[Pearl_dreams]

A question for Jeremy as I wait for the UPS truck--

Can you clarify what treatments these exotics have received, if any? (Not bleaching, I'm sure, but how about luster?)

It's always nice to know.

[jshepherd]

The exotics came from a number of different factories. This was the only way to collect enough. But our request was no treatment except polish with each.

[aerinha]

This is a question for Jeremy, you had mentioned you couldn’t find more pearls for the 12 inch strand, I was wondering what made it different from the other multi strands in the offering that more couldn’t be found? I am awaiting it’s arrival tomorrow so I haven’t seen it yet, but was it color or shape or cleanliness?

[Pearl_dreams]

Thanks for your reply, Jeremy--it is good to know what one has!

I got my pearls! And I opened a Photobucket account but this is my first time posting photos anywhere so I have no idea if this will work!

My absolute favorites are the 8-9mm rounds, FEN390-702. The range of colors is broad, from creams to silvery peaches,, to intense dark peach, to lavender, to silvery blue-green, to intense gold. The one really golden colored pearl looks like an 18K gold ball-- it is right next to the clasp in my photo.

In Jeremy's close-up of the three strands, this is the strand on the bottom front, with the pinkish looking pearl directly above the price. (That pearl is more silvery than pink but it looks pink in that photo.)

[I deleted the link to my photo since it was awful! See next posts]

Next favorite are the 7.5-8.5mm ovals, FEN 93-12. These are very metallic and a good range of colors. On paper it has a cool tone but the amazing thing is how warm it looks next to my skin. It takes on and reflects the skin tones.

I've photographed this strand alongside some loose baroque pearls I have which I might incorporate into a strand, or use as earrings. Not sure yet.

[more of my ugly photos deleted-- see next post for brightened up version.]

Finally, the 8.5-9.5mm ovals, FEN 094-15! These have a softer metallic glow and range from cream with green overtones, through various peaches, lavenders, bronze and gold. Like the others, it looks great against my skin!

[final ugly photos deleted LOL!! See next posts.]

The photos in the calendar make me want to get a few Tahitians and Abalones!
*Mental note to save up for them!*

Jeremy and Mia, I will treasure these forever. Thanks so much for making these available to us!

Note: When I preview the post I see my links but not the actual photos. If anyone can give me a clue as to how to get the actual photos on here, I'll try posting them again.

[Pearl_dreams]

bah!

Bear with me, LOL!! Still trying!

[Pearl_dreams]

Trying again with first the 7.5-8.5 ovals with some extra fwp I had, then the
8-9mm strand, photo lightened (see the gold colored pearl next to the clasp.)
and finally again the 8.5-9.5mm oval exotics, photo exposure lightened-- the green overtones show up less in real life.

Well, that was a learning experience!

Maybe by the time I next post photos I'll figure out how to make them larger and brighter.

[salem]

Well, I got my strand today, and to be honest, I am a bit disappointed. I ordered a strand of the 7-8mm hand selected strands of perfect rounds 290-310 maybe? When I saw everyone's pictures of their strands, I kept getting more excited because the colors were so fantastic. Now, my strand is very pretty, but it doesn'T really look like a multi-color strand. It gives off an overall coppery appearance, but doesn't resemble either the PP photos nor any photos that have been posted here. My colors are VERY subtle. Even when I took them into natural light(it is sunny today), the colors didn't pop out at me, but rather blended together. The only thing I can think is I got sent one of the other 7-8mm strands, the ones for around $100 or so. When I clicked on the picture of that strand, it looked much more like mine. Now there are a few pearls that seem to have green, blue, mauve overtones, but nothing like everyone else's strands, and there aren't that many. I guess it just makes me sad because everyone is posting how the colors are even deeper in person than photographed.

Like I said, it is a lovely strand, just not what I was expecting and now I am unsure how to think about them. Did I get the wrong strand? Was it just a trick of photography making some strands look so incredibly multi-colored? I know photos would probably help, but I am terrible with a camera and am sick today so I don't feel up to it.

[Pearl_dreams]

Salem--

The colors do pop more when photographed. I don't know why, but they do. The green overtones in my large ovals are barely visible under regular light-- but photographed under a daylight spectrum lamp, the green is visible.

Also, the more metallic the pearls are, the harder it is to see the colors in bright sunlight, because of the reflections. I found I could see the colors better indoors in indirect light.

I had the impression that the smaller beads also were more metallic than the larger ones-- in fact, Jeremy said they were in one post.

Take another look tomorrow.

