Tahitian Pearls - Best place to buy?

[sprinkles]

Hi All,

My Boss is leaving Wednesday for the TP wanted to know the best place to buy pearls. Anyone have any advice? What do you look for? What should you expect to pay? He's looking for a "nice" pendant with a diamond on top kinda thing. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

Tammy

[Aussie Gal]

If he goes to Raratonga that is probably the best place to buy as the NZ dollars is so low. There are two good shops in Raratonga, Moana Gems and Bergmans. They are both reputable.

He needs to look at lustre, whether the pearls have any marks on them and also the size. It is very hard to tell someone who hasn't seen them before.

Perhaps you could print this off for him to take.

[url="http://www.thetahititraveler.com/pearl/definitions.asp"]http://www.thetahititraveler.com/pearl/definitions.asp[/url]

I hope this helps.

Jennie

The next cruise is always the best!

3RD OCTOBER, 2004 PRINSENDAM
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=228b22&cdt=2004;10;3;17;0;00&timezone=GMT+0200[/img]

[SFGiantsgal]

We just got back for the March 18 sailing. We went last year and didn't buy pearls, but did do some homework on them. When we went back this year we had fully intended to buy in Rarotonga...but we found a great deal on some of the most beautiful pearls in Papeete! There is a shop called The Pearl Market a block off the Marche. We actually got to chose the pearls and the settings. I was able to get the necklace of my dreams and earrings at a great price. We were amazed. But, being the creatures that we are we had to look around once we got to Rarotonga. The prices were surprisingly high there - we had thought they would be lower due to the $ exchange. Best advise - shop around...know what you're looking for. Good luck to your boss.
HMS

Sun Princess Panama Canal [img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=8b0000&cdt=2005;4;18;21;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
Sun Princess 1983 Caribbean
Island Princess 1984 Mexico
Pacific Princess 1985 Mexico
Azure Seas 1986, 1989 Mexico
Fairsky 1986 Caribbean
Sky Princess 1987 Caribbean
Tropicale 1987 Mexico
Song of America 1987 Caribb.
Southward 1988 Mexico
Song of America 1988 Caribb.
Crystal Harmony 1990 Panama
Galaxy 1999 - Alaska
Galaxy 2000 - Caribbean
Mercury 2001 - Caribbean
Norwegian Sky 2001 Hawaii
Millennium 2002 Caribbean
Norwegian Sun 2002 Caribbean
Tahitian Princess 2/22/03
Tahitian Princess 3/18/04

[Hairbender]

Hey Tammy:

To bad your boss is not sending you and Paul on his mission for pearls..Phil and I will be heading out on the 27th, and will definetly be looking to purhase some pearls on one of the islands...

Have you done your cruise this year yet? Look for my thread on the roll call..We still are on a ghost ship, however, we have been chatting away with a group that is going the week we come back. Tell Paul I said hi. Jackie

94 Carnival Ectasay
96 RCL Legends
98 Dawn Princes
01 Crown Princess
02 RCL Grandure
03 Clebrity Summit
04 Tahitian Princess

[O2BatC]

I was there last July and found a beautiful pearl pendant with four small diamonds set in a gold bar at the top of the pendant. My description doesn't do it justice. The shop was Patrick Guitard in Vaima center in Papeete. This was our last stop and I had looked at pearls on each island. They were very helpful with the return of the VAT tax, even provided me with an addressed and stamped envelope to mail at the airport after customs did their thing. I really don't think there are any real 'deals' to be had, tho. My motto is if I like and can afford it, I get it! I got another necklace with not so perfect pearls on a silver chain on Raiatea and only paid $100 for it and have worn it just as much as the nice gold one! Loved the cruise and the TP. It's a beautiful ship and a nice size too.
Janis

MATSONIA - 1965 Hawaii crossing
MARDI GRAS - 1978 Caribbean
CARNIVALE - 1980 Caribbean
TROPICALE - 1985 Mexico
JUBILEE - 1986 Caribbean
REGENCY (?) - 1990 St. Lawrence River
CROWN ODYSSEY - 1991 Baltic Sea
REGENCY (?) - 1994 - Alaska
INSPIRATION - 1998 Caribbean
CELEBRATION - 1999 Caribbean
MERCURY - 2000 Alaska Repo
GALAXY - 2001 Trans Atlantic
VISION OF THE SEAS - 2001 Hawaii
ZENITH - 2002 So America
TAHITIAN PRINCESS -2003 Tahiti
SUMMIT - 2004 Alaska Repo

[sprinkles]

Hi All,

Thanks all for the info, I passed it along to him yesterday.

