Tahitian Black Pearls

I'm going to be in the market for a necklace made of Tahitian Black Pearls. I'd love to hear which island/shop(s) are the most reputable. I am more worried about getting the best quality and value for my money than paying the lowest price.

If price isn't a concern then go to Robert Wan. If you want to save money and don't want the biggest pearls in town there are several other options but from what your asking Robert Wan is your choice.

There have been recent postings on this subject.

Definitely agree with Tiki about Robert Wan but a name I don't hear a lot on here is Ron Hall in Moorea. I thought he had a very nice selection and fair prices with a soft sell approach.

"If you want to save money and don't want the biggest pearls in town there are several other options"

Robert Hall would fit into that area as wel las several others like Eva Pearls & Eimeo Jeweley, both on Moorea.

Definitely agree with Tiki about Robert Wan but a name I don't hear a lot on here is Ron Hall in Moorea. I thought he had a very nice selection and fair prices with a soft sell approach.

Hey, Tara & Jeff! Nice to see you back on the CC boards again. :)

ducklite - We bought a pair of pearl drop earrings at Robert Wan (http://www.robertwan.com/en), and were impressed by the quality of their jewelry. They have a small shop at the Tahiti InterContinental, and a larger store that's just a short walk from the Bora Bora port (Vaitape).

Tahia (http://www.tahiacollins.com/) also has nice jewelry and good quality pearls. They have boutiques on Bora Bora (walking distance from port), Moorea (get a free van ride from the port to the "town"), and walking distance from the PG dock in Papeete. They're also the brand featured in the shop aboard the PG.

I saw the black pearl pendant Tara & Jeff got at Ron Hall's on Moorea (we were on the same cruise), and it was gorgeous...I'm sorry we didn't make it there. Apparently they send their van to the port area and offer free roundtrip rides to the shop. (It's the opposite direction from the other shops in the "town", which is actually just a small collection of jewelry stores and a couple of restaurants.)

I'm sure others will chime in with their recommendations, but these are some of the better-known brands. If you're looking for a full strand, then I concur with Tiki - Robert Wan is probably the way to go.

We have pearls from all three- Ron Hall, Robert Wan and Tahia.

Ron Hall has a decent selection of unfinished pearls and is very nice. He came over with Marlon Brando and married a local. His son actual help survivor tv show out with some of the challenges. He does not heavily pressure you to purchase. He also used to be very popular with Tahitian princess passengers.

After the first few trips, no strand called except Tahia's on PG. A peacock necklace with beautiful luster but not perfectly round.

Robert Wan has beautiful pearls and unusual settings. Last time we picked up some cheap pearls on leather for casual use from the bora bora store and a set of unusual earnings. He often partners with luxury stores in Canada(use to sell in Holt Renfrew) and US.

We have dealt with Ron Hall and Tahia and been happy with both. Ron Hall was able to show me a whole bunch of unmounted pearls and I chose a special double pearl and a mounting. He had his technician mount it wile i waited.:)

Thanks for all the info.

I'm most likely going to be looking for a full 18" strand of round pearls with a lot of luster and no diamonds anywhere, including the clasp.

WOW! :eek:

OK, now on the serious side. Robert Wan would be my choice for a whole strand especially if the pearls are going to be larger than 9 mm as Robert seems to have the best selection of high quality larger pearls.

WOW! :eek:

 

OK, now on the serious side. Robert Wan would be my choice for a whole strand especially if the pearls are going to be larger than 9 mm as Robert seems to have the best selection of high quality larger pearls.

My husband told me years ago that he'd get me a strand of Mikimoto's for our 25th, but I would wear the black pearls a lot more (like almost daily!) so he's going to get them for me early--we celebrate our 20th next year.

I admired the pearls when we were there about 15 years ago, but ended up getting a large strand in the US some years later and they were very nice pearls and the price was much better.

Have purchased from Robert Wan many times over the years - always outstanding quality and fair prices. Tahia nice stuff but pricey. Going to check out Ron Hall next trip.

