Ohrid Pearls — What to know when buying Pearls in Ohrid, Macedonia.
I recently travelled to Ohrid, Macedonia. I knew nothing of Ohrid before arriving, in fact I knew very little of Macedonia. It was a spontaneous trip with cheap flights. But I was pleasantly surprised at every turn. Lovely people, great landscape and delicious food.
Ohrid would be one of my main destinations totalling 5 days of my trip. I needed to code and thought why not code by the lake. It was January, so winter; but I was lucky as it was warm and mild. Prices were cheap and the lack of tourists created opportunities to see a lot with-out the hustle and bustle of peak season and also give me less distractions to code. It was still fairly lively especially on the weekend as locals came to play. It is a beautiful part of the world and winter was still a fine time to visit.
On arrival I found out Ohrid was popular for Pearls and as I wanted to get my girlfriend a gift I thought what better than some Pearls.
Everyone I spoke to had a different story of how the Ohrid pearl is created. It created a web of stories with so many opinions and thoughts. So I tried to piece all of this information together to make the most informed decision.
One thing I know for sure; it is a handmade pearl. The story goes that in 1924 a Russian soldier staying in Ohrid knew of this secret recipe from his home near a lake with a similar fish in Russia, and two families are passed on the secret recipe. The Talev family and the Filevi family. Both families fiercely keep the recipe a secret which still remains a secret today.
What we do know is part of the secret is the scales of the Plasica — an endemic fish species in Lake Ohrid — aka Ohridski biseri. It only exists in Lake Ohrid. An emulsion using the secret formula is created from the fish scales and then used to cover the surface in layers of Ohrid Pearl which is made from ground shells. The emulsion creates a beautiful and elegant pearl, rich in colour and shine.
More than 80 years later the Ohrid Pearl remain as popular as ever. It is a popular and one of a kind tourist souvenir with a great story behind it. But where to buy and what to know?
Firstly “Ohrid Pearls” are sold every where. Hotels, along the walking street and almost every shop seems to have some pearls for sale. Are they all the real thing? What even is the real thing?
I eventually started to gather from locals that a lot of the shops are selling fakes either brought from China or Turkey and sold as the Ohrid Pearl. I even got told one story from my guest house owner that the placid fish is no longer as plentiful and hasn’t been for 30 years and therefore the ‘special recipe” is no longer available as the fish quanities just simply aren’t there! He seemed to think the emulsion is now made from imported fish scales from Italy. More cobwebs of information created confusion as to what exactly is so special about this pearl. I couldn’t work it out. Maybe the Ohrid Pearl is more Italian these days. Believe what you want but it did seem to me there is a lot of propaganda and sales stories which has created the “Ohrid Pearl” as a unique souvenir to tourists. Yet; I am a tourist and I was still interested.
In any case the only places to buy the “Ohrid Pearl” what ever that means is from either one of the families in the know of the secret recipe. The Talev family and the Filev family. Shop else where and be at total risk of ending up with an Ohrid Pearl…from China or Turkey. Hardly an Ohrid Pearl!
“After all,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea
So lets start with the Talevi family. This family business was started in 1924 by Vane and his uncle Mihail. Since then the secret has been passed on apparently only to the sons from generation to generation. The shop in in the main retail part of Ohrid on the walking street. It is a rather unassuming shop and originally took me a long time to find. The shop is run by family members still. They take pride in that Queen Elizabeth II has some pearls in her collection from the Talev family and they were given to her by Vilma Trajkovska, the former First Lady of the Republic of Macedonia and wife of the late Macedonian president Boris Trajkovski in 2001.
The Falev family has two shops in the charming old part of the city. Both shops are quite modern and have more of a upmarket feel. They say that each type of jewellery are updated with each generation. They have a wide range of styles, designs and even a big range with Swarovski crystal which was a bit too bling for me. In any case they had a wonderful unique range of jewellery. They have also a range of famous people and royals with pearls from Falev in their collection including Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark, Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina, Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Queen Silvia from Sweden.
So in both shops you are in good company. I spent some time in both shops. I started in Falev and I found them to have a high quality and modern range. The staff were very good at explaining the items and the styles and it just felt very profession. I eventually eyed up some hanging earrings I thought my girlfriend would love. Simple and elegant. I felt I knew what I wanted but at least needed to check out Talev.
In Talev, the range was more limited and more traditional. It is also a bit of a run down shop and more rustic service. I noticed a lot of items were in need of a dust and the some of the silver needed a polish. It felt a little like everything was a bit dated. The pearls themselves all looked very nice but I did notice some of the emulsion coming off of one. But as I shown around the server pulled out a bag of earrings just like the ones I had seen in Falev. They were neatly polished and looked great. I asked how much and she wanted 50% less than Falev. I was convinced. There were the earrings and it could been from either shop. They were perfect and even when I pulled out my wallet she dropped the price to 65% cheaper than Falev. If these pearls they are good enough for Queen Elizabeth II then are they are good enough for my girlfriend.
So that was it. That was my experience with Ohrid Pearls. At either Talev or Falev you wont go wrong. Stay away from the other tourists shops if you want an original item. How they are made and what makes them so special with so many opinions and stories it is hard to know. But the rainbow shine of the pair I got and the smile I am sure to see on my girlfriends face. That is special enough for me.
Happy shopping and travelling Ohrid. It is a beautiful place.
