The value of a high quality pearl depends on a number of natural physical characteristics, so before buying pearls it makes good sense to know if you are getting good value for your money. To the inexpert eye pearls may all look the same but on looking closely it is amazing to see how each pearl can be different from the other. This is hardly surprising given that each individual pearl is formed by a completely natural process inside a living oyster which can take months and even years to complete. The beauty and natural perfection of a high quality pearl is a really a wonder of nature!
The prices fetched for high quality pearls at local pearl markets can very tremendously. As with any other small scale operation the cash flow needs of the vendor and the available supply of pearls at the time will often determine how far negotiation can bring the price down. If pearl supplies are scarce, such as after a very bad storm, market prices will often go up. Pearl markets that are popular among tourists would definitely ask for higher prices, and if someone you trust can take you around you are more likely to get a better deal. In certain places sellers may even believe that the first customer of the day brings good luck which can also affect the price! As yet there is really no internationally agreed standard attaching value to all the different types of pearls and although technically it is possible to know the weight of a pearl necklace (in Mommes), this is not commonly done and is not crucially important unless you are really going professional.
So before getting completely and utterly lost with the wide variety of colours, shapes and sizes that would be on offer in a pearl stall market there are some basic common sense steps to take to avoid being disappointed. So whether you are a crazy pearl aficionado or simply a bargain hunter here are five basic steps which can come in handy:
SET YOUR PRICE CEILING
It is always worth having an idea of the prices from a good local pearl jeweller store before venturing into the wilderness of a pearl market, just to make sure that you do not get carried away and go overboard. It is most likely that the price you are asked by a stall vendor has been inflated several times just for your benefit! So do what the locals do and enjoy bargaining to get a better deal. In most of Asia and the Pacific this quite normal and not considered to be rude at all. If you think you are not too sure of your negotiating skills take some time to discreetly observe how someone else is doing it. If you are not comfortable doing this just stay within your comfort zone but do not get frustrated if your friends get a better deal!
REAL PEARL OR SYNTHETIC PEARL
The first basic test is to distinguish a synthetic or imitation pearl from a cultured or real pearl. Even without the benefit of X ray vision it should not be difficult to distinguish one from the other! A real pearl feels rough and gritty when rubbed along a front tooth while a synthetic pearl will feel smooth and featureless. If you have at least one string of real pearls you can easily check this out for yourself and feel the difference. If you think that a seller is trying to deceive you, keep your cool and respectfully walk away to the next one. A stall with lots of customers and a good variety of pearls is more likely to be trustworthy than a lone individual flagging a few pearl strings in a corner.
NATURAL OR CULTURED PEARL
Natural pearls are very rare and very, very precious. The chances of finding a natural pearl in a wild oyster are really minute, probably less than one in 20,000 wild oysters fished out of the water. Some market sellers may mistakenly describe their stock of pearls as “natural”. This is not necessarily an attempt to deceive and could be the result of a language barrier, implying that the pearl has been “naturally” cultivated in a living oyster. More direct questioning should quickly sort this out. So unless you have really had the most amazing good fortune to come across a rare find, it is safe to assume that all the pearls on show have been cultured in pearl farms and not caught in the wild.
FRESH WATER OR SALT WATER PEARL
Very often the location of the pearl market will determine if the pearls that are on offer have been cultured in fresh water lakes or in the ocean. Thus a pearl market in the Philippines or Indonesia is more likely to have locally cultured South Sea Pearls for sale than a Japanese Mikimoto high quality pearl. Do not be surprised if both fresh and salt water types are on offer and it is useful to make the distinction between one and the other. Fresh water pearls, which are also described as “rice pearls”, generally lack lustre and their shape is less spherical when compared to salt water pearls. They are considered to be of an inferior quality and so should generally cheaper. Fresh water pearls are nowadays produced in increasingly larger quantities and varieties in China and are also widely exported. Salt water pearls on the other hand are of a higher quality and will be more expensive. The three most common groups of salt water pearls are the South Sea Pearls, Japanese Mikimoto or Akoya pearls and Tahitian Black Pearls. Some producers in the Middle East are also trying to make a comeback.
THE FIVE S ROUTINE
If you have reached this stage then you may have already seen some pearls that have caught your eye so now is the time to really asses the quality of what has taken your fancy. Remember that close inspection in natural daylight is much better than staying under fluorescent neon light, and do not hesitate to ask the vendor for a pair of callipers to measure the size of the pearls you are interested in. Experienced professional traders and jewellers rely on a set of commonly agreed and subjective surface features to grade each single pearl, commonly known as the 5 S’s -Size, Shape, Shade, Surface and Shine. Not really rocket science at all, and thanks to the 5 S routine you can quickly assess if you are seeing average quality or really high quality pearls. Consider Size, Shape and Shade first because those are features that are also influenced by your individual preference but keep in mind that a larger pearl which is perfectly round is of a higher quality than a smaller or irregularly shaped one. Some unsymmetrical shaped pearls, such as baroque pearls, can be made into really amazingly beautiful jeweller so keep an open mind of the price is right! Surface and Shine are really the two features that should not be compromised if you really want to buy high quality pearls to last you a life time, and you can read more about these features in my next article.
