Our Story
Isle of Wight Pearl started with an idea – holidays are special, rare time with those we love that should be treasured accordingly. For more than thirty years our family-run business has travelled the world to find the very best pearls. We buy straight from pearl farmers, bringing the pearls home for you to celebrate precious moments. Looking out over the spectacular cliff-top views of the English Channel, Isle of Wight Pearl and the much loved Pearl Café have grown into our World of Wonderful where we love to get stuck into island life and tell all and sundry about the wonderful world of pearls.
Our founder, Fred Scragg, noticed how people love to treat themselves on holiday, so he decided to build something extraordinary. He set out to give holidaymakers a wonderful reminder of their time in the Isle of Wight.
Fred had travelled the world in his previous life as an inventor-slash-engineer and had fallen in love with pearls.
In 1988 we opened Isle of Wight Pearl and on the first day, the car park was full of coaches and a queue stretched from the front door, all the way out to the main road.
Fred’s vision had become reality, and it was clear early on that people loved it. Fred not only sought out and hand picked the pearls he believed were truly special, but he also created a memorable place that helped people treasure holiday time together.
Since then, more than 30 million people have visited our stores; that’s around 10 million people who can open their jewellery boxes, see our crown and be reminded of a special time in their lives.
Today our World of Wonderful is dear to many – from the pearl farmers whose care and skill produces nature’s most beautiful organic gems, to the designers and artisans who create our beautiful jewellery.
This is how we know that big ideas really can happen, and so our world of wonderful continues to grow in new ways every year.
