[sweetfrock]

Hello, I'm from Singapore. I just wanted to share a little of my excitement 'cos I can hardly contain it right now! Please bear with my somewhat longwinded story. Oh and I'm sorry if I've put this in the wrong section... I just didn't know which category I could fit this in.

I had a strand of freshwater pearls which my mother gave to me in March 2006, when I'd just graduated and started working. She'd bought them when we went on a vacation to China in 1999. These were approx 5mm in size and slightly buttony shaped. I didn't have matching earrings to go but they looked so pretty just on their own. I loved them and wore them nearly daily.

However in late 2006 I notice that the luster of the pearls had almost worn down. It looked terrible and I stopped wearing the necklace altogether. So I was pearl-less for quite some months.

It was only last week that I'd decided I was desperate for my old pearls. I really missed wearing them. So I discussed this with several colleagues and friends. Many of them directed me to local jewellers, whose pearls were either (now that I've learnt some from your website) A+ quality, or AA quality... and they went for S$100-300 (approx US$70-200) per necklace. But I thought it was time I invested in a set that would last me some years and were quality. So then I was directed to Mikimoto. But Mikimoto was crazily expensive. A colleague had gotten a set, approx 5mm for S$1000. But she's really petite, about 4'9". I'm 5'1". (And now I know that S$1000 went mostly to the clasp!)

Unfortunately here in Singapore, pearl-information is not readily available, and whatever you can get your hands on, it's always skimpy, and biased. So if you were to buy pearls you'ld go for extreme ends of the scale. Most people here still think that only deep/south sea pearls are good, Japanese is good, freshwater is bad, China is bad. And I was one of them.

Having some experience with online shopping I sought out the next best thing to having a pearl expert on hand; to search out a pearl forum! And I found this place. It started out as just simple reading on what types of pearls there were...

Anyway thank you all for having this website, I think I'm lucky to have started my search off here, rather than other pearl forums... thank you for being so transparent and unbiased.

I'm looking forward to my Freshadamas!

Thank you, thank you, thank you ALL!!!

[salem]

Hi Sweetfrock,

Cute name! It is nice to see someone else on here from Asia. I just joined this month too, and I have become addicted to this site. I also ordered a stand from PP. Just a note, it make take a couple days longer than you are expecting because they have to verify the credit card number before they ship. It is an extra precaution PP takes because of credit card fraud. There must be a big problem because other sites do it as well and some won't ship to Asia at all. But that is ok, because PP is the one I was most interested in anyway.

I ordered the 7-8mm dyed black AAA strand. I already have a beautiful Akoya 17inch 8mm, an a double strand of chinese CFWP, so I wanted something black. I saw some rave reviews if Jeremy's experiment with the dye, and it seemed to thrill eeryone who ordered a strand. I really wanted the 9-10mm, but it was sold out. Anyway, I am pretty excited too. I keep checking the Fedex site for tracking updates.

I guess I do expect one huge downside. As I expect I will love the pearls(and already have a growing obsession), my tastes will moe on to more expensive strands. I am already eyeing a few. *sigh* I think I need to bigger pearl budget.

[salem]

Oops, I meant to include this before. I wouldn't worry about the pearl size. 7-8mm seems to be the standard size for most women, especially as a first necklace. Plenty of time to move up. heehee I am 5'3" and don'T know if I would go above 9-10mm anyway. I am just not sure if I could pull it off.

But I hope to...someday.

[youngster]

I'm sure that size will look great on you. 7 - 8 mm is classic. Plenty of time for those larger sizes down the road. It would be very fun to hear what your friends and co-workers think of your new pearls, so please post their reactions!

[perlas]

Hi Sweetfrock,

There's not much pearls in Singapore compared to other Asian countries, no?

I haven't really scouted for pearls in Singapore but have you tried Chinatown? I usually cross over to Malaysia to shop since the prices are 1/3 cheaper.

