The Fijian Pearl Collection
Produced in extremely limited quantities, Fijian pearls are among the rarest cultured pearls in the world, prized for a natural color range found nowhere else.
These pearls originate from J. Hunter Pearl Farm in Fiji, a small boutique producer with an annual harvest of approximately 25,000 pearls. From 2019, Assael held an exclusive relationship with the farm and was the only company in the United States to offer these pearls.
We have acquired Assael's entire Fijian pearl collection, now held in our Los Angeles vault.
Fijian pearls are prized for their depth of color and heavy nacre. Once this collection is sold, it cannot be replaced.
Individually selected loose Fijian pearls, offered as single pearls for pendants or rings and as rare matched pairs suitable for earrings. Each pearl is chosen for its natural color, luster, and character, with true pairs available only in very limited quantities.
A refined selection of Fijian pearl strands, featuring beautifully matched pearls selected for size, color harmony, and luster. Each strand reflects careful curation and expert matching, resulting in pieces that are elegant, balanced, and exceptionally wearable.
FAQs
Fijian pearls are rare cultured pearls produced in the waters of Fiji, primarily by the J. Hunter Pearl Farm. They are known for a natural color range not seen in any other type of pearl, including gold, green-gold, chocolate, silver, blue, and soft pastel tones. These colors occur naturally and are not the result of dyeing or treatment.
Production is extremely limited, with only about 25,000 pearls produced annually, making Fijian pearls among the rarest cultured pearls in the world. Since 2019, Assael held an exclusive relationship with the J. Hunter Pearl Farm and was the only company in the United States to offer these pearls. Their rarity, distinctive colors, and limited availability have made them highly sought after by collectors and designers.
Scarcity. The J. Hunter Pearl Farm produces only about 25,000 pearls a year, a fraction of what comes out of the major Tahitian and South Sea farms. There is no second source. Fiji's pearls come from this one boutique farm, so supply is genuinely limited rather than just marketed that way.
The colors add to it. Fijian pearls grow in a natural range of gold, green-gold, chocolate, pistachio, silver, and blue that no other pearl produces, and those colors are entirely natural, with no dyeing or treatment. A strand requires matching individual pearls across that range, which takes time and a large quantity of loose pearls to pull from. The result is a pearl that is rarer, more distinctive, and harder to assemble into a finished piece than almost any other cultured pearl.
Yes, entirely. Every color in a Fijian pearl, the golds, green-golds, chocolates, pistachios, silvers, and blues, occurs naturally in the pearl. Nothing is dyed, irradiated, or color-treated.
This is worth stating plainly, because cheap dyed pearls have made buyers rightly skeptical of unusual colors. Fijian pearls are the opposite case. Their color comes from the oyster and the waters of Fiji, and it is one of the main reasons the pearls are so prized. What you see is what the pearl grew.
The Assael Collection is the full body of pearl jewelry created by Assael over the past eight decades, beginning with Salvador Assael's pioneering work in the 1950s and 60s. Assael played a central role in bringing fine Tahitian, South Sea and akoya pearls to the United States, supplying many of the most prestigious jewelers in the country. Their pieces have appeared in Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and other top houses, and Assael has long held in America the position that Mikimoto holds in Japan.
The full Assael archive spans everything from classic akoya strands to rare South Sea necklaces, important Tahitian pieces, and museum-caliber one-of-a-kind jewels.
For eighty years Assael's jewelry was offered only through a small network of top luxury retailers and private clients. The collection was never shown in full, and its values were never made public.
After the passing of Christina Assael, the collection was released in full for the first time. We spent months traveling back and forth to New York, cataloging each piece and transporting the collection to our vault in Los Angeles. This is the first time it has been offered directly to the public, and the opportunity is limited to the pieces available during this release.
After Christina Assael's passing, the collection's owners chose to step away from the traditional wholesale model and withdraw it from luxury retailers. Rather than rebuild a wholesale network, they sought a single partner to represent the collection with accuracy, integrity, and deep expertise in pearls.
Over the past twenty-five years we have built the largest dedicated pearl operation in the country, known for education, transparency, and collector-level sourcing. We were entrusted with the complete archive and asked to bring it directly to the public.
No. This is a one-time release from Assael's historic collection. Once a piece is sold it is gone forever. Assael is not producing these strands or designs again, and many required decades of careful matching, which makes duplication impossible.
When this release is finished, the collection will not return to the catalog in any form. Collectors who acquire a piece are purchasing part of Assael's history, not an item that will be replaced or recreated.
Yes. Private appointments are available in our Los Angeles vault, where collectors can view the collection in person. We also offer private virtual appointments for clients around the world. Our studio has four dedicated cameras and multiple lighting environments, allowing us to show pearls with accuracy and detail, and we can provide as many additional photos or videos as needed.
Fijian pieces follow our standard Pearl Paradise return policy. Items may be returned within the designated return window as long as they are in original condition.