I would suggest you look at www.bluenile.com. Not to purchase the pearls but they have great info and education about color, shape, luster, etc. With that knowledge, plus there prices, you can be an informed consumer when you shop in Tahiti.

We bought a set similar to what you describe a few years ago at OPEC in Bora Bora. They had excellent service, negotiated good prices and had a certificate of authenticity with each pearl individually graded and x-rayed. My set was near flawless pearls and the prices were much more competitive than the designer shops.

Ron is very ill and in France with his shop closed for now.

When you are buying a strand and spending thousands you want to buy from someone who has the quality.

We have bought a number of pearls from Ron and Robert wan but bought the strand from Tahia.

Is Tahia Collins still the store represented on the ship?

Their pearls are gorgeous. I'm a single solitaire kind of buyer, and I spent the entire cruise in 2005 looking for that one perfect pearl, but saw full strands and multiple strands purchased as well. (My first pearls were unset ones that we bought in Manihi--they are stud earrings now.)

I think you should look wherever you can, and when you see the right strand, go for it!

I think one needs to determine what their goal is when buying pearls. Here are my picks:

Large perfect pearls (over 9 mm) - Robert Wan

Designer jewelery with pearls - either Eimeo jewelery or Eva Pearls, both on Moorea

If your going to just buy less expensive pearls for yourself or others there are several other places to do so. Many of the less expensive places/craft stands buy their pearls from a wholesaler on Tahiti

I too bought the 18" strand from Tahia without diamond clasp. Size was graduated with 9 smallest and 13 largest. The strand just called me and I havent seen anything I have loved as much. They are close to round but not perfectly round but have fabulous lustre.

I noticed that pearl prices are on the up in FP especially the higher quality and better stores. On the other hand the less than perfect ones are quite reasonable from the smaller stores. I found myself buying a pretty green colour earrings set in silver on the dock in Moorea for $65. Lovely lustre with just minor inclusions. Size would be under 9.

Tahia is no longer on the ship. She opted out as she didnt want to give the ship a cut of her sales. She has been replaced by Robert Wan for the high end pearls and Hinerava ( Richard Bailey's daughters company) for the slightly lower end pearls. I really loved some of Hinerava's designs where she has combined the pearls with semi precious stones but I promised my DH no pearls so didnt look twice at them. robert Wan strands with diamond clasps were going gor $22,000 on the ship. They had some unusual colours of beige and pistachio and were offered at 20% discount.

Ron is very ill and in France with his shop closed for now.

 

When you are buying a strand and spending thousands you want to buy from someone who has the quality.

 

We have bought a number of pearls from Ron and Robert wan but bought the strand from Tahia.

Emdee,

So sorry to hear that Ron Hall is ill. We have been to his shop many times and have purchased a single black pearl ring, 2 sets of ear rings and a pendant. Ron was our first introduction to black pearls in Tahiti. The last couple of times we visited the shop we dealt with his lovely daughter Vi. Thanks for letting us know. We wish him well.

So many choices but the store has to have what you are looking for.

We bought many years ago and then recently at OPEC when Coldweather girl was there also and she is right. The quality is there and price was right. My husband and I bought a bracelet for each of us and I love it. For necklaces they did not have what would work for me. When at the Intercontinental in Tahiti the Ron Hall store was very well priced and had a strand but not the colour to match the bracelet. Oh well will have return again.

Trend the IC has Robert Wan and not Ron Hall. Ron Hall's store is on Moorea and its called Island Fashion.

When my wife is on the hunt she goes to places that have more than 50,000 pearls at any given time. She will dump 500 pearls on the lighted table where she can start matching up size and color. Once she has a bunch she will then go through each one and look for the best quality. Might take you a half day but you can get a nice strand for less than you may think. This was taken last December when she came home with another bag of marbles. :D

Thanks for the photo and info, Tiki. I was thinking that I didn't really want high-in Tahitian pearls. Where can I find 50,000 pearls to sort through?

I've deleted my contact email

I'd love to have some of those marbles! Any clue where to find them? Beautiful.............