[Slraep]

Originally Posted by Josh

I think the Cook Islanders should have their own rules and label of quality. If they play it smart they could brand their pearls as more expensive than Tahitians. All they have to do is take the cue from our friends in the Sea of Cortez and learn what not to do from us Tahitians.

Yah but, Sea of Cortez pearls REALLY ARE RARE and from a different and REALLY RARE mollusc. Cook pearls are from the same mollusc as Tahitians, so besides some variation in colour depending on different lagoon conditions, what exactly is it that would make them rare enough to brand and sell more expensively? Not much, I dare say. Yes, I double dare say.

Slraep

[Josh]

Steve, yup those are the same temps we have in the Tuamotus though in the Gambier islands it's a little cooler. I am definitely interested in those readings though because in the summer (Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan) of '98-99,' we had 32 degrees or over. We lost 95% (!!!!) of our live coral and over half of our beautiful Tridacnas. The oysters took a hit of course but nothing like the coral and the big clams.
Slraep,
What makes them different is that they are not from the same place. If they are farmed in a different part of the Pacific they pretty well HAVE to have some different nuances in color. I think that that is special and worth shouting about, don't you? Is "rare" really the end all, be all?

[smetzler]

Josh, am traveling but will look up and forward that study upon return Monday.

Re differences Tahiti/Cooks you beat me, was thinking of the analogy to our wine business, ie Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux vs. Napa, etc.

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by Josh

Slraep,
What makes them different is that they are not from the same place. If they are farmed in a different part of the Pacific they pretty well HAVE to have some different nuances in color. I think that that is special and worth shouting about, don't you? Is "rare" really the end all, be all?

True, they are from a different place, but by that logic, every other different place that cultures SSs should be designated "rare" too. What about all the different places around the Philippines that culture SS pearls? What about the different places around Vietnam that culture SS pearls? Should each local insist their pearls are rare? What about Burma(Myanmar)? Indonesia? Malaysia? Australia? One lagoon kilometres from another produces slightly different colours---should they be marketed as rare? What about FWs from the same mollusc coming from northern and southern China? Which one is rare?

Just asking.

Slraep

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by smetzler

Re differences Tahiti/Cooks you beat me, was thinking of the analogy to our wine business, ie Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux vs. Napa, etc.

Hi Steve,

Don't they use a different grape for each of those wines?? I would agree that Cook Island pearls be rare if they used something other than P. maxima for culturing.

Slraep

[smetzler]

Cabernet is among the most ubiquitous of grapes, given its fame from Bordeaux. But it is a noble grape, and there are noble environments outside of Bordeaux that nurture it to greatness and individuality. But the great sea of Cabernet Sauvignon in the world is mediocre at best, for sure, given the commercial motivation behind its use, irrigation techniques, and other sustainability issues in common with pearl farming.

My term for the concept would be nobility: Accepting that P. Margaritifera and P. Maxima (among the others) are noble shells, then we must look for noble environments, noble farmers, and finally noble marketers able to communicate the totality of the message. This comes under the heading of 'individual farm branding' mentioned above, as certainly a far more efficient approach than waiting for the Cook Islands authorities to get their act together!

[Josh]

Thanks for the micro wine lesson and beautifully lucid post Steve.
Slraep, I don't know about P. maxima in the Cooks but I was talking about P. margaritifera, the one Tahiti has in common with our cousins from the West.

[Slraep]

Sorry, I meant the black lip, P. margaritifera. That's what happens when you try to string and write at the same time.

The word "rare" should maybe be reserved for use to describe something that not every corner jeweller has in their display case.

Slraep

[DFrey]

I like the analogy to wine production Steve and in a more general way you and Josh are discussing provenience as an important part of marketing and in some cases value. This may not be important to all people but I think it can add to the pleasure that some enjoy from owning a pearl that has a story. Identifying provenience of course becomes more difficult and maybe less important for mass marketing of products.
Personally I'm all for "romancing" the pearl and knowing the 4 W's who, what when and where of what you are buying or selling.

DFrey

[smetzler]

DFrey, good points. But there must be a demonstrable difference in the product, and the question in this thread, rightly posed by Slraep, is whether this is a possibility. Manihiki and Penrhyn are the world's most isolated pearl source (ever read the back of a bottle of Fiji water?) and as such should have something to say. But I'm the first one to point out that this is mainly conjecture at this point, awaiting the advent of an individual farm willing to make the necessary moral commitment.

