Palawan SS Pearls

[Fats]

Hi,
Thanks so much for this terrific forum - As a newbie to pearls, I am learning so much from all of you. I just came back from Palawan and visited a pearl shop in Puerto Princessa called Amalia's (this is how I got hooked on pearls - but AFTER the visit). They seem to offer a lot of SSPs for terrific, almost unbelievable, prices. They were also selling lots of freshwater pearls. Any thoughts on whether the vendors are really selling real SSPs? I didn't know anything about pearls then, and now I'm regretting not getting golden SSPs in Palawan.

Thanks for any intel. My aunt is headed that way and any info would be terrific.

[jshepherd]

It's really hit or miss over there. I would strongly suggest learning about South Sea pearls and examining true South Sea pearls before purchasing. For the most part, South Sea pearls sold in the Philippines to tourists are actually Chinese freshwater pearls. It is the same story in Vietnam with akoya. I was there recently and "Vietnamese akoya" were everywhere, but they were all Chinese freshwater pearls. Production in those parts doesn't usually stay local. Harvests are purchased by companies primarily located in Japan. Given that people know pearls are produced there, it leaves the door wide open for unethical traders to prey on unsuspecting visitors.

[Cees]

Be careful when you buy pearls in Palawan, the ones from the pearl farms do not end up there but are flown by helicopter to Manila. Even on the Greenhills pearl market many of the golden pearls are enchanted (treated). There are some good South Sea and also Tahitian pearl dealers but their stock is mainly coming from Hong Kong and very few buy in Kobe, Japan. There are no Filipino fresh water pearls as they want to make you believe, those are all from China, also the so called 'Baby South Sea Pearls'.

[Fats]

Thanks for your responses, Jeremy and Cees. Oh, bummer. So many visitors of Palawan, myself included, were so excited about getting genuine SSPs there. It's disappointing and disheartening to learn that vendors are intentionally deceiving customers by pushing freshwater pearls and calling it South Sea. So grateful for this forum - I've learned a lot!