorite in Tahiti, where several families make some aspect of farming the pearls part of their whole life process. I like the idea of dozens of farming families in competition to find more sustainability or more colors or pearls, instead of money alone. Maybe like the rodeo tradition of so many American farm and ranch families who compete among themselves for quality in farming, ranching, breeding, in ways far beyond the prizes given to horses and cowboys in the ring. I just see opportunity for more of that kind of pearl farming, which we know is already happening in several countries right now-.
Thus, the Paspaleys become a blip on the Sea of the History of Pearls, lasting about as long as the pearls did around Margarita Island when the conquistadors found them.
Caitlin
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While I was busy writing the above,I was missing the comments, so I must say I am not in the industry- posting as me, Caitlin, in pearl-guide.com has been a hobby for me- and my views are always my views alone. Not the owners of the forum's views, or the views of anyone looking for a fair look at Paspaley.
At least, unlike Stephen f*%^&ing Bloom, I have never fed at their troughs nor bought or sold a South Sea pearl, nor ever been paid for anything relating to pearls, though if I had had the princely trip through the pearl world that he had, I would have taken some photos- a pearl book with no photos is unforgivable and unreadable. (Pardon while I puke all over him) Had I had that guided and protected world pearl tour, I would have had the opportunity to ask each and every pearl master he interviewed, any oppositional questions I had, get their answers, then just let it speak for itself. He bit, or at least spat on, every hand extended to him on his crash tour of the pearl world, from which he could have come back a PhD in pearl knowledge and in business practices of every great pearl-meister in the world. He could have built relationships. He wasted the trip. He said nothing new about pearls in the end- he coulda' done the research he did, online and by going to the show in hong kong, once, maybe.
It is obvious the book he did produce, with all its typos, was nothing more than the tenured professor's requirement to publish something, anything,and in this case, to finally get out of Iowa, which he endured for years as he made clear in his first book, and the first book did not get him the better job. I think he went to Chicago?
It may sound like it, but I have no ill will against any person associated with the Paspaleys, I just look at the publicity I have heard over the years about their operation and social strivings, but I don't have any good will toward Steve Bloom, nor his gaseous intrusion into the pearl world. If it did not give him publicity, I would roast his colorless, photo-less, book, may all copies be sent to the closest landfill ASAP.
At least, unlike Stephen f*%^&ing Bloom, I have never fed at their troughs nor bought or sold a South Sea pearl, nor ever been paid for anything relating to pearls, though if I had had the princely trip through the pearl world that he had, I would have taken some photos- a pearl book with no photos is unforgivable and unreadable. (Pardon while I puke all over him) Had I had that guided and protected world pearl tour, I would have had the opportunity to ask each and every pearl master he interviewed, any oppositional questions I had, get their answers, then just let it speak for itself. He bit, or at least spat on, every hand extended to him on his crash tour of the pearl world, from which he could have come back a PhD in pearl knowledge and in business practices of every great pearl-meister in the world. He could have built relationships. He wasted the trip. He said nothing new about pearls in the end- he coulda' done the research he did, online and by going to the show in hong kong, once, maybe.
It is obvious the book he did produce, with all its typos, was nothing more than the tenured professor's requirement to publish something, anything,and in this case, to finally get out of Iowa, which he endured for years as he made clear in his first book, and the first book did not get him the better job. I think he went to Chicago?
It may sound like it, but I have no ill will against any person associated with the Paspaleys, I just look at the publicity I have heard over the years about their operation and social strivings, but I don't have any good will toward Steve Bloom, nor his gaseous intrusion into the pearl world. If it did not give him publicity, I would roast his colorless, photo-less, book, may all copies be sent to the closest landfill ASAP.
kiwipaul
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This journalistic style is very common amongst the Aussis, they love poking fun and exposing feet of clay.
However this is entertaining journalism backed up by factual insights.
What on earth is the immigrant Paspaley family doing setting up and running an immigration detention center?
In the world of fine jewelry reputation is everything, and Paspaley appear not to have been guarding theirs carefully enough.
They probably haven't done enough work on their product line either. The luxury jewelry market is fickle and very discerning.
Take a look at the Paspaley product lines on their website, http://www.paspaley.com/
Their product looks very 2000's when compared to say Mikimoto's latest creations being discussed in another thread.
A valid comparison to the Paspaley business would be the Jewelmer operation in Palawan, I don't hear them complaining about the luxury market being off the pace!
However this is entertaining journalism backed up by factual insights.
What on earth is the immigrant Paspaley family doing setting up and running an immigration detention center?
In the world of fine jewelry reputation is everything, and Paspaley appear not to have been guarding theirs carefully enough.