[olmander]

Salem, yes, I agree, try to look at it in a different light. I had about the same feeling when I got it - there was so much excitement of expectation, and the UPS promised it on Friday and in the last moment has postponed until Monday... oh no...tensions rise... and then it comes, and I open it... and it looks like a nice but ordinary pastel coloured necklace. I took them with me to the office and then in the sunshine the ovals as if suddenly changed the colours. For some reason, indeed, the ovals have more of charm than the rounds (I got two strands, an oval and a round). Maybe because they are less metallic and have a softer glow.

But the biggest surprise came in the evening, when I was staring it it in a very subdued and indirect electric light in a half-dark room. Then the colours of the ovals became much more pronounced.

Now I am sitting in the attics behind the computer, have the strand in front of me, and the light is falling from the ceiling, and this is a bit gloomy winter light - and YES, this seems to be really the best light and colours are really quite extravagant.

It is just every day a small discovery.

I can not say the same about the round ones, although they are more expensive and are supposed to be more chic. Maybe it is the metallic shining indeed which absorbs the colour. But I confirm in writing that my ovals look very much how they stand on the picture .

[knotty panda]

Aw, Salem, hon. I hope you feel better. I hope your husband is back. Curl up, stay warm, and take good care of yourself. We want you healthy and happy.

---------------

New topic: I think what we are individually discovering is that these pearls are very chameleon-like. They pick-up their nuances from their surroundings. Some are photogenic, others not. My strands on their own are a bit drab. Mixed with clothing colors and such, they pop.

Hi Salem and everyone,

I hope that by now your first disappointment has gone, the more you look at them, the more you will like them. And perhaps you have some left over pearls you could mix in to get the strands to pop, like Knotty says.


Out of experience I have learned two things:

The luster always looks much better on the photos and
The colours as well do look much more intense than in reality.

If you have this in mind, you will be able to get a more realistic picture in your mind´s eye and that will protect you from being that much disappointed.

See it on the bright side: your small rounds are so shiny, that the reflection takes out any colour, and in different lights the strands will come to life, I am sure of it...

Originally Posted by Pearl_dreams

bah!

Bear with me, LOL!! Still trying!

Ah Pearl_dreams:

You beat me to that lovely strand of the 8-9 mm:s. I thought I had got one but it turned out, that the strands were oversold! I really would have like your strand with this lovely gold pearl

However, all of your strands do look lovely! And better to see small pics than none at all!

Originally Posted by olmander

I also got my exotics yesterday. First under artificial light they seemed to be all in pink-lavender colour but then we got a bright sunshine here and it just exploded with colours! I asked for more green-beige colours, and I indeed got them. This are ovals 8,5-9,5 (094-15). Thry are in lfe more greenish than on the photo where they look rather blue:

Olga,
you really did get the most lovely ovals, at least they look it on my screen! Those two intensely coppery ones are just out of this world.

[Pearl_dreams]

(((Jerin)))

I am determined to try again with my photos-- you all gave me such a treat with your photos that I want to get the picture taking right. At least so you can have the very best shots I can make of the 8-9mm strand.

About the lighting and colors-- that close-up of the gold pearl, now-- the pearl really is golden, no trick of the lighting or camera. I never would have thought a mussel could produce such a color. It's the color of an antique gilded painting frame. Astonishing.

But the blue pearl in the same shot is more of a 'silver doing a blue impression' rather than the actual blue it appears in my photo. And if I take that round strand under tungsten light, then the whole necklace appears to be peach/bronze/gold. That strand really looks its best in daylight (which is bluish light.)

The first box I opened contained my large ovals, and I admit I was a bit disappointed with the color range initially-- especially having seen Olmander's photos-- well, mine had no obvious blue or green! They are basically peach/lavender/cream.

But after looking at them more, I realized that they have subtle color and luster variations within that palette (like the bronze and gold peaches), so the necklace as a whole is very attractive. And under some light, the green overtones pop out. I think the large ovals are going to be extemely wearable on a daily basis. My graying hair can make me look a bit washed out, and these peach tones will warm up my overall appearance.

Imagine if every one of our strands were uniformly alike-- how boring! It's their seemingly infinite variation that makes pearls so fascinating and desirable. And which fuels our continued buying of them.

Salem, I hope you feel better soon. You and I must have got similar 7-8 mm round strands. Mine also has an overall peachy/cream kind of look to it. But, the pearls do have quite a metallic shine to them and, overall, it is very attractive. I am partial I think though to the other necklace I bought, which was the 8.5/9.5 ovals. That also has cream/peach/lavender colors in it but the larger size is just better!

Take your pearls out and try them on with different pieces of clothing. They can really pop, depending on the color, and you may find that those peachy/cream tones are quite flattering.