Paspaley

Paspaley claims that it is a strong advocate of environmental responsibility within the pearling industry.

[better source needed] The Paspaley Group has a diversified portfolio of investments including a naval fleet, aircraft, a shopping mall, an office block, agriculture properties, resorts, and a vineyard.

Members of the Paspaley family had an interest in Australia's largest immigration detention centre, located 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Darwin, Northern Territory.

[citation needed] Paspaley Pearls appear in the collections of Tiffany & Co, Cartier, Harry Winston, Chow Tai Fook, Falconer, and more.

This department sells Paspaley Australian South Sea pearls to a variety of jewellery brands as well as independent retailers.

[citation needed] The Paspalis family were among the few Europeans living in the area with Aboriginal inhabitants and Asian pearl fishermen.

[citation needed] Nicholas Paspaley joined the pearling trade at 14 years of age.

When Port Hedland began to become less profitable due to exhaustion of the pearl fields, Paspaley made the decision to move to the uncharted waters of Darwin.

At the outbreak of World War II, the Australian government impounded and then destroyed all pearling luggers in North Australia to keep them away from Japanese invaders.

Nicholas Paspaley had purchased four luggers which had been abandoned during the war by the Royal Australian Navy on Darwin's beaches.

However, the invention of the plastic button in the mid 1950s reduced demand for mother-of-pearl shell, virtually devastating the industry overnight, with the fleets of pearling luggers abandoned once more on the beaches.

Paspaley Pearls is a family-run and -owned business, with offices in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and the UAE.

Nick Paspaley's nephews, Peter and Michael Bracher, oversee the worldwide distribution of the company's pearls.