They probably haven't done enough work on their product line either. The luxury jewelry market is fickle and very discerning.
Take a look at the Paspaley product lines on their website, http://www.paspaley.com/
Their product looks very 2000's when compared to say Mikimoto's latest creations being discussed in another thread.
A valid comparison to the Paspaley business would be the Jewelmer operation in Palawan, I don't hear them complaining about the luxury market being off the pace!
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Ramona
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What is certainly outdated is the design of the webpage. Only a very patient person will spend time on it. I am not that person. I also value imperfection. Perfection can be boring pretty quickly. Mikimoto poses the same problem to me. Their designs are too symmetrical, too perfect. I like rough stones, the play with colors and more random designs. Though the luxury market is probably more focused on glitter and big everything. We had pictures posted on another thread with some beautiful pieces of big pearls. They were from Autore, though. https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7648&page=5&highlight=basel
I could live with those. Maybe the Paspaley family just got fat and lazy (in terms of innovation).
I could live with those. Maybe the Paspaley family just got fat and lazy (in terms of innovation).
Caitlin
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It looks like something Hisano could design. That is praise of Hisano and PP and the direction they are taking, not a put down of Mikimoto. With the glut of pearls in the world, only one of a kind pieces, each one going for design awards, is going to make the highest grade pearl jewelry. Those Goddess necklaces never got famous for a reason and I would not be surprised if the pearls were reused for other pieces. You can only get to perfect pearls through cultivation, but perfect has never made art and the best jewelry is always art above the value of its pearls or stones. A glut of pearls makes it even more true.
Jewelmer is the visible tip of the south sea iceberg. Autore pearls were incredible in the past- I hope the visionaries and technicians responsible can keep producing even if under another name. Places like Justin Hunter's are the growers of the future- I already mentioned Kamoka. Each island seems to produce characteristic colors, for instance. The farms I know of, not all of which I have mentioned, that are run by imaginative and resourceful individuals who are interested in the entire vertical process of putting their farmed pearls out into world, are possible today on a smaller scale than the Paspaley's reached for. I am hoping that they will all survive and thrive as a brotherhood more than a single corporation. There is room for both the Jewelmers and the Kamokas. There needs to be the general market for the round pearls in white and gold, but there is also a lot more room there for smaller markets with the greenies and the rose colored ones, for instance- and the off rounds.
Smaller farms selling their regular pearls on the regular market (or to the giants), then marketing their signature pearls themselves, seems like a great model to me and is something like what Cortez pearls for instance, already does, sustainably with only an outboard motor boat. I would like to see farms like that be more successful in the future and the giants would always leave room for the family operations to compete. Although I don't personally know of any such operations, I do think there are a lot of Indonesian family farmers out there, judging from what Perlinda and Sven present here in their personal finds. I am fairly sure they don't buy from Jewelmer- at least most of the time.
Jewelmer is the visible tip of the south sea iceberg. Autore pearls were incredible in the past- I hope the visionaries and technicians responsible can keep producing even if under another name. Places like Justin Hunter's are the growers of the future- I already mentioned Kamoka. Each island seems to produce characteristic colors, for instance. The farms I know of, not all of which I have mentioned, that are run by imaginative and resourceful individuals who are interested in the entire vertical process of putting their farmed pearls out into world, are possible today on a smaller scale than the Paspaley's reached for. I am hoping that they will all survive and thrive as a brotherhood more than a single corporation. There is room for both the Jewelmers and the Kamokas. There needs to be the general market for the round pearls in white and gold, but there is also a lot more room there for smaller markets with the greenies and the rose colored ones, for instance- and the off rounds.
Smaller farms selling their regular pearls on the regular market (or to the giants), then marketing their signature pearls themselves, seems like a great model to me and is something like what Cortez pearls for instance, already does, sustainably with only an outboard motor boat. I would like to see farms like that be more successful in the future and the giants would always leave room for the family operations to compete. Although I don't personally know of any such operations, I do think there are a lot of Indonesian family farmers out there, judging from what Perlinda and Sven present here in their personal finds. I am fairly sure they don't buy from Jewelmer- at least most of the time.
kiwipaul
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Highest-ever total for Sotheby?s annual September jewelry sales in New York
Highest-ever total for Sotheby?s annual September jewelry sales in New York
There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the top end of the premium jewelry market.
As reported yesterday (Wednesday, September 25, 2013) in the Daily Jewel here: http://dailyjewel.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/sothebys-new-york-important-jewels.html
"Yesterday's auction of Important Jewels at Sotheby’s New York totaled $23,738,439 ... The auction was a strong 82.4% sold by lot, exceeding its high pre-sale expectation of $22.2 million, and marks the highest-ever total for Sotheby’s annual September jewelry sales in New York."
