Vietnamese Akoya?

[KarinK]

I am steadily reading through almost all the old posts of the Pearl Guide. What an amazing resource!

I have come across several posts about Vietnamese akoya a couple of years back. I remember that they had thicker nacre but were expected to change that in the future for competitive reasons. They looked very beautiful to me. I am curious about how they have developed. Are they still considered being apart from the rest of the akoya production? How is the nacre situation? Are they still as beautiful as the baroque ones that were shown on the forum back then?

- Karin

 

[Cees]

Dear Karin,

I know the owner Siddharth Chodry has a few Akoya Pearl Farms there, you can reach him on sid_chodhry@yahoo.com.

I have seen them, they are nice

 

[judimcc6]

I am so curious about the current state of Vietnamese Akoya pearls, too. There seems like so much potential there. I am hoping that they have been able to maintain the nacre thickness. Going through as much information as possible on the web, there doesn't seem to be much current info out there. Does anybody have any recent knowledge of Vietnamese pearls?

 

[PARAS BHAKTI PEARL CO]

Just two days back I got one shipment of Vietnamese Akoya pearls , their nacre thickness has gone down then what used to be before.

 

[KarinK]

Just two days back I got one shipment of Vietnamese Akoya pearls , their nacre thickness has gone down then what used to be before.

Very interesting! And expected as far as I can tell from the earlier posts on the topic. Thank you for sharing, Parash.

- Karin

 

[judimcc6]

Thank you, Paresh, as well, but a few more questions.

What size pearls did you receive? What farm did they come from or what distributor? Have you been receiving Vietnamese pearls on a regular basis?

 

[Cees]

Vietnamese Akoya's I have seen here in Bangkok were up to 5 mm only. Next week I visit them again and will check about the nacre quality.

 

[judimcc6]

Where are you seeing them in Bangkok? At the Jewelry Trade Center or "on the street"?

 

[PARAS BHAKTI PEARL CO]

Hi Judi

I got 3 - 4.25mm this time, earlier I had all sizes from 4 - 8 mm.

 

[judimcc6]

I will be back in Bangkok and Vietnam this fall. I will be very interested to see what is available.

 

[Cees]

maybe u can find but the owner of the farm in Vietnam has a base in Bangkok, their head office is in Kobe in Japan, the do make the strands of their pearls here in Bangkok and have 70 local staff to match and string. They are based in Gemopolis, a free zone

 

[judimcc6]

Thank you, Cees. It, certainly, will be an interesting quest. Is the harvesting usually in October?

 

[Cees]

Judi, I see them on Tuesday and I will ask for you, ok?

 

[Cees]

For Judi, the new harvest will be in end of September.
The answer on the thickness of the nacre the answer was that for India mostly lower quality pearls are ordered, the nacre quality of the lower qualities is less. Vietnam has no bigger than 5 mm from their farms. But I have seen very good nacre quality strands.

 

[judimcc6]

Thank you, Cees. I will try to get in contact when I am in Bangkok. Do you have any contact info? Name of Farm or distributor?

 

[Cees]

Judi, email sid_chodhry@yahoo.com
he is one of the finest people in the business, his whole family by the way, they are Indians living and born in Japan, they have their head quarters in Kobe but a bonded store facility where they make strands, South Sea, Tahiti and Akoya
The strands then go back to Japan or Hong Kong. They have also the finest Tasaki pearls from the Tasaki farm in Myanmar.

 

[judimcc6]

I will get in touch with him. That is the best way to find special pearls. Thank you for the contact. I appreciate your information and thoughtfulness.

 

[Cees]

Judi, are u selling Tahiti strands also?

 

[judimcc6]

Yes, I do.

 

[Cees]

they are also famous for Tahiti strands, very competitive prices in all qualities