Hong Kong anyone?

[Josh]

Lauren, Thanks very much for the support and encouragement. That link was funny too. Humbert Humbert - sheeesh, that's ugly Will work on the vid clips. They are fun for everyone.
You hit it right on the head with what you said about loyalty to suppliers. It's no accident that you can't buy pearls directly from the site. As a producer, my main worry is getting my stock sold ASAP. I made the conscious decision to target retailers in hopes that I would move enough product that way to support my operation.
I do feel like I'm on the wrong side of the fence a bit too often though. At the Hong Kong show the only ones smiling were the ones who were there to buy, not sell. I probably asked a couple hundred vendors how the show was for them and without exception they gave it a big thumbs down. I managed to finally sell a small lot that enabled me to return home with some cash in hand. I was/am very grateful as it was at a relatively fair price.
Jiazzi, Thanks as well for the kind words. As of very recently there are a bunch of places to see our pearls listed on our website!
Marama, before I recommend other Tahitians going there to sell, it's important to understand the cost involved as well as the total lack of guarantee of selling anything. There were numerous other Tahitians on the plane with me who came home empty handed. Also, unless your uncle paraparau Marite as well as you do, don't let him go without you. If you decide to do it next time, pm me and I'll be glad to help however I can.
Peter good to meet you too. Shame we couldn't do the dinner thing. How about Tucson? There's been some stirrings on the board for a Tucson 2010 PG ruckus...

 

[GemGeek]

A PG ruckus? I'm there!

 

[Pearlgully]

I love a good ruckus................. I'll be there, too!


Gail

 

[maryd]

Ohhhh a ruckus, count me in.

 

[boo]

Ruckus? Sounds good to me!

 

[Josh]

Looks like it's on!

 

[waimeamomi]

I'm in - I'm making it work this time. No one ruckuses without me! I'm starting to save my pennies right now - or after I visit with Sarah and Kojima Pearls next week.

 

[Nerida]

Okay, okay... I could get myself to the US sometime! Might as well be then!

 

[laurenb]

I'm with Peter on this one. We've already seen FW pearls take a large segment of Akoya sales. South Sea are the obvious next target.
Remember this photo of a SS and FW I posted a few months back?

I respectfully disagree. SS pearls tend to have a waxier duller finish than the most lustrous Akoya pearls and the FWP below are something to be aware of I would not dismiss this developing challenge to SS out of hand

From the perspective of a buyer/aspiring collector, not a retailer, I think those strands look different enough and are sufficiently distinct in origin that I would not consider one a replacement for the other.

Thank you both for taking a comment from a much lower strata of the pearl world so seriously.

Lauren, Thanks very much for the support and encouragement. That link was funny too. Humbert Humbert - sheeesh, that's ugly

She clearly deserves the retroactive "Humbug Humbug Free-association Gold Medal."

Looking forward to the videos! If the phrase "pearl farm" conjures a mental image for my peer group it would almost certainly be a sweatshop-like setup, brutally low pay, processing millions of creatures raised and killed with no concern for the local environment. Showing that isn't the case seems important to getting more of the employed & unchilded market interested in pearls.

 

[Josh]

Looking forward to the videos! If the phrase "pearl farm" conjures a mental image for my peer group it would almost certainly be a sweatshop-like setup, brutally low pay, processing millions of creatures raised and killed with no concern for the local environment. Showing that isn't the case seems important to getting more of the employed & unchilded market interested in pearls.

We're working on it. You did see the video on our site of our grafter Timi narrating the process right?

 

[la_corsetiere]

We're working on it. You did see the video on our site of our grafter Timi narrating the process right?

Josh, that video is great - a perfect representation (though I wish the oyster cleaning process were as easy as the fish make it look!) of what goes on.

Hmmmm...I do like the idea of joining the "ruckus" in Tucson next year...

Sheri

 

[maryd]

Josh - Just watched the video and it was wonderfully done. And Timi did a great job telling the story. His voice fit the visuals well.

 

[GemGeek]

Woot! Ruckusing sounds so much more fun than pearl-walking. I say we meet at the bar for drinks and appetizers on Saturday afternoon. I'll bring Octavia.

 

[boo]

Hmm - for planning (and vacation requesting) purposes, what dates are we talking about exactly?

 

[GemGeek]

The dates aren't set yet, but it's usually the first or second weekend of February. Ish.

 

[Josh]

Thanks Sheri and Mary!
Boo and Blaire I'll be seein' you there.
Better stop, my rhyming's a flop. The oysters might shuck us if we early plan our ruckus. Help! (yelp)

 

[Josh]

I thought this Hong Kong thread might need some pics. These two are from some quiet side streets. I liked them for all the neon I don't get in my sleepy little village. You can't see that well but I wanted to show the sorts of cars that were on the road other than taxis. I'm not a car guy but the Mercs, Beemers, etc were pretty impressive. Impressive in a flashy new money sort of way. Reminded me a bit of the early days of Tahitian pearl farming when everyone was buying themselves crazy expensive things here in the islands.

 

[Josh]

I also took a trip over the border to Shenzhen which was something else. If you go, you better speak Chinese or have a translator with you. It's not like HK where lot's of people can speak English. I loved how totally foreign it felt.
Also, it was a good place to observe the might and rise of China. Things are being built everywhere you go from skyscrapers to freeways to any imaginable sort of infrastructure. There's so much movement in fact that the sky was gray from all the dust in suspension. Coming from the cleanest air on the planet, it was a little oppressive but two days was not enough time and I look forward to going back. OK, truth be told: I'm looking forward to going back for the food. It was AMAZING. I told my hosts that I was a pescatarian so the meals were long affairs of strange crustaceans and fish. Paradise, especially the gelatinous freshwater fish that seemed to be almost entirely edible. As was said in the thread (I think) about pollution in China, the affluent are all about their protein. We eat a lot of rice over here so I was surprised when at the very end of the meal, I was asked if I would like to eat some rice. Yes! And it was delicious, like everything else.
Here are some views from the hotel. What it doesn't show that well is that there really are skyscrapers for miles and miles and miles.

 

[GemGeek]

Yes, your photos really help. I love the bird's eye views.

Oh, and there can't be too much good rice!

 

[Nerida]

Thanks for more photos, Josh... the neon in Shanghai would take your breath away!
But Hong Kong is more vibrant, and busy and pushy.

Shenzhen is fun, I travel all over China with no Mandarin, and no interpreter. One of my music students here is trying to teach me Mandarin - it's a bit of a laugh, really.

Last trip to Zhuji I stayed in the new glass and marble hotel there - it's like 5 star Monty Python... tried to take a pic of the huge 6 lane road being built next to the hotel which ends in a peasant farm... I mean, it just stops. No finish to it, no turning, it just stops, and the next thing you see are the cabbages.. just bizarre!