Pearl suppliers

[mandomaker]

Any suggestions for type of pearl to order which would be more beautiful and special than basic unfigured white pearl? How about contact info for Chuck Ericson, the "Duke of Pearl", or other good suppliers? I wonder what pearl would be most attractive for a flowerpot and/or fern pattern. Seems like I remember something about snail! Some of us could learn more about which pearl to consider ordering and from whom. Thanks

[Jim Hilburn]

Much of the red abalone that I've gotten from Stew-Mac in the past is actually quite pearl-like only with some bubbly figuring and some mostly red, but also green and white coloring, but not with much grain and multiple colors you expect from abalone, but can be used for nice effect.
I,too would like to know where to get the good stuff. I got some nice paua on E-bay years ago ,but haven't looked there too much recently.

[tope]

I have recieved a lot of funky not up to par white pearl from a lot of suppliers over the years. A couple months ago I got some white pearl from Tom Ellis of Precision Pearl Inlay (Ph 512-442-4941) that was really nice.

[El Rey del Mando]

Check out DePaule supply.(andydepaule@luthiersupply.com). This guy has some nice stuff.He ships fast and will talk to you about anything you need to know.

John

[Paul Hostetter]

Rescue Pearl is also a good place. They more or less took over from Chuck Erickson. I've done well with DePaule though.

[ellisppi]

Pearl comes from the south Pacific and from several different species, and each has its own characteristics. The prettiest and most iridescent is Philippine gold lip. Shell also comes from Indonesia (more figured, not much iridescence), Vietnam (smaller blanks, some iridescence), Northern Australia (large, unfigured, milky). I don't believe any of the above mentioned suppliers generally sell Philippine gold lip. We use about 15 pounds of Philippine gold lip blanks a week.
Tom Ellis

[Bob A]

The folks at motherofpearl.net provided me with some nice stuff a year or so ago. They were kind enough to include a lot of extra material at no charge. They have lots of different kinds of shell products. Their focus seemed at the time to be on custom knifemakers, though I'm sure they're happy to find new outlets for the product.