[jshepherd]

Shanghai will be hosting the first ever Tahitian pearl auction on February 24th and 25th.
The auction will be held by GIE Poe Rava Nui, representing approximately 150 medium-sized French Polynesian pearl farms. If the auction results are good, they intend to hold all future auctions in Shanghai.
This will be the 33rd auction held by GIE Poe Rava Nui, a 26 year cooperative. Their typical auctions attract only an average of 20 buyers, but an auction in China is expected to attract more than 200. This will lead to higher floor prices due to expected heavier competitive bidding with an expected average price of 2000 francs per gram.