How flawless should Hanadama Akoya be?

[giver]

I just ordered a necklace and earrings for my wife for our anniversary and received them today. They are 8.0-8.5mm natural white Hanadama Akoya.

I am a little worried about the flaws - while I knew not to expect zero blemishes, I was expecting fewer. In particular there is one small bump on one of the earrings that seems quite visible from up to 2 feet away or so (ok, maybe only once you know it's there...)

I expected a few flaws on the necklace pearls here and there, but understood the selections for earrings earrings were generally the best of the best to avoid that problem of standing out.

Is this a reasonable thing for the quality of items I purchased? After considerable research I got them from a source users here would consider superb. They were specifically categorized as "virtually flawless" for blemishing. They seem to be very high quality, but I would say there are definitely quite a number of smaller flaws/blemishes I can see on the necklace as well. Those are all fairly tough to spot, though - you have to really be holding it up close in light.

They are also categorized as Pink-Green iridescent color on the Pearl Science Lab grading forms, but were sold only mentioning "silver and rose overtones." The green is definitely visible and unexpected (and not visible by my untrained eyes in the photos). Is this normal?

Thanks for any advice. If I seem unreasonable or uninformed, please understand this is a first-time pearl purchase for a picky lady!

Thanks

[Pearl Dreams]

My best advice--communicate with the seller.

[lisa c]

That's the absolute truth. The vendors go to the Nth degree to make sure people aren't just OK with a product, but thrilled. It's kind of unusual, isn't it? but wonderful.

I'm not a vendor here, I'm just very impressed with the kinds of folks who do business like they do.

[Caitlin]

Whew! Clang! Clang! Why do I feel all alert?

Please post some photos of the blemishes. You are making a claim that feels really wanky to me, knowing everyone here with a suburb reputation who sells hanadamas.

Pearls can't get a hanadama rating unless they meet a fairly blemish free standard. So someone sent you the wrong necklace, or other hanky panky went went on.

If I were a dog, I'd be a Chihuahua, so don't mind my bark, but I would like you to be more prepared to show us what you are talking about.

[giver]

Attached is the main earring that concerned me. I am sure this is a terrible picture and had to be done with an iPhone - the blemish is roughly in the center of the pearl from the perspective of this photo - immediately below the biggest block of light/reflection my poor photographing produced.

I hope I am not being ridiculous. I am asking here to improve my knowledge/expectations to know what is reasonable to expect, not to be obnoxious.

[Caitlin]

If that pearl is actually a hanadama, I am surprised it was used in an earring. I wouldn't pay a hanadama price for that earring, either.

Even if it were flawless and you didn't want it, the vendor will take your return.

[Bodecia]

Hi giver,

It is a bad photo but we can see what I would call a pimple. Do contact the seller and I am sure you will get satisfaction. As sellers we do aim and need to please. For one thing relying on return customers is very important

Dawn - Bodecia
http://stores.ebay.com/Dawns-Designer-Collections
Natural pearl collector and all round pearl lover

[Admin]

It looks to be something from under the surface of the pearl, could me mistaken though. If it bother you then you should send it back or ask for an exchange.

Speaking to the issue of flawlessness, however, according to the FTC, pearls can never be called flawless because irregularities will always exist, which is why hanadama certificates only allow for a grade of very slightly blemished. The FTC is specific about any gems showing irregularity under 10 x magnification. So even if something is almost impossible to see with the naked eye or just under bright light with close scrutiny, it is a blemish.

If you click the link View Mikimoto Pearl Grading Scale on this page, http://www.mikimotoamerica.com/about...rading-system/, you will see that the highest category is AAA and is described to have a Blemish-free Surface with an asterisk. Below the scale it states that *tiny marks are part of the pearl's natural texture. Even Mikimoto's highest grade of pearl has some visible surface blemishes, and Mikimoto carries the finest (and most expensive) pearls on the market.

