Going to Beijing Next Week - Where I should I go??

[alina]

Hi I am going to Beijing next week and would like to go pearl shopping. Any recommendations on where to go?

I am especially interested in finding some really good/gem quality pearls in larger sizes 10mm+ and also some natural metallics.

I am pretty good at negotiating but any tips on how to make sure I don't get ripped off would be appreciated. I am especially worried in terms of the metallics how to make sure the color is natural and the pearls haven't been given some kind of high-gloss treatment. Ran across some pearls like that a while back in San Fran. They looked great when I bought them but about 6 mo later they lost all luster.

Any and all help much appreciated!!!

[jshepherd]

You need to go to the Hongquiao Market in Chong Men Wen. I haven't been there in nearly 10 years, but this is the Beijing pearl market. As far as treatments go, it isn't easy to tell whether or not the pearls have been over treated. They've all been treated, but only the over-treated pearls are going to dull that quickly.

If the seller has a lot of pearls that seem to be chalky or burned in any way, this is a sign that their technology isn't very good and you are likely dealing with a seller backed by a small family factory.

[Hanaleimom]

H
I am pretty good at negotiating but any tips on how to make sure I don't get ripped off would be appreciated. I am especially worried in terms of the metallics how to make sure the color is natural and the pearls haven't been given some kind of high-gloss treatment. Ran across some pearls like that a while back in San Fran. They looked great when I bought them but about 6 mo later they lost all luster.

Any and all help much appreciated!!!

That's such a shame. Is there a trick to spotting this sort of short-term gloss at all? I hope to hear answers from our experts. Thanks.

[alina]

You need to go to the Hongquiao Market in Chong Men Wen. I haven't been there in nearly 10 years, but this is the Beijing pearl market. As far as treatments go, it isn't easy to tell whether or not the pearls have been over treated. They've all been treated, but only the over-treated pearls are going to dull that quickly.

If the seller has a lot of pearls that seem to be chalky or burned in any way, this is a sign that their technology isn't very good and you are likely dealing with a seller backed by a small family factory.

Thanks Jeremy!

[alina]

Hi Cathy, the one thing I thought about in retrospect was that the pearls had way more gloss than orient if that makes sense. One would have expected pearls with that kind of shine to have a lot orient. Although they definitely had some orient (probably accentuated by the glossing) definitely not what you would expect from a pearl with that kind of "luster". Ali