We are proud to present the
second 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
Jack Lynch, Sea Hunt Pearls
Say the name Sea Hunt and many of us baby
boomers think of Lloyd Bridges in a late 1950s skin diving
underwater action adventure TV series. This is just what Jack Lynch
has in mind, and wants our memory cells to evoke every time we think
of his business, Sea Hunt Pearls, in San Francisco, California. “Of
course, I wanted something that sounded adventuresome and made you
envision my search for beautiful pearls.”
Fourteen years ago, in 1995, Jack Lynch took that name and opened
Sea Hunt Pearls. But Jack had already been in the pearl business a
good decade prior to this.
Although a native New Jersey boy, Lynch calls San Francisco home. “I
got started in the pearl business some 25 years ago,” says Lynch,
but it wasn’t as if he had just donned his SCUBA gear and jumped
right in. As he recalled, he spent his 20s as a bartender in San
Francisco. That was where he learned his gift for dealing with
people and thinking on his feet. At the end of his 20’s Jack decided
to seek out a career with a bigger future. “I used to fill in at a
jewelry store, for a friend of mine at Union Street Goldsmith, along
with some other jewelry designers. I’d see these people coming
through who were gemstone dealers and the thought of doing that
really appealed to me. I would get to travel, work with creative
people, and handle beautiful items. Since I was never a corporate
sort of person, the thought of being my own man appealed to me.”
Lynch knew that getting his Graduate Gemologist diploma would be the
best way to show people in the business that he was serious, and
that he wanted to be a part of the gem and jewelry industry. He
graduated from GIA New York in 1985.
Jack returned to San Francisco. The designers he briefly worked with
always had a strong affinity to pearls and it opened up his eyes to
the range of possibilities.
So it makes perfect sense that Jack’s first full time job out of GIA
was working, and eventually managing, a pearl company in San
Francisco. But there came a point when Lynch needed to set off on
his own course and test his mettle.
“When I started in 1995, I had a very small nest egg to begin my
business, and so I got on the Chinese Freshwater cultured pearl
wagon very early in the game. It was a good way for me to have
inventory without having deep pockets. This is a wave I have ridden
ever since.” Lynch branched out with some Akoya, and a finished line
of freshwater simple strands, and bracelets. He moved into Tahitian
and South Seas cultured pearls when he had the finances to expand
his inventory.
“I do travel overseas 3 or 4 times a year, but I also work very
closely with my suppliers year round.” Lynch has only a handful of
suppliers. “Instead of working with numerous ones, I work with a
select few. In this way, we’re more important to one another, and
I’m able to get exceptional merchandise throughout the year.” He
does go on buying trips to China, Hong Kong, and Japan. “While there
I try and develop new product with them, and see what fresh uses of
pearls we can come up with.”
“I am always looking for new suppliers and I always keep my eyes out
for something unique,” says Lynch, “But for the most part, I end up
working with the many of the same people I’ve had long term
relations. Business must be handled in a way that is mutually
beneficial if it is to succeed. Of course, some people fall off, and
I pick up others, but there are some key allies that are very
important to my success. With these strong relationships, I am
guaranteed first crack at unusual and hard to source pearls at fair
prices.”
And it’s that long time relationship that allows him to hand select,
hi-grade every bit of inventory he carries, to get exactly what he
believes is right for his clients. His eye for color, for mixing and
matching, for creating the next new look, the next fashion
statement, is constantly on the mark. “I always try to lead in with
new uses of pearls, “says Lynch. He makes up new combinations of
color, new combinations of various types of pearls, and with an eye
for unique pearls, “pearls with dimension to them,” says Lynch. “My
reputation is for introducing innovative pieces and new entries into
the pearl market – in freshwater goods especially.”
Now Jack doesn’t confine himself or his customers to just Chinese
freshwater cultured pearls. “I carry a bit of everything, from
Chinese freshwaters, to Akoyas, to Tahitian and South Seas.” And
it’s not just about his incredibly deep selection that makes him a
popular stop at gem and jewelry trade shows. “My price points begin
at $2 or $3 and go as high as $15,000 to $20,000. But even at $2 or
$3 dollars, the pearls I have will be of fine quality.”
