Something Special: Vietnamese akoya pearls

Back in September I purchased a very special lot of loose, Vietnamese akoya pearls while at the Hong Kong show. They were large (for akoya), individual pearls with insane color and super-thick nacre. Since I wrote the blog post about these rare beauties we’ve had many inquiries for pendants, earrings and strands. We just didn't have enough to make them available on the website.

At the show in March, however, Jeremy and I were able to get all of the remaining strands from the same pearl farmer who owns and runs the pearl farm in Vietnam, so we finally have a small selection that will be made available on the site as the June Monthly Special this week (the email will go out tomorrow - June 3rd).

These pearls not only have natural, exquisite blue body color but also very thick nacre. The farmer told us these pearls were under water longer than the typical Akoyas. The farmer also experimented by storing theses strands in a safe for five years to test the longevity of the color. He found out that the color remained the same. He decided to release this batch in March – between us and our friends from another company, we purchased everything he had. He told us that it will be another two years before he would harvest the new batch of baroque Akoyas.

With the loose pearls I decided to make simple but elegant earrings and pendants that focused on showcasing the natural beauty of pearls. I chose few of John’s molds. For the light blue Akoyas with warm body color I paired it with yellow gold and chose white gold for the cooler tones. A single bezel set diamond is just enough to accentuate the baroque pearl. The triple diamond earrings has an elegant but quiet presence. There will only be a few pieces available, but each is very special and unique.

I hope you love these rare pearls as much as we do!

A few strands that will be available during this month's promotion