Day 4 and I spent the morning filling some holes in my stock of staple items(white FW & Akoya strands), but by the noon I was free to go back on the hunt for more unusual items.
I made one last lap around the perimeter of the pavilion and found the Japanese man who runs the Akoya farm in Vietnam whom I
purchased strands from in March. It turns out that Jeremy and Hisano of
Pearl Paradise had already been through and nabbed most of his strands, but there was still a couple of nice pieces left. While looking at his strands, his daughter brought out a bag of loose baroques she thought I might be interested in. While 99% of the pearls had nacre issues, I was able to make a half dozen pairs for cute little dangle earrings or pendants.
![loose baroque pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4356.jpg?v=1537347194)
![dark colored freshwater Akoya pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4357.jpg?v=1537347190)
![baroque Akoya pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4360.jpg?v=1537347190)
![strands of loose baroque Akoya pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4364.jpg?v=1537347190)
![light colored freshwater baroques](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4366.jpg?v=1537347190)
![dark colored freshwater baroques](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4368.jpg?v=1537347188)
![a bag of different colored Akoya pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4365.jpg?v=1537347188)
![different colored freshwater baroque pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4378.jpg?v=1537347188)
![dark colored baroque Akoya pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4385.jpg?v=1537347193)
![close up of a few of the baroque pearls with excellent qualities](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4370.jpg?v=1537347189)
![small pair of light blue Akoya pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4372.jpg?v=1537347486)
![a small bag of beautiful freshwater baroque pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4391.jpg?v=1537347482)
![freshwater baroque pearls with amazing luster](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4392.jpg?v=1537347483)
![group of dark baroque pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4397.jpg?v=1537347480)
In the past I've waited until the last day of the show to shop for Freshwater ripple pearls, well it seems with their rise in popularity I might have to revise my strategy. Of all the booths selling ripples at the show, I only found one selling top quality at reasonable prices, and not one booth had anything of quality in white pearls. I bought a nice selection of multi color strands, ranging from quite dark to light champagne in color.
![freshwater Ripple pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4402.jpg?v=1537347482)
![a strand of light colored ripple pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4404.jpg?v=1537347484)
![freshwater ripple pearls with light colors](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4405.jpg?v=1537347478)
![a single dark ripple pearl in the midst of lighter pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4408.jpg?v=1537347484)
![rows of freshwater ripple pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4414.jpg?v=1537347480)
![beautiful ripple pearls with electric lusters](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4421.jpg?v=1537347894)
![a combination of light and dark colored pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4428.jpg?v=1537347895)
![freshwater ripple pearls with a metallic sheen](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4430.jpg?v=1537347893)
![pearls with different ripple textures](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4454.jpg?v=1537347897)
![ripple pearls with different colored overtones](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4457.jpg?v=1537347895)
![a strand of dark colored ripple pearls](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4463.jpg?v=1537347892)
![golden ripple pearls on a strand](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4466.jpg?v=1537347892)
![colorful ripple pearl strands](//cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/4321/9517/files/IMG_4470.jpg?v=1537347892)
With the the ripples purchased and an early dinner planned, I decided to call it a show. Keep an eye out for my full recap to be posted here and on
Jewellery Net Asia's website next week. Thanks for following along and thanks for all the great comments and emails I've received, it's been a a lot fun!