Friday, March 8, 2013

Golden pearl from Myanmar auctioned for up to $40,000

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Friday, 08 March 2013 13:45 Mizzima News

A golden pearl from Myanmar was sold this week to an anonymous buyer at an auction in Hong Kong for a sum estimated to be between US $30,000 and US$40,000.

Myanmar golden pearls (PHOTO: Myanmar Pearl Enterprise)

The 19mm pearl, known as the “New Dawn of Myanmar”, had a floor price of $4,300, according to a report on Friday by South China Morning Post (SCMP).

The report quoted a jewelry bidder as saying: “I've never seen anything go so high above the floor price. I put in double, but it went for about eight times. Many of the other lots went for five times the floor price.”

Buyers paid around 30 percent more than what would be expected at an auction in Myanmar, a spokesman for Belpearl, the co-organizer of the event, was quoted as saying.

“With the lure of Myanmar's golden pearls irresistible to mainland [Chinese] buyers, bringing a new international pearl auction to Hong Kong paid off for the Myanmese [sic] government, fetching about US $4 million from keen bidders,” the report said.

Myanmar usually hosts its own gems and jewelry fairs and symposia with Chinese traders constituting the majority of serious buyers. However, Myanmar economic specialist Sean Turnell told SCMP he thought the move to Hong Kong was “a positive sign” which indicated the trade was being conducted more in line with international standards.

Hong Kong has no taxes on pearls and other jewelry.
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Full SCMP article: Myanmar's golden pearls fetch top price at auction
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