TRIP AROUND THE WORLD? Feb 28th - Mar 26th

[JBazar]

Josh,
Can you check out something for me? Some Tahitian pearls have pastel hues such as light blue, light pink and light green. Knowing that the darker color ones tend to be more valuable in auctions, although in FP they say colors don't come into valuation (only surface purity, size, etc.). Does any of the farms try to produce pastel pearls? And if they do, how is it accomplished? Thanks.

Can colors be controlled compared to Fiji (using donor oysters with chocolate and blue colors)?

Instead of GIE, they have another group now, Maison de la Perle or something like that. How is it working? Do they intermingle inventory?

Does Mr. Wan purchase smaller farms' inventory to help smaller farms survive? Smaller farms, who do they sell to if they have less access to larger designer houses like Cartier, Van Cleef Arpel?

These are all really great questions.

When comparing the colors of Tahitian pearls to Fijian pearls I would say that in Tahiti you can find all of the colors blue, brown, peacock, green etc. but they are going to be darker on average. Fiji pearls are incredibly light in color. Here is a picture of a strand of multicolor pearls that I found in Bora Bora. This is the most vibrant multi color strand that I have ever seen and I think it represents the colors of tahitian pearls quite well.

Tahitian pearls notice that they are darker but the color is there.

These are the lightest colors that I could find when I was sorting through Paul Yu's daily harvest of a few thousand pearls. Although they are very light in color they are only a few out of thousands. In Fiji it is much more common to find these light colors.

Fiji Pearls similar colors but a bit lighter.

I asked Paul Yu what color of pearls he was trying to produce at his farm and his answer was just what I had expected, he said pretty much the darker the better. The color of pearl you get has everything to do with the specific selection of mantle that is chosen from the donor shell. The donor shells are chosen due to the color of their lip, only the shells with the best lip color are chosen. When choosing the section of mantle in which to graft with, the selection must be perfect as the wrong selection can often produce very light colors such as silver and off white. In Fiji they specifically choose donor shells that demonstrate mind blowing colors such as chocolate, blue, green, cherry etc. Since the color of your pearl can be so strongly influenced with the combination of a good donor shell and highly skilled technician I am sure that their are Tahitian farms that go out of their way to produce these colors.

What makes Fiji pearls so light in pastel color is that they come from a shell that is a sub species of the Pinctada margaritifera. These mollusk are more orange in color as you could see in the images I posted from Fiji also their lip tends to be lighter. This sub species is indigenous to Fiji and a few other places that escape me right now but I believe some are found in Tahiti although it is rare to find them their. Also J. Hunter farms do an amazing job in selecting extraordinary donor mollusk and their grafters must be extremely skilled, if they were not then you would not be seeing the consistency of color that they are producing.

I hope that this answers the first part of your question? In response to the second part regarding (Maison De La Perle) I will post some images from their HQ in a bit, but I also did a "Pearl Talk" with their director that should answer many questions but you will have to wait to see that as our editors have hundreds of hours of video footage to sort through.

 

[lisa c]

Josh, thanks for the excellent summary of complex information!

The photos are excellent, and WOW! the pearls are mouthwatering.

 

[effisk]

I am curious about this because I found the following link from the website http://www.maisondelaperle.pf/en/albums-photos/3097?nggpage=3

Picture # 11 from the "Ventes aux ench?res internationales 2010" shows Glen Tehaamatai as "acheteur" (buyer). However, his father, Franck is the owner of Tahiti Pearl Market. Maybe Glen is buying additional pearls from other farms to supplement their stock?

Not only is he buying, he was also the largest buyer at that auction in Bora.

Tahiti Pearl Market auctioned 200,000 pearls in HK in September 2008 under the name Tahiti Pearl Producers or United Tahiti Pearl Producers (not to be confused with the now defunct GIE Tahiti Pearl Producers). This auction was aimed at small to medium businesses (retailers, jewellers, designers, etc.) At the time, Glenn told me they were producing a million and a half pearls a year (they have 3 pearl farms and 4 pearl oyster growing farms). He also said all pearls for that auction were sourced from their own farms, but he was considering getting pearls from other suppliers if the auction went well.

