HANDICRAFT & SOUVENIR CENTER
As though, you will find an
incomplete vacation to Lombok and Sumbawa if you do not visit handicraft and
souvenir center. Many businesses offer various kinds of souvenirs in Mataram
and in some destinations. However, if you want to see closer the process of
producing the stuffs, you can visit the handicraft and souvenir center to see
and meet the artisan. You may find cheaper prices for stuffs offered in
souvenir shops. If only you have limited
time, you can just visit the shops as an alternative in many locations in
Lombok. In the shops, you can find various kinds of local snack and cake for
you as special gifts. The shops sell various products, such as jackfruit dodol (translation:
dodol is kind of taffy made of sticky ingredients), seaweed dodol, Bima or Sumbawa Honey, calfskin crisply and many
others.
The most known handicraft of
Lombok is pearl, pottery, hand woven fabric and cukli (translation: decoration
on a carved object using fracture of shell)
LOMBOK’S PEARL
Center of Lombok’s pearl
production is located in Kelurahan Sekarbela and Pagutan, Mataram, while the
farms are mostly located in the sea of sekotong ( south sea ) and around the 3
Gilis ( North Sea). While in a trip from Senggigi to Gili Trawangan , you can
see hundreds of balls floating in the waters. It is the location of the pearl
farm.
The sea pearl has been a mainstay
commodity pearl of Lombok with its much better quality than freshwater pearl
from China. However, most pearl shops in Lombok now do not supply freshwater
pearl anymore.Travelers can easily find various kinds of jewel and accessory
made of pearls.In Sekarbela and Pagutan, there are plenty of pearl shops. You
certainly need to bargain the best prices for your favourite products.
The shape of pearls are varied,
begin with perfectly round, irregular round ( barok) and semipearl ( mabe ).
Lombok’s pearls are motley in terms of colors, i.e white, beige, golden
,Silver, ashen and rosy (the last one is Lombok ‘s best but scarce variety)
Quality of pearls is mostly
determined by its level of maturity.A well shaped pearl is produced through
natural process. To produce high quality pearls, it takes at least 2 years
cultivation. Therefore, do not be surprised if you hear that the price of pearl
can reach millions or even 10 million rupiah. The colors of the most expensive
sea pearl are white , gold and silver . Meanwhile, the black pearl offered in
quite fantastic price comes from Tahiti. Price labeled on pearl is determined
by its weight, which applies carat as standard for denomination. Yet, pearls
from a farm are measured by its diameter ( in millimeter).
For grade one pearl, the
price is ranging between 800,000 to 1,5000,000 rupiah per one gram. Moreover,
the price much depends on kinds and design of pearls that you expect to find.
Shops in Lombok offer various designs of jewelry made of pearls, which are
combined with some other materials, such as gold, silver and other. Various
types of jewelry are offered, such as bracelet, ring, medallion, brooch and
many other accessories, all are made of pearls. You can match your budget with
selected level of quality and materials. Pearls from Lombok are competitive
compared with those come from Tahiti, Myanmar and the Philipines.
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