Black, white and golden among the most common colours of pearls. Apart from Edison pearl developed in 2010, there is another pearl species that uniquely displays a rich range of colours. Justin Hunter, founder of J Hunter Pearls unfolds the story of the vibrant coloured Fijian pearls.
Established in 1999, J Hunter Pearls is one of a handful of pearl producers located in the South Pacific near Fiji with a maximum annual production of between 25,000 to 50,000 pieces. Due to its rarity, the general public is largely unaware of Fijian pearls. Coming in bright shades of champagne, gold, copper, pistachio, cranberry, burgundy and the rarest of all, chocolate, they are available from 9-18mm, with an average size of 10.5-11mm.
Focusing mainly on the European market, all of their pearls exported are distributed through the Deutsch company Gellner and sold in stores in Switzerland, Bavaria and Austria. J Hunter Pearls also manufactures their own branded Fijian pearl jewellery with a more casual collection featuring natural materials such as sun-dried leaves, organic leather and cord and a more refined collection using 14- and 18-karat gold, diamonds and semi-precious gemstones retailed at around US$1,000-8,000.
Regarding Asia, Hunter described it as a “difficult” market because it is “very traditional” in the sense that the majority of the demand is for black and white pearls. “We really want to connect our customers with where our pearls are from and the story of Fijian pearls,” he explained. Although he feels that this storytelling element the pearl is not important for Asian customers, he thinks it will change in the future.
Like all pearlers, J Hunter Pearls is subjected to the challenges posed by the climate. Since 2010 they have suffered several setbacks due to cyclones and a toxic algal bloom with a major impact on production. In particular, the Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston in February 2016 had made it impossible for them to reach their export target for the year.
Regarding the development of the pearl market, he emphasised the rarity of Fijian pearls and said: “Pearl is a luxury product. There are the commodity producers and there will be the niche producers”. Provenance is increasingly critical in the industry so there should be more focus on the pearl producing countries. Only sustainable pearling practices properly responding to climate change are the next logical steps for the industry, he said. (Photo courtesy: J Hunter Pearls)
← Back