| You are correct - it is difficult to show exactly what a necklace is going to look like through a picture on the Internet. The biggest factor there is the difference between peoples computer screen.
I can take a photo of an Akoya necklace, and make sure that the color is accurate (to me) by holding it up against my computer monitor and in my mind get it as accurate as possible. Then when you, or some other customer, looks at that same picture, it will look different. They most likely will not have their monitor color calibrated, there will be differences in everything from gray tones to yellows from monitor manufacturer to manufacturer. A good example is two separate LCD panels that I own from the same "big name brand" manufacturer. One will not produce an accurate gradient from black to white. It moves through browns instead of grays. There is nothing that I can do to adjust this either. So pictures on this monitor will always have more brown or yellow in them.
So, one single picture will look different on every ones monitor.
Given that, the things that you should look for when choosing a necklace online are:
1) Do take a look at the pictures. Generally you can tell if they are of a real necklace or not. There is one Internet site (that I will not name at this time) that has pictures that look like they are "painted". And there is also not really any difference between their lowest grade and their highest grade in the way the pictures look.
2) Make sure that the company has a good refund policy and that it is stated clearly up front. If you do not like the pearls, you should be able to send them back with no hassle.
3) Take the knowledge that you have gained here and match it against the information on the companies web site. For instance, if a company tells you (or leads you to believe) that they sell only Japanese Akoya, they are not telling you the truth.
4) Make sure that the company has a clear grading scale for their pearls and that it is prominently posted. A reputable company will want you to know exactly what it is that you are buying. Also, make sure that this grading scale is in line with what would be considered "industry accepted". There are some companies that will grade their top pearls as AAA+, AAA++ or even AAAA. Be very wary of these companies.
Actually when reading back through these things, you are in essence choosing a company, not a necklace. It is easier to decide between the necklaces. An 8.0mm Akoya will be around twice the price of a 7.5mm Akoya necklace but there will only be a count difference of a few pearls on an 18 inch necklace. I would have to agree with Kevin, the 7.5mm is a very good value for the price and is very versatile. That is why it is one of our best selling sizes. |