Shopping for Pearls in Tahiti

Hi,

We will be in Tahiti (Rangiroa, Bora Bora, Moorea, Papeete, etc) May 16-26. Where is the most reasonable place to purchase pearls? We are interested in medium to higher quality (not poor or exceptional). Which island is best and where. We have heard that the Pearl Farms and other touristy areas are overrated. Also, we heard that the sellers near the docks are ripoffs. So, where can we go to get dangle earrings, or a small necklace or pendant? Any information is helpful.

We were in Bora Bora,Papeete.and also Moorea.I did buy a few loose pearls,but honestly you can get a much better deal in the U.S.The reason for this is because they buy in such bulk.There are some beauties over there.I still dream about one necklace I saw.Got to try it on but at 11.000 no thank you.

Kimberley

Lucky You! That's a fabulous itinerary. We did it in November 2008 on the Tahitian Princess, and I'd love to do it again. Best cruise I have been on!!!

Can't help with the pearl question, as I was not looking to buy any. I did look at them at 2 pearl farms, the prices were quite high, at least for the ones i admired.

You might get better info if you were to post the question on the "Pacific Islands" board.

I'm sorry I can't say precisely where. Rather than looking for the name of a place/store, my take on the situation is to know exactly what you want and how much you'll pay for it, so you can jump all over it when you see it. Before shopping in Tahiti, you should decide exactly what you're looking for. Do you want cultured pearls, or true South Sea natural pearls? What color do you think you want? Look and price locally, at home, to get an idea. Talk to a local jeweller who does custom work, to get an idea of how much a setting will cost if you bring home loose pearl(s).

Read as much as you can about pearls. Here's a Wiki entry on pearls:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl

And here's the part you should know about Tahiti pearls:

"Since the development of pearl culture technology, the black pearl oyster found in Tahiti and many other Pacific Island areas has been extensively used for producing cultured pearls. The rarity of the black cultured pearl is now a "comparative" issue. The black cultured pearl is rare when compared to Chinese freshwater cultured pearls, and Japanese and Chinese akoya cultured pearls, and is more valuable than these pearls. However, it is more abundant than the South Sea pearl, which is more valuable than the black cultured pearl. This is simply because the black pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera is far more abundant than the elusive, rare, and larger south sea pearl oyster - Pinctada maxima, which cannot be found in lagoons, but which must be dived for in a rare number of deep ocean habitats or grown in hatcheries.

Black cultured pearls from the black pearl oyster — Pinctada margaritifera — are not South Sea pearls, although they are often mistakenly described as black South Sea pearls. In the absence of an official definition for the pearl from the black oyster, these pearls are usually referred to as "black Tahitian pearls".

The correct definition of a South Sea pearl — as described by CIBJO and GIA — is a pearl produced by the Pinctada maxima pearl oyster. South Sea pearls are the color of their host Pinctada maxima oyster — and can be white, silver, pink, gold, cream, and any combination of these basic colors, including overtones of the various colors of the rainbow displayed in the pearl nacre of the oyster shell itself."

I'm a June baby. Pearls are my birthstone, and I have a special affinity for them. Peacock pearls (variety of black, with turquoise/purple overtones) make my pulse race.

I'm not going to say "buy your pearls at home", because I understand the desire for a very special souvenir. Just make sure you know enough to shop intelligently, with a realistic price ceiling. :)

Hi,

 

We will be in Tahiti (Rangiroa, Bora Bora, Moorea, Papeete, etc) May 16-26. Where is the most reasonable place to purchase pearls? We are interested in medium to higher quality (not poor or exceptional). Which island is best and where. We have heard that the Pearl Farms and other touristy areas are overrated. Also, we heard that the sellers near the docks are ripoffs. So, where can we go to get dangle earrings, or a small necklace or pendant? Any information is helpful.

Be very careful when buying Pearls. Pearls are generally NOT round, they are funny looking and almost never the full color range. they are usually like a off white in color. if you find some that are teal or pinkish then they are either dyed or attached to coral and take the color effect of it.

Pearls are known in the states as Pearls for Tears, why I have no clue.

When a girl gets some she has either bad luck with them, my sister had alot of bad luck with pearls as a teenager growing up, but as an adult her husband bought her a pair for her 60th birthday last year.

Personally you want the truth. I give it to you here, most people do not like that I post the TRUTH on here, I would not purchase any Pearls from any country other than the USA. you get what you pay for. i am a jewelry designer I know my Diamonds, Colored Stones,Gold. Pearls and Silver. If you want wishy washy that is what you will get, but then again, they are NEVER going to see you and tell you that these are the best ones for you.