They organised another auction soon after in January 2009 and they're buying from other farmers, so I suppose that first auction went well.

 

[Hanaleimom]

I hope that this answers the first part of your question? In response to the second part regarding (Maison De La Perle) I will post some images from their HQ in a bit, but I also did a "Pearl Talk" with their director that should answer many questions but you will have to wait to see that as our editors have hundreds of hours of video footage to sort through.

Hi Josh, thank you for answering my post. I understand it can take even a year or more for editing. Best wishes and hoping we'll see some clips in the very near future.

 

[Hanaleimom]

Not only is he buying, he was also the largest buyer at that auction in Bora.

Tahiti Pearl Market auctioned 200,000 pearls in HK in September 2008 under the name Tahiti Pearl Producers or United Tahiti Pearl Producers (not to be confused with the now defunct GIE Tahiti Pearl Producers). This auction was aimed at small to medium businesses (retailers, jewellers, designers, etc.) At the time, Glenn told me they were producing a million and a half pearls a year (they have 3 pearl farms and 4 pearl oyster growing farms). He also said all pearls for that auction were sourced from their own farms, but he was considering getting pearls from other suppliers if the auction went well.

They organised another auction soon after in January 2009 and they're buying from other farmers, so I suppose that first auction went well.

Thank you. That is very interesting information. Besides having their own stores in FP, TPM has 2 retail stores in Honolulu. They also had a wholesale office in Los Angeles on South Hill Street. I don't know if it's still there. That would explain the need to get additional pearls outside of the family farms.

 

[JBazar]

Takaroa Paul Yu's pearl farm

Takaroa Paul Yu's pearl farm

We spent a few nights sleeping on the floor in a shack at a Tahitian pearl farm, on the rim of a sunken volcano. We caught our meals from the ocean and hunted giant coconut crabs in the jungle at night. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I wouldn't have changed a thing!

This is our host Mr. Paul Yu, he was just a great guy. We couldn't have asked for a better host!

A few colorful gems that I hand selected from the days harvest.

A proud pearl farmer enjoying the fruits of a hard days labor.

Paul harvests his pearls for two months out of the year. The pictures that you will see of Paul admiring his pearls over this table are just the pearls harvested during that day. Not all of the pearls that were harvested are on the table either. His farms were huge, and his pearls beautiful.

This was our first time seeing the hut in which we would be spending the next two nights. At first we were scared because we would have to spent the nights on the floor. We didn't know what an amazing experience we had in store!

Mollusk reproduce Asexually when the temperature of the water changes the male mollusk release their semen and the female release their eggs. The Mollusk attached to the coral are a result of the natural reproduction that occurs on the pearl farm. These mollusk have not been seeded but are the same species Pinctada Margaritafura that produce the black pearls

Mollusk reproduce Asexually when the temperature of the water changes the male mollusk release their semen and the female release their eggs. The Mollusk attached to the coral are a result of the natural reproduction that occurs on the pearl farm. These mollusk have not been seeded but are the same species Pinctada Margaritafura that produce the black pearls.

Paul standing next to some of his second graft mollusk that he will harvest himself.

Some more second graft mollusk that are just waiting to be harvested. Just about every shell in these nets contains a large pearl. A true treasure hunt indeed. Not all of the pearls we be of exceptional quality however some of them were extraordinary as you will see in the following images.

Sako is a Tahitian pearl grafter. He is harvesting the first graft pearls and implanting the mollusk with the second nucleus. The second nucleus is usually the same size as the first pearl that is harvested.

The guys with bleached dreads are the divers and they are some of the biggest characters I have ever met! So funny.

The Atoll

Paul spends most of the day harvesting the large second graft pearls from his oysters. I joined him and pulled many pearls from the gonad of the mollusk right along side him.

The shells are being prepared for harvest.

These are the only parking spaces on a Tahitian pearl farm.

The divers! Some of the funniest people I have met on our trip. They spoke no english but had no trouble making us laugh!

They would point at them selves and say "Bob Marley" hahaha.

