Worn Nacre

[pearlescence]

Tahitian government

 

[pearlescence]

Fiona.
Experience of handling thousand upon thousand of pearls day in day out, plus knowing the suppliers helps. An export certificate (and I have had them), is just an easily faked piece of paper. Your best guarantee of quality is our protectiveness about our reputation.
You are taking less of a risk if you buy from an online pearl expert who has a big enough business to schlepp all the way to Hong Kong to buy at probably only one or two removes from the farmer who produced them than to a local jewellers with a few pearls in stock who buys from a wholesaler who buys from an importer who buys from an exporter who buys ..you get the idea.

 

[Cyril Roger Brossard]

Tahitian government

??? Local French government?...
what about pearls produced in Polynesia? (New Zealand, Hawaii, Easter Island, and American Samoa)
That is really interesting. Thanks in advance for the update.

 

[pearlescence]

plenty of info on this out there - google
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96LkVOD1MSM

 

[Cyril Roger Brossard]

Ok, it would be nice for Josh to pitch in here but this does not explain why so many pearls have too many rings, are too small, or just of low quality...
Sadly the video has no sound and looks like a phone video taken by a visitor...

I am however not sure that all of the production of French Polynesia goes thru stringent x-ray coating checking process.
"The Service de la Perliculture in French Polynesia, in charge of controlling exported pearls, paid to the producer a value of 50pf per gram (2007 figures) for pearls that didn't meet the criteria, and destroyed them." But then this would not explain again why so much low quality is still found within local market... I can imagine that a farmer would rather keep the low quality and try to sell them locally to tourists... It is also said that producers would rather fly their low-grade pearls to the Cooks and sells them as Cook Island pearls instead of destroying them per export law...

If the above is false, hence all low quality are destroyed, then why would the local government (President Temaru and the TPC (Tahiti Pearl Consortium). ) be so insistent with signing a contract with the president of CIBJO (Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri) to bring back the image of Tahitian pearl?

 

[pearlescence]

I assume, Cyril, you mean that too many Tahitian pearls are too small - this can only really happen if a small nucleus is used, otherwise I don't understand. (thin nacre won't make that much difference to size after all)
too many rings - eye of the beholder
low quality - well of course some are smuggled and not tested and end up featuring on ebay or this forum's ugliest pearl thread, or, yes, of course there is always the fisherman on the beach who just found a pearl...
The image of the Tahitian pearl is not the same as the quality of the pearl, though the two can be linked. And value and price are different again

 

[Cyril Roger Brossard]

I assume, Cyril, you mean that too many Tahitian pearls are too small - this can only really happen if a small nucleus is used, otherwise I don't understand. (thin nacre won't make that much difference to size after all)
too many rings - eye of the beholder
low quality - well of course some are smuggled and not tested and end up featuring on ebay or this forum's ugliest pearl thread, or, yes, of course there is always the fisherman on the beach who just found a pearl...
The image of the Tahitian pearl is not the same as the quality of the pearl, though the two can be linked. And value and price are different again

Absolutely, thickness of the nacre is indeed the culprit but I doubt that what is done by Service de la Perliculture in French Polynesia foolproof... Further to what you said, Polynesia isn't French Polynesia and black pearls are not solely produced by Tahiti.
Wendy I added info here: link.

 

[KAC]

Absolutely, thickness of the nacre is indeed the culprit but I doubt that what is done by Service de la Perliculture in French Polynesia foolproof... Further to what you said, Polynesia isn't French Polynesia and black pearls are not solely produced by Tahiti.
Wendy I added info here: link.

unfortunetly its far from foolproof and many many sub par pearls are smuggled out of French polynesia and sold to consumers.

 

[KAC]

Thanks for the confirmation.

I've seen some shocking pearls and some at decent jewelry stores as well.

 

[Cyril Roger Brossard]

While this is concerning Tahitian pearls (as posted by OP), that observation could be brought to many other origins, I am however not so surprised to see low quality, although as posted by Wendy (beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder...) some standard are set for what we (producers) established as quality. Greed here is once again affecting the image of the pearl, and those who wished to make a quick buck by selling lower quality may have in fact affected their business image.

 

[Fiona]

This is what worries me, plus the possibility that even experienced people might not be able to tell what's good from 'bad' nacre. If bad nacre can be lustrous and anyone can think it's a good pearl - that's what concerns me.

 

[pearlescence]

It sounds as though you are not going to be convinced...let's review:
Properly exported pearls are checked and individually x-rayed by an agency of the french Polynesian Government. They go then to reputable wholesalers who sell them at the right prices to reputable retailers. At every stage the word reputable appears. I'm not going to risk my good name worldwide by selling dodgy stuff which has fallen off the back of a lorry. And neither is any other seller who is a member here.
If that sort of stock acquisition doesn't satisfy you, it is hard to know what will.

