[vpeter]

hi,
I was looking for a pearl necklace around 7-7.5/8 mm size for my partner. Is the AAA grade good enough? Are the hanadama pearls worth the massive jump in prices?
I was looking for a reliable place to buy quality pearls in the UK.
The one I came accross was pearlsonly. But they grade their pearls as AAAA. [hanadama].
I thought there isn't a grade AAAA.
Any advise re this retailer or anywere else to get good quality pearls from in the UK.
Thanks

[jshepherd]

Hi vPeter,

Hanadama and AAA are very, very similar. But Hanadama is lab-certified and AAA is not. Hanadama is basically the best of the best AAA.

Regarding a supplier in the UK, try Selectraders, http://www.selectraders.co.uk/akoya-pearls-2.html.

The PearlsOnly Web site is not in the UK. They are based in China and their pearls ship out of China. They have no UK office.

[tanakarn1]

It is possible to find AAA Akoya as beautiful as Hanadama. The common grading system for Akoya is A, AA, AAA, the AAA is the top grade. Anyway you can find AAA+, AAAA or even AAAAA+ on ebay. Hadanama pearl necklace always have a certificate from a pearl laboratory in Japan.

You can see photos of AAA Akoya & Hanadama that people have posted them here at pearl-guide.com

Good luck,
Tanakarn

[vpeter]

Originally Posted by vpeter

hi,
I was looking for a pearl necklace around 7-7.5/8 mm size for my partner. Is the AAA grade good enough? Are the hanadama pearls worth the massive jump in prices?
I was looking for a reliable place to buy quality pearls in the UK.
The one I came accross was pearlsonly. But they grade their pearls as AAAA. [hanadama].
I thought there isn't a grade AAAA.
Any advise re this retailer or anywere else to get good quality pearls from in the UK.
Thanks

Thanks for the advise. How about buying from the US. Could you please advise me where to look.
Thank you

[Sueki]

Hello Peter,
I'm in the U.K. and have made several successful purchases from PearlParadise.com and Pearlsof Joy.com
Both leant over backwards to help me and both sent me fabulous pearls for much less than I can buy here in the U.K. of comparable quality. Even allowing for import duty.
There are several other U.S. vendors on here who are also highly recommended by others.

[Pearl_dreams]

Also, although you have asked about Akoya pearls specifically, you may be interested to know that freshwater pearls are now available which have a high degree of luster, are round to the eye, and do not contain a bead nucleus-- so they won't wear out as Akoyas will eventually. They cost a fraction of what Akoyas cost. These are top of the line freshwater pearls.

PearlParadise.com sells these as "Freshadama", and other vendors have a similar product under their own proprietary names. I have a strand of these and can attest to their luster and beauty. They are a great alternative to Akoyas.