This caught my eye and I am not a pearl person! It is calling my name but I have never bought SSP before and have no idea if I am getting a decent deal. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

It's a round 17-17.5mm White SSP with a very pretty pale pinkish overall tone to it. I could only clearly see the difference after comparing it to ones with silver tones. It set in a white gold ring with 8 marquise cut and round diamonds, about G colour no idea on clarity, tcw1.5 or so. It does however have a like round circular pinky rainbow shadowy sort of ring of colour (this is so hard to describe) on the top of the pearl, right smack in the middle of the top so it's not absolutely flawless but I don't mind it though. No other visible blemishes though.

They are asking about USD6k for it as she claims it's very hard to find pearls in that size. It's supposed to be from Oz and the colour is natural.

What whould be a decent price for it and how much would the pearl alone retail for?

Thanks in advance!
elle

Hi Elle,

This does sound like a very beautiful ring.
The price tag does sound average retail for a ring like this, and the salesperson is correct in that the pearl is quite rare. A 17.5mm South Sea pearl is hard to come by. Most lots from Australia will always have a few, but they are very difficult to collect and match strands with, especially in a high-quality.
The value of the pearl would be greatly determined by the quality of the pearl. If you see a flaw on the top you can be sure there is a much larger flaw hidden on the bottom, or partly drilled out. This means that the pearl is either a B or C grade pearl, depending on the luster.
The color is very likely natural. South Sea pearls are not pinked as Akoya pearls are, so a pink coloration is almost certainly natural. If the pearl is 'too' pink, like a pink freshwater, then I would be concerned.
The pearl itself would wholesale for approximately $1000 in a C/D grade, $1500 in a B/C grade, and would probably cost more than $2000 in a B grade. In an A grade the price would jump substantially. I am guessing the piece would wholesale 'finished' for $2000-$3000, maybe more depending on the clarity of the diamonds. So a retail of $6000 does sound fair to me.

Thank you for taking time to explain it all!

If I may ask another question! I've found a smaller one, same colour but 16-16.5mm similar tinge and with similar shimmery shadowy uneven rings of colour and with less diamonds 0.6ct also set in white gold. Half the diamonds should bring it down at least $1000 (???) but I was wondering if that mere 1-1.5mm make a great deal of difference in price? I am going back to talk with her and was wondering what you'd suggest was a fair price.

Also there's a set of silvery grey ssp 2x10.5-11mm and 1x14.5mm. Their colours look pretty closely matched but they are jsut plain silvery grey, no other colours and pretty badly blemished - the 14.5mm one has 1/3 of it covered with 2 pockmarks, 3 small raised bumps etc compared to the one above. Still I think they'd be hard to spot it in a simple necklace and earrings - white gold studs and white gold pendant top. Is $400 be a reasonable price for the set?

Can you tell Valentine's day is coming?

Thanks so much!

[jshepherd]

The difference of size will actually make a considerable difference in price. If the pearl is a B quality pearl in 16mm I would not pay more than $600 per pearl. So I think a fair price for a ring set with this size of pearl is approximately $2000. But check the pearl carefully. It should be more-or-less clean on the visible surface.
As for the other set, $400 is a very reasonable price for nearly any quality of South Sea pearls if you are getting all three pearls. I would definitely suggest taking these.

Thank you so much for your replies! It's awesome being able to check with experts before takingt he plunge! I'm going to get the set but will have to work on the rings