[sweetfrock]

Hi Salem, lovely to meet someone from Japan! I agree with you on the black CFWP... it would be a treat to get that, but as much as I am quickly getting obsessed with pearls, I should wait and enjoy the freshadamas first. Thanks for informing me about the shipping, the extra days will soon pass quickly. Do they mail you the tracking number on the package?

Youngster, yes I'm looking forward to seeing how the freshadamas compare with the akoyas... I'll update you on that!

Perlas: you're absolutely right! There are some shops in Chinatown selling pearls, especially in the People's Park Pearl Centre (so aptly named). I'll go take a look there sometime. The only thing is my lack of knowledge about pearls would mean that I will have to listen to what the sales assistants has to say about their wares. That part is a bit of a concern to me. I'll look around the shops to get an idea of what's on offer though. Thanks for the headsup!

[Caitlin]

Hi Sweetfrock & Salem

Nice to have you both here. I love it when people make pearl friends through this forum!

[salem]

Hi Sweetfrock,


Just an update. I did get the tracking number and checked it often(somehow I got excited with each movement). I had noticed this moring it had arrived in Narita for customs. Yay...in Japan!! Then I got a call from Fedex with some questions about the receipts. I think everything worked out and they will arrive TOMORROW. I feel like singing the song from ANNIE. lol But the email Mia Mesa sent me had a delivery estimate of March 2nd. So two days early. Can't wait. I will let you know what I think.

Caitlin, thanks for the welcome. I have read a lot of your posts on beading and am starting to get that itch too. What a slippery slope. Fun though!

[perlas]

Hi Sweetfrock,

Do not fully trust what the sellers say in Chinatown and People's Park. Bring your freshadamas, carry it with you when you buy pearls so you can see the comparison and thus know what you are buying. Incandescent light will show the pearls at their best so sellers use them. If you can try and candle the pearls at a light source, do so in order to see all the blemishes and/or bleach marks. A lot of blemishes and bleach marks are masked by pearls with great luster.

Anyway, there are black dyed pearls there that look great. If they do not cost much, go for it! Look at Caitlin's black klonks, they look great.

[salem]

Hi again,

Just wanted to let you know I am wearing my pearls as I type. I started a new thread under freshwater pearls to describe my reaction and add a couple questions I had. Can't wait to hear about yours Sweetfrock, I bet you'll love them.

[sweetfrock]

Thank you Caitlin, I'm glad to be here

Perlas, I went around Orchard Road looking at the pearl shops... these shops mostly sell gem and pearl jewellery with ropes and ropes of pearls. I looked for baroques and klonks... but they were in the range of S$150 onwards. And they were dyed blue, green, pinks, greys... mostly freshwater. Perhaps it's because they're catered for tourists. I'll take a look in Chinatown this weekend. But you know, I've just received my freshadamas and I don't recall seeing anything like these in the shops that are comparable.

[perlas]

Orchard Road is the most expensive shopping area in Singapore. Sometiimes, you can haggle there get the prices down to half! I doubt if you can find the freshadama quality in Orchard or anywhere in Singapore for that matter.

For cheap gemstones, I also check fou lhou shou building near suntech.

[sweetfrock]

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[sweetfrock]

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[sweetfrock]

Originally Posted by perlas

Orchard Road is the most expensive shopping area in Singapore. Sometiimes, you can haggle there get the prices down to half! I doubt if you can find the freshadama quality in Orchard or anywhere in Singapore for that matter.

For cheap gemstones, I also check fou lhou shou building near suntech.

Orchard Road is really expensive but it's convenient for me during lunches so I was looking through the shops to aid what I'm reading here, with real-life examples. As for freshadama quality, I went pearl-windowshopping today and saw some pearl earrings in a store off Orchard Road, it had some really pretty pearls, very good luster, water and orient. They were akoyas, and so I took out my freshadamas to compare, but mine didn't look as clear. The lady commented that the freshadamas looked chalky, and I actually saw what she was saying. So I'm confused now.