[pattye]

Hi Josh,

Well you and your lovely pearls certainly have gotten our attention! Will one have the option of purchasing them drilled or undrilled? Some of us, speaking for myself anyway, would need already drilled.

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[Casey.R]

I like the idea of the smaller Tahitians too. Especially in some of the colors you've posted.

[pernula]

Those colors are gorgeous. I probably will be having dreams about them tonight .

One question I have is whether the large quantities of dyed CFWP might take away some of the business of smaller-size Tahitian pearls? Recently I went to a jewelry store and the only Tahitian pearls they had were in pendants. They claimed that Tahitian strands take too long to sell so they don't carry them at that location. The only dark pearls they had were dyed CFWP.

pernula

[pattye]

Hi Pernula,

The jeweler is going to have a much smaller investment in the cfwp strands. He could have a pretty big investment in Tahitians! If I were going to purchase Tahitians, I would want multiple strands to pick from! Sometimes a jeweler can bring in a high end collection on "memo", meaning he only pays for what is sold during the time the collection is there. So what he said was probably true, I probably would have tried to say something a bit more positive way!

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[pernula]

Hi Pattye,

Thanks for your reply. It makes a lot of sense that some jewelers would prefer to invest and risk less.

It seems to me the "memo" mode of business is pretty low risk, so the mark-up for memo items should be less than normal store display items. Do you know whether that is generally true or not?

Thanks,
pernula

[pattye]

We can only wish the mark-up was less, Pernula!!!

When I was at Nordstrom Fine Jewelry dept in the early 90's we marked all up 2.5 x cost, no matter if it was our stock or memo. We were told most other stores marked up higher, at least 3X. So that is my experience.

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[pattye]

Just wanted to add that when we get the retail value appraisals on the pearl items we buy from our online friends here, they are not inflated appraisals. They truly reflect that the item has not passed through many hands and been marked up multiple times along the way.

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[youngster]

I like the idea of 7 - 8 mm Tahitians, particularly in a double strand that could also be worn as a rope.

[pernula]

Originally Posted by pattye

When I was at Nordstrom Fine Jewelry dept in the early 90's we marked all up 2.5 x cost, no matter if it was our stock or memo. We were told most other stores marked up higher, at least 3X. So that is my experience.

Is 3X what some people call "triple keystone"?

Thanks,
pernula

[pattye]

You've got the right idea, Pernula, I didn't explain so clearly as you!

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[drea]

Josh,
I think your pearls are gorgeous.. Even though the larger pearls are so popular right now, I can't see why there isn't a market for the smaller pearls as well.. Great site too!

[ebwootten]

If you look in magazines and catalogs, jewelry in general is large right now. Beads are oversized, pendants are huge, etc. Could it be a trend to keep up with our growing nation? Health statistics say people are getting larger.

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by ebwootten

If you look in magazines and catalogs, jewelry in general is large right now. Beads are oversized, pendants are huge, etc. Could it be a trend to keep up with our growing nation? Health statistics say people are getting larger.

Most trends in style are cyclical, but I think you are right about catering to the l-a-r-g-e-r getting crowd. Everything in the women's accessories department seems to be oversized and overdone these days. Some stores around my place are carrying only one or two small sizes in certain clothing, while in X-large, there is a whole rack of the same stuff available. I suppose the larger jewellery is to go with the larger sizes.

Slraep

[Josh]

Wow, another answer avalache. Thanks for the positive feedback everyone.
I'll try to answer the couple of questions asked.

Yes, we can drill at what ever diameter you want for. Drill bits cost a fortune (like everything else) here in Tahiti so we have to charge for it.

Small pearls do indeed tend to have more color than larger ones. This is because the host oyster can process the graft tissue and get it working much easier/quicker. The bigger the nucleus in the first graft operation, the harder it is for the oyster to incorporate it successfully. In a couple words, the smaller the graft the higher the quality and the darker the color.

[Ashley]

Originally Posted by pattye

We can only wish the mark-up was less, Pernula!!!

When I was at Nordstrom Fine Jewelry dept in the early 90's we marked all up 2.5 x cost, no matter if it was our stock or memo. We were told most other stores marked up higher, at least 3X. So that is my experience.

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

When I was slingin' fine stones, we usually recommended a 1.5 markup- no wonder Nordstroms is one of the last bastions of people with too much money

But then, that wasn't the early 90's either- seems to me that margins have dropped through the basement floor for retailers across the board these days... IMO