[perlas]

Hi Pattye,

We have different monitor settings so it's very difficult. The problem with natural colored pearls is that they may tend to do a bit of color shift when it comes to lighting. A single flash in the camera may change the look of the pearls. Like the photo I took, the silver overtone and strong luster makes the pearls look a bit white when in fact they're obviously not at hand!

If you are buying the pearls in person, always bring a sample strand. Also, I check the pearls away from incandescent light to guage the luster.

[Valeria101]

Lovely pearls!

Is this even possible to dully 'translate' Padparadscha shades among pearl body colors?

No real examples at hand... since no one calls any pearls 'padparadscha' officially there is none around to point to. In the back of my mind, the image of an intensely colored pink-rose pearl would be something like this:

Silly, no?


Wouldn't dare use the 'P' word for pearls though Chances are I am wrong, but it seems that while the respective shade is rare and therefore valuable in sapphire, it is anything but rare for freshwater pearls, with the respective consequences on value. So the use of the 'P' word.... better forgotten?

Just a personal opinion, of course.

[Caitlin]

Hi Valeria
That was a great explanation of padparadscha. I had never heard the term used for pearls or sapphire except one source which has since been discredited. It may be very common as a color in CFWP, but it makes me think that one could keep an eye out for the occasional pearl that really magnifies that color condition so the undertones and orvertones shift over and enhance the main color. It will be a personal use of the color term though, and not an industry-wide one. At least, not yet.

Those multicolored strands sound better and better for beadmeisters to collect, don't they? It would take time to collect and match pearls of the same size and shape in any unusual color, so it becomes a wonderful pursuit for pearl lovers. The Pursuit of Color in Pearls. The Pursuit of Padparadscha Color in Pearls..... (Now I am trying to magine how to sort and keep all the different colored pearls in a collection and what to do with the extras. Sounds like a whole sub-industry possibility....

I like your links, they are educational. Thanks

[pattye]

Thanks everyone,
for your photos and comments, now back to ebay sellers--

Back to the original line on this thread, another person with variety of pearls is Rainbowislandpearls. I have purchased from her, she has an interesting selection, and often offers smaller lots, ie, less than full strand.
You will, of course, have to judge the values for yourself.
Have 1 strand of fw coming from hugepearls, my first purchase from him, he usually doesnt have fw, but photos in general are good. Thought i'd take a chance.
Pattye

[Texan]

Today I received 2 orders of pearls, from 2 different people on ebay. Like most everything there, it's a gamble. One order was from a vendor in Asia, and I was worried - and they were absolutely stunning and probably worth twice what I paid. The other was a seller in the States, and they were worth nothing at all.

Here's what I think: Most of the ebay sellers are making a profit (of course). Some can do this because they live in another area of the world where costs are cheaper. Unfortunately, the people in those areas are sometimes poor, and fraud runs rampant. Others live in areas where costs are more. The make a profit by simply knowing where to buy, and then passing stuff on to you for additional money, ridiculous shipping costs, no refunds - a different kind of fraud, in my opinion.

For an example, let's look at hugepearls (http://myworld.ebay.com/hugepearls). I have no idea what they are doing exactly... and no stake in their company of course. But he is selling 2 "south sea" pearls that are black. He shows a lot of closeup photos and measurements - they are about 9mm x 18mm each, and the bid is $57 - and they have 5 hours to go. If you don't like them, you pay for shipping both ways, must return them within 3 days, and pay a 15% restocking fee... and you wind up with nothing.

Now, over at www.icgems.com, there are 2 "tahitian" pearls - also black, about 10mm x 13mm each. You can buy (not bid) the two of them for $27. The refund policy is that you return them within 15 days, and you get a full refund. Which sounds better?

Again, I have no idea what hugepearls is doing, but... what if he bought pearls from ICGems? Then he's making 100% profit, and his return policy really prevents many returns.

Food for thought...

