The same thing, but different

Girls like pearls and Tucson sells plenty of them. The tricky part is giving pearl fans a reason to keep collecting. So purveyors scour the ends of the earth looking for new sources and varieties of these bi-valve beauties.

Jack Lynch, owner of Sea Hunt Pearls in San Francisco, treks the pearl quest. “I hand-picked through a large group of beautiful 15- to 18-mm bead-nucleated baroques that I found on my last trip. These had incredible lustre in colours I have never seen before.” But stocking these treasures in quantity isn’t easy. “The main issue affecting the markets is on the supply side, and this is in all areas of the pearl-producing world, especially with freshwater and Tahitian pearls.”

Exotic Japanese freshwater Kasumiga pearls have stirred worship-like devotion amongst fans, making pearl farmers scramble to develop something similar or even better. Sea Hunt’s bead-nucleated Chinese version of the striking freshwater pearl disappeared quickly at the top of the show. The most prominent distinguishing feature from their Japanese counterpart is their skin—the nacre appears noticeably textured with a metallic lustre. Pre-show buzz about the untreated ‘fireball’ pearls was also warranted. The deep-toned 15-mm orbs with green-gold overtones inspired delightful possibilities for one-off designers.

Who needs what where?

Nikki Makepeace, sales manager for Jade West, tells Jewellery Business, “The popularity of Canadian jade at the Tucson show was driven mainly by the demands of Asian clients, and primarily the Chinese, who want high-quality nephrite for jewellery purposes.” The soaring demand affects pricing and supply, she reports. “We have seen a ten-fold increase in the price of fine nephrite jade products over the past five years and demand remains extremely strong.” A decade back, Makepeace says it was nearly impossible to find Canadian jade jewellery for sale in China. “Now it’s found throughout major jewellery shopping areas of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.” She found that savvy Chinese tourists travelling to North America are anxious to buy Canadian jade at the source. Makepeace points out that “over half of our Tucson sales were to customers wanting to offer jade to Chinese clients.”

U.S.-based retailer Jewelry Television (JTV) sources unusual and underexploited gemstones at Tucson annually that fit into its business model as a reseller of exotics and hard-to-find stones. Jay Boyle has been scouting gems for JTV at the show for more than a decade. He observed that prices for more widely known stones like blue sapphire, tourmaline, and tanzanite have stayed strong in light of diminishing supply and rising demand from emerging regions.

So how’d it go?

With pricey goods vying for a place of pride amongst vendors, pairing a good story with a piece added the right amount of cachet. Castoro’s ‘Big Kiss’ ruby lips ring spoke to buyers in different ways depending on their age group. One customer saw it as homage to Dali, another reminisced over vintage Rolling Stones, while others just loved a big kiss.

A strong showing at GemFair bodes well for the selling season ahead. Confidence among retailers in their buying hopefully foretells brisk sales at the counter. With the Vegas shows upon us, all eyes will be on retailer traffic and the strength of Christmas orders.

Diana Jarrett is an award-winning trade journalist and graduate gemmologist (GG). A registered master valuer, Jarrett is a popular conference and trade show lecturer. She writes a syndicated column called “The Story Behind the Stone” for the Southern Jewelry News and Mid-American Jewelry News and is also a writer for magazines such as Life In Naples, New York Mineralogical Club Bulletin, and the gem trade blog, Color-n-Ice.