Pearl shopping

Surprisingly, when a visitor asked me for good places to eat, buy and see here in our beloved country I had to think about it. You'd expect me to blurt out right away being the local here and be able to give them great tips but then my arsenal was mostly composed of mundane city stuff. I had to contemplate what's a "definitely Pinoy" experience that sets us apart from other countries. Also, I had to consider the fact that they only have time to go around after office at 5pm for 4 days. So, when asked what is "fun" in Manila, I had to double check what his definition of fun was. For me it depends on what kind of fun you are looking for. We couldn't guide them through the city though during their short stay so they ended up just going around the (EDSA) Shangri-la Mall and Megamall shopping for dried mangoes which were just walking distances from where we are at during the first three days. 

On their last night though, we finally got the chance to take them to Greenhills. I just remembered that a lot of folks especially from the US tend to buy local crafts and jewelries when they find themselves in Metro Manila. So we decided to take them there. They find these things as really cheap here in comparison to their home country. Fortunately, my other colleagues already knew of a store where our other counterparts have bought their souvenirs and they knew how to check. This was a relief since I don't know anything about pearls. I've been buying from time to time from vendors in the local beaches or markets at really cheap prices ($1 for a pair of earrings). All those time, I just assumed they were real pearls although I didn't know what real meant. After last night though, here's what I learned:

1. The more rounded (and whiter) they are, the more expensive they get. (Higher quality)

2. Deep sea pearls are expensive (they showed us a strand which went for about PHP60,000 or $1,500. They were a little big for my taste though but when you placed it side by side with the other pearls they do stand out. From afar, they were almost the same.

3. Freshwater pearls (some cultivated) have varying qualities as well.

4. If you lit a pearl, it shouldn't burn or change color. I'm not convinced on this one though because they only use a lighter and just a few seconds (not even 5). There's not even enough time for the heat transfer! High grade/denser plastics can probably withstand the same (or other reinforced material)

5. Here's a little interesting one: If you try to rub two pearls together, you should see scratches and bits of powder scraping off (pearl powder/essence?). But just rub the pearl even with your finger and the scratch should be 'wiped off'. I guess at some point if you keep on doing this you'd end up scratching off all the pearl though.

The last one got me curious so I tried it out on the 'pearls' I found at home. The two pairs below are from Palawan and cost only $1 each pair. Scratching them was easy:

Rubbed them with my fingers and well they went back to normal:

I tried it on three more: from SM, Boracay and H&M:

The ones from SM and H&M though were too smooth it was hard trying to get them scratched. Either they weren't real or they painted some sort of coating on them or I still have a lot to learn about pearls.

I ended up buying this silver necklace (no idea on the percentage) with pearls for just Php150 ($3). Considering the price of accessories these days, I'd say it's not bad at all. The earrings I got for free as a treat from the visitor for taking them out.

And oh Koreans sure now how to haggle! I can learn a few things from them too. Anyway, I'm still no expert when it comes to these things but at least I learned a few things. Hopefully next time it'll be about gold/silver.