Hi Jackie, I am still incredibly jealous that you are getting on the TP before I am, LOL. Somehow it just keeps slipping away from me. I think I'm going to work on Paul for next year. But right now, all I can think about is Europe. We sail one month from today, we don't leave until May 3rd (ughhh time is just not passing fast enough)! You guys have a GREAT time!!!! I know how much you two sunbabies are going to enjoy that gorgeous water. Say Hi to Phil for us two.

Tammy

[Hairbender]

Hi Tammy:

Answered you on the roll call thread, but thought I would see if you posted back on this one.. Phil and I also want to do Europe, who knows, maybe next year. Of course we can't wait for Tahiti...We will let you know how it was.. Look for my reviews when I come back.. Hi to Paul.. Jackie

94 Carnival Ectasay
96 RCL Legends
98 Dawn Princes
01 Crown Princess
02 RCL Grandure
03 Clebrity Summit
04 Tahitian Princess

[wystiria]

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me what the aproximate price of a full strand of pearls would be....I know that the shape luster color and size would determin the final price but I am looking for a ball park....so I can either stick with or up my weekly contributions to my "pear fund"

Thanks!

OH and I should say that I will be on both the cook and Marquesa itenerary so will have more time to shop!

Wystiria~
Tahitian Princess 10/14/04-10/24/04 Back to Back!
Legend 1/03
Holiday 1/02
Destiny 1/01

[Aussie Gal]

Wystina,
A top quality string of pearls around 12cm-13cm will set you back anything from $10,000US onwards. They would be A grade but not the best. The better ones would cost around $20,000US.

You need to work out how many pearls you need for a necklace, an average pearl necklace of that size takes about 33-35 pearls. Next is how much you are happy to pay for each pearl. They range from around $12US to anything over $400US each.

We stayed at Le Meridien pre and post cruise and around the corner was a shopping centre. There was a pearl shop there and from them I learnt a terrific amount about pearls. They have all the pearls (every size, colour, shape etc) in trays. Each tray has a different price and you can see the difference between the cheap pearls and the better pearls.

We made up a strand of 13mm. pearls. We chose our own. We didn't mind about the cheaper pearls as I didn't care if my pearls had a few flaws on them, as it just proved they came from the oyster. I was able to get a magnificent strand of big pearls for around $1000US. Unless someone looks at them close up with a magnifying glass, no-one will know they are not top quality. They have a lovely lustre to them.

My husband did buy me a beautiful set of three different colour pearls which were top quality and that was made into a pendent - a bit like a traffic light!

Go enjoy, have fun looking at the pearls but don't rush into the first place. The ship has good pearls on board and they are competitive. I bought two sets of earrings from them and saw the same set at a shop on Moorea for double the price.

Jennie

The next cruise is always the best!

3RD OCTOBER, 2004 PRINSENDAM
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=228b22&cdt=2004;10;3;17;0;00&timezone=GMT+0200[/img]

[wystiria]

Thank you SO much Jennie!

Don't worry I am a veteran when it come to shopping for jewelry. I will probably go through a lot of shops and then since I am doing a B2B I will head back to the ones that are promising.

I probably will go with not top quality pearls for a strand so it sounds like I am interested in doing what you did. and then same as you find a nice pendant/earring bracelet etc. that are higher quality. Or who knows because I will probably be drawn to some design and all that will be out the window [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I just can't wait!

Wystiria~
Tahitian Princess 10/14/04-10/24/04 Back to Back!
Legend 1/03
Holiday 1/02
Destiny 1/01

[CaribbeanBlue]

I would have to recommend "Pearl Gems" They are located in Aruba and also in St Maartin. The owners were raised in Japan and their family has been in the Pearl business for over ten generations. The selection and variety that they carry is mind boggling.

CaribbeanBlue

[url]www.Carigem.org[/url]