[GemGeek]

I'm afraid my pearl budget is busted for a very very long time, but the good news is that I purchased a strand of certified Hanadama pearls from Pearl Paradise and they are so beautiful that they almost look like they have little lights inside of them.

I did not like akoya pearls before Jeremy showed me a natural-color strand last spring. That was it. I was hooked. Well, I happened to be visiting on the day that they came back from the lab in Japan and I got to pick out my strand in person. As long as I was going to burn in hell, I bought Hanadama earrings and a light-golden akoya strand.

Here they are in indirect daylight:


And here they are with my Freshadamas. Because they haven't been pinked, they make the Freshadamas look dark.


Now I've added the light-golden akoyas at the top for further comparison. In reality, the Freshadamas compare color-wise to the pinked Hanadamas and look white against the skin.


Here's one with some of the kyanite in quartz I picked up last Sunday in the desert.


And the requisite sunshine shot. In sunshine the overtones look equally blue and pink. <sigh>


I hope you enjoy seeing the photos.
Cheers,
Blaire

[GemGeek]

There was a surprise when Jeremy opened the Hanadama box - they had certified some golden and blue strands Kinsyoku and Madama, the colored equivalent of Hanadama for whites.

I wish I had taken some photos of the golden Kinsyokus and blue Madamas for you. I have never seen anything like them. They were simply incredible. I hope that they will find happy homes with some of you so I can see your photos. And of course you'll be asked for neck shots, so get ready!

[Heidi]

The suspense is killing me! Pending approval....tap, tap, tap.

I must say, the prospect of the colored strands really piques my interest - and the un-pinked whites.

Perhaps an uninformed question but: Is there a standard, minimum nacre thickness associated with Hanadama certification?

[waimeamomi]

They are gorgeous. Not sure what it means about not being pinked - is that a treatment?

[Mervione]

If I remember correctly then pinking is some kind of dye that makes the pink overtones stronger. Most akoyas with pink overtones have been pinked I think.

[Hanaleimom]

Thank you for sharing those photos. I am not into akoyas, but after seeing these photos...oh WOW!!! Blaire, I doubt if you are going to burn in h***, but if you are, you're getting there with class. Ditto the same question Heidi asked, please tell us about the nacre thickness. Did you mention that to be Hanadama they have to be at least .4mm? Does the cert. give the exact mm, such as .5mm or just state that it's at least .4mm?

My screen shows the akoya's luster to be much sharper than the freshadama. What a treat to see these!

I wish there were photos of Kinsyoku and Madama. But sharing these photos has been greatly appreciated. Wear them in good health.

[Hanaleimom]

Originally Posted by GemGeek

There was a surprise when Jeremy opened the Hanadama box - they had certified some golden and blue strands Kinsyoku and Madama, the colored equivalent of Hanadama for whites.

I wish I had taken some photos of the golden Kinsyokus and blue Madamas for you. I have never seen anything like them. They were simply incredible. I hope that they will find happy homes with some of you so I can see your photos. And of course you'll be asked for neck shots, so get ready!

Please show us neck shots with the golden strand.

[knotty panda]

I AM SO INCREDIBLY PLEASED TO SEE A POST CELEBRATING AKOYAS! There are posts on the forum that seem to suggest that we are only looking for substitutes for non-bead nucleated pearls when nothing could be further from the truth. I saw my first strand of Hanadamas about two years ago at Iridesse. I pulled it out of the case and inspected it, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to compare it with my freshadamas. I do know it wasn't pinked.

I think Akoyas feel incredibly sensual against the skin and deliciously decadent. And the luster doesn't fade.

I'm jealous, Blaire. Wear them in the best of health!

I went back to reread your post and now I'm confused. Are the Hanadamas pinked? Thanks!

[newberry]

You pearls a just beautiful! Thank you for posting pictures of the different strands together it really shows the difference between them. Wear them all in good health.

[jshepherd]

Originally Posted by knotty panda

I saw my first strand of Hanadamas about two years ago at Iridesse. I pulled it out of the case and inspected it, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to compare it with my freshadamas. I do know it wasn't pinked.

I went back to reread your post and now I'm confused. Are the Hanadamas pinked? Thanks!

I am confused when you state that you knew it wasn't pinked. Pinking is as universal as bleaching with akoya pearls, and it is a non-disclosed treatment. The only way we are able to prove the natural whites have not been pinked is because it is stated in a special line in the PSL lab certificate. That is what makes the natural white hanadamas different. They have not been bleached, nor have they been pinked.

[pattye]

Blaire,

Just splendid! Thank you for the photos allowing a comparison, it is helpful in so many ways! Enjoy these beauties!

[knotty panda]

Originally Posted by jshepherd

I am confused ...

Well, that makes two of us! The cert was with strand and I didn't see anything that said treatment, not that I can read Japanese, but the translation didn't say anything about treatments. But you say it's not disclosed. Also, Tiffany, or so I was told, doesn't handle pinked pearls, in Akoyas, at least. Not that pinking is bad, but it's their personal preference. Is that wrong too?

[jshepherd]

Tiffany & Co. definitely sell pinked pearls. If you were told they were not pinked, you were mislead. Tiffany, Mikimoto, us ... everyone sells pinked pearls. Just like we all sell bleached pearls. But bleaching and pinking are not standard disclosures. CIBJO has now stated that these treatments should and need to be disclosed, but they almost never are - just like maeshori and bleaching of South Sea pearls in Japan is not disclosed.

The hanadama certificate will only state that the pearls have NOT been color-enhanced in any way if they are of natural color. It won't state anything about color treatment if the pearls have been pinked. I know it is sort of the opposite of the way it should work, but because pinking is so universal, pearls that have not been pinked are the exception.

[Nerida]

Oh GemGeek, those pearls are amazing.... I fell a bit in love with them too when Jeremy showed them to me just before the ruckus. Same ones? They made me see akoyas differently.. never really liked them before. I would love to see some of the light golden ones in person sometime too!

[waimeamomi]

I want to see the blue ones!!