Ohrid Pearls | The 80 year old family secret
Ohrid pearls are famous for their shine, and that they are handmade.
The story goes that in 1924, a Russian soldier staying in Ohrid, knew of a secret recipe from his home near a lake with a similar fish in Russia. It is said that only two families have this secret recipe that is passed on from generation to generation and funnily only to the sons of the family.
The two families are the Talev family and the Filevi family – both the families have kept the secret till date.
The secret of Ohrid Pearls
The only part of the secret is that the scales of the Plasica, an endemic fish species in Lake Ohrid also known as Ohridski biseri. It is only found 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 shell. The emulsion created a beautiful and elegant pearl, rich in colour and shine.
Its been more than 80 years since Ohrid Pearls are famous and popular amongst pearl lovers, it also serves as a great souvenir.
It is also said by the locals that the fish that is used for the formula is reducing, so the fish that is used are brought in from Italy, so maybe the pearls that you get might not be from Ohrid, rather from Italy.
Families that holds the secrets of the Pearls in Ohrid
The Talev family started their business in 1924 by Vane and his uncle Mihail – the stores take pride that Queen Elizabeth II has some pearls in her collection from the Talev family, which was gifted by the former First lady of the Republic of Macedonia and wife of the late Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski in 2001.
The Filevi family has two shops in the old part of the city. They have jewelry that keeps updating with the generations. They not only have a pearl collection but also have a wide range of Swarovski crystals. They also have a range of famous people who have worn or own the Filevi pearls – Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark, Queen of the Kingdom of Netherlands and Queen Silvia from Sweden.
Best places to buy
The pearls of Ohrid are now found in many shops but its safer to buy them from either of the shops (The Talev family and The Falev family stores) to at least have a sense of originality, as it is said by the locals that there are places in the city that sells pearls saying they are from Ohrid but are either from China or Turkey.
I visited the store, got a quick understanding of the process and got tempted into buying some of the pearls at the Filevi pearl shop – quite simple and elegant they are…
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