 

[Fiona]

It sounds as though you are not going to be convinced...let's review:
Properly exported pearls are checked and individually x-rayed by an agency of the french Polynesian Government. They go then to reputable wholesalers who sell them at the right prices to reputable retailers. At every stage the word reputable appears. I'm not going to risk my good name worldwide by selling dodgy stuff which has fallen off the back of a lorry. And neither is any other seller who is a member here.
If that sort of stock acquisition doesn't satisfy you, it is hard to know what will.

I do understand, however you have limited the scope entirely to pearls that have passed checks and are part of a tight wholesale-retail link. The scope is broader than this in reality, and that is what I am commenting on.

There is enough material on this site and others that demonstrates that not all dodgy pearls - whether that means poor nacre or smuggled pearls - are immediately obvious. That can then mean that even reputable and well meaning sellers could find themselves with pearls they would not sell if they truly knew the provenance of the stock. And yes, being right there as the pearl is harvested, or being one step removed, reduces the risk. However, not all reputable sellers are always in that situation. There are a few of these sellers about and there are a few of us buyers who still like them and rely on them, particularly for unique items. I would have bought my Tahitian necklace in a flash from a seller on here, had anyone stocked anything like it. But no one did.

 

[pearlescence]

Did you ask?

 

[Fiona]

Did you ask?

I have been through every website linked to people here and many others. I also had people on this site tell me it was unique. I'm sure you will say I should have asked sellers here if they had something not on their sites, but no, I didn't. I am just some new pearl consumer and it took me a while to feel like I could do that.

And that's not really the point anyway.

This thread, and my other exchanges with you have left me feeling like if I didn't buy from you/members here, then it's on my head and whatever happens happens. That I should know better. I do take your point that people who are members here have reputations to protect and are worth looking at first. But that doesn't, and surely couldn't, mean that everyone else out there is not a valid or well intentioned seller. And I would have also hoped that the spirit of the community here would have been that someone who asks questions about real life pearl purchasing outside this site could do so without being dismissed.

 

[pearlescence]

No, that is not what I meant at all. There are plenty of other reputable pearl sellers who are not members here. But you asked who you can trust. There are many other pearl sellers out there. Some are good, some are not so good and some are out and oiut cheaters. When I talked about sellers who are members I was talking about people I could directly vouch for.
You were not being dismissed, but it did seem as if you were unwilling to accept some of the answers to your questions at times.
If I have given a wrong impression along the way, I apologise, and this will be my last post on the matter

 

[Dizzie]

Dear Fiona,

I absolutely understand that you went to the local jeweller in your search for a necklace in the first hand. Besides, I feel it is very hard to fell in love with something over internet.

As for your concerns about the nacre issues. Did you have a chance to adress this with your vendor? Considering the price of your necklace, my expectatin would be that the vendor should be more then willing to settle the issue (especially with the perspective of selling you another necklace). May be she could offer you to x-ray the necklace in question so that you would be sure what you are buying.

 

[KarinK]

What guarantees can a newbie person like me have that the Tahitian and South Seas pearls I buy will last years of regular use?

Hi Fiona,

My impression is that if the pearls look really good, the layer of nacre is acceptable. But this goes only for SSP and Tahitians. Akoyas are notoriously thin-skinned. I think the point is in part, as I've said before, that pearls are a commodity - like a car. You can spend an awful lot of money on a car, well-knowing that it will wear out. The nacre layer will be worn away little by little, the rate being dependant on how often you wear them, the acidity of your skin, perfumes, etc. If you want to be sure, the best would be to buy all-nacre fresh water pearls.

- Karin

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

Fiona, The average jewelery store doesn't carry top quality pearls. Pearl jewelry is a side item they carry, but their bread and butter that keeps them open is diamonds and gold. Many sales personal I have found here in the USA can't tell you anything about the pearls they sell, except they are cultured. If it's not on the tag you're out of luck for more information.
I have purchased many Tahitian strands, rings, earrings , pendants and loose Tahitian pearls. Only one came with a certificate that it had been xrayed. That one was purchased in Morrea, French Polynesia. It more than likely had to have that information so I could leave the island with it and get though customs.

 

[Fiona]

Dear Fiona,

I absolutely understand that you went to the local jeweller in your search for a necklace in the first hand. Besides, I feel it is very hard to fell in love with something over internet.

As for your concerns about the nacre issues. Did you have a chance to adress this with your vendor? Considering the price of your necklace, my expectatin would be that the vendor should be more then willing to settle the issue (especially with the perspective of selling you another necklace). May be she could offer you to x-ray the necklace in question so that you would be sure what you are buying.

Thanks Dizzie, I have asked the vendor, haven't heard back. I'll see her in person on the weekend. Re the X-ray, this is kind of at the heart of my question, which is: how can you tell? I wasn't going to ask for that if the expert view here is that be nacre is likely to be okay, which it seems to be. My questions in this thread were more to the general case than my specific one, re how can you tell you are buying quality. It seems like a combination of experience, relationships, reputation and X-rays .