Gambier Islands Pearls
Gambier Islands Pearls
Do you feel overall that the colors of these pearls are unique to the Gambier Islands? Do you go to the farms yourself to shop? I ask because Justin Hunter is developing a line of lighter colored pearls in Fiji.
Hi,
I buy most of my pearls from pearl farmers when they come to Tahiti to sell their production. I know some of them very well ( two are good friends) which is very hepfull especially when you are searching for the high quality in small quantity !
However, I went to the Gambier Islands last year. Lots of buyer considere the most beautifull tahitian pearls are from there; some of them ONLY want to buy pearls from there...
Some pearl farmers from Tuamotu even moved to Gambier Islands to optimize the quality of their pearls !
I see amazing pearls from Tuamotu every single day but in my opinion too, the overall production from Gambier is more colorfull and have a higher luster. So why ?
If you look at the map of french Polynesia, you will notice Gambier Islands are more southern compared to Tuamotu (and Society Islands) which means the water temperature is cooler there ; we think this is the main reason that can explain the "overall difference" with the other pearls. By the way, currents, depth, abundance of plancton and nutriments and of course pearl farm staff skills can greatly influence the quality of the production too. When I was in Mangareva (Gambier) I saw the production of at least five or six farms and definitely the overall aspect and quality was not the same (not sure they showed me the best pearls by the way !
) so this can't be considered as an infaillible rule. You can hear there some locations are better than others....
About the uploaded photo, I should have put a "classic" peacock too, so that you can see the difference. These pearls and especially the biggest one is really unusual, even among pearls from Gambier...maybe next time
Here is what I can tell you, I hope this is understandable, english is not my native language