Highest-ever total for Sotheby?s annual September jewelry sales in New York
There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the top end of the premium jewelry market.
As reported yesterday (Wednesday, September 25, 2013) in the Daily Jewel here: http://dailyjewel.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/sothebys-new-york-important-jewels.html
"Yesterday's auction of Important Jewels at Sotheby’s New York totaled $23,738,439 ... The auction was a strong 82.4% sold by lot, exceeding its high pre-sale expectation of $22.2 million, and marks the highest-ever total for Sotheby’s annual September jewelry sales in New York."
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This is a great thread. While this is more about Paspaley, I was wondering what you experts think of branded akoyas, such as Mikimoto. I realize many here think Mikimoto is buying name only, and for the price you pay, one would be foolish to pay their prices. However, each time I purchase a piece from Mikimoto, honestly, the price has gone up, so someone must be buying.
Similar to the article about Paspaley, do you think "Mikimoto-quality" akoya pearls are also flooding the market.. I'm referring to the nicer and larger, top quality akoyas, especially in the 8.5mm and 9.5mm sizes.
There have been companies that want to be "THE" pearl company such as Paspaley and Yvel. Even Tiffany tried to launch a pearl company and failed (who remembers Iridesse?) But somehow, when one thinks of pearls, the name Mikimoto always comes up. Whether it is worth it or not can be debatable, but the name always comes up as the reference for comparing pearls.
I would like any opinions on what you're seeing in the branded market for top quality and larger size akoyas. Are high quality pearls becoming so easy to produce that pearls are becoming commoditized? And a related question, will akoyas in the future be more readily available in 10mm because of better production methods? I have yet to see a Mikimoto 10mm that doesn't cost a fortune. The difference from 9.5mm to 10mm is unbelievable so I'd like thoughts here if you think 10mm akoyas will be a common size in the future.
Thank you for you any input.
Similar to the article about Paspaley, do you think "Mikimoto-quality" akoya pearls are also flooding the market.. I'm referring to the nicer and larger, top quality akoyas, especially in the 8.5mm and 9.5mm sizes.
There have been companies that want to be "THE" pearl company such as Paspaley and Yvel. Even Tiffany tried to launch a pearl company and failed (who remembers Iridesse?) But somehow, when one thinks of pearls, the name Mikimoto always comes up. Whether it is worth it or not can be debatable, but the name always comes up as the reference for comparing pearls.
I would like any opinions on what you're seeing in the branded market for top quality and larger size akoyas. Are high quality pearls becoming so easy to produce that pearls are becoming commoditized? And a related question, will akoyas in the future be more readily available in 10mm because of better production methods? I have yet to see a Mikimoto 10mm that doesn't cost a fortune. The difference from 9.5mm to 10mm is unbelievable so I'd like thoughts here if you think 10mm akoyas will be a common size in the future.
Thank you for you any input.
pearlescence
purveyor of pearls UK/EU
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Yes, Mikimoto does have brand power. But not among those who know their pearls generally. There will always be people who buy brand, just as there will always be people who buy on the item itself. And, of course,t here are various qualities within the Miki brand. There are plenty of pearls out there every bit as good as Mikimoto brand pearls.
Sustaining a brand's power is a very delicate balancing act. Witness Burberry. They had a great brand, then it got taken over by chavs and knock-offs flooded the market with the distinct check. The lowest point was a picture of a z list celeb here dressed head to toe in Burberry check - plus Burberry'd baby in push-chair. But the brand fought back by nearly fully ditching the iconic check and producing some great classic lines.
Mikimoto pearls have a high price premium because of the brand. It's the conundrum...a new car looses thousands of $/? as you drive it out of the showroom but people still buy new cars and throw away those ?k rather than buy the demonstrator with a few 100 miles on the clock.
Consumers can be weird!
Sustaining a brand's power is a very delicate balancing act. Witness Burberry. They had a great brand, then it got taken over by chavs and knock-offs flooded the market with the distinct check. The lowest point was a picture of a z list celeb here dressed head to toe in Burberry check - plus Burberry'd baby in push-chair. But the brand fought back by nearly fully ditching the iconic check and producing some great classic lines.
Mikimoto pearls have a high price premium because of the brand. It's the conundrum...a new car looses thousands of $/? as you drive it out of the showroom but people still buy new cars and throw away those ?k rather than buy the demonstrator with a few 100 miles on the clock.
Consumers can be weird!
