Website...

[MissieMel]

Hi. I'm a newbie with a question. Does pearlsonly.com sell real pearls? Thank you.

[The Pearl Outlet]

Yes, they most certainly do. You can't charge that much and stay in business if you don't. Here is a thread on a recent discussion about pearlsonly.

Pearls Only Thread (http://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=329)

[Pearls_by_Angela_Carol]

Does pearlsonly.com sell real pearls? The simple answer is yes, they are real pearls. They are cultured in an oyster or mollusk by artificially inserting irritant into its tissue.

There have been other threads on this forum that discuss the more "complicated" answer. Here are some quotes from other members of the forum on this subject:



They advertise that all of their pearls are Japanese. This is patently false. See this article: Japanese Pearls?"

They state the following:


Choose Japanese Akoya pearls when looking for a high-end luxury pearl. Akoya pearls can originate from many places in the world, including China, however Chinese Akoya are of much lower grade and quality and are at least 70% less valuable than Japanese Akoya. Japanese Akoya are the true original. A classic fifth-avenue luxury gift. At PearlsOnly all of our Akoya pearls are Japanese Akoya.

This is beyond false. It is an outright lie. When grading Akoya pearls, the country of origin is never disclosed. Furthermore, many Chinese Akoya pearls surpass Japanese Akoya pearls in quality and thus will appraise for more. This is simply a marketing scam to charge more for their pearls.




In regards to price and value, for those of us who watch trends on the Internet, their prices have been steadily increasing (with a big jump near the beginning of the holiday season). What is more notable, however, is that the "retail value" of the same items has jumped tremendously for the same items, and same qualities. I guess it is just a justification of high prices. It appears to me that the average mark up they carry for freshwater is 8-10 times the price they probably pay.

Also, their shipping origin has been discussed. While they have an address listed as Houston TX, they are located in and do ship directly from Beijing China. This has historically caused issues with some customers. There have been instances where shipments have been held at US Customs because of inadequate paperwork and some customers have received unexpected bills for duties and taxes from UPS and from FedEx.

Another thing to be aware of is their grading system. They use a AAAA (four A) grading system and do not disclose the actual percentage of blemishing on their surface purity (using only descriptions such as 'clean', 'near clean'). The commonly accepted grading scale is A - AAA (three A) scale with AAA representing 95% of the surface being unblemished and AA+ representing 90% of the surface being unblemished. This would suggest that their AAAA quality is equivalent to others AAA quality, which leads us back to the previous quote concerning price and value.

[MissieMel]

Thank you both your help. :) It was very informative and I will look at the thread that was posted. I want to be sure to buy good quality pearls.

[purepearls]

Even if a company is selling real pearls, there are many aspects that are involved when determining if the pearls are of high quality. Look at the company's grading scale and hopefully, it will detail exactly what you are getting for that particular grade. Beware of vagueness! Also, compare pricing with other online stores and determine whether you feel confident buying from that particular jeweler. Finally, remember to look at the refund policy of the company in question. Be certain you can send them back in the event that you are unhappy.

[ben805]

My sister bought some 7~8mm AAAA freshwater from pearlsonly last month, the price is outrageous (ie: 8~9mm freshwater 16" necklace for $999!!!) though the quality of AAAA is top notch, but I would recommend you to get the pearls from pearl paradise, pearl outlet, purepearl and other sellers here on this forum, they offer much higher quality and better value pearls than pearlsonly, two days ago when I'd asked one of the pearlsonly's online rep why they charge so much for these freshwater pearls, they said "hang on"...then disconnected me :rolleyes:

[Kevin Canning]

If you are still uncertain the best thing to do is to order from the same strand from a few companies and keep the one that you like the best and return the others. Just make sure you read the return policies of the companies you choose to deal with and make sure you can get a full refund should you be unsatisfied.

[Pearls_by_Angela_Carol]

If you are still uncertain the best thing to do is to order from the same strand from a few companies and keep the one that you like the best and return the others. Just make sure you read the return policies of the companies you choose to deal with and make sure you can get a full refund should you be unsatisfied.

Excellent suggestion! The only other thing to be aware of is their grading scale. If a company is using AAAA (4 A'a) to describe their highest quality that creates a few misconceptions: That they have a higher quality pearl than everyone else and worse, that their AAA grade is the same as other company's AAA grade.

This applies not only to the overall grade but also the luster and surface quality. If a company has an overall grade of AAAA on a pearl but only lists it surface quality as AAA, that does not mean that it has a good quality surface.

It is this very thing that creates confusion with the customer and in my opinion is a misrepresentation of product by the company that does this.

The other thing that is very important is to read the specifications carefully. I have seen necklaces for sale where the Body grade is A, the Shape grade is A and the Luster grade is AA and the picture used to portray that necklace seems to be one of the roundest, shiniest ones they have!

[purepearls]

You can also ask the company for references and credentials! It is always a relief when you know you are working with an honest company and it never hurts to ask.