The global pearl industry is entering a new era where transparency, provenance and sustainability are becoming just as important as lustre, size and shape, in valuing a pearl. While pearls have long been admired for their unique beauty and organic origins, jewellery professional and consumers today are not just interested in these physical characteristics. Instead, they are asking questions about the origin of their pearls and the stories of the communities and ecosystems that have helped produce and nurture them.
Founded by Philippe Bérenger, James Brown, and Pierre Fallourd in 2023, One Gemme was created to answer these very questions.
The platform specializes in ready-to-set, single-origin cultured pearls, available as singles, matching pairs, strands and loose lots, that have been sourced directly from reputable pearl producers around the world. One Gemme combines rigorous quality standards with detailed provenance information and sustainability credentials, while preserving the unique story behind every pearl.
The platform uses a universal pearl classification system and blockchain technology through Provenance Proof to record origin, harvest information, and traceability of its pearls.
Beyond selling pearls, One Gemme is also leading a broader conversation about the future of the pearl industry. Through collaborations with pearl farmers, researchers, industry organizations, and government agencies, the company supports initiatives that measure the environmental, economic and social impact of pearl farming and promote pearls as a nature-positive gemstone.
In my recent conversation with Pierre Fallourd, we discuss the inspiration behind One Gemme, the importance of single-origin pearls, the growing role of traceability in the jewellery industry, and why he believes every pearl’s journey is as valuable as the gem itself.
Pierre, you have worked across many different parts of the pearl industry. What experiences led you to create One Gemme? And what does the word “One Gemme” represent to you?
The short answer is: all of them! The principle by which “we are the sum total of our experiences” applies to organisations, individuals and oysters alike as we all live in dynamic environments. We often say that the physical attribute of a pearl reflects the journey of the mollusk it was harvested from.
Onegemme is the aggregation of over 100 years of pearl related experience from 3 passionate individuals. Philippe grew his luxury distribution expertise between France, Asia and Tahiti, James built his farming skills and business acumen around his ecological drive in Australia whilst my passion for value adding spread across to bridge pearl production and distribution in the Philippines, Indonesia, French Polynesia, Japan and key markets in Asia, Europe and Americas.
Our purpose is to change the way people appreciate pearls by providing full transparency about their origin and related social/ environmental impact profile to make their unique stories available for people to embrace.
One stands for unity and gemme means gem in French (it turns out Onegem was not available…). The combination of both echoes our commitment to promote and support all pearls categories, their respective quality, provenance and related best practices.
How would you explain the idea and concept behind Onegemme to someone in the jewellery industry, who is hearing about it for the first time?
We are the first online platform dedicated to providing single origin, positive impact, quality pearls. The pearl classification system we use applies to all pearls and we select and support our suppliers based on their commitment to sustainability. The relevant details of the journey of most of our pearls is uploaded onto the blockchain so their stories can be shared by and to their successive owners or custodians.
We recently decided to provide access to our platform to the public to assist retailers, designer and end consumer on their quest to find the best “ready-to-set” pearls for their jewellery projects.
What criteria do you use to choose your pearls for Onegemme?
The process starts by selecting a pearl farmer rather than a specific gem. The founders of Onegemme built a robust network of farmers and trade partners over the past 30 years. We try to get a close as possible to the source not only to keep cost under control and maintain steady supply, but also to access all the information needed to support their provenance and story behind the pearls.
We offer 3 categories of pearls. Gems are as perfect as pearls can be and aimed at collectors. Fine pearls still score very high in quality, with minimal imperfections acceptable for high jewellery (haute joaillerie in French). Jewel pearls feature visible natural blemishes, making them best suited for strands and larger scale project where price point matters but will still carry the needed quality to support their durability.
Onegemme focuses on single-origin pearls. Why is preserving fully traceable, single origin information so important to you? What challenges, if any, have you faced in making single origin pearls the cornerstone of One Gemme?
Pearls have been consolidated and amalgamated to be processed and matched for as long as cultured pearls have been harvested. The rationale behind makes sense, but the story of the people behind them is then lost and the narrative becomes very generic…Leading larger industry players went downstream and added grading, matching, designing and retailing to their farmer skills to deliver their unique stories to end-consumers.
By sourcing as close as possible to the farm, capturing as much relevant information about each gem physical attributes and contributing to advance our suppliers social and environmental agenda, Onegemme makes the story of those pearls available for all to appreciate.
Could you elaborate on the idea of pearls being a “nature-positive gem”?
The Nature Positive Initiative is a global societal goal to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030 from a 2020 baseline, and achieve full ecosystem recovery by 2050.
It is supported by a coalition of 27 of the world’s largest nature conservation NGO’s, Indigenous groups and scientific coalitions and committed to be over 200 countries.
The concept behind demonstrating the nature-positive potential of pearls is anchored on the principles and metrics attached to regenerative aquaculture where pearl farming impact is measured and valued. Without going too deep into the science, it is anticipated that the cost of offsetting the CO2 emissions of pearls would be largely covered by the cumulated value of services to ecosystems provided by pearls farms such as nutrient extraction and additional marine life for example.
Dedicated pearl impact measurement and management pilot projects are on-going in Australia and Japan and we except more to join the movement over the next few months.
What do you believe Onegemme can teach the jewellery industry about the relationship between pearls, luxury, and value?
Unlike the (natural) diamond industry where value is largely driven the rarity of a finite resource, the world of cultured pearls is often perceived as infinite in terms of production capabilities. Whilst it may be relatively easy to produce pearls, population growth, climate change, extreme weather occurrence are increasingly challenging the already long and complex production of good quality pearls.
Each quality pearl harvested is a testimony of the ability of people and planet to work together in harmony and should be valued as such. More than for other gemstones, we believe the journey of a pearl and the story behind them are equally valuable to its physical attribute and significantly contribute to the emotional bond need to create meaningful jewellery.
Is One Gemme only available to jewellery industry insiders or can jewellery consumers access it as well?
Anybody can access our stock of ready-to-set loose pearls and strands BUT the creativity of a designer and skills of a jeweller are needed to complete the journey of our pearls and turn them into jewellery. Our trade partners have privileged access to a large and diverse selection of pearls -and to their provenance- to suit their creative needs. Most of them encourage their customer to short list or select their pearls on Onegemme and buy them on their behalf without having to invest into a large inventory. End consumers can browse our stock as well, but maybe more importantly learn about pearls, how they are described and valued as well as forward thinking social and environmental impact measurement and management.
On a personal level, with such an illustrious career in the pearl industry, what still fascinates you about pearls?
I considered myself privileged to have had the chance to learn so much about different cultures, values and meet with so many experts in their own fields throughout my pearl journey. Every beautiful pearl is a little miracle, a time capsule, a chapter of people and planet. I still get mesmerized when everything lines up and lustre, surface, shape get close to perfection. Join us to support the rise of nature-positive gems…
You can learn more about One Gemme on their website and follow them on Instagram @onegemme_pearls
Featured Image: Lot of 7, 14mm+ fine quality, round, multi-dark Tahitian pearls with peacock overtones from French Polynesia, One Gemme
