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Yes. They are Real Pearls, But… How to Dye a Freshwater Pearl in a Salt Water Mollusk:
Pearl Addict Part 4
Here's an alert! As Your Jewelry Guide I need to tell you:
There is a trend that is sweeping the internet social media of young women having parties where they buy Akoya oysters, vacuum packed, guaranteed to contain a real pearl.
People are paying an average of $20+ per oyster and are buying, in many instances, in $100 lots. Now, I haven’t heard anyone declaring that the pearl in that unfortunate oyster is an Akoya salt water pearl, but they do purport that the oyster is Akoya (and it looks like an Akoya oyster). I haven’t heard them say that the Akoya oyster they are getting is anything above average. That is; that an Akoya (being a salt water oyster) creates a pearl that is, in most circles, considered to be a cut above a freshwater pearl. They are making no claims in any direction that can be considered false – but they are surely misleading.
What saddens me, is that well-meaning, but uninformed people actual think they are finding their own pearl in an oyster – and, in many cases, using this experience to teach their kids. And, yes. They are finding “their own pearl” in “an oyster”, but it’s not exactly the experience they think they are getting.
It’s sort of like this: You decide to take your children for their first fishing experience – to a place called Acme Trout Stream. It advertises “Acme Trout Stream. Catch your own fish. Guaranteed! Pay here”. After you pay, you pick out
your fishing pole from several that are available, with lines already in the water. You reel the line in and, sure enough, you have “caught” your very own fish!
But, actually, you “caught” an unfortunate gold fish that was earlier placed on the hook before you arrived. That might be an interesting experience, but it’s misleading. That’s not the way you catch fish in this world. Whether you intend to or not, you may have taught the myth of instant gratification to your children.
I don’t know what fascinates me most about this new development; the ingenious repurposing and marketing of otherwise useless materials, or the sheer gall it takes to present something like this to the public, or the gullibility of much of the American public, which stems in large part from an almost total lack of knowledge of high-end goods and their value.
After conducting a little research on what is going on here, I must conclude:
The Merchandise:
I found several places on the internet where one can purchase a 6-7mm pearl in a vacuum-packed oyster for $110 in 50 piece lots. In many cases, you can even choose the color of pearl you want the oyster to contain. How about electric blue – or bright red.
Typical Screen Shot from Online Party
The Gimmick:
From what I have observed, I believe that persons buy quantities of these vacuum-packed oysters and are given instructions on how to sell on the internet, especially social media, to misled and uninformed individuals. They do this by either direct sales and shipping or by conducting “pearl parties” on live web via YouTube or other means where they open the oysters for those who have pre-purchased. The hostess announces a name and picks an oyster from a bowl of oysters. She opens the oyster and digs out the pearl, showing it to the audience in closeup, announcing the purchaser’s name.
The People:
Although it is not the point of this article to fault anyone for their lack of finesse or camera presence, from what I see at the pearl parties I watched, the presenters have had very little or no instruction on how to smoothly and professionally conduct their parties. This leads me to believe that these presenters are just everyday people trying to make a buck. I commend that. I understand.
Each party I have witnessed uses wheels and other gadgets that promise freebies and discounts to the party participants.
This is all in good fun, and I’m not adverse to parties, but as Your Jewelry Guide, it is my mission to keep my readers informed about the finer things of life – and the best values for their money.
If I weren’t such a pearl fanatic, this wouldn’t bother me so much. I feel this off-handed approach demeans the oyster and the pearl. I guess I’m saying; what bothers me most is that the participants actually think pearls come like this. That collecting, sorting, matching, drilling, stringing, hand-knotting, marketing and displaying a strand of freshwater pearls at the jewelry store is no big deal. After all, all you have to do is find an oyster and it has a beautiful pearl in it – easy as that.
The Results:
Someone has invented a “pretty toy” that can be sold to “grown” women, relieving them of even more of their money. And this “pretty shiny toy” has become a “must have” in certain circles. What disturbs me is that “grown”, young mothers are grabbing these baubles, sometimes at $100 a pop, many times to have something valuable for their daughters. And they have no idea what they have bought! They have no idea that, for the same money, they could be buying a nice strand of freshwater pearls to give to their daughter at graduation or on their wedding day.
At the rate of $20 per dead oyster with unmatched, undrilled pearl, the number of pearls it would take to make a necklace costs in excess of $1,000 -- for the pearls alone, not to mention the cost of drilling, stringing, knotting, and adding the clasp. A modest strand of 7mm freshwater pearls in natural color can be purchased at the right places for a fraction of that – sometimes 1/5 of that price.
The Evidence:
The Oyster:
From what I can see, the oysters are genuine Akoya oysters, Pinctada fucata. There are literally millions of these salt water oysters handled yearly in Japan and China. Die-off happens often. Pearl oysters can be compromised by pollution, weather and sea conditions. I’m sure there are plenty of sick and dying oysters that can be repurposed for other markets.
The Pearls:
As most of my readers know, pearls come in many shades and hues. However, there is “no such thing” as an electric blue or shocking pink pearl – unless it has been dyed.
The Akoya oysters, in this case, can contain pearls of outlandish colors – black, gray, brown, bright pink, bright yellow, electric blue, red, orange – what I call “party pearls”. Party Pearls are the strands of “fun” freshwater pearls that have
been dyed and grouped to make interesting, bohemian-type “costume” jewelry. So, I guess it is appropriate that they are now being bought at parties. :)
I call them party pearls because they can be worn without worrying so much about contaminating them with the pollutants found at parties – cigarette smoke, spills, perspiration, handling – the sort of thing to which you would not subject your more valuable pearls.