Something tells me that some element of Cook Islands pearling will need to latch on to golden poe pipi as a national identity. For that reason I personally would promote the tendency of Cook Isands farms to produce the lighter colors. The first farmer on Manihiki in the 1960/70s, Peter Cummings, was reputedly successful in the production of large, brilliant gold/silver/greens, a promising beginning lost to disaster and inconsistency since.

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by smetzler

Something tells me that some element of Cook Islands pearling will need to latch on to golden poe pipi as a national identity. For that reason I personally would promote the tendency of Cook Isands farms to produce the lighter colors. The first farmer on Manihiki in the 1960/70s, Peter Cummings, was reputedly successful in the production of large, brilliant gold/silver/greens, a promising beginning lost to disaster and inconsistency since.

Poe pipi! Now we are talking rare! Try to find those at your local(or unlocal)jeweller.

I think you are right Steve, the Cooks should go with the light colours of gold, silver and green. The silvery sage greens are gorgeous!

I do whole heartedly agree that better labelling of where pearls come from and who cultured them is a plus for the consumer even though the pearls themselves may or may not be rare. Yes, like wines.

Slraep

[Josh]

Hooray! We all agree!

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by Josh

Hooray! We all agree!

Really? You mean that you agree with me? I certainly agree with the part I quoted Steve on. I do not agree that the Cook Island pearls we were initially talking about should be marketed as anything special when, if they were tossed into a pile of regular "Tahitians", one would be hard pressed to find any difference.

Slraep

[Nerida]

I've been thinking about this discussion since first reading it last night.

When it comes to marketing, there needs to be product differentiation to make the product seem to be unique. The fact that it may not be completely unique is arbitrary. For example, and please don't take this as offensive, as it certainly isn't meant to be - quite the opposite in fact. Jeremy markets his gem quality FW's as Freshadamas. Is there a true point of difference between freshadamas and other very high quality fw's?? No - just that the name, when combined with other facts we know about PP (hand selection, high level of integrity, years of experience) and how the business is run (customer care, individual service), how the product is packaged etc - generates a feeling amongst consumers that this truly is a very special pearl purchase. End result? Freshadamas are spoken of as a unique entity - exclusive and desirable.

The same could apply to Cook Island (or even Kamoka, Josh) pearls. The trick is to ensure that the customers/consumers become aware of the things about this product that set it apart. It may not be the oyster species used. It is more likely to be part mystique, part fact. The facts - specialise in what can be unique (colour?) -product quality - NO poor quality product to enter the market. Be ethical - both in a business sense and in an environmental sense and TELL the consumers how ethical you are. Serve customers needs more than the customers ever thought possible. Build the mystique - the islands - Josh's own lifestory is a good example of something that makes his product unique - then BRAND and BRAND and BRAND again. Don't let the product ever be labelled under a wider umbrella! Then you will have the sort of product that is instantly recognizable by its own brand (ie Josh's pearls just referred to as Kamoka pearls), and appears exclusive and desirable to the consumer.

Sorry to have prattled on, but I really think Josh is right - Cook Island pearls have a great opportunity to be special - the analogy to Sea of Cortez pearls may be confusing due to the unique species used there - but clever marketing may save the CI pearls from being lumped in with the broader Tahitian market and all the fakes and dyed FW's that end up incorrectly with that label.

[Slraep]

Hi Nerida,

So what you are saying is Cook Islands pearl producers should purposefully spin a story(mystique) around their pearls the way Mikimoto has done around their akoyas, even though throwing those very pearls(Cook) into a big pile of Tahitians would most probably mean that no one would be able to differentiate them from the latter. And they should create a marketing ploy to make the product SEEM unique? Uniqueness(rareness) should be arbitrary(quick, where are my smelling salts)!?!? Isn't that what we are fight against here on the Pearl-Guide?

Hey Jeremy, is that what you've done with the Freshadamas? I thought it was just the opposite. I thought the Freshadamas(and Caitlin) busted through the mystique of akoyas being the end all in quality classic pearls. Yes, busted through the giant Mikimoto marketing machine to show us that Freshadamas are altogether a better value, actually have orient and are much longer lasting( an understatement). They are a modern cultured pearl that is composed of the same stuff, through and through, of what a true natural is. Somehow, I don't think the Freshadamas needed any spin doctor marketing. I doubt people buy them because they come in a spiffy box.

Who here would pass up on a Freshadama or a Sea of Cortez strand just because it came in a paper bag? Us seasoned Pearl-Guiders want the pearls, not the mystique. Give us piles of the rare beauties!! Mikimoto can keep their darned mystique. They generated quite enough of it to snow a lot of better pearls over.

Slraep