| The light bulb method definitely can work, but at the same time, in dim light the white pearls will still be more reflective (I like the quote about reading the text on the bulb!). These reflective pearls can look chalky with indirect natural light, but beautiful in the evening. I am not referring to low-end pearls (eBay quality), these will look bad no matter the time of day.
To me the samples I bring are absolutely essential as the difference in high-luster merchandise may be difficult to detect.
One trick I have had to deal with several times over the years (and almost every time with a new factory) is they will not show their high luster pearls, but start with low-quality and then bring in medium quality pearls. With this type of comparison viewing the medium quality pearls tend to look like top quality pearls. This is dangerous for the buyer. With a set of samples this will not/cannot happen. |