Rikitea Pearls
Pearls of RikiteaRikitea Tahiti Pearl Necklaces
Before the March 2016 gemstone exhibition, a gatherer asked me to find a very particular string of peacock Tahitians. I didn't want to give up and approached a Rikitea boyfriend who is part of the group. This is a cooperative of 80 small bead farmers in the Gambier Islands who are joining forces to promote their extraordinary beads.
The majority of these companies manufacture only a small quantity of pearls per year, which are usually auctioned off at small lots like these. However, the pearls they make are known throughout Polynesia for their extraordinary colour and shine. Finding just one extraordinary string of peacock Tahitians (at a sensible price) shouldn't be so difficult.
To please me, he himself suggested assigning me a string of "loose*" pearls. There would be a collection of pearls cherries plucked from many ranches before they are used for the auctions. Loss-degrees refer to pearls that are considered by fabricators to be too high value for strings and sell as bulk batches to be used as necklaces, pierced pearls, or pendant.
It is the concept that the customer tolerates more defects in one string than a bead with a one. AAA Loose Grade Peacocks Tahitian 39 unbored. Every bead breathtaking, dropping in colour, with a pungent Akoya-like sheen. At the bottom a bead is drawn from the above string and taken under normal lighting.
It would be an unbelievable find to have a bead like this one......A full string of beads like this should be outrageous. An unbelievable forest-green beach and another breathtaking pea. Nature photographs of the verdant forest: Photographs of the 2. peacocks: I' ve just had luncheon with a big bead merchant here in NYC.
We have a rapport because I tell him that his rates are too high, he complains that I am selling for too low, and often a few too many Martini when we buy pearls in Asia. We' re laughing.... Not everyone gets pearls. However, those who truly know Tahiti pearls will realize how scarce and specific such beads are.
Don't neglect to write a note below and tell me what you think of these pearls.