Staff was meh, i went to their location in SF, i saw the way the staffs interacted with customers. They were so friendly, enthusiastic, and polite. I wish we had that kind of interaction on our first experience at Pearl Factory This location on the other hand, it was an ok place. We just wanted to get an oyster pearl. At first, the staff's energy was so off but then as soon as she started seeing that we wanted to buy she became hella engaged with us, became friendly and starting conversations (which we could tell was fake as we knew that she will get commission from this) Also, my bf wanted to film me picking out an oyster and then she goes "you can film but just make sure u dont put my face in it." like ok? why would we want ur face in our video? idk her vibe was so off the whole time. Kudos to the staff in SF location at the Pier 39 read more

Saturday afternoon and we were taking in the sights at Monterey Cannery Row. Stopped in at the Pearl Factory because this girl does love pearls. Both employees were very friendly and greeted everyone as they entered the store. I waited patiently to see the items in their glass displays, but I was growing a bit inpatient as it took a while. After the young man was finished helping his customer, he walked over and showed me the items I wanted to see. The first item was a necklace with the gold chain and pearls spaced in between. It was a cute pearl chain however it was a bit over my budget at a cost of $1200.00. In my opinion I felt it was way overpriced. The second item was a bracelet with an opening and two pearls. It was a bit more reasonable at $800.00 however I decided to pass on this on too. read more

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This is not perfect writing because I'm upset!!! On Saturday 8/29/2026 My Daughter and her boyfriend (both JUST turned 18yrs old) pretty smart and pretty good kids. Went to have a great day date on Cannery Row! HOWEVER that whatever that "$18" open for the pearl deal catch....SO SO WRONG for ANY AGE! BUT for 2 teens on a budget trying to have a nice time and what money they did have to enjoy things and meals along the way did not go so well when they got to Pearl Factory!! The thought that "deal" for $18 was a great thing experience. WELP after they went in and did get to open. Then person assisting mentioned THEN of the jewelry part. Which was $$$$. Ok some older teens may have the funds BUT come on really. The sales person could have nicely MADE IT CLEAR to them of the break down. BUT NO! So my poor daughter and her boyfriend felt they HAD to buy the pear and jewelry part!! After they left my daughter did call me to let me know what happened. I reminded them they could have advised "No thank you and left". They already had left the area and were embarrassed to go back. But originally were felt they HAD to buy this item. Lesson leads for them the hard way and struggles to put what $ they had together in their own savings which was JUST enough to buy the item! WATCH OUT FOR THIS "$18 deal" making it like that's just it and get to open and keep it. LIES especially for my daughter and her boyfriend! Imagine other young teens just trying to enjoy a budget move day and get taken advantage of! I ALREADY KNEW what store she was talking about. I recall this some years back of a friend who was in her 30's saying she almost fell for their "$18" pearl deal!!! read more

I chose to visit Monterey recently for a little piece of home, and I wanted to visit my favorite small businesses at Cannery Row. Stunned, I saw that stores changed around some and new businesses stepped in--one being the Pearl Factory. What drew me to the Pearl Factory? I had time to kill before my reservation at El Torito and the novelty of choosing an oyster for a pearl. Their whole ritual felt insufferably cringe. As a cultural bearer and beader, I can confirm that they drilled the indignity of cringe into my person through tourist-trap k'omé nonsense. I can confirm that this what justifies the $18 price (before tax) * $12-15 for a B-Grade round pearl (at least 1, as marketed, because some oyster may contain more) * $2 for choosing the oyster * Complimentary cleaning of the pearl and drilling into the pearl to mount it What cheapened the experience? * The opening ritual: easily the first embarrassment. There was no need to make a public announcement for the opening that involved a big bell. I was not comfortable with it, and expressed discomfort in it for the whole "aloha" shout. It cut out $10 of the experience for me. * The lack of knowledge from the sales clerk and overselling basic metal-smithing methods undermined the experience. I am a jeweler trained for beadwork and smithing, and the sales clerk tried to convince me the lost wax casting system as an exotic commodity to convince me to buy a setting for the pearl. I kindly remarked that I do silver-smithing and am familiar with the process. They then tried to sell me on the metaphysics of the pearl in Polynesian cultures, which sounded more like 1950s tourist trap lingo and unpublished EXCEPT for the Tahitian pearls, which I confirmed as honest. They lacked a history of Monterey bay's own western pearlshell, the freshwater mussel that is a protected species traditionally used to make jewelers by local Native Nations, and it showed. This cuts into by $5. * Pushing customers to buy a mount for the pearl or having the choose your pearl as a complimentary to a $99+ purchase. A couple of other customers looked around the store during the same time and I paid attention to how they were served, too. After having my pearl drilled for mounting, the sales clerk kept pushing me to buy a mount there, but I kindly told her that I planned on using it for my beading practice. That only changed the topic to encourage me to post my work to credit the business. At the same time, she and another clerk pressed the couple in the store to buy a pearl bracelet. They also looked uncomfortable, but dragged along. Personally, all the designs in the shop were tacky and mass produced. The store lacked signs crediting the designers, or anything that held a significant touch like an explanation card for the symbolism of the setting. It made the jewelry worthless to me and not an investment in art and taste. My experience summed up is best a shoddy $4 cocktail trumped up to $20.50 (after tax as of this posting). This is confirmed when I spoke to the small businesses in Cannery Row who remarked how predatory Pearl Factory is to its customers, which transformed into a mini-salon on the second floor with other folks targeted by Pearl Factory's practices. If you are looking for novelty with sincerity, then I recommend the long-standing businesses in the area. The consensus from the gathering recommended Kochiya Pearls & Gems if you are staying within the Cannery Row area. read more

Went to this store on February this year, we were getting out from Fish Hopper and i've been wanting to open the oyster for so long and finally did it in here, which is terrible experience so far in my life! I should not choose this store. So after we opened the oyster the girl drop my first pearl ever! Which is horrible, and on top of that i felt like i got scam for buying the cheapy little ring to put my pearl on top of it! The girls told us once we seal the pearl with the glue and leave it for 24hours it should be good to wear the ring and the pearl will stay still. And guess what not even 3 months later the pearl is falling apart! And i wish i didn't done this experience EVERRR!!! Feel so disappointed!!! read more

This store is a scam, beware! These pearls aren't pearls that grew in the oyster, these are cheap pearls made in a factory and placed into a dead oyster, and not naturally grown. They will tell you, how yours is even a rare or special one, when it's not. These are low quality. They will then sell you hard into creating a necklace or ring setting that's expensive. This whole store is one big scam. Don't even go into it. Stay far away. read more

I went in here because I love pearls and have always wanted to open an oyster to find one. It was fun at first, the girl behind the counter was very nice, however I started sweating as I found myself feeling like I had been caught in a scam. The pearl itself is oddly perfectly round, which is suspicious, but I understand they insert a pearl from a river mollusk into an oyster, which might explain its perfect shape. Kinda sad that they give the oyster cancer just to then kill it after the pearl is formed but there are worse things to worry about than mistreated mollusks, I guess. Then we were talked into buying a very expensive setting even after asking if we could just take the pearl, we were told that is not recommended because I could lose it, despite the setting being roughly the same size as the pearl, and just as easily losable. Makes no sense, just trying to upsell their expensive jewelry when I only wanted a pearl. Should've put my foot down and only bought the pearl but it's my fault for being scared to say no lol. Left the store feeling terrible and like I had just wasted 100$ on jewelry I don't want and a cheap pearl from an already dead oyster. Definitely low quality pearls and more for the experience but beware the upselling! read more