[pattye]

Hello Texan,

You make some really good points. I think, however, that the pearls in your example are not the same size, hugepearls offering being larger and apparently with fewer flaws. Also the hugepearls are closely, although not perfectly, matched so that they would make good earring charms. This adds to the value as a matched pair. The icgems pearls are sold together, but are obviously not a pair, have obvious large flaws, and you can't see what is on the other side at all. The icgems pearls in your example I would not be interested in at even a lower price. I didn't look at their other items, so am just referring to the item for $27.

Pattye

[Texan]

I should mention that the ebay seller who sold me the absolutely beautiful strand of pearls is Monsoon-Collections ( http://stores.ebay.com/MONSOON-Collection ). I bought several different strands, and every single strand was better than I could have hoped. I recommend them to the group, even though this means I may win fewer auctions later. Has anyone else on this board bought from them?

[jshepherd]

They do seem to have pretty nice stuff, and it is fairly priced.

Their grading scale standards are perfect as well. But I think that is because they lifted it from our Site

[Texan]

I chose to try them in part because their grading scale looked similar to what we have listed on this forum! My pearls absolutely shine - I can see my reflection in each pearl. Beautiful! (er, the pearls... not my reflection).

[pattye]

Hi there,
I ordered some k-gold beads from them, they were a fair price in my mind, and what I needed, very small ones. Also a few strands of lavender flat keshi pearls. They were buy it now items.
I check them out every now and then. I personally think their ss keshi are very over priced. But my biggest gripe is that they list bead nucleated ss with a little keshi-type growth tail as a ss keshi pearl. I have emailed them about the dishonesty in that. Doesn't seem to have changed anything, though.
I'm glad you are happy with your pearls, Texan, did you get akoya and what size??? I really don't think you will start a mad rush to their site!!!
I think their finished jewelry can be extremely expensive-IMO

Pattye

ps the spice pearls are rather intriguing, but I haven't seen the large size I like.

[Texan]

The pearls I bought were freshwater. One strand is not offered anymore - in color it was graduated from white to the spice colors, to a mauve. It was stunning enough that I turned right around the same day and bought their last strand of that one. I also bought some white freshwater buttons (for earrings), a strand of tiny seed pearls (for the ongoing beading projects), and some stick pearls. So, quite a variety but all freshwater. I also bought some other beads, but these were gemstone beads. I was pleased. It stood in stark contrast with the purchase I made from the other ebay seller (both arrived on the same day), which was not at all as advertised. You are right, monsoon-collection costs a bit more, but the quality was there, in my opinion. I guess everyone has to balance what they want, and what they want to pay... but there should be no surprises. What I hate is when a seller pretends to sell "AAAAA++" and it turns out to be the pearls you can by ready-strung in on Miami Beach, 3 strands for $10. <sigh>

I just saw that you mentioned the spice color - that drew my attention the most, too! They are just stunning in person.

[Bodecia]

Hi Perlas,

Love the double strand of pearls Perlas. Really stunning. Would love to get some of those

Bo

[Caitlin]

I have bought from Monsoon too. I was worried because they are in Malaysia or somehwere like that, but I got my order and I got it in a decent time frame.

I ordered a baroque pearl shaped like a little Dumbo for a "very wealthy" friend of mine to repay her for all the fancy pearls she had sent me. She had said she loved the pearl and it would fit it her collection. Neither of us was disappointed. I actually think the Monsoon paragon pearl was more than equal as trade. What a fantastic luster. It cost almost enough to hurt though. What a fantastic luster... It is worth saying that twice.

I looked at their site regularly for a couple of weeks, but have not bought again because their prices are not low. With all the endorsement from here, and my own good experience with them, I may look again, because quality was what I remember. The pain of the money spent is gone.

It does not look like we will buy out from under each other- we all seem to have different tastes!

[perlas]

=Off Topic=

Attention: lucyryalls

Fancy the white strand at post #12? It's yours!

Happy Birthday!

[lucyryalls]

THANK YOU SAM!!!!



Im having a great birthday! 24 Today!!!


Sorry for going off topic!