[ghostman]

I finally got around to taking some pictures of the pearl earrings and necklace I bought for my mother. Looking only at the photos, what would you guess these are (Akoya/FW, grading, color, etc.)?

I changed the background, which makes the pearls actually look quite different.

Earrings (7-8mm... try to ignore the dust particles that came off the background):



18" Necklace (8-9mm)

[Pearl_dreams]

I'm going to guess AAA CFWP, white body color with cream overtones.

Whatever they are, they are lovely!

[jerin]

Hi Ghostman,

not quite easy - I think they could be Freshadamas, they are so uniform in size though - which puzzles me a bit! Let us know, please.

[pattye]

Hi Ghostman,

FW top grade, where ever you got them!! I think you learned enough here to make an educated purchase, and get some fabulous pearls for your money! Any Mom would be thrilled with those!

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[ghostman]

I'll hold off giving the answer for a little longer to see if anyone else wants to try their hand at guessing these.

HINT: the grading of the earrings and the necklace are different.

[jerin]

Originally Posted by ghostman

I'll hold off giving the answer for a little longer to see if anyone else wants to try their hand at guessing these.

HINT: the grading of the earrings and the necklace are different.

Hi, yes ´the earrings should be of the highest grade anyway as they are usually chosen from loose pearls.

For the necklace: it could be AAA-grade, it could be Freshadama.it could be fakes (because they are so uniform in shape even though I think I see orient) and they could be Akoyas if one looks at the shape....

[Pearl_dreams]

Changing my vote:

earrings: Akoya grade ??? AA

necklace: as before, AAA CFWP cream overtones.

I don't think the necklace could be imitation because I don't see overtones in imitations, not even my Majoricas, which do have a fake orient.

[Caitlin]

I think even AAA freshwaters have some visible variations from round. The sameness of the pearls' shapes leads me to believe they could be akoyas, ------but for the pink color.
They could be from the Presidential or Elite lines though- or possibly freshadamas.

[Heidi]

My guess is that both are CFWP. On grade - AA+ or equivalent on the earrings based on the apparent luster/surface quality compared to the necklace which is AAA or possibly freshadama-grade based on the same. They are well-matched for shape, in particular. Very pretty strand.

[ghostman]

Ok, time to reveal the answer. Most of you were close or got the necklace correct, while the earring guesses seemed to vary. Both were purchased from PearlParadise.

Earrings are 7-8mm Freshadamas, white with rose overtones:


Necklace is 8-9mm FW AAA, white (no option to choose overtones):

You can see here that there are slight variations in roundness from pearl-to-pearl when it's very up close (don't mix it up with the uneven lighting off the pearl reflections from my makeshift lighting setup).

A few of you actually graded the earrings lower than the strand. That might be due to my photography - I had trouble getting a sharp focus on the earrings. But I have to admit, in person, I also think the necklace was more impressive. Maybe it's the more apparent pink inner glow (not sure what that's called) or the fact that there are just more of them clustered together.

[GemGeek]

It's nice to see that the results of your shopping turned out sooooo well! Your mother is a lucky lady!

[pattye]

Hi Ghostman,

Will these lovely pearls be a complete surprise for your Mom? Does she have to wait until Mother's Day? Make sure she is sitting down when you give them to her, and have a tissue handy!!

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

[Kaywal]

They are just lovely! What a sweet gift for your mother.

I was going to guess Freshadamas for the earrings, because they look like mine. I thought the necklace might be Freshadamas or AAA from PP.

I'm thrilled that I could discern, being a newbie and all!

[ghostman]

Originally Posted by pattye

Hi Ghostman,

Will these lovely pearls be a complete surprise for your Mom? Does she have to wait until Mother's Day? Make sure she is sitting down when you give them to her, and have a tissue handy!!

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time

Hi pattye. My mom won't have to wait. I'm giving it to her tonight. She has a few weddings to attend in the next few weeks, so I figured these could replace her existing pearl earrings. She will probably yell at me for having purchased them :-)

[pattye]

Well, I can only hope she will be soooooo surprised she won't yell, except with extreme pleasure at such an amazing gift! She will probably think you spent at least 10x more than you actually did!

We all will look forward to your report------------

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time