Local Tahitian Pearls
This real conversation occurred between a new customer and me several years ago when we owned and ran Artizan, a small art and jewelry gallery. The curated collection included pieces primarily by South Carolinian artists and artisans and one of the finest pearl collections in the Southeastern United States.
Undrilled Cultured Tahitian Pearls
I am a huge fan of pearl jewelry. When we assembled our cultured pearl collection, we worked directly with the fisheries in the Asia/Pacific region, as well as Tahiti and Japan. Artizan’s collection featured stunning Tahitian and South Sea pearl strands and jewelry. We also carried the Galetea pearl collection of carved Tahitian pearls (more on that later), we well as a wide variety of cultured freshwater pearls. We curated a collection of pearl jewelry specifically for men and sold more strands of Japanese Akoya pearls than anyone in the area. So when a new customer came calling looking for pearl jewelry, the conversation went something like this:
Customer: Are all your items local?
Me: A little over half are local artists and/or from nearby states, as well as across the country. We also have a few international artists.
Customer: What about your pearls?
Me: We work with the fisheries directly in Tahiti and the South Sea, as well as Bejing and Vietnam, for both salt- and freshwater pearls.
Customer: Do you have any local Tahitian pearls?
Me: A number of our jewelry artisans use Tahitian pearls in their jewelry.
Customer (looking at a piece of jewelry featuring a Tahitian pearl): Where did this pearl come from?
Me: It’s Tahitian.
Customer: But where is it from?
Me: It’s Tahitian.
Customer: So it’s not from Columbia.
Me: No m’am. By definition, Tahitian pearls from from Tahiti.
Customer: Oh, well… I guess I’ll have to keep looking. I’m really interested in pearls from Columbia.
Me: I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. Please let me know if you find anyone who carries local Tahitian pearls.
Cultured vs. Natural Pearls
99.99% (or a lot, anyway) of the pearls sold today are cultured. They are grown in pearl farms worldwide and are the direct result of human intervention. Global warming has caused a decline in the production of pearls overall. Natural pearls grow in the wild without human intervention. They are incredibly rare, and most natural pearls in the market today are antique. So, what exactly is a cultured pearl? Pearl farmers insert an irritant, usually a bead of some kind, into the oyster. Then, they wait for the oyster to protect itself by building a pearl around the nucleus. Most often, the nucleus is made from the shell of a freshwater oyster, although this is not always the case. Depending on water conditions, the type of mollusk, and other factors, the oyster produces pearls of various colors and shapes. Natural pearls generally occur when a grain of sand accidentally enters the mollusk’s shell; you can see why this rare occurrence would yield so few natural pearls.
While an individual pearl can range in price from $3 for a decent freshwater pearl to $200+ for a Tahitian pearl, the real cost of buying a full strand of pearls comes from the matching process. Much time and attention go into sorting pearls by size, quality, and color. For example, when we sold Tahitian strands, a single pearl would cost about $90; a full strand of approximately 20 10mm pearls would sell for about $3500. Quick math tells you that 90 x 20 = $1800; the $1700 difference is the matching process. And that’s for cultured pearls. A 16″ strand of natural pearls would truly be priceless.
Cultured Freshwater Pearls
Black Dragon Pearl with White Teardrop Pearls
Freshwater pearls form in lakes, rivers, and other non-salted water. Over 90% of freshwater pearls are known as baroque pearls as they have an irregular shape. It is highly unusual to find perfectly spherical freshwater pearls. When they are available, they rank at the high end of the freshwater pearl market. On the other hand, baroque pearls are plentiful and interesting and come in many different shapes and sizes. This irregular shape is what makes them so beautifully unique and individually special. One of my favorite pearl necklaces is one made by an artist whose work we carried and features a large black dragon pearl flanked with two white ones.
Cultured Saltwater Pearls
While freshwater pearls tend to come in many sizes and shapes, I have always had a preference for saltwater varieties. Tahitian pearls (like, from the Tahitian Islands, where they really come from) are my favorites. They are produced by the Blacklipped Mollusk, which creates pearls in colors ranging from light silver to gunmetal to the often-sought peacock black. The peacock black pearls have overtones of dark green and purple, so named for their similarity to peacock feathers. I love the black and dark gray colors. South Sea pearls, known for their large size and bright white color, are gorgeous and generally the most expensive of all pearls. Japanese Akoya pearls, while smaller, often have a luster not matched by the others and are available in white, cream, and light shades of lavender or pink. Then there’s the subject of pearl dying, but that’s an entire conversation by itself.
Those big gray and black pearls remain at the top of my list. While I would personally not wear an entire strand like those in this ad, I do own a couple of pieces featuring a single black pearl. My favorite is my Galetea resurrection cross pearl. Another favorite of mine is a strand of dark blue Akoyas, significantly smaller than Tahitian and separated by small emerald beads. My friend, Bryan, likes to tease me that I can clutch my pearls when I wear them. #Truth
And Then There’s Galatea
Galetea Pearl with Diamond
Chi Huynh is the founder of Galetea. His story is an amazing one, and I encourage you to visit their website to learn more. Suffice it to say it is an astonishing tale of a refugee who eventually landed in America to pursue a dream. Ultimately, he created and patented the process of nucleating an oyster with semiprecious and man-made stones. His first foray into the process was to use man-made turquoise for nucleation. The first Galetea Pearl was created with a turquoise-nucleated Tahitian pearl and then hand-carved so that the light blue stone showed through the surface of the pearl. Chi says:
Resurrection Cross-carved Tahitian Pearl
When an oyster swallows a grain of sand it feels the discomfort, so it begins to ease the pain by applying a coat of nacre (pearl). It is during this healing process that it creates a beautiful pearl. It is rather ironic to think that something so beautiful can be created from so much discomfort.
CHI HUYNH
Real men wear pearls
It also became my mission to have men wear pearl jewelry beyond a tie pin or cufflinks. During our time in business, I sold many men various pieces of pearl jewelry, and I wear pearls to this day. The industry is a fascinating one that I could talk about for hours. It’s (one of) the many reasons I miss our store. I may need to do a deeper dive on pearls or perhaps on the store in general. There’s so much to say and so many stories to tell.
