In Reply to: I have a necklace of freshwater posted by Fiona on Saturday, 12. January 2008 at 13:47 Bali Time:
maybe got them from Lombok, but I assure you they were not grown there. I've also bought some amazingly beautiful freshwater pearls in Lombok over the years, in all sorts of beautiful colours, sizes and shapes, and varying qualities. The really good ones (the sort you pay AUD200 for a string in the shops in Australia) are rarely available via beach sellers. Beach sellers don't want them because they cost too much up front to buy, and most of their customers just want cheap freshwater pearls and wouldn't know the difference anyway.
What I found with the beach sellers in Lombok, and especially Bali, was that many were not aware that there was no freshwater pearl industry in Lombok. They really know very little about their product. They get them from a handful of people who often are middle men themselves.
I personally tracked down the sources and found the suppliers who import from China. I now do business directly with them.