Pearls of wisdom

So... a funny thing happened on the way to the pearl farm. Well, actually while AT the pearl farm. Let's just say that we accidentally nearly blew all our money and had to fly home. Nearly...

It happened like this:

The J Hunter pearl farm in Savusavu is world renowned for its Fijian black pearls which have a remarkable range of colours - chocolate, gold, green, turquoise, blue, purple, cream, black. And in a full range of grades - from gem quality, to keshi, to "B's, C's and D's" (and we thought we'd escaped school marking!!)









Just on the outside edge of town is the showroom and working facilities of the farm. For $25 FJ one can get a grand tour which includes a highly informative talk by Melli and a powerpoint presentation about the entire process of culturing a pearl, followed by a boat trip out to the oyster lines to see the boys at work cleaning and maintaining the yield.








The boat is glass bottomed so those who are not so keen (Jenn) to jump in to the choppy water (because of stinging things) can still see the oyster lines that are submerged 7 ft below the surface. Keir on the other hand braves the chop (and the stinging things... no Margaret, not jellyfish!) to see the lines and the oysters from a watery vantage point.






Did we mention it is still raining?




Back at the showroom, Melli brings out the pearls that you can buy individually (ones that are not already set in some type of jewelry). They are grouped in baggies with prices marked on the outside.


Here is the error - we think the prices on the bags indicate the amount to purchase ALL the pearls in one bag. Thus, after deciding on a bag, we ask to have holes drilled in the pearls in order to make bracelets, thinking we're being clever and shopping ahead for special Christmas gifts for 2011 for loved ones.

It is only when Melli shows us our total bill do we realize that EACH pearl in the bag costs the amount noted on the outside of the baggie. Our yelps of shock cause Melli to high tail it into the back room to halt any drilling (did she really think yobs like us could afford all those treasures?)

Keir and I are hysterically laughing and apologizing for the confusion at the same time. We not sure Melli found it so amusing. No doubt she was thinking, "Damn white folk!"