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Australian South Sea Pearls, Far East Market, Far East Market Shop NBC, French Polynesia, Gems, Golden South Sea Pearls, Jewelmer, Jewelry, Kwan family, Kwan Family Pearls, Kwan Pearls, Kwancollections, kwancollections.com, Nick Kwan, Nickkwanpearls, Organic pearls, Palawan, Paspaley, Pearls, Philippines, Prestige Pearls Shop NBC, Robert Wan, Roz Kwan, Shop NBC, ShopNBC, South Sea Pearls, Travel, White South Sea Pearls
After reading through all of the guesses on our Facebook page, this contest was really really close! The combined weight was 15.98 grams with one 15mm Palawan golden South Sea, one 15mm Australian white South Sea, and one 14mm Robert Wan Tahitian. I must digress; there was a deeper meaning to this contest than just the giveaway. The point of this contest was to draw attention to the weight of the pearl and the variance that you will have not only due to the millimeter size differential you have within each category, but to also show how deceiving the weight can be not only from different pearl types, but more importantly, based off of farming practices and care for the mollusk and the natural environment which nourishes them.
While we often times discuss the time interval in- which a pearl is cultured in the water, many times this doesn’t give the most accurate picture of quality or nacre content (which translates to weight). I have said before, that in clean nutrient- rich waters, with well placed mollusks and dedicated farm hands working in collaboration, culturing can actually be done in shorter intervals while still maintaining thick coatings of pearl nacre! How else can you explain Robert Wan culturing for 2 years and harvesting the heaviest Tahitian pearls in the islands? The reality is, there is no magic number when it comes to time and culturing. There are many variables that must be accounted for, and the truth is, that all of these variables have a hand in a beautiful harvest!
I mentioned during our last shows and in several of my last blogs that while the odds are heavily stacked against the pearl farmer, great advantages can be gained from having clean waters and careful collaboration among all farm hands. However this all starts with having the proper mindset behind your pearl farm, which to my family and I lies in sustainability and responsibility when culturing pearls. Culturing pearls should never be about attaining vast quantities of pearls, but attaining strong quality and origin and species specific character in each of the gems. This is why I chose to showcase a pearl from 3 very distinct farms. Collectively, these which are separated by locale and pearl species, but are joined by a unique care for the waters and the art of sustainable and responsible pearling.
While we will sometimes bring you pearls from other farms outside of Palawan (Philippines), Brome (Australia), or Robert Wan’s lagoons in Mangareva or Marutea Sud, my family and I pride ourselves on our partnerships with farmers who share a connection with their gems and embrace the difficulties of pearl culturing with the vision of sustainable harvests translating to quality.
In the near future, look for the items you purchase from us to come with a new card to point out specifics about the area where your pearls come from and some insight on how we select them!
If you haven’t had a chance to read up on some of our philosophy on pearl selection and farming, check out these posts!
Kwan Collections 