After a long career in Marketing, Mirabel Rosar decided to finally pursue her passion for jewellery. She founded ARAO in order to curate timeless, accessible, and versatile pieces with the Golden South Sea Pearl at its center. As the National Gem of the Philippines, this precious pearl represents the beauty of the country’s heritage, in which Mirabel takes pride in. Mirabel also has a great love for the ocean, and enjoys surfing with her husband, Till. This love inspired her to promote sustainability through ethical pearl farming that nurtures the oysters’ home - the sea - and keeps the environment and its ecosystem healthy. ARAO jewellery aspires to share the beauty of the Golden South Sea Pearl to the rest of the world, and encourages women to find the same beauty within.
OUR PURPOSE
‘ARAO’ (or ‘araw’) in Filipino directly translates to “sun.” It is also the root word of ‘araw-araw,’ which means “every day.”
ARAO’s sustainable and ethical jewellery showcases the rich hues and bright luster of Golden South Sea pearls. We craft our artisanal pieces with empowering women in mind to allow them to discover their own light within, and let it shine every day.
OUR PROCESS
The Golden South Sea Pearl is a living beauty of the Philippines. Named as the National Gem, it represents much of who Filipinos are and the values that the country possesses.
Being one of the largest pearls, its culturing process involves a lot of time (four to five years to cultivate), precision and expertise to produce a single pearl. It is because of this that it is considered one of the most valuable gems worldwide.
ARAO purposefully selects beautiful Golden South Sea pearls for our jewellery collections. We carefully take into account size, surface, shape, color, nacre quality, and most importantly, luster to make timeless pieces.
OUR sustainability efforts
ARAO strives to be sustainable in everything that we do. We believe in doing what is best for both our customers and our environment. Our sustainability efforts consist of:
Ethical Sourcing
Our pearls are directly sourced from a sustainable pearl farm in Palawan, Philippines. An illustrious pearl can only be produced in a healthy environment. Pearl farmers foster and nurture not only the oysters containing the pearls, but also their habitat - their home.
No Waste Mantra
We are able to maintain a sustainable business by avoiding waste in the production of our pearls. Working with organic material, we are able to utilize every part of the oyster, from shell to gem. Both the pearl and the shell are designed into our jewellery pieces, while the oyster itself makes a scrumptious dish.
Packaging
We also reduce waste with our packaging, which is made 100% recycled/upcycled material. The pearls also come in a beautiful and reusable box that can serve as a lovely home for your gems.
Long-Lasting Product
Our pearls are made with high quality pieces that will stay with you for a very long time. With our classic and timeless designs, they become accessories you can grow with. The more you wear them during your daily activities, the brighter they shine.
Give Back
ARAO partnered with The Philippines Foundation (TPF) to promote education in the Philippines amongst the nanay (or mothers) and their children to create an impact on the environment. With its major programs that focus on the restoration of coral reefs and mangroves and youth education covering 5 million students, ARAO aims to give back to its global community by donating 1% of its sales to TPF.
