Where to purchase wholesale Akoya round Pearls at least AA+

[lekrtk00]

Hello everyone!

Such wonderful information on this forum! So glad I found it!

I am needing some good resources to bulk purchase wholesale Akoya rounds in oysters at least AA+ quality. (individually sealed no water) I would prefer to pick the colors also.

I have been searching for weeks and I found this forum so I thought I would ask where many of you get yours?

I would prefer Japan to CA. US to me if you know of any wholesalers that ship in that order?

Also looking for bulk SS pearl cages and different necklaces.

Thanks so much in advance!

Blessings

Lori

 

[Katbran]

I'm a bit confused. Welcome though !! lol

You want to buy Akoya Oysters? OR Do you want to buy Akoya pearls? Im pretty sure no one here buys Oysters..but we do have some pearl farmers so who knows.. maybe they can help. Of course there is no way to know the colour, shape or quality of a pearl in an oyster or mussel until it's opened.

And are you looking for SS ( south sea ) cages?? Or Sterling silver cages that hold a single undrilled pearl for a pendant?

You can check out Bella findings and CGM findings for chains and pearl findings if that's what you are talking about.

You might need to clear up exactly what you are looking for. sorry I don't quite follow .. I'm a bit slow

 

[pearlescence]

Are you wanting 'wish pearls' where some punter picks a shell from a tank or even someone pretends to dive off a pier and there is a shell and surprise, it has a pearl in it.
The dead mollusc is pickled and the pearl is salted into the shell, like putting gold nuggets into a fake gold mine.
It's all a con if you want to be exact or a bit of a holiday souvenir froth if you want to be gullible.
Do a search for wish pearl wholesale. They were running about $1 a pop including box and fancy plated basket.
But if you do mean that I won't wish you good luck in your venture. It's a con and a way to sell pearls at an absurd profit by lying about them

 

[Pareltje]

Hello everyone!

Such wonderful information on this forum! So glad I found it!

I am needing some good resources to bulk purchase wholesale Akoya rounds in oysters at least AA+ quality. (individually sealed no water) I would prefer to pick the colors also.

I have been searching for weeks and I found this forum so I thought I would ask where many of you get yours?

I would prefer Japan to CA. US to me if you know of any wholesalers that ship in that order?

Also looking for bulk SS pearl cages and different necklaces.

Thanks so much in advance!

Blessings

Lori

It seems you are referring to Wish Pearl, right? There's something called Vantel Pearl also. But they are indeed canned dead mollusks like Pearlescence said. They're not akoyas, usually they are freshwater pearls. And you can't choose the quality of the pearls in cans!

 

[jshepherd]

You can find companies all over Alibaba that offer these. There are typically two kinds: freshwater mussels with a small freshwater pearl and akoya mollusks with a small freshwater pearl inside. There are no companies in China that insert akoya into those shells.

I did some research last week and found one company in Japan that was inserting genuine akoya pearls into akoya shells for a "wish pearl" sort of operation. I don't know who or where those shells are being sold. All the companies I've seen here in the US (Vantel, Pearl Factory, pearl parties on Facebook) "harvest" freshwater pearls from akoya oysters.

 

[jshepherd]

This is an example of a freshwater mussel with a freshwater pearl.
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/love-pearl-gift-set-canned-pearls_522215037.html

This is an akoya shell.
https://wholesaler.alibaba.com/prod...m_990532256.html?spm=a2700.7724838.0.0.rSsEb9

Even though the latter describes the pearl as akoya, it's actually freshwater.

