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!

 

[1521pearls]

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.

Hi!

I know that some pearls from the market are real SSP, some of my friends have gone there and were able to get fantastic deals. However, some stores may sell treated pearls from China. I also heard that some pearls are actually stolen from larger pearl farms by cutting the lines--It is risky if you don't know much about south sea pearls. That said, it is similar to shopping anywhere, you have to know the real deal before you buy.

Cheers

 

[Cees]

I justed visited Greenhills 2 weeks ago and the stock I had with me of South Sea and Tahitians the sellers liked a lot but was well above the quality they normally buy in Hong Kong. Strange is that they are only interested in round/semi round pearls and bigger sizes. The luster is not a real issue and spotted also not ( now u can see they are real pearls and not fakes, a lady told me and she called the spots 'fish bites'. But there are about 3 stalls there which sells better quality pearls and one of them is MikkoMaro Pearls and Jewelry. The owner Almirah Marohombsar showed me very beautiful good luster white South South Sea she claims to buy from Paspaley's office in Hong Kong. The golden pearls, the Philippines is famous for do not have the good luster and the deeper golden color Jewelmer pearls are famous for. Those I saw were the lower quality one buys from Lombok in Indonesia. For fresh waters it is no problem to buy baroques and other forms.

 

[GemGeek]

Good information to have and interesting that they want to have defects to prove that they are not artificial. Fish bites - I've heard that before! Colored gem sellers prefer stones that are not absolutely perfect, as it then appears suspicious that they may be synthetic.

 

[Theresa]

Cees, thanks for sharing your shopping experience in the Philippines. What about the Tahitian? You didn't mention about it.