just need a little guidance

[deerhunter]

Hi ladies and gents,

I recently returned from a 1 year tour in the Middle East region, Doha, Qatar to be exact. I was told there that the pearls I purchased were of a very good quality and they would be worth a lot back in the United States. I purchased 12 sets, most of them double strands in many different colors. I have been having a hard time finding someone who has any familiarity with pearls, especially the region in which I bought them in. If anyone out there knows if these pearls are worth anything or how I could possibly sell them I would greatly appreciate a step in the right direction. They are very nice pearls, to me anyway. Any input or feedback would be great. Thank you

JD

 

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Deerhunter,

The jewelry bazaars in Doha, Qatar, almost exclusively sell medium to low quality cultured freshwater pearls. Although they are typically very pretty and are inherently excellent values for the money thanks to their durability, they are not actually valuable. There are jewelers in all Arab emirates that offer natural pearls harvested in the region. These are all antique (only in Bahrain will you be able to get some newly harvested ones at a steep premium) and when in substantial sizes will cost you about as much as suburban home or more per strand. Natural pearls are more expensive in the Arab Emirates than anywhere else in the world because of the broader awareness of them and cultural bias in their favor. Although natural pearls are the only acceptable pearls to muslim fundamentalist, most other muslim have accepted keshis and solid-nacre freshwater cultured pearls as close enough. Some muslim also own and wear bead-nucleated pearl products but they do not consider these pearls no matter what their price.

Zeide

 

[pattye]

Hi Deerhunter,
Can ypu post some photos? what kind of colors? At least you will have some lovely gifts for the women in your family!
Pattye