We are proud to present the
third of our members to be featured on
www.cpaa.org. Every month this page will
feature another member of the Cultured Pearl Association of America.
Now we present to you
Anil Maloo, Baggins, Inc.
Baggins History
Thanks to his grandfather, pearls have always been a passion for
Anil Maloo, founder and owner of Baggins, a Los Angeles-based
manufacturer and wholesaler of fine quality pearls and pearl
jewelry. While he grew up in India, Anil spent many enjoyable
summers working for his grandfather’s pearl company in Japan, which
was founded in 1958.
“To me, it was fascinating and glamorous,” he
says. “I’d see people come in from all over the world to buy my
grandfather’s pearls—from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the
United States.” After completing school, Anil spent nearly three
years in Japan learning Japanese and working for his grandfather.
Then, he spent two years in Vietnam helping to set up a pearl farm
and learning to appreciate the delicate, painstaking process of
pearl cultivation. But finally, it came time to strike out on his
own.
“I knew that this was the business I wanted to
be in, so I came to the U.S. to attend GIA, where I became a
Graduate Jeweler and Graduate Gemologist,” he says. “That’s when I
fell in love with California and decided to start my own business
there.”
That company was Baggins, which now boasts a
large and varied inventory of every kind of pearl, from elegant
Japanese Akoyas and dazzling South Seas to the magical glow of
Tahitian pearls.
Family Pearl Farms
Anil is still deeply involved with the pearl
farm he helped start up, as well as other farms in Vietnam operated
by his family. Importing directly from these farms, Baggins is the
primary supplier of Vietnamese Akoya pearls in the United States.
The beautiful colors and affordable prices are just a few of the
factors that have helped Vietnamese Akoyas gain rapid popularity in
recent years. Another important factor is nacre thickness. “Our aim
is to make only thick-coated pearls,” says Anil. “Our target is to
have a minimum of 1mm nacre thickness. Already we have been able to
cultivate 5-6mm pearls from a 2.5mm nucleus within one year of
harvest.”
The Vietnamese farms also produce what Anil
calls “baby Akoyas” in sizes as small as 2mm, which help to fill the
demand for tiny pearls that Japan has not been able to address in
years. These small sizes have found a wide market for Baggins,
including multi-strand necklaces and bracelets, children’s jewelry,
and add-a-pearl necklaces.
One of the most stunning and unique things
coming out of Vietnam are the multi-color pearl strands. “As the
nacre gets thicker,” Anil continues, “the color tends to become
warmer, which we believe is the true color of Akoya pearls.” So
Vietnam presents pearl lovers with a choice: Creamier-colored
thick-skinned Vietnamese pearls versus more ghostly-white
thin-skinned Chinese and Japanese pearls. Indeed, Baggins farm
produces so many distinct hues—including silver, blues, golds and
grays—that it can make many multi-colored strands.
All of Baggins’ pearls, Tahitian, South Sea and
Akoya, are natural colored, without any treatments or dyes. “We
don’t carry treated pearls because people want to be confident about
their purchase,” he says. “Once you start carrying treated, people
start doubting your ‘natural’ stock.”
Cultured Couture Jewelry
Baggins also boasts a creative, innovative line
of pearl jewelry—mostly in 18K gold with some 14K gold
pieces—including earrings, necklaces, bracelets, pendants, rings,
clasps, and charms. “I create most of the designs and the pearls are
hand-selected by me and my staff to offer consistent quality,” says
Anil. “We also get ideas from our own customers, who come up with
different items that they specifically want.”
Baggins Jewelry Collection is unique in that its
designs have a timeless look but blend seamlessly with today’s
fashions. Baggins makes a concerted effort to have “something for
everyone”, no matter what the customers taste. That idea carries
over to their price points as well, with suggested retail prices
starting as low as $60 for a pair of standard Akoya studs, up to
$50,000 for the exquisite, one-of-a-kind 18.5mm+ Tahitian & South
Sea Pearl, pave’ diamond earrings shown here.
Strand Creativity Baggins also creates some of the most
distinctive pearls strands available by combining a variety of
shapes and colors. They have an extensive collection of unique
strands that combine baroque and Keshi pearls for a fun look that is
still classy enough to wear with more formal outfits.
Besides being combined with other pearls,
Baggins Keshi pearls collection is impressive enough on its own.
They carry both strands and loose Keshi, in South Sea and Tahitian.
They boast one of, if not the largest, Tahitian Keshi collections in
the US.
Baggins Philosophy A key philosophy from his grandfather that Anil
still holds true is educating customers about these lustrous, rare
gems. “We put a lot of effort into long-term relationships with our
customers and helping them to educate their sales staff and their
customers. It’s not just about selling product.”
For Anil, the memories of working on an actual
pearl farm with skilled technicians helps him communicate the
intrinsic value of pearls to his customers. “Many people don’t
realize the effort and time that it takes to create a pearl,” he
says. “Once the nucleus is inserted, it’s like taking care of a
baby—you have to feed it, let it grow, and be extremely careful.
That makes it valuable.”
And traveling around the world every year—to
Asia, Tahiti, and Australia, among other countries—means Anil
continues to experience the excitement that he observed as a child,
watching his grandfather work with customers from around the globe.
“That’s where the passion comes in,” he says. “It’s what I’ve always
wanted to do.”
“To me, it was fascinating and glamorous,” he
says. “I’d see people come in from all over the world to buy my
grandfather’s pearls—from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the
United States.” After completing school, Anil spent nearly three
years in Japan learning Japanese and working for his grandfather.
Then, he spent two years in Vietnam helping to set up a pearl farm
and learning to appreciate the delicate, painstaking process of
pearl cultivation. But finally, it came time to strike out on his
own. 
The Vietnamese farms also produce what Anil
calls “baby Akoyas” in sizes as small as 2mm, which help to fill the
demand for tiny pearls that Japan has not been able to address in
years. These small sizes have found a wide market for Baggins,
including multi-strand necklaces and bracelets, children’s jewelry,
and add-a-pearl necklaces. 
All of Baggins’ pearls, Tahitian, South Sea and
Akoya, are natural colored, without any treatments or dyes. “We
don’t carry treated pearls because people want to be confident about
their purchase,” he says. “Once you start carrying treated, people
start doubting your ‘natural’ stock.” 
Cultured Couture Jewelry 
Strand Creativity 
