White/Gold south sea pearl in Philippines?

[Danielt]

Hello everyone,

I am wishing everyone a happy new year!

I am a new member here and I was drawn to the wealth of information provided here and also the number of experts and pearl-lovers that are here!

I admit I have not finished all the materials in this website but the tone of the information when it comes to purchasing seemed to be all heading to the same notes; 1. The danger of purchasing SSP in PH (i.e. Greenshill, or other stores because it could have been "treated" or Chinese freshwater pearls, etc.), 2. The 30ish farms in Palawan that supposed to be the only original SSP farms are managed by Jewelmer and the 90% of them (not taken by Lemerer for their productions) are shipped off to JPN and HK wholesale markets (which is closed for retail or consumer).

This makes me wonder if that is the case then is my only options to buy loose pearls are only through the websites mentioned by some people in the forums? such as Kamoka, PearlParadise, etc.

I have some designs in mind and have worked them out with designer I know but I need to purchase enough loose of white SSP and also enough gold for SSP (a fair bit since the necklace I am aiming for are strands), I was thinking since I am going to El Nido and Coron for two weeks holiday I can go and purchase them in Palawan myself (seems like this is not advisable). What baffled me is, those 90% that are being sold in HK/JPN have to land somewhere to consumer or the money wheel doesn't turn, so where are them? Are they being bought (perhaps low quality ones) by Greenhills vendor and "treated" then sold off at much higher value that it should be?

Anyone can recommend where to buy loose white/gold SSP in Palawan or Philippines?

Thank you very much for your guidance!

Daniel -

 

[pattye]

Hello Daniel and Happy New Year to you also. There is no easy answer to your question. You would be able to purchase full strands with some of the online dealers mentioned. It doesn't seem like we have any active forum members from the Philippines now to reply.

 

[GemGeek]

If the pearls must be color matched, buying uniform sized strands might be a better bet even if you don't use all the pearls.

 

[meowmeow214]

Hi! Also from the Philippines. this is exactly what is on my mind as well. I also wanted to get gold SSP earrings from a local reputable jeweler, and he says he cant source the kind of gold i wanted, not in palawan or from any other local supplier. He will have to go to HK to source the golden SSPs. For starters I have taken trips to several Jewelmer shops locally to have an idea on quality. Information and a trained eye is the best weapon if you plan on purchasing from greenhills.