The Value:
Of course, the pearls from these parties and purchases do have some value. They are real pearls. However, since they aren’t drilled, the only recourses presented to the buyer are to purchase one of the seller’s sterling trinket-holders to showcase their pearl, or keep the pearl in some other fashion (probably in a junk drawer in a year or two). What a shame!
This is a brilliant “extra” for the company. Most pearl sellers I have followed sell an assortment of little holders in sterling silver (usually at a discount, of course) generally for around $15 to $30, depending on the discount of the day. However, these holders sell for from $.73 to $.93 on the same internet that also sells the oyster for very often for under $1.
Points to Remember:
Freshwater pearls do not form in salt water mollusks (like the Akoya oyster). Garish, off-the-wall colors are not found in natural pearls in any part of the
world. (Before the pearl rush in the early 1800s, there were green, coral, copper, and many other colors of freshwater pearls, even in the rivers of North America – but – no more.)
A seller can not guarantee that an oyster contains a pearl of any kind unless he has tampered with it after it left the water. Oysters can reject the nucleus. A seller can’t guarantee a pearl is in an oyster that has not been opened.
Oysters can only create pearls of color consistent with the inside surface of its shell. Unless there is knowledge beforehand, a seller certainly cannot guarantee the color of the pearl contained in that oyster unless he has placed it there, fully formed. Many companies let the buyer pick out the color of the pearl that will be found in the oyster. (Figure that.)
Summing Up:
From evidence I see, I’m led to deduce that someone with a die-off from a pearl farm in China has come up with a brilliant idea to make a boat-load of money by selling uninformed young women a "bill of goods". In actuality, they get a pretty sickly Akoya oyster which has inserted into it a freshwater pearl (many times heavily dyed.)
Not only do the buyers "find" white, peach, and lavender pearls (all good freshwater colors -- but hardly all found in an Akoya oyster), but they also find black, gray, bright red, bright blue, shocking pink, neon yellow -- Oh, come on!!!
A short search on the web shows several suppliers where these goods are being bought – at many times less than $2 per oyster. They are described like this: "AAAAA grade vacuum packed 6-7mm round pearl oyster white pink purple dyed colours stockmussels 50pcs oysters+50pcs." [Quote directly from web description.]
Folks! You can't dye a pearl while it is in the oyster. You can't get fresh water pearls from a salt water oyster. You can't get bright red and blue pearls anywhere unless they are dyed. What a shame!!!! What a shame!!!!
A Scam?
Unfortunately, this is not actually a scam, as such. The buyer does get a pearl, and it is in an oyster. They don't advertise that it is freshwater, or salt water, or whatever. It's just a sad fact that the American public knows so little about high-end possessions, that they can be easily fooled by the likes of this.
The reality is; For the $100 persons are spending to dig around in the dead bodies of 4 or 5 little oysters to find some tiny trinkets, they can buy a decent starter strand of 7mm white freshwater pearls that can be cared for and passed down to their daughter.
That is the difference between a “lark” (an episode of instant gratification) and a small investment that will grow in value through the years.
A Word to jewelry professionals who are dealing with this situation.
Some jewelry professionals have related to me that they are reluctant to mention this problem to their customers or to comment when their customers tell them they have bought such pearls. They are afraid their customers won’t believe them on this matter, or will think the jeweler is upset because they bought somewhere else.
The following is some scattered advice I have given:
It's my opinion that if your "customer" doesn't believe you about something like this, they aren't truly a customer – that is, you have not established yourself as a knowledgeable “authority” about such things.
Using another person's expose' or a news article to beat them up will only weaken your own position. You must gain their trust by knowing what you are talking about and, then, talking on their level.
As a professional in high-end goods, you should be enthusiastic about the item, no matter what it's history. The public generally views jewelry professionals as snobs anyway. Prove them wrong. Show some interest!
These are pearls, you know. They do have value. Roll with it. Ask to see the pearls that your customer has purchased at a “party” or on the web. Explain what they are and gain their trust by pointing out the value. Look up the price of Chinese freshwater pearls in that size. (The GemWorld International
Gem Guide gives international wholesale price of 6-7mm "good" quality, $25 for white, $35+ for pastels.) Explain the difference between “enhanced” and natural colors.
Suggest building a wire wrap for their collection. Show them that their pearls are too valuable to put in the little hokey pendants that are being sold for them. Or suggest they let you place their collection of pearl trinkets on a charm bracelet. Show them how you can wire wrap [or whatever] each pearl and make a necklace for their collection; and when this hoopla dies down, then you can furnish the pearls to finish out their necklace -- and bracelet -- and earrings to match.
End note:
Below is text from the customer who sent me the Facebook post about this development. This is the way a genuine customer reacts and acts:
She wrote:
“I want to thank you for all that you have told Shelby and I about pearls. Shelby said it was very interesting to find out the things we didn’t know. We really enjoyed it. Tomorrow is the big wedding day.”
And later, after I explained the Akoya oyster “thing” to her, she wrote:
Congratulations on choosing investment over baubles. Good choice, girls!
“It is sad that people would do that and most people don’t know the difference. Thank you.”
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