Someone help me before I make a big mistake!!

[chelegirly]

Hi! I have a soon to be 3 year old daughter. Since she was about 6mos old, I've been buying her add-a-pearls from a jeweler/gemologist here in Dallas. They come on a card and I was paying $35/each. Now, they've gone up to $40/each. I have about 7 of them so far. I'm about to buy her a bunch more for her bday. On the card, it says addapearl.com. When I try to go to that website, it's not working. Do you know anything about them? I asked the jeweler last year and they're supposedly of high grade. They don't have to be TOP notch but I want them to be nice. Help!!!!

[jshepherd]

Here is their information:
Crest Juergens & Andersen Co. Suite 845 55 East Washington Chicago, IL 60602
Phones: (312) 782-5100 Toll Free: (800) 621-8333 Fax: (312) 782-0048

I do not know why the Site is down, they may have gone out of business. If you need a couple of pearls to match just let me know. Unless the pearls are large $40 seems a little expensive for a single pearl...

[chelegirly]

Thanks so much for that contact info. I just called them. They said their pearls are AA quality. Is that bad? I then called "A Carat and Under" jewelers and they carry "Princesse" brand add a pearls. They advertise to be AAA quality but he said it's subjective so he'd just enourage me to stay with the addapearl company. Any comments/knowledge as to the quality I'm buying? How much should I expect to pay for a 6 mm pearl? Thanks! Michele

[jshepherd]

$40 per pearl for a 6mm pearl? Ouch! I would say $5 per pearl would be more in line with value. But, this is an add-a-pearl type situation. That makes it a little different. The pearls must be a perfect match every time.
6mm is a small pearl, the smallest we typically carry are strands that range from 6-6.5mm.
The AA grade is subjective, and really does not mean anything. I would be more concerned with the luster of the pearls, and whether or not there are inclusions on the surface. There are no pearl grading standards, so without more information the simple letter grades mean nothing.

[purepearls]

You may want to consider buying an entire matched strand and just add the pearls as she grows. This will bring down the cost of the strand down dramatically and also solve the issue of matching.