 

[Pareltje]

Well, technically they can be akoyas or freshwater or whatever you squeeze into them (as far as the object doesn't oxidize I suppose), but the mollusc (the oyster) will be freshwater only. I suppose you could try pickling other oysters as well, but I've never seen it done with other types (and hardly a potential client for such a thing would know the difference anyway). You can choose the quality of pearls as well if you first buy pearls and then make a custom-order to be delivered in oysters, but for that you need to buy bulk as I said. And not to buy drilled ones for that

Thanks for the info, Lugana. Everyday I learn about something new here on PG - great because I believe learning is a lifelong process. The type of canned pearls I have seen myself was freshwater pearl. The colors shown on the box are clearly the colors of freshwater pearls. Never seen akoyas in a can because I figured in the past that would be too pricey for the company to put akoya pearls in a can. Never did I pay attention to the type of the mollusk in that pickling solution, though.

 

[Pareltje]

Hi Lugana,
I'm also waiting for Jeremy to reply your question. Thanks, because of you I learned that people can order the quality of the pearls inserted in their pickled shells . I thought it was picked randomly.

 

[lekrtk00]

I'm a bit confused. Welcome though !! lol Thanks! hahhah!

You want to buy Akoya Oysters? OR Do you want to buy Akoya pearls? Im pretty sure no one here buys Oysters..but we do have some pearl farmers so who knows.. maybe they can help. Of course there is no way to know the colour, shape or quality of a pearl in an oyster or mussel until it's opened. I want to purchase what I thought was Akaya oysters with Akoya Pearls inside for parties. But I do NOT want to lie to customers! This is going very well online for a few companies and I was thinking of doing it myself.

And are you looking for SS ( south sea ) cages?? Or Sterling silver cages that hold a single undrilled pearl for a pendant? Sterling Silver Cages.

You can check out Bella findings and CGM findings for chains and pearl findings if that's what you are talking about. Thank you I will check these out.

You might need to clear up exactly what you are looking for. sorry I don't quite follow .. I'm a bit slow

You are not slow I am sure! Just I am on a learning curve here.!

 

[lekrtk00]

You can find companies all over Alibaba that offer these. There are typically two kinds: freshwater mussels with a small freshwater pearl and akoya mollusks with a small freshwater pearl inside. There are no companies in China that insert akoya into those shells.

I did some research last week and found one company in Japan that was inserting genuine akoya pearls into akoya shells for a "wish pearl" sort of operation. I don't know who or where those shells are being sold. All the companies I've seen here in the US (Vantel, Pearl Factory, pearl parties on Facebook) "harvest" freshwater pearls from akoya oysters.

Hi Jeremy!

Yes you are correct on where I am at. But I wouldn't want to lie about the pearls! So are you saying there are no actual Akoya shells that have real Akoya pearls in them? This is really disturbing to me. I had found the sources everyone has in here already so thank you all for those.

So what are these farms doing? Are they just inserting the whole pearl into the shells then selling them? Sorry just confused and wanting to do the right thing. And yes everyone I am speaking of party pearls in the actual oyster. It is getting very big here in the US. And if I do this I would be doing bulk purchases.

I have found some wholesalers in Cali what do you all think of them?

Thanks for all your advice it's much appreciated.

Blessings

Lori

 

[lekrtk00]

Hi Lugana,
I'm also waiting for Jeremy to reply your question. Thanks, because of you I learned that people can order the quality of the pearls inserted in their pickled shells . I thought it was picked randomly.

Yes I have found wholesalers that you can order in bulk by color. I found one that in bulk package they tell you what's in there. I was wondering how they know. But then I figured they knew by what they started them off with?

Blessings

Lori

 

[Katbran]

Well there you go...you learn something new everyday! I had no idea you could order up pickled oysters with specific colour pearls inside lol I'd heard of the practice of 'find a pearl' but had no idea you could order grade and colour ! That's where I got confused lol

 

[JerseyPearl]

Pickled oysters? Oh my...I think I'd prefer mine on the half shell.
Actually though, and maybe this is just me...but I think that "finding" a pearl in a mollusk that has been preserved by embalming is a tad nasty and gross. I really don't see the "fun" in this at all...so sorry if I offend, but I think the whole premise of this is rather disgusting.

 

[Sanippy]

Ditto. I find it really gross.

