Interview: How Jewelmer Finds Their Pearls
The Jewelmer brand is justifably famous for its pearls harvested from the waters around the Philippines, enabling the company to create finely crafted jewelry. On Wednesday Nov. 4 and Friday Nov. 5, AsiaStore will showcase an exclusive collection of the company's work. Asia Society caught up with Jewelmer to learn more about the company's creative process — and how to find a perfect pearl.
Tell us about Jewelmer’s creative process. What are some sources of inspiration in your design?
Jewelmer is a French-Filipino company, and the natural elements and components of the Philippines as well as the couture design of the Champs-Élysées reflect its design philosophy. The company was founded by Jacques Branellec, a Frenchman, and Manuel Conjuangco, a Filipino, and is a collaboration between the two cultures. Since our inception, we have been moving toward the idea that fashion is both classic and forward-looking at the same time. Our classic strands, studded earrings, and couture and grand master collection, one of which is at the Filipino Design Now pop-up display, illustrate this. I think ultimately what we want to do is transcend contemporary fashion to make it enduring. That’s our focus.
What are the biggest challenge or challenges faced by Jewelmer when designing?
I think the most important challenge is to make sure that the pieces are timeless in their design, and are appropriate in any era or fashion environment. Another challenge is with the three-dimensional consistency of the pearl, and making sure that there is harmony between the pearl itself and the design that it sits in. You don’t want one to overwhelm the other.
How do you determine a good pearl?
The rarest pearl-bearing oyster is the pinctada maxima, and there are two strands: the white lip and the golden. The golden pinctada maxima is a recessive gene, and because of that, it is very unusual to find enough pearls to create even a single strand of a golden pearl necklace. Several years ago our company went through the extra step of initiating a breeding program, so we actually breed our oysters and then release them into the wild. You never know what you’re going to get — a round and perfect pearl, or a pearl that isn’t round, which can be beautiful as well.
The other issue is color — you don't know what color you’re going to achieve, from cream to white to a golden shade. We can usually tell the size and shape of the pearl before it’s harvested, but we can never know its color or quality. And once the pearl is harvested, we never enhance the color.
Could you tell us a little bit more about the farms themselves?
We have eight farms that are situated in Palawan, in the Philippines, and approximately 1,500 workers. They are diverse technicians and farm managers and form, basically, micro-communities. The most unpredictable thing about pearl farming is the weather, because you can never know if there’s going to be a typhoon or not. It requires non-stop handling and caring for the oysters in the farms. The farms are located on the eastern side of the province of Palawan and the typhoon generally will come from east to west, so it can pose a threat to the indigenous community and our farms.
We maintain a strong commitment to the community around us. Our workers are like family, and their welfare and their families’ welfare concern us. The most important thing about our operations is that they’re non-extractive. We carry out a sustainable business model where we’re not hatching and extracting from the wild. We also want to help the indigenous population avoid farming activities that harm the ecosystem. Oysters are very sensitive, so unless they are living in a pristine marine environment, they don’t produce pearls. We’ve introduced various methods of food production to the indigenous population with the aim of sustaining the environment and helping them subsist.
Why did Jacques Branellec pick the Philippines?
There are two fundamental reasons. The first is Filipino hospitality. If there were a Nobel Prize for hospitality, the Filipino people would win it. Additionally, the golden pinctada maxima really only grows well in the Sulawesi Sea, where we can find the densest marine environment in the world. This type of oyster is very particular about where it lives, and that's the primary reason why our farms are situated at Palawan.
What does it mean to Jewelmer to have your collection sold at the AsiaStore at the Asia Society & Museum?
For us it’s a privilege to be able to exhibit and allow your members to experience something that, in most cases, it would be impossible to see them in person. So even if you’re not in the Philippines, you can still see a beautiful collection and appreciate the kinds of things that bring these into fruition. My experience in the pearl farms has taught me about the amount of time, energy and spirit required to create these designs, so I am happy to be able to present them and explain their story to your membership.