UNLESS you know your product do not buy Pearls, TO safeguard your knowledge do not buy outside the area. Tahiti knows of the rates of good to bad. I wish the cruise ships would give you a seminiar on how to choose and pick the right gems for you, how to pick and find the right deals they do not cause they all get a kick back from the ships to bring passengers there.

Do not be like the guy with the 2000.00 pair of rounded stone earrings when he got home found out that they may have looked good the price he overpaid and to find out that they were brilliant overpriced new Fakes, of Zirconia post earrings and who is he going to yell at. Diamonds International told him nothing there is NO guarantee of what you buy outside the states. Everyone is your best friend when you lay out the bucks on your CC. If it makes you feel good then buy them, but please do not come back to the states and say I was had. No one broke your arm to buy it. I say if its pretty good for them, it may be good for you. but most people complain that their gems or pearls are not real or they do not like them.

If it feels good and your are totally in love with it then buy them. jewelry and diamonds are only in the eyes of the beholder no ones elses.

Good Luck! Red:rolleyes:

One more thing I just forgot to tell you that Conch Pearls the kind that a celebrity bought his wife Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt that he paid 25,000.00 for one pearl it was the Pink Conch Pearl.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt you ought to see the pearl necklace he got for her its to die for but I rather have the less expensive kind its cheaper and no one would know the difference.

which ship are you going on? we were on the tahatian princess btb both itineraries in feb 07 and princess ususally does some informative short lectures on gems/pearls. they did one on the tahitian pearls and when we went to a couple of pearl farms i knew what to look for and was even able to tell the size and quality which surprised the sales lady. from our experience we found the best price on princess in their boutique. they had a unique necklace setting for 1/2 price and i also purchased a set of earrings. when at the pearl farm i found the prices OK. i hadnt planned to buy anything else but saw a lovely ring:D and DH encouraged me to buy it:o maybe get educated before you go.

Look at the piece of Black Tahitian pearls in several good stores in the USA before you go. My wife bought both a single large pearl pendent set in gold and ear rings on Moorea when we vacation there. We have never found the quality in the USA for the price we paid in Tahiti. They are not cheap. There are cheap ones that are not excellent quality. Perfectly round are not cheap, and there are perfectly round pearls.

Look at a lot of Tahitian pearls before you go……………

Hi,

 

We will be in Tahiti (Rangiroa, Bora Bora, Moorea, Papeete, etc) May 16-26. Where is the most reasonable place to purchase pearls? We are interested in medium to higher quality (not poor or exceptional). Which island is best and where. We have heard that the Pearl Farms and other touristy areas are overrated. Also, we heard that the sellers near the docks are ripoffs. So, where can we go to get dangle earrings, or a small necklace or pendant? Any information is helpful.

For really inexpensive pearls, try to dock at Moorea. There were dozen of vendors selling extremely inexpensive pearls. no they aren't top quality, but if you want something to just wear without worrying, that's the place to buy them.

Do your research beforehand and then browse before you buy. Any reputable dealer will be more than happy to answer questions, but you have to know what to ask and sort of what you're looking for. They do have lecutres on board the ship, but those can be stacked in favor of one or the other many pearl dealers in the islands. Research, know how much you are willing to pay before going into the shops (some will negotiate with you a little) and have a great time in the islands.

Try the marche in Papeete. Bring one of those magnifying eye glasses and find one you love (or dozens - like I did). I've been to Tahiti 3 times. The first time, I purchased some flawed, somewhat dull pearls for next to nothing. When I brought them back, the jeweler appraised just one of them for over $300. Since then, I've learned a bit more about quality, and the last ones I brought home were stunning. Finding nice pearls for a bargain can be done, but you really can't tell how thick that coating is. The best quality ones I purchased in Rarotanga (right on the dock next to the ship), but it's loads of fun searching for pearls in the marche. I'd love to go back and find some more. Bring them back loose and have them mounted in the states. Oh, you can also have them drilled upstairs in the marche for little $. They know what they're doing (probably more than the jewelers here). So have an idea of what you want to do with it (how it's to be mounted) when you're there.

Gaugin Pearls, who have a free shuttle from the pier in Rangi. It is an active farm, huge selection indlucing plenty of the unusual shapes so you can build up an entire piece using nearly matching unusual shapes, customization on site, prices are about the best since everything there is high quality. They say they ship their best pearls all around the world, while their marginal ones stay in Tahiti for the tourist shop pearl stringers.

My wife's entire family uses a custom jeweler in St Thomas (Imperial Jewelers, we don't so much, but can you say $65,000 tennis bracelet on my sister-in-law?) and they say Gaugin is very high pearl quality and their shop is consistently about the best black pearl value in the world.

