Made popular once again by the likes of Pharrell Williams and A$AP Rocky, pearls have become quite the hot commodity in the West at the moment.

Interestingly enough, it turns out that pearls actually hold a strong cultural significance in the Philippines (the South Sea pearl even adorning the Philippines’ 1000-peso bill), with many women (and, more recently, men) sporting them as luxury items in place of other materials like gold and silver.

The peal vendor I captured here has actually been selling peals on Boracay for over 20 years, and is one of the only legitimate vendors with a certificate of authenticity on the beachfront amidst all of the other pearl vendors walking around. He told me that he initially had a storefront, but with the new construction on Boracay, he’s now waiting for his store to be rebuilt. For now, all he has is this mini pop-up on the beach for passers by to not only inquire about pearls, but get a series of them custom built.

Receiving his shipment from a pearl farm in Mindanao (another part of the Philippines), he also has access to the extremely rare (translation: expensive) South Sea pearl. Naturally, I had to pick one up for myself and turn it into a bracelet. The cost for a single South Sea pearl in the Philippines? Roughly $175 CAD after haggling. The mark up in the West when looking at a similar pearl online? $800-1,000 CAD. Talk about a serious discount when you cut out the middle-man!

Seen here: Boracay’s legitimate pearl vendor of over 20 years making me a series of freshwater peal bracelets for people back in Canada.

Fun Fact: I vaguely remember this guy the last few times I visited Boracay, but this is the first time I actually bought something from him. Funny enough, he more than likely sold my mom her South Sea pearl necklace a number of years ago, considering he’s the main legitimate vendor on the beach. It’s interesting how, only now, am I taking an interest in his work, despite him being around for so many years (but that’s probably only because I’m such a huge Pharrell Williams and A$AP Rocky fan ☺).

-fashion is a sine wave.