About Us

Tiare Black Pearl is a little piece of Tahiti located in the mountain village of Olinda in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges, and in the picturesque seaside town of Mornington, both just one hour's drive from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

"Tiare" is the Tahitian word for the frangipani flower, the national flower of the Tahitian people, a symbol of the purity and beauty of the Tahitian landscape and way of life.

Tiare Black Pearl is an initiative of Alan and Winnie Maguire. Alan is a teacher and Winnie a registered nurse by profession but began their shops after spending several months each year working in Tahiti. They still visit Tahiti regularly and purchase only the finest pearls directly from the pearl farmers of French Polynesia.

Our History

Tiare Black Pearl first opened its doors in Olinda in November 2003. The majority of our earliest customers knew very little about black pearls and Alan and Winnie decided from the start that they would provide videos, charts and detailed explanations about pearls, their origin, structure, grading and pricing.

Since there was no obvious system for grading and pricing pearls in Australia at that time (and indeed still today) they decided to adopt the Tahitian government's pearl grading system (see Pearls for an explanation).

As there were few "findings" or pearl settings available at that time Alan and Winnie began to manufacture their own styles in 18ct yellow and white gold. A feature of Tiare Black Pearl is the possibility of choosing your own individual pearl and setting and Tiare will make it up into a beautiful piece of jewellery while you wait which you can wear three hours later (see DIY Pearl Jewellery.)

Since that time Tiare Black Pearl has grown into two retail shops and a wholesale outlet. Tiare now features exquisite, natural coloured pearls from all over the world and a selection of exclusive sterling silver and semi-precious and mother-of-pearl jewellery (see Jewellery).