new tahitians from honolulu!

[wild onion]

Greetings from Honolulu! I caught the pearl bug while living here, and now that I'm back for a visit, I'm on a mission to find a few more Tahitian pearls (one must keep one's priorities straight). I haven't posted here in quite a while, but some recent purchases have inspired me.

I'm planning a trip to Tahiti Pearl Market (whose name and location have changed - I fear the Waikiki address will come with a price increase commensurate with their jump in rent), but I lucked out the other day while wandering around the monthly Waikiki Artfest in Kapi'olani Park. A gentleman by the name of Mark Kaneshiro (Mark Kane Designs http://www.markkanedesigns.com/) had a booth, and every single pearl was gorgeous - not a dull grey Tahitian in sight, but rather overtones of pink, blue, peacock, aqua, etc. He also had quite a few golden south seas. He designs and makes all his pieces, and mentioned that he travels to Hong Kong and Kobe to buy his pearls.

After much deliberation, I picked out a 12.6mm Tahitian in a sterling sliver setting (there was an entire case of pearls set in sterling silver, for the budget-conscious like me). If you're ever in Honolulu, I highly recommend searching out his stuff, if only to admire the beautiful pearls.

The lariat necklace in the photo is just an inexpensive piece from a shop on the ground floor of the Ala Moana shopping center.

[Hanaleimom]

Hi wild onion,
It's nice to see you back. If I am not mistaken you moved to Arizona. Thanks for sharing pictures of your recent purchases. You picked beautiful pearls. I like lariat style. I saw Mark's designs in a boutique in Hanalei town on Kauai. It's a shop right next door to Bar Acuda (restaurant & bar). Those that I saw were set in 14K gold and was marked up quite a bit. By the way, Tahiti Pearl Market (TPM) is now Margo Pearl on Kalakaua. They are located where the old Armani shop is on Kalakaua, next to Waikiki Shopping Plaza, across from Le Tourneau and Royal Hawaiian Shopping Mall. You can also go to 5th floor of Waikiki Shopping Plaza, TPM's office is there and they also have a show room on that floor.

Wear your pearls in good health! And welcome back.

Isn't the Artfest in Kapiolani Park only on Saturday?

[wild onion]

Hi Cathy -
The artfest schedule looks like Saturdays and Sundays from 9 to 4 (http://icb-web.net/haa/).

I did move to Arizona, and I'll miss the gem show this year, but it's great to be back for a few weeks in the land of plentiful Tahitian pearls! I wish you had easier access to Mark's stuff - I paid less for the piece than I would have for just the pearl most places (including online). Once I get it on an omega chain, it should look a little more balanced. I also love lariat necklaces - I've got one in yellow gold, and this one is a nice, casual alternative.

Thanks so much for the info on Margo Pearl - I couldn't catch the name when I called. It'll be fun to go through the pearls and see all their fancy settings.

[Hanaleimom]

I clicked on the link in your first post. The name Kilauea Gems sounds familiar. I think it's the boutique I was talking about. We are passing through Honolulu on the way to Kauai this May. But I have not decided whether our Oahu stay is before or after Kauai. If it's after then I will be at the Artfest on Saturday. Is he there every weekend or was it a special appearance when you happened to be there? Enjoy your visit. Every time the plane lands on Oahu at the airport, I feel like I am home.

Have fun at Margo although from what you said, it sounds like Mark's price may beat the rest of the shops there.

[GemGeek]

Those are terrific - thanks for posting the photos.

[Adeline Leigh]

They are beautiful designs and yours is a beautiful neck!

[pattye]

Wild Onion,

Thanks much for stopping by with your beautiful purchases! Just gorgeous on you! I'm fond of pearls in sterling, too.

[wild onion]

Thanks for your kind words! I knew I had to include pictures if I was going to post about new pearls. You all know how hard it is to get a camera to pick up colors the way our eyes see them - I'm going to include one more picture, this time not taken indoors late in the afternoon, and see if it looks any better.

Cathy, I am checking to see how often Mark is at Artfest. Will let you know when I find out.

[Hanaleimom]

I love it. Even from the first post, picture on the right, I can see the pink halo surrounding the green pearl on Mark's pendant. Normally, the pink we usually see when the pearl is on white background isn't intense enough to show on the skin or gets washed out if one is not very fair. It is perfect on you. Dyed FW imitating Tahitian pearls cannot replicate that halo effect.

[wild onion]

Cathy - The Mark Kane booth should be there if you stop by Artfest on May 19 or 20, but it might be a good idea to double check with him, just in case. I just looked through your old thread about pearl shopping in Hawaii, especially all the great photos from TPM/Margo, and I'm inspired to stop by as soon as possible (now that I've gotten some quality beach time in).

[wild onion]

So I finally made it to Margo Tahitian Pearl (formerly Tahiti Pearl Market - thanks to Hanaleimom for the great directions!). I actually visited both stores (one on the corner of Seaside and Kalakaua, which is the current location of the store formerly in the Waikiki Shopping Plaza, and the other store in the Hyatt complex).

I was initially disappointed to find fewer colorful pearls in the lower price range than the last time I visited (and thought maybe Cathy had picked through them too thoroughly on her last visit! ) - this was at the Hyatt location. Then I visited the other store and found what I was looking for. The 2 pearl pendant was directly inspired by Hanaleimom's pastel Tahitian pearl thread.

The 3 pearl piece is just an inexpensive, fun pendant I had made by one of the little shops on the 5th floor of the Waikiki Shopping Center (where I went looking for Margo, and saw the sign that they'd moved). They're not the cleanest pearls (esp. the pink one), but I love the brightness of the middle green pearl.

Not sure what I'll do with the loose ones (from Margo) - I'm trying to find the perfect setting. Anyways, I'm so happy to have found some colorful Tahitians, and just wanted to share.

p.s. forgot to add that we've just started rehearsing the opera Pearl Fishers here in Honolulu (maybe that's why my case of pearlitis has come back so strong) - it takes place in ancient times on the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and a necklace features prominently in the plot. Check out this famous duet from the opera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tLrPVkfCIQ

[Alex]

Hi WO - lovely pearls

especially the 12.6mm Tahitian....... the photo on post #8 is amazing

'Pearlitis' - hmmmmm, another pearlly word for PG

[Hanaleimom]

wild onion,
You found some colorful pearls. They turn out really nice in the settings and the loose ones are so pretty. I especially like the 3 pearl pendant dangling with soft curves. I was under the impression the Seaside location replaced the Hyatt when I saw their Facebook post. It's good you found both. Thanks for sharing your pictures.

[pattye]

Love your choices, Wild Onion! There are never enough pearl photos! Thank you!!

[Lindaphillipsbong]

Hello Onion:
Your new pearls look just gorgious. I have a question; will the three pearl pendant scratch up with time? It seems the pearls will not hit each other, but the metal will rub a bit.
Just wondering.
Linda.