Few gems are more exotic than black Tahitian pearls, and two men are responsible for introducing them to the world: Salvador Assael, a New York pearl dealer of Assael International, Inc. (a.k.a. “The Pearl King”) and Jean-Claude Brouillet, a French hotelier-turned-pearl-farmer. It took a decade after the first French Polynesian harvest in 1965 for Assael—a renowned specialist in white South Sea pearls—to persuade jewelers to take a chance on black Tahitian pearls. He knew he had to prove the pearls were authentic—not dyed like many Japanese black pearls—in order to gain a following, so Assael had the Gemological Institute of America provide a certificate of color authenticity for each pearl. But since Brouillet’s annual harvests never exceeded 32,000 black pearls through 1984, Assael could only make them available to select jewelers such as Harry Winston, Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, and Tiffany’s. However, when Assael teamed up with Robert Wan (owner of the largest farm of Tahitian pearls in French Polynesia) Tahitian pearl harvests soared, and today they’re plentiful—and sought by jewelers around the world. There’s no doubt the unique black Tahitian pearl is a costly treasure. The Sheet chatted with Assael about the state of pearls and fine jewelry in general given the economic downturn of the past year and the terrorist attacks of September 11.
"No matter how bad things are, men like to spoil women and women like to be spoiled."
HS:
How has the market for rare gems like your black pearls changed since 9/11?
SA:
The world is changing and people are scared because of the volatile stock market. They want to spend less money—but people will always spend money. Since the time of the Egyptians, men have always lavished jewelry on women—for love, birthdays, anniversaries, whatever. There’ll always be a market for jewelry, because no matter how bad things are, men like to spoil women and women like to be spoiled. But since September 11, people haven’t spent the way they used to. They’ll buy the biggest house and spend money in the Hamptons, but they have a tendency to stop buying fine jewelry. However, we’re now designing exquisite jewelry combining black pearls with diamonds and precious and semiprecious stones. And the jewelry is selling well.
HS:
Do you sell your jewelry to retailers?
SA:
We sell jewelry only to retailers, and individual pearls to wholesalers. We keep the finest pearls for our jewelry. We design black pearl and diamond necklaces and earrings. A woman can go to a cocktail or dinner party in a very simple dress with a beautiful pair of earrings, and she looks elegant. Black pearls surrounded by diamonds make a woman’s face look luminous.
HS:
How do you reach the customer who’s cut back spending?
SA:
Amazingly, the pearl market is bigger than it’s ever been. Up to about 15 years ago, pearls were so expensive that only a few people could afford them. Today, pearl production is very large and the price of pearls has come down. I’m talking about South Sea pearls—not Japanese, freshwater, or Chinese pearls—but about black Tahitian pearls, white Australian pearls, or golden Indonesian pearls.
HS:
With so many kinds of pearls to choose from, can you explain the difference?
SA:
There are three kinds of pearls: Japanese Akoya ocean pearls, shapeless Chinese freshwater pearls found in lakes and ponds, and South Sea pearls—harvested in Tahiti, Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Golden pearls from the Philippines are gorgeous and very expensive, because they’re produced by small oysters.
"When I roll a lustrous spotless pearl
in my finger, I really get a thrill."
HS:
Were pearls always your passion?
SA:
Well, I was planning on being a history professor. But reading the Bible it fascinated me that so much was written about pearls. Solomon gave them to Sheba. Rulers from Cleopatra to Queen Elizabeth in the 16th century adored pearls.
The fact that they were scarce and very beautiful intrigued me. I’ve been in business 56 years and when I roll a lustrous spotless pearl in my finger, I really get a thrill. Don’t forget that a pearl is the only gem that comes from a living thing. Diamonds, rubies, and emeralds come from mines, but pearls come from an oysters.
HS:
So what’s the future of pearls?
SA:
Something has happened that’s made the world very uncertain. But all I can say is, no matter what happens, a man loves to give a beautiful piece of jewelry to a woman because it always makes a woman happy.
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