Lynch’s sensitivity shows with not only his choice in pearls, but
also with his customer awareness. “I try to buy and create
combinations with designers in mind. And I’ve done really well with
people who are just starting out. The younger designers can always
find something from me to work with. I can help grow them and
stretch them by introducing them to new and unique possibilities…
and then stepping them up to more expensive things when they’re
ready. I understand what it’s like to start out in business without
a lot of money. The same philosophy of business needing to be
mutually beneficial applies to my dealings with all my customers. I
feel truly fortunate to have found a career that I enjoy so much and
that has brought me so many friends… it rarely feels like work. My
Memberships in the Cultured Pearl Association and The American Gem
Trade Association have also proved invaluable in business.”
Sea Hunt manages to stay current and fresh in inventory and design,
even in this especially tough economy, thanks in part to the Chinese
freshwater cultured pearl market. “In general, the jewelry trade has
not been buying large expensive items,” says Lynch. And it shows in
what Lynch is famous for; that inventory with a sense of unique and
modern style, Jack’s special attention to quality, color, and
design, with exceptionally attractive pricing, and Sea Hunt’s depth
and great selections others tend not to carry, or carry as much.
And while most pieces sold in the past 6 months may have been at
lower price points, at the same time, Lynch is selling through on
his more expensive items. “I think that people who have money still
want to buy something beautiful, but they need to buy something
that’s a little bit more bespoke… a bit quieter. And pearls are
perfect for that understated elegance.” Understated elegance, from
Jack Lynch and Sea Hunt Pearls.
The crew of Sea Hunt Pearls
Left to Right: Debra Kapp, Valerie Taylor, Jack, Helene Auerbach,
Francois Longere & Denise Walters
Sea Hunt Pearls
703 Market Street, Suite #1501
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 543-7900 phone
(415) 543-7991 fax seahuntprl@aol.com
Fourteen years ago, in 1995, Jack Lynch took that name and opened
Sea Hunt Pearls. But Jack had already been in the pearl business a
good decade prior to this. 
Jack returned to San Francisco. The designers he briefly worked with
always had a strong affinity to pearls and it opened up his eyes to
the range of possibilities. 
“I do travel overseas 3 or 4 times a year, but I also work very
closely with my suppliers year round.” Lynch has only a handful of
suppliers. “Instead of working with numerous ones, I work with a
select few. In this way, we’re more important to one another, and
I’m able to get exceptional merchandise throughout the year.” He
does go on buying trips to China, Hong Kong, and Japan. “While there
I try and develop new product with them, and see what fresh uses of
pearls we can come up with.” 
And it’s that long time relationship that allows him to hand select,
hi-grade every bit of inventory he carries, to get exactly what he
believes is right for his clients. His eye for color, for mixing and
matching, for creating the next new look, the next fashion
statement, is constantly on the mark. “I always try to lead in with
new uses of pearls, “says Lynch. He makes up new combinations of
color, new combinations of various types of pearls, and with an eye
for unique pearls, “pearls with dimension to them,” says Lynch. “My
reputation is for introducing innovative pieces and new entries into
the pearl market – in freshwater goods especially.” 
Lynch’s sensitivity shows with not only his choice in pearls, but
also with his customer awareness. “I try to buy and create
combinations with designers in mind. And I’ve done really well with
people who are just starting out. The younger designers can always
find something from me to work with. I can help grow them and
stretch them by introducing them to new and unique possibilities…
and then stepping them up to more expensive things when they’re
ready. I understand what it’s like to start out in business without
a lot of money. The same philosophy of business needing to be
mutually beneficial applies to my dealings with all my customers. I
feel truly fortunate to have found a career that I enjoy so much and
that has brought me so many friends… it rarely feels like work. My
Memberships in the Cultured Pearl Association and The American Gem
Trade Association have also proved invaluable in business.” 
Sea Hunt manages to stay current and fresh in inventory and design,
even in this especially tough economy, thanks in part to the Chinese
freshwater cultured pearl market. “In general, the jewelry trade has
not been buying large expensive items,” says Lynch. And it shows in
what Lynch is famous for; that inventory with a sense of unique and
modern style, Jack’s special attention to quality, color, and
design, with exceptionally attractive pricing, and Sea Hunt’s depth
and great selections others tend not to carry, or carry as much. 