Imperial appraised my wife's $1,100 string of 10 - 14 mm A/B banded black pearls at $7,800, and x-rayed them saying the nacre is quite thick and we will have no wearing problems in the future.

For really inexpensive pearls, try to dock at Moorea. There were dozen of vendors selling extremely inexpensive pearls. no they aren't top quality, but if you want something to just wear without worrying, that's the place to buy them.

 

Do your research beforehand and then browse before you buy. Any reputable dealer will be more than happy to answer questions, but you have to know what to ask and sort of what you're looking for. They do have lecutres on board the ship, but those can be stacked in favor of one or the other many pearl dealers in the islands. Research, know how much you are willing to pay before going into the shops (some will negotiate with you a little) and have a great time in the islands.

Spikesgirl,

What is the price range of the extremely inexpensive pearls? Do they sell them already strung or only loose?

Thanks, Wendy

Having been to the islands 3 times and soon going for the fourth - I have been to many stores and farms. I have found the most consistent quality and reasonable prices are - SURPRISE - at Robert Wan. They have excellent designs and are very nice people no matter which store you go into. You DO get what you pay for. I have also found some crazy deals at the Marche in Papeete. People are always talking about looking for the cheapest pearls.

Sometimes this is not the best way to shop. My wife is very much into jewelry (another red hot Italian traveler) and has become very knowledgeable and she will be at Robert Wan again next time.

We were on the Tahitian Princess a couple years ago and ... believe it or not, got an excellent price on a diamond & pearl necklace & with matching ear rings on board ship!! We looked at a lot of them in many ports, but they had the winner for us. So don't forget the ship too.

Also, I found a good price for carved black pearls, upstairs at the Marche in Papeete, back up at the front of the building in the front corner. Really excellent workmanship.

Hope this helps.

Yes - I also agree with the previous post - TP had some good stuff for a good price also.

We were on the Tahitian Princess a couple years ago and ... believe it or not, got an excellent price on a diamond & pearl necklace & with matching ear rings on board ship!! We looked at a lot of them in many ports, but they had the winner for us. So don't forget the ship too.

 

Also, I found a good price for carved black pearls, upstairs at the Marche in Papeete, back up at the front of the building in the front corner. Really excellent workmanship.

 

Hope this helps.

I do not recall seeing the carved pearls on the second floor front. Is that on the corner over the flower arrangements and produce or the other side over the guy opening fresh coconuts and the rows of hats and misc souveniers? When we are there on Dec 18th I'll be getting flowers for our cabin on the Pacific, but might be short on time since I'll also be getting wine from the shop by the church and other stuff for the cabin.

Also, we were on the Tahitian Princess on her final FP visit and got some great prices on pearl and pearl/diamond combintions from the shop. The Dec 8th trip for the Pacific will be her final FP trip for the year, as we are sailing from Papeete to Ft. Lauderdale on Dec 18. So I expect similar deals on pearls in their botique.

Bassethound - As I recall, I went up the stairs and turned Right & then right again and walked back up towards the front of the Marche. (Yes, towords the flowers etc.) Over in the Left corner was a medium sized shop where the artist was located, displayes his work and carves on a stool in the corner.

He purchases flawed pearls right from the producers 'in bulk', I saw bags & bags of them. The flaws make them almost worthless so he can purchase them fairly reasonably. When he carves, he cuts out the flaws that makes these pearls a low grade. Once carved they look great. So you get a large black pearl with polynesian carvings all over it at a reasonable price.

We were on the Tahitian Princess in April 2008. My husband bought me a beautiful necklace, after we looked at many pearls from Ann Simon on Moorea. Have never seen any pearls as beautiful as hers since. I didn't buy the chain there. Her advice was to buy the gold chain when I returned to Canada because that I could get cheaper at home. I have had many compliments on them and I have never seen a duplicate setting anywhere. I would recommend you look at her shop while you're in Moorea.

I was on the Tahitian Princess for my honeymoon. I can say that a majority of the "deals" at the ports were not deals at all. My wife and I went to a couple of pearl farms. Fun as a tour buit no real bargains. Being my honeymoon, I had to at least get my wife a memorable gift for the occassion. Best deal was the last port, Moorea, which we found a necklace she adored. I bought her a ring to match on the ship which was a much higher quality pearl at a "fair price." However, after returning to the states and looking around jewelry shops here in New York, we found that the prices were comparable but the selection was far fewer. Ultimately, she got her memorable piece which is makes it priceless.

Bassethound, did you find the carved pearls?

I hope so, as I think that they were a fairly good deal. Not cheap mind you, but worth the cost.