Since founding Baggins in 2002, Anil Maloo, a third-generation pearl jeweler, has experienced a pearl boom like the one we’re in only once before. “The last time I remember the business being so good was before the Lehman shock in 2008,” Maloo tells JCK. “The last three to four years have been really good for us.”
Maloo’s perspective is informed by decades of generational experience. His maternal grandfather started the family business in Kobe, Japan, in 1957, with a focus on Japanese freshwater pearls before gradually segueing into Tahitian and South Sea gems. Maloo attended GIA in the late 1990s, got hired by a pearl company in Los Angeles right out of school, and worked there for three years before striking out on his own.
“Originally, I started with diamonds, colored stones, and pearls—mainly jewelry—but then I had a strong background in pearls so I refocused and did more pearls. Now, I wholesale, sell to dealers, retailers, and designers, and I also design my own jewelry. I do a little bit of everything, but I’m strictly B2B.”
Below, Maloo talks us through some of the highlights of the current pearl boom vis-à-vis some of his most eye-catching and successful designs. “This year, we are still very profitable,” he says. “Numbers are a bit down, but overall, it’s still very steady. I see things picking up again. We had a record year last year. I don’t know if we will have another one, but you never know.”
Baby Akoyas or Bust
“Our primary focus is saltwater pearls. We have two pearl farms in Vietnam for our baby akoya—one in the north near Halong Bay and one I helped establish near Nha Trang, about 600 kilometers north of Ho Chi Minh City. The main sizes are 2 to 5 millimeters, but now we’re focusing on 5 to 6 millimeters.”
Color Us Impressed
“We have started combining colored stones with pearls again. I did that 10 years ago and it did well but it was harder for people to accept. Then it slowed down. These last two years, people are asking for more colored stones with pearls so I’ve created designs that play the colors of the stones off the pearls.”
Mix Master
“All the categories are pretty strong. In the last few years, we’ve been selling more akoya and South Sea but Tahitians and goldens are strong categories if a customer is in, say, Hawaii. It depends on the end consumer and where their geographical location is.”
The Near Future
“There is going to be excitement coming in the last two and a half months of the year. I already feel it. More inquiries, more emails, things are already happening. I don’t think it will be gangbusters like last year or previous years. But so far, retailers I’ve spoken to say that year over year, numbers are up, and it’s not just because prices are up. There is a positive vibe.”
Top: Pearl necklace in 18k yellow gold with baby akoyas, 19.96 ct. lemon quartz, and diamonds, $21,000
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