[Jim]

I am trying to buy a AAA 16inch 7.5-8.0 mm strand of Akoya pearls and I don't know if I am safe buying online. I have looked at Nationalpearl.com and several others. How do I protect myself, because this is a major investment (30th wedding anniversary), but the internet retailers seem to be a bit less expensive. I appreciate any help or direction anyone can offer.

[Caitlin]

Hi Jim
I am not a seller and I have no agreements with any seller here. I have been reading posts and looking at pearl websites for about a year and a half and have come to trust selllers who post here. I would buy from any of them.

They are honest and sell what they say they are selling for the best prices you can get because they have far fewer middlemen than brick and mortar jewelers. They also have generous return policies of up to 90 days, so you can actually buy from several dealers, compare at your leisure and return all but your favorite.

In my opinion, you just can't get the quality or the same price in a brick and mortar that you can get online. Plus these online dealers who deal with China actually know something about pearls, unlike most jewelry store clerks!

[Kevin Canning]

Hey Jim,

While I have never seen any of Nationalpearl.com's product first hand one issue does come to mind that you may want to ask them personally about.

They claim to sell only AAA and AAA+ pearls - which is typically a sign of something fishy going on. Below is a quote from the pearl grading page found here on the Pearl Guide:

Use of "AAAA" or "AAA+" is considered bad taste, or even dishonesty, by most reputable pearl dealers - simply a way to charge the customer more without providing a superior product.

I suggest you read the complete article here: Pearl Grading

My Gut instinct is that their AAA is equivalent to the average AA and their AAA+ is simply your average AAA and they are simply taking advantage of the lack of a standard grading system, sadly I have seen this trick time and time again with fly by night operations.

Also for a long time they claimed to sell the highest quality pearls on the Internet, a statement which they have rightfully removed from their website.

If you do wish to take a chance on them I and many other members would love to hear your experience.

[Caitlin]

Kevin
Aren't they members here? At least one National Pearls is- with 28 posts so far:
Andrew Paul Williams
President, National Pearl
National Pearl
www.nationalpearl.com
1-877-PEARL11

[Kevin Canning]

Ya he is a member here and as a member he should know better then to engage in deceptive marketing practices. I have been selling pearls online for a long time and I have seen the influx of websites that copy what the pioneers have done, right down to the 90-day return policy. The problem is they can't compete with the pioneers on quality or price so they always play with their grading systems to try and achieve an edge, this is a practice that I find extremely harmful to the industry and they have 2 choices: change they way they market their pearls or fade off into the sunset like the rest.

[purepearls]

Dear Jim,
There are several ways to protect yourself.
1. Make sure you are buying from a reputable company.
2. Check out their return policy.
3. Don't be afraid to call the company and ask them any questions you may have.
4. Make sure the company will always put you first and ensure your happiness. Go with your gut feeling when choosing someone to purchase from.

I hope this helps and Happy Anniversary!

[Jim]

I appreciate all the comments and information. My intent is to order online very shortly from one of those who responded. I did check at a jewelry store to see some live necklaces and they only had A and A+ Mikimoto pearls. These were very expensive, smaller than I wanted, and were not either flawless or terribly bright. They also said that they can't get AAA quality pearls anymore for some reason related to water temperature. However, AAA quality seems to be readily available on the net. It is hard to sort all this out. Again, thanks to everyone for the feedback.

[jshepherd]

LOL I love to hear reports of excuses like that - cannot get AAA because of water temperature. The only logical explanation for that excuse is they have no AAA, no real pearl source, and they want you to buy what they do have available.
They pulled that answer completely out of their ******.

[Zeide Erskine]

Hi Jeremy,

I think it is the commission system. Contrary to common belief, Mikimoto does not culture its own pearls. The Mikimoto Island operation is a pure themepark for tourists. The company buys from the same factory auctions as you do. With so much competition for the AAA grade now from sellers that pay upfront, they keep the top grades for their flagship stores and put all the lower grades on memo. Also, Mikimoto does not rate its AAA as hanadama nor is it the highest grade they sell. Hanadama is sold as separate collectors' grade and they even offer gem grade (hanadama with extra thick nacre and some orient) as the absolute top. At least last time I checked.

Zeide

[purepearls]

That is quite an excuse and very funny! I wonder how long it took them to come up with that.

[Pearls_by_Angela_Carol]

I know that this is off topic from the original post but it sort of fits in with the talk of local jewelers.

I routinely stop by the local jewelers in my area to look at the different pearl offerings they have. I am always disappointed in the quality and in the lack of selection. However, there are a couple of local shops that have good appraisal services with certified appraisers there on site (one of these happens to be a family owned business). I decided to take a strand of Freshwater, a strand of Akoya and a strand of Tahitians to them for appraisal.

When I presented them, the first, and unanimous response from the people working there was "WOW, these make our pearls look dingy".

Two days later the owner of the store called me and said that I could come by and pick the pearls up at any time. He also said that unfortunately he could not do the appraisals - that he simply was not qualified to appraise pearls of this quality. The upside - he was honest.

I hope this little story will help others see that most local jewelers really do not know much about pearls. It is not what they specialize in and they only carry a few pieces so that they can "round out" their offering to the public. You may find some Akoya pearls there, most have some "potato" shaped Freshwater and in almost all cases you will never see any Tahitian or South Sea pearls.

[purepearls]

Hi Stephen,
Thanks so much for sharing that story. I think it's important for customers to understand that when they decide to get their pearls appraised, it's really important to get it done by an independent appraiser who is not tied to one specific jewelry store. Also, the appraiser should specialize in pearls due to their complex nature. A generic appraiser who has a broad understanding of jewelry and pearls will not take into consideration all the little nuances that make up pearl quality because they just don't have the experience.

I think it is very admirable that the appraisers in that particular store were honest about their experience.