When talking about Lombok, one of the first things that springs to mind is the natural beauty of the island. This includes the beaches and, of course, he beauty to be found under the water, coral reefs and innumerable fish. Yet your stay in Lombok will be only be complete if you see another natural resource, taken from the sea around the island of Lombok. This resource is the PEARL.

Pearls from Lombok are found mostly in Mataram, the capital city of West Nusa Tenggara - to be exact in Sekarbela-Karang Pule, Ampenan. Pearls are one of Mataram's biggest assets. A great number of people are involved in the sale of this beautiful item. When visiting the Sekarbela area, you'll see many different styles of jewellery decorated with pearls, including earrings, rings, necklaces, lockets, brooches and beads (some  beads are strung together forming one piece, which is beautiful to see). To suit the quality of the pearls, all pieces of jewellery are made 
from gold or silver.
Pearls vary in both the colour and quality. You can find colours including black, white, green and red in the pearls that are produced from the sea around Lombok. The quality of a pearl can be judged from its age, size and shape. If it is old, large and round, then it is of good quality and therefore demands a high price. 

As one of tourist destinations in Indonesia, and easily accessible from Bali, Lombok has many interesting things that visitors should know, apart from the various tourist destinations. One is the existence of these lovely pearls. In fact, the pearls of Lombok have been exported to Japan, Netherlands, Malaysia and a number of other countries for years. That is because Lombok pearls are well-known to those who love jewellery and to those who design jewellery. They know that these pearls accentuate an
item and increase its value. 

The price of pearls sold in Sekarbela, Ampenan, vary from 50,000 rupiah to one million rupiah per gram, depending on the type and quality. Nia is the manager of one othe jewellery shops in Lombok and a designer of jewellery herself. She says that most of the people who purchase pearls from her shop in Sekarbela are domestic tourists from Jakarta, Surabaya and Malang. But there is also a large number of  foreign tourists who have discovered this area. She says that people normally travel here to buy jewellery made of gold and silver and which is decorated with pearls. They  tend to purchase a large quantity of items and return to sell them in their home towns. Comparing the number of
pearls available for sale with the number actually sold, there is room for improvement. It's obvious that many people are unaware of this unique natural resource produced by Lombok. Perhaps all that is needed is more promotion.

Walking down Sultan Kaharudin Street in Sekarbela, you'll pass many shops showcasing pearls of various colours and myriad styles of jewellery accentuated with pearls. Entering into a shop, you'll be greeted by the attendants who are mostly women.
They are exceedingly patients and take care to assist the customer in choosing just the right piece. It is recommended that you bargain, as different shops have different prices for the same item. 

Sekarbela is located not far from Mataram and is easily accessible by local transport in the form of bemos. Alternatively, you can travel by cidomo, which is the four-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage found in Lombok - an excellent way to relax and enjoy the view. Some types of jewellery have been given special names by the designers in order to make locating them easy. Some of the Most famous and most in demand are: Kalung Cassandra. (Cassandra's necklaces), Giwang susun (piled ear studs), Leontin Anggur (grape lockets), Giwang melati Oasmine ear studs), Kalung imperial (Imperial necklaces). You can purchase these singly or in. a set consisting of a necklace, ear studs and ring. 

Before you buy, it would be better to check a few shops because the colour, variety and quality of pearls vary from one shop to another. It would be a shame to purchase the first item you see, only to find one even more beautiful and perfectly matching your taste in another place. It's happened before!!! We also strongly suggest you bring someone who knows about pearls when you shop, so you are not tricked into purchasing fake pearls. The writer of this article has noticed some of these in Mataram. You can learn to differentiate real pearls from the fake ones. The real ones do not shine as brightly and have silvery white colour in them. Whereas the fake ones shine brightly and are perfectly round. In addition to that, when burned or scratched, real pearls remain unmarked. Fake ones, however, will be damaged. 

Generally, the shops open from 9 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. However, some shops have remained open until 8 o'clock in the evening if there are many customers. The people of Lombok are optimistic that the beauty of the pearls will improve the income of the inhabitants and give them a better livelihood.

Texts by Achmad Yani Bulle

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