Shopping for pearls and jewellery in the Philippines
Pearls make great gifts from the Philippines
There is no shortage of pearls to be found in the Philippines, and enthusiasts travel from all over the world to search for natural pearls, which are praised as being among the highest quality of any that can be found around the globe.
Authentic Philippine pearls are extremely valuable and can be found in the waters that surround many of the islands here. These pearls are harvested by professional divers and turned into stunning pieces of jewellery. However, authentic pearls may be out of the price range of many visitors, and some shoppers settle for cheap cultured pearls instead of the real deal.
There are plenty of jewellery and pearl shops to be found in the Philippines, especially in the shopping malls of cities such as Manila. Most of the country’s main tourist islands should also come complete with a selection of shops that specialise in pearls and jewellery, and a wide range of varies are available, from snow white pearls to those that are jet black in colour.
Authentic freshwater pearls have become extremely popular in recent years, while fake pearls can be just as pretty as the real deal, although many people shun the idea of wearing copies. These days, replica pearls have become so convincing that it can often be difficult to tell them apart from the real thing. If you absolutely have your heart set on shopping for genuine pearls and don’t like the idea of being duped, you can use the following techniques to help you spot the difference.
The sun or light test
Authentic pearls are infused with attractive overtones and simply holding these pearls under bright lights will reveal a whole spectrum of colours and pigments. For this reason, it is usually extremely difficult to match pearls when creating strings, and those that match each other very closely are likely to be fakes.
Magnification
Holding authentic pearls under magnification reveals characteristic irregularities as well as naturally created ridges. However, fakes tend to have a rather grainy smoothness, while they are simply coated with a layer or two of nacre, natural pearls have several layers.
Natural look
Close inspection should revealed to most trained eyes whether or not a pearl is authentic, as natural pearls have bumps and ridges, whereas fake pearls tend to be extremely smooth.
Fake pearls also tend to be round, although fake pearl creators have been wising up to this in recent years and creating copies that look slightly irregular. If the Filipino pearls you are considering do not look right then it's best not to bother buying them, as you will be reluctant to wear them in the future.
The feel
Authentic pearls are known to warm to the skin extremely quickly, while those that are made from resin, plastic and glass take a while to warm up. Real pearls also tend to be heavier than fakes, so it is possible simply to pop them on the weighing scales to check out whether they are the real McCoy or not.
Where to buy jewellery in the Philippines
Baguio boasts some of the best silver jewellery in the whole of the Philippines, as the city’s St Louis University turns out a large number of talented craftsmen each and every year. Those who are searching for unique designs or have their own designs that they would like to be immortalised in silver should contact the silversmiths here. Gold jewellery can be found in the shops that line the Binondo district of Manila, while speciality shops in the Makati and Ermita districts offer unique vine jewellery. These shops also stock special beadwork necklaces, ornamental hairpieces and earrings created by the Mangyan, Igorot and T’boli tribes.
