C
cindyclark
Guest
I have just completed a 2 week pearl buying trip in China and thought people might be interested in what I found (this was my fourth buying trip in 2 years).
Overall, there are literally TONS of garbage pearls everywhere. This was my first trip after completing the GIA Pearl Course, so perhaps I am getting pickier, but I do not think I have ever seen so much junk. But, the higher quality pearls do seem to be getting better. It was easier to find high luster nice pearls 10 mm and up, but you really have to weed through acres of garbage pearls. Prices seem to be edging up a bit on the nicer pearls, plus the dollar is weaker than last year.
Another thing I noticed was no matter how small of vendor, everyone was selling Tahitian and South Seas strands (and loose pearls). I saw so many strands, and could not figure out how these tiny vendors could afford that much inventory. One vendor told me she does not pay for them, but trades her freshwater pearls for them. Although I did see a few nice pieces, most were not outstanding. The prices were not great, but I did not try to negotiate as I was only buying freshwater.
Here is a run down of the markets I visited:
Hongqiao Pearl City, Shanghai. This was my worst disappointment. I believed some of my higher quality vendors who had disappeared from the Nanjing Road market had moved here. But sadly they did not. Basically this is just more of the same vendors as on Nanjing Road, only a little more limited selection. Because I was buying a bunch I got some good deals, but I saw some individuals trying to buy pieces and getting totally ripped off. I did not buy any round or near round pearls here as the prices were not good.
Pearl City, Nanjing Road, Shanghai. This is always a fun market and easy to get to. Like Hongquiao, the higher quality pearls are REALLY overpriced, but it is OK for unusual pearls.
Pearl City, Suzhou. Lots of shlock, but some nice pearls here. My take was 1 out of 5 stores had some decent things, but you might only find a couple good strands out of the whole store. Some stores were a total rip off, others had some good values. I have been dealing with some of these folks for a few years and that seems to really help in the negotiations. It takes a lot of time to buy things here. We were here for days and really wished they would improve the bathrooms!
Pearl City, Zhuji. This place is wild. A really chaotic, crazy environment. We saw one guy get arrested, lots of spitting and shouting and I will vote Zhuji as having the worst bathrooms of all. It is the ridiculous and the sublime. Some much junk, but if you are patient and/or have made some contacts from a previous trip there are some amazing pearls here. It just takes so long to weed through the good stuff. Sitting for hours sorting through plastic tubs of undrilled pearls for earrings can be mind numbing, BUT you can get gorgeous stuff. It was good to see some vendors from last year and they tend to give you better pricing if you are a repeat customer. As always some of my favorite vendors from the last trip were no longer here.
Hong Kong. I had done my pearl buying on the mainland so I did not go to wholesale places. I checked out the deals a tourist would get here. I have always heard people say what great and cheap pearls there are here. Maybe I kept going to the wrong places but I found the freshwater pearls to be at least 3 to 4 times the price of pearls in China. There were even some very high quality ones set with gold that seemed to be nearly what you would pay in the U.S. Lots more low quality stuff and of course $1 a strand junk pearls everywhere (but those don't count
). They did seem to have nicer South Seas and Tahitian than the Mainland at decent, but not great pricing.
All in all, it was my best trip ever. I learned a ton, but most important was the value from building a long term relationship with Chinese vendors. I just wish that so many of them did not disappear each year. There are some pictures on my website.
Cindy Clark
www.passionpearlsjewelry.com
Overall, there are literally TONS of garbage pearls everywhere. This was my first trip after completing the GIA Pearl Course, so perhaps I am getting pickier, but I do not think I have ever seen so much junk. But, the higher quality pearls do seem to be getting better. It was easier to find high luster nice pearls 10 mm and up, but you really have to weed through acres of garbage pearls. Prices seem to be edging up a bit on the nicer pearls, plus the dollar is weaker than last year.
Another thing I noticed was no matter how small of vendor, everyone was selling Tahitian and South Seas strands (and loose pearls). I saw so many strands, and could not figure out how these tiny vendors could afford that much inventory. One vendor told me she does not pay for them, but trades her freshwater pearls for them. Although I did see a few nice pieces, most were not outstanding. The prices were not great, but I did not try to negotiate as I was only buying freshwater.
Here is a run down of the markets I visited:
Hongqiao Pearl City, Shanghai. This was my worst disappointment. I believed some of my higher quality vendors who had disappeared from the Nanjing Road market had moved here. But sadly they did not. Basically this is just more of the same vendors as on Nanjing Road, only a little more limited selection. Because I was buying a bunch I got some good deals, but I saw some individuals trying to buy pieces and getting totally ripped off. I did not buy any round or near round pearls here as the prices were not good.
Pearl City, Nanjing Road, Shanghai. This is always a fun market and easy to get to. Like Hongquiao, the higher quality pearls are REALLY overpriced, but it is OK for unusual pearls.
Pearl City, Suzhou. Lots of shlock, but some nice pearls here. My take was 1 out of 5 stores had some decent things, but you might only find a couple good strands out of the whole store. Some stores were a total rip off, others had some good values. I have been dealing with some of these folks for a few years and that seems to really help in the negotiations. It takes a lot of time to buy things here. We were here for days and really wished they would improve the bathrooms!
Pearl City, Zhuji. This place is wild. A really chaotic, crazy environment. We saw one guy get arrested, lots of spitting and shouting and I will vote Zhuji as having the worst bathrooms of all. It is the ridiculous and the sublime. Some much junk, but if you are patient and/or have made some contacts from a previous trip there are some amazing pearls here. It just takes so long to weed through the good stuff. Sitting for hours sorting through plastic tubs of undrilled pearls for earrings can be mind numbing, BUT you can get gorgeous stuff. It was good to see some vendors from last year and they tend to give you better pricing if you are a repeat customer. As always some of my favorite vendors from the last trip were no longer here.
Hong Kong. I had done my pearl buying on the mainland so I did not go to wholesale places. I checked out the deals a tourist would get here. I have always heard people say what great and cheap pearls there are here. Maybe I kept going to the wrong places but I found the freshwater pearls to be at least 3 to 4 times the price of pearls in China. There were even some very high quality ones set with gold that seemed to be nearly what you would pay in the U.S. Lots more low quality stuff and of course $1 a strand junk pearls everywhere (but those don't count
). They did seem to have nicer South Seas and Tahitian than the Mainland at decent, but not great pricing. All in all, it was my best trip ever. I learned a ton, but most important was the value from building a long term relationship with Chinese vendors. I just wish that so many of them did not disappear each year. There are some pictures on my website.
Cindy Clark
www.passionpearlsjewelry.com