 

[pearlescence]

What's really sad, and I and probably other sellers encounter people who have bought into this flim-flam and been told the pearl is worth ££££ and the basket thing sold for it cost £££ when it's nasty thin plated. And I'm looking at this dull lumpy potato pearl worth about three pence if that. Do I tell the truth - they were conned - or go along with the lie?
I hate it

 

[pearlescence]

Lugana
I know of one place where 'diver' jump off a pier into the sea and bring up..freshwater pearls so why not the other way round.
The reason why akoya aren't used is probably because they would be dearer.

here is a picture of one seller's offering out of many. start price 99c usd, less for bulk orders and moq of 50.
I wish the sellers of this deception no joy or success

 

[pearlescence]

Nothing like the same. Yours is a cynical deception, preying on people's ignorance of pearls. Comes close to fraud in my book - especially if you are issuing a certificate and appraisal. How on earth are customers who know nothing about pearls supposed to know that it is just a 'piece of paper' and a jolly jape souvenir.
I'm speaking as a professional, yes, one who people approach wearing your tat and saying, oh I was told it was worth $$$...and you want me to continue with your lies, to cover up for you. No!

 

[Lugana]

and you want me to continue with your lies, to cover up for you. No!

Oh dear. I didn't say a word that would deserve such a reply
Neither I asked you to cover me for anything, nor I said I issue any certificates myself, and have you actually ever seen any piece of my jewellery (my own? the ones I sell for charity? - I don't know which ones you referred to) before publicly calling it a tat?)
I was referring to an existing example of a well-known retail chain here, they do feature this product and by no means one could ever call them deceptive to clients in any way. I wouldn't discourage you from being the first one though.
I hope a careful reader would ignore your interpretation of my words and actually see what I meant. End of discussion for me here - goes too far from the initial post anyway.

 

[pearlescence]

If you do not participate in this sham Lugana, I totally apologise.

 

[jshepherd]

Hi Jeremy!

Yes you are correct on where I am at. But I wouldn't want to lie about the pearls! So are you saying there are no actual Akoya shells that have real Akoya pearls in them? This is really disturbing to me. I had found the sources everyone has in here already so thank you all for those.

So what are these farms doing? Are they just inserting the whole pearl into the shells then selling them? Sorry just confused and wanting to do the right thing. And yes everyone I am speaking of party pearls in the actual oyster. It is getting very big here in the US. And if I do this I would be doing bulk purchases.

I have found some wholesalers in Cali what do you all think of them?

Thanks for all your advice it's much appreciated.

Blessings

Lori

Hi Lori,

The farms are not involved in the process. Baby shells are purchased from hatcheries and pearls are inserted at factories. The shells, especially the freshwater, are juveniles. They are too small to have grown a pearl. The akoya shells are a bit closer to farm-able size, but the factories are still inserting freshwater pearls into them.

The easiest way to tell are the colors. When you see a natural peach or lavender pearl harvested, it's a dead giveaway the pearl is freshwater. When you see a black pearl harvested, you know that is impossible in nature. The pearl has already been dyed.

Shape is the next telltale sign. The pearls are always very off round to very slightly off round. They aren't inserting loose-grade pearls into the shells. The pearls, even freshwater, would cost more than they are selling the wish pearl set for. Akoya pearls are, by and large, perfectly symmetrical due to the bead.

Of all the wholesale operations I've seen, even those that promise the shells have akoya pearls inside, all of them have been freshwater. I've not seen a single one with akoya pearls. I've spent some time speaking with the young lady who started the viral "Open an Oyster" on Facebook and her supplier swore up and down they were akoya pearls. I watched her show and the pearls were without question freshwater pearls.

The advice I gave her was to call the pearls cultured pearls. Freshwater pearls are cultured pearls. Her show creates a lot of excitement. The audience loves to watch. As long as the pearls pulled from the shells aren't referred to as "akoya pearls," she isn't breaking any laws.