Welcome

Welcome! We are passionate about pearls and committed to helping you increase your share of this market.

It is our belief an enhanced knowledge of the cultured pearl product category results in greater sales and an increased passion for pearls.

This is an incredible lost-and found story, one that could only come from the great pearl world. It began with a Cook Islands pearl farmer who one day in the 2000-2001 season accidentally lost a line of nucleated oysters, and could not find them even after much frantic searching. “I guess I’ll just have to write these oysters off,” he thought. Then, some seven or eight years later, he unexpectedly came across the lost line. Lying in their pristine and hidden marine environment, undisturbed for lying in their pristine and hidden marine environment, so long, these unique pearls grew into their unbelievable size, shape and color before being finally re-discovered by their owner. The enormous size of these “lost line” pearls from the lagoon in Manihiki is truly remarkable. This rare, small and very special lot was sold to a Rarotonga pearl merchant not long ago who created an incredible, multicolored bracelet, and who named it Poe Tuanaana. This bracelet has since been sold to a private party. The weight of these 17 vibrant black, silver and bronze Cook Islands keshi pearls is approximately 42 grams; they range in size from 10-14mm, and the magnetic clasp is 14k white gold. " The philosophy behind the name is that the focus of the appellation centers on the fact that these pearls had been ‘lost’... adopting a rather romantic twist, the term Tuanaana is used here in an all-encompassing manner for the pearls, lying in their shell, beckoning with their radiant
colors, far beneath the ocean waves, awaiting the day they would be rediscovered” says the designer.

We are proud to introduce Pacific Blue by Imperial. A Sterling and Abalone Pearl Collection to compliment our Eyris Collection.

Roger Beattie, Managing Director of the Eyris Blue Pearl Company and Pacific Blue Pearls will be in attendance as the guest of Peter Bazar and Imperial Deltah.

To see some outstanding blue pearl mabes and to catch up with Roger visit him at Plum Club PC39 between 30th May and 2nd June. Roger will be displaying a range of Gem Selects, Gems and natural shapes.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet the man behind the Mabe! Roger has spent many, many years developing the nucleation, production and marketing of New Zealand natural gem.

Circle Pearls

A Groove Thing

By David Federman

It seemed a good idea at the time. To find out why so many of Tahiti’s and, to a far lesser extent, Australia’s, Indonesia’s, and China’s cultured pearls grow with single or parallel grooves in them, just ask a pearl farmer. So we had Pamela Butler of Ocean Gem Pearl Corp. in San Francisco, who is a frequent traveler to Tahiti, inquire on our behalf with a grower there. His reply: “If we knew what makes these rings occur, we would correct the problem.”

This answer left us right back where we began. But at least we knew that no one knows for sure what causes this common anomaly.

Now the question doesn’t bother us as much as it did. Maybe that’s because we have accepted what is called the “circle pearl” as a fact of life, one worth celebrating rather than bemoaning.

Understandably, farmers who lose money on this subspecies of baroque pearl dream of finding ways to significantly reduce, if not eliminate, the large number of them.

While we aren’t suggesting that growers throw precaution to the winds, may we offer a small piece of advice: Before wishing the world rid of circle pearls, pay some attention to how the market feels about them.

Circle pearls are red-hot and growing hotter. In fact, C. Link International, a Tokyo-based firm that specializes in Chinese freshwater pearls, says Japan has gone ga-ga for these exotic pearls in buxom sizes.

$1 million hat for Magic Millions

Kimberley Busteed feels every bit like a million dollars in this hat.

Kimberley Busteed feels every bit like a million dollars in this hat.

Stephanie Bedo

20Mar08

NOT many people can say they feel a million dollars and actually mean it.

Kimberley Busteed could at the Magic Millions Millinery Collection show at the Sheraton Mirage Resort and Spa yesterday.

The face of the Magic Millions Carnival lit up the room when she entered wearing an exclusively-crafted $1m hat.

It was unveiled for the first time to the Gold Coast's most fashionable crowd.

But the hat wasn't going anywhere without an armed guard by its side.

Gold Coast fashion news

The millinery masterpiece features six strands of south sea pearls and more than 150 carats of diamonds, including seven big diamond rings.

The seashell shaped hat is a collaboration between Broadbeach's Amore Exquisite Jewellery and Queensland's own milliner Tracy MacKinnon of Hats by Tracy Mac.

Ms MacKinnon said it took her more than five hours to hand sew all the pearls and diamonds on the hat. She sat in Amore for the entire time, hand-crafting the piece in just one sitting.

She said she was inspired by the Coast.

"I came up with the idea of the shell shape because of the ocean and thought it would be a great way to show the hat."

Ms Busteed said the creation was quite heavy.

"It feels like it's worth one million dollars," she said.

From Single Source to Global Free Market:

The Transformation of the Cultured Pearl Industry

The cultured pearl industry has experienced a dramatic transformation during the past 15 years, from a single commodity dominated by one country to a multi-colored array of goods and an ever-expanding group of producers (figure 1).

The Fall 2007 issue of Gems & Gemology (pp. 200-226) offered an in-depth look at these changes and how they have transformed pearls into a must-have fashion item.