| Hi Alex,
Welcome to the forum! Great set of questions, and great idea to treat your Mum to something so special. Here are my answers/opinions.
1. If your Mum doesn't already have a strand of pearls, go for stud earrings and a strand. If she does already have pearls, go for a pendant plus earrings if you can do it.
2. FW pearls have fabulous lustre, and whilst they're not SS's, many here would say they are superior. You certainly can afford a strand plus studs within your price range with FW.
3. All black/peacock shaded FW are dyed, the whites will be bleached down a bit to make them whiter, but the pinks, lavenders and goldy colours are natural colours for FW pearls. Usually pearls of a poorer quality are dyed to produce the black FW's.
4. The Freshadama etc. ranges are those pearls that would normally only be used for earrings -ie, true gem quality - hand selected by the vendors. These pearls are fabulous, but AAA are also pretty spectacular as a strand.
5. Again, if your Mum doesn't already have pearls, go for whites. If she does, then maybe lavenders or a multicolored strand would be nice.
6. I find earrings (particularly if completely round, rather than button shaped) over 10mm sometimes "droop" - the weight of the pearl pulling the earlobe forward. Depends a lot on the piercings in the ear, but as your Mum has been married for 30 years, maybe go for 9mm or so - still significant, but not so large as to fall over. Also, if your Mum is wearing the set together, I like smaller earrings. Large earrings look great with a pendant, or with a bracelet, but can sometimes be too much with a strand.
7. Lots of great sellers - all mentioned here in the forum. Just don't buy from a site where you can't return the item. You are buying them sight unseen, so you do need that backup. Also, give yourself some time ahead of the anniversary to ensure the gift is right. The sponsors here all have fantastic customer service! The higher prices on the website reflect retail prices in B&M stores - usually these sellers are buying through one or more wholesalers - the online guys tend to buy direct, which, accompanied by lower overheads, keeps the prices down.
8. Whoops! No question 8!!
What a lovely thing to do for your parents!! Hope it goes well, and remember, we LOVE photos, so please keep us posted with your purchase decisions! Good luck! |