[pearlescence]

Happily I don't sell Akoya so I know it isn't me. But I know that the sellers who also post here would all want you to contact them. I'm guessing that your seller will simply swap them for another pair. Sometimes the wrong box gets picked off the shelf or someone's eyes are tired and don't spot something.
It often isn't by our flawless general performance we are judged, but how we deal with problems, because there are always problems

[Alex]

Hi Giver - My wife has a 7.5-8.00 certified Hanadama strand together with 8.5-9.0 certified Handama earrings

They are cerainly flawless (or blemish free) to the naked eye, and are silver with a wondeful rose overtone

That's what you pay for, in addition to a gauranteed minimum nacre thickness confirmed by x-ray

They are pretty much incomparbale to Freshwater

I'm sure there has been a mistake with your order - have you contacted the seller and asked/arranged for a replacement?

[Ashley]

Hi Giver-

Going to jump into this one a bit late, but better late than never! The Auroral Pink/Green descriptor on the JPL Hana Cert is pretty standard- I see it on nearly every Hanadama Certificate that goes out, and really what they're trying to describe is the pearls' iridescence.

Remember: iridescence is a visual phenomenon caused by the refraction of a light wave, meaning the effects you see literally display all colors of the rainbow. The strongest colors in the spectrum are Red and Green, so those would be the primary hues easiest to observe, especially on a pearl with a white body color. Other very fine Akoya pearls that I've handled have an almost electric Blue-Violet cast, heightened by Rose overtones... whether pink & green or blue & pink, their intensity is gorgeous!

While I know this set didn't come from Pure, I'm sorry to hear about the blemish on the earring- it looks like that was the spot to drill the pearl but was either missed, or purposely not drilled in that spot for some other reason... in any case an exchange should be easily taken care of.

Hanadama are certified Hanadama not just because the pearls' surfaces are fine, but because of the nacre thickness- ranging from 0.4-0.8mm, and their intense orient and luster factors. That said, the average blemish rating on Hanadama Akoya is 0-5%.

You'll be looking for less than 5% inclusions on each pearl within the strand, as well as overall- so some pearls will be very clean, others may have very small marks. These could be dents, divots, "pimples" (that just sounds gross, but is an apt description), and other lighter or darker areas seen just beneath the surface.

**Wrinkling and/or mottling of the surface does not technically count as an official inclusion. According to the pearl scientists, and Elizabeth Strack in particular (pearl scientist, researcher and general guru), surface mottling is indicative of thick nacre deposits.

So basically, for Hanadama, you want to get pearls that are as clean as possible but as Admin mentioned earlier- these are organic gemstones, they'll never be "flawless". At any rate, just thought I'd offer my 2c here- I hope it answered some of your other questions about grading and certificate specifics...

[Alex]

Hi Giver - I have just remembered the sequence of my wife's Hanadamas (all a couple of years apart) - all from the same online vendor - first came the necklace - wonderful - next came the earrings - also wonderful - so far so good

Next (this is the bit I had forgotten) came the bracelet - not so good, not so wonderful - many imperfections present (unlike the necklace and earrings) - but nevertheless with an accopmanying Handama certificate ??? - this shook our confidence in Handama a bit

We returned the bracelet and got a full refund, although there was a bit of argy-bargey about the shipping and insurance costs of the return - eventually resolved

But, a Hanadama bracelet remains on the wish-list, and we will have another go at some point

PS - After this, we also changed our online vendor, and are much happier with our new vendor who is fantastic 'A star' - no Hanadamas purchased from them so far, but gem grade Tahitians purchased which were faultless - so no going back

The only lingering question.... is how did that bracelet get a Handama certificate??? - no answer to that one I'm afraid - but the right vendor does make a huge difference I think - maybe somehow takes the 'risk' out of it

[pearl-man]

Because of the mystery of pearls there has been active misrepresentation for the 40 years I've sold them. Foreign terms have always ben used to mask faults. Not with this in mind but
I did received a Aurora Manadama in the mail and I am going to try and post a picture. In this business the phrase "In ignorance there is profit" has lots of meaning. [IMG]http:/https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-D5MhSL-4SmI/Tsqt8OPqzVI/AAAAAAAAInY/90l4-XYf8PI/I/IMG_1286-1.JPG[/IMG]

[pearl-man]

I don't know if this is going to image but it is certified as Aurora Manadama. 8 z 8.5 .75 coating and blue without treatment.

[Caitlin]

The picture doesn't work for me.