The lines with shells attached to them are called chaplets. A small hole is drilled through the dorsal section of the shell and they are strung onto the rope. They will remain on this rope being cleaned periodically until the pearls inside them are ready for harvest.

That is a lot of shell on one rope!

A baby cat on the island by the end of my time there these little guys were mu best friends. When they saw me coming they knew that they were going to get a treat

This was the actual airport on Takaroa... Security....I don't think so

Every pearl that is harvested is identified to the technician that was responsible for grafting it. This is how pearl farm owners can track the skill and success of there grafters. Sako was very skilled.

These were the larger second graft pearls that Paul harvested on the second day. (only guy on the atoll with a rolex)

Paul examining the quality of the days harvest.

These are some of the chocolate pearls that I had hand selected from the days harvest.

The pearl I fell in love with. It was not perfectly round but the color and luster blew me away. Pearls are personal and anyone with a love for them can look through hundreds of pearls and there will always be that one that blows you off your seat. This pearl was the one that knocked my socks off lol

Early in the Tahitian sunset. This was my favorite view to photograph as you will see it once more in peak sunset.

This is my #1 favorite (non-pearl) picture from Tahiti! Ahhhhh beautiful, I know that every time that I look at this image in the future it will bring me back to the Atoll!

We went on a hunt for giant coconut crab and came back successful! These things were monsters!!!

Jeremy toying with a MONSTER Tahitian coconut crab! Keep it up Jeremy and you may be returning with only 9 fingers!

This was our first time seeing the hut in which we would be spending the next two nights. At first we were scared because we would have to spent the nights on the floor. We didn't know what an amazing experience we had in store!

view from the lunch table.

If this is not a desk top screen saver I don't know what is lol it's not the best pic I took but I like it.

Mantle tissue selection.

 

[KAC]

very cool pics! Please keep them coming!

 

[pattye]

Amazing photos, Josh! Clearly you learned tons and your enthusiasm shows!

 

[Lagoon Island Pearls]

Nice tour! Thank you.

 

[effisk]

Thank you. That is very interesting information. Besides having their own stores in FP, TPM has 2 retail stores in Honolulu. They also had a wholesale office in Los Angeles on South Hill Street. I don't know if it's still there. That would explain the need to get additional pearls outside of the family farms.

I just remembered the URL: http://tahitipearlauction.com/ 13 auctions in less than 4 years. That's a lot of pearls.

The director of the Maison de la Perle Ingrid Izquierdo did a couple of video interviews last year. If you speak or understand French, here's one where she explains the missions of La Maison de la Perle: http://www.tahiti.tv/ventes-aux-enc...-bora-en-video-permalink-1354-2385-17380.aspx

 

[effisk]

Nice photos Josh!

Jeremy reminds me of Tom Hanks in Castaway in this pic.

 

[Ash]

Great Photos Josh!

Thank you so much for sharing this "Adventure" with all of us.

Cheers
Ash

 

[JBazar]

Next PEARL TALK!

Next PEARL TALK!

No thank you guys for following I am just so glad to share the experience with everyone! We are almost finished editing the next Pearl Talk. We had a talk with Jeremy, Joel and Ralph from Honora, Michael from Heng Mei, My father and I in Hong Kong. A great group of guys and some interesting talk about some of the new trends in the pearl industry.

 

[jshepherd]

Nice photos Josh!

Jeremy reminds me of Tom Hanks in Castaway in this pic.

LOL. I felt like Tom Hanks in Castaway!

 

[CortezPearls]

Incredible photos...thanks for sharing
The colorful strand is simply FANTASTIC
BTW: do those "Coco-Crabs" taste nutty???

 

[pattye]

Douglas, you are in fine form today! LOL

 

[JBazar]

Thanks Douglas! The crabs didn't taste that nutty even though they live on coconut. That would be a question for jeremy though because I only ate a few bites, Jeremy polished the rest off.

 

[Josh]

The cast away and the coconut crab. Awesome photo. Love it.

 

[JBazar]

A short clip from the Philippines.

 

[jshepherd]

The Hong Kong pearl talk is ready now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=cFu7Dqn6vCc