The passion for the pearls as a heritage

Franck Tehaamatai has created in less than three decades one of the most beautiful business stories in Fenua around his passion for the cultured pearl of Tahiti.

A passion that he was keen to share with his four children, Glenn, Halidjka, Vaiana and Vaihere, all involved today to varying degrees in the perpetuation of this family heritage.

The family adventure, born from pearl farming before expanding into jewelry,is named Tahiti Pearl Market.

  • Franck Tehaamatai

  • Men at work

  • The transmission of knowledge

"The pearl, so surprising because it is always uniquebut above all so perfect for enhancing the beauty of women,is the object of all his attention"

A self-taught Polynesian with an entrepreneurial spirit and unrivalled business acumen, Franck Tehaamatai (as his daughter Vaiana says, he can't go on vacation without a project in mind), has never stopped challenging himself. After starting his career in the car dealership business, this unconditional lover of his native land fell in love with the pearl, the jewel of our lagoons, while prospecting in the Tuamotus in the 1990s to study the possibilities of setting up shrimp farms.

Fascinated by the discovery of this gem like no other and its production process, he decided to set up his first farm in 1994, on the atoll of Takaroa. Behind the production of this natural gem, he also saw a vector of economic development for the country, to which he quickly decided to devote all his energy.

The pearl, so surprising because it's always unique,but above all so perfect for enhancing a woman's beauty, will henceforth be the focus of all his attention.Aware that pearls can only be born and thrive in healthy lagoons, he continued to expand, carefully choosing the lagoons where he would set up his other facilities. Soon at the helm of seven strategically located pearl farms - including one in Fakarava, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and another in Ahe spared no effort to give the pearl all the recognition it deserved, working for many years with the authorities and various bodies in the sector on a classification, an essential tool for opening the doors to true recognition in international jewelry.

From pearl farming to jewelry

By 1999/2000, Franck Tehaamatai had become one of the leaders of the Polynesian pearl industry, producing almost a million pearls a year, and his children soon joined him in his efforts to develop the company and promote this unique jewel worldwide. It was his daughter Vaiana, now Managing Director and Tahiti Pearl Market Product Manager, who gave the company a major new impetus by turning its activities towards jewelry. Very close to her father, with whom she first shared a passion for golf (she boasts an impressive list of achievements), the young woman shares his taste for the field and hands-on learning. While still in her teens, she had the opportunity to see more of her busy father by following him on his many business trips. In particular, she closely followed the establishment of pearl farms, but soon imagined another outlet for their activities in the jewelry industry. Determined not to linger in her studies, she first suggested to her father that she take over a jewelry store, Artisor, where she quickly learned all she needed to know about assembly from two craftsmen who had stayed on, as well as the basics of accounting and behind-the-scenes