Friday, Jan 09, 2009
Gulf News
Dubai: Pearl Exchange to tender selection of world's rarest and finest natural and cultured pearls
Dubai Some of the world's rarest natural and cultured pearls will be offered in a private tender of the Dubai Pearl Exchange as leading producers Paspaley Pearling, Robert Wan, Jewelmer and Cogent Trading gather to showcase a collection of gems in the emirate.
The event will take place between February 12 and 16, just prior to the inaugural World Pearl Forum in Dubai.
Top pearl buyers from the international trade, leading jewellery design brands and members of the Dubai Pearl Exchange will present closed bids for up to 80 lots of important single pieces and gem quality matched sets as well as strands of significant rarity.
Pearl producers have keenly embraced the tender by the Dubai Pearl Exchange, a subsidiary of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), due to the distribution and sales opportunities that such an event can create.
"This pearl tender will enable us to showcase our very finest pieces to a truly international audience gathering here in Dubai in February," said Nicholas Paspaley, chairman, Paspaley Pearling from Australia.
Paspaley is currently assembling a selection of pearls to be sold in the tender including one of only five Nautilus pompilius pearl.
Paspaley will also offer a cultured South Sea strand with a centrepiece of over 22mm in size. This strand was previously exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute, the NY Museum of Natural History and several other of the world's leading museums.
Organisers anticipate that several millions of dollars in pearls will be offered for sale.
"The Dubai Pearl Exchange's inaugural tender of rare pearls is a key element in drawing the pearl trade to Dubai and underscoring the UAE's historic and ongoing relevance in this international market," said Ahmad Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, DMCC.
Taking place alongside the tender is the World Pearl Forum, a conference dedicated to the production, business, design, marketing and certification of the global pearl sector.
Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.
