Paspaley sells through 14 US doors and caps new partners each year
The Australian pearl house told JCK it is deliberately not in 70 doors. It says it produces about 80% of Australia's South Sea pearls and has retailed its own jewellery for over 35 years.
By Carat Capital
What changed
Slow by design. Paspaley sells through 14 US doors and caps new partners each year, executive director Chris Paspaley told JCK on 15 October in New York.
What it means
- If you want the line: Paspaley says it partners with multigenerational family jewellers and caps how many it takes each year.
- If you price South Sea pearls: JCK's photo captions print a $12,500 strand and $17,050 earrings.
- What this is not: A store target. Paspaley gave no number or date for new doors.
Key figures
| US doorsnot 70, by choice | 14 |
|---|---|
| Australian outputSouth Sea pearls, company figure | ~80% |
| Delfini Blue strand11–14mm, per JCK | $12,500 |
| Lavalier earrings18k gold, per JCK | $17,050 |
Source: JCK, 21 October 2026, reporting a Paspaley event in New York on 15 October 2026. Company figures as Paspaley gave them.
Growth at a set pace
No growth at any cost. “We're not looking to grow at any cost,” Chris Paspaley told JCK. He says brands that added stores too fast fell behind on service and stock.
A capped intake. The company limits how many new retail partners it takes on each year. It wants family jewellers that, he says, do not think in quarters.
Research came first. Paspaley opened with its first US partners in 2024, after spending on market research and data analytics, JCK reports.
| Item | Figure | Whose figure |
|---|---|---|
| US retail doors | 14 | Paspaley |
| Doors it says it avoids | 70 | Paspaley |
| Share of Australia's South Sea pearl output | about 80% | Paspaley |
| Own jewellery retail | more than 35 years | Paspaley |
| Delfini Blue strand, 11–14mm | $12,500 | JCK |
| Lavalier earrings, 18k gold | $17,050 | JCK |
Single source. JCK reports the company's figures; no Paspaley release was read.
Three lines, one campaign
Icons groups them. The Icons campaign gathers the Lavalier, Strands and Cicada collections. Lavalier and Strands are the brand's two US best sellers, JCK reports.
Untreated pearls. Paspaley says every pearl it supplies is untreated, never bleached or washed with acid, and it guarantees natural colour and lustre.
What to watch
- Next 12 monthsHow many US partners Paspaley adds to its 14.
- Holiday seasonWhether US buyers keep favouring Lavalier and Strands over the newer Cicada line.
Go deeper
Corrections
Correction, 23 October 2026: an earlier version of What changed said Paspaley sells through 14 US retailers. JCK quotes Chris Paspaley saying the brand is in 14 doors in the US, a count of selling locations; JCK gives no retailer count. The desk's view also said Paspaley adds 'only a few' partners a year. JCK says it caps new partners each year and gives no number, and the line now says so. The two prices are now described as JCK's photo captions. Where the error came from: the desk's paraphrase of JCK. What was right as published: the headline, the strip, the table and every figure. Found by Carat Capital's standards desk on 22 October 2026.
What would change this call
A store count well above 14 within a year. Then the cap is a pace, not a policy.
How Paspaley sells
Paspaley farms the Pinctada maxima oyster off Australia's Kimberley coast. It sells pearls at auction, to wholesalers and to jewellery houses, and makes its own jewellery, JCK reports.
Method
JCK, 'Paspaley Plots a Calculated Expansion in America', by Sam Cooley, dated October 21, 2026, fetched 22 October 2026, 200, 115,735 bytes. Greps in the article text: '14 doors' 1, '70 doors' 1, 'Oct. 15 event' 1, 'about 80%' 1, 'more than 35 years' 1, '$12,500' 1, '$17,050' 1, 'grow at any cost' 1, 'do not think in quarters' 1, 'untreated' 2. The speaker is Chris Paspaley, named by JCK as executive director. Single source; no Paspaley release was read. The quote is 7 words. ARCHIVE, by entity and period: Carat Capital's archive, 'Paspaley' 0 rows. NEW.