[tahitiangirl]

Hi everyone. I was in the city and saw some very nice pairs of baroque tahitians. I am looking for some pearls to make earrings with, I need about 8-9mm AAA grade. I was getting some outrageous prices though, around $450 for a pair! If I am wrong and this is a perfectly reasonable price, someone please tell me. If not does anyone have any advice on where or from whom to buy?
Thanks,
-Steph

[Valeria101]

That doesnt sound like a bargain, but maybe that's why at $140 these things are out of stock! (at Pearl Paradise)

[jshepherd]

Pure Pearls has them.
http://www.purepearls.com/detail.aspx?ID=285

[jerin]

Originally Posted by jshepherd

Pure Pearls has them.
http://www.purepearls.com/detail.aspx?ID=285

Pure Pearls has loose Tahitians , size 9 mm for $ 170.00 as well.

[knotty panda]

I'm confused again. I didn't think tahitians were graded AAA and I also thought pearls used in earrings were of a higher quality than those used for necklaces and bracelets so you wouldn't want A quality tahitians for earrings if you are going for top of the line.
--------------
Never mind, I see. We're translating tahitian grading into the A-AAA grading. Geez! It's so confusing! Kind of like going on e-bay and seeing a strand of "real natural cultured pearls."

[jshepherd]

A lot of US sellers use the A-AAA. I am noticing it a lot more lately as well. Nearly all dealers I have met in Hong Kong use A-AAA now. Even some producers in Tahiti use A-AAA.

I took this picture at the "Service De La Perliculture" in Papeete. There was a huge lot getting prepped for auction and all of the bags were graded A-AAA.



Here is a breakdown.
http://www.pearlparadise.com/Tahitian-pearl-grading.htm

[knotty panda]

Did you accept the auction invitation? Is that what this is from? I'm glad you posted your grading guideline. Thanks! Gem quality, is that used for earrings? And that's better than AAA? I'm just curious about all this. I reckon that's why some vendors use words instead of letter grading. But when push comes to shove, that's really not much better for the consumer. It's still up to the consumer's interpretation of what it all means.

[jshepherd]

I did not accept the invitation. I realized the auction falls on Thanksgiving. That is not a day I am willing to travel on.

I created that grading page last week after going through the grading guide put out by GIE of Tahiti. Their's is very specific and quite good.

Gem really only matters if the pearl is undrilled. We rarely distinguish between the gem and the AAA because they are almost always drilled and set or strung into a necklace. If a flaw is drilled through it is no longer there, but the pearl was not actually gem.

[purepearls]

When it comes to pearl grading, many US dealers are going to A-AAA rather than Farm Grades A-D because it makes it more complicated for consumers. Therefore, you may see South Sea pearls and Tahitian pearls graded on an A-AAA scale. If we were to use two different grading scales, A-AAA and A-D (farm grade), consumers would get confused, especially since A quality in the A-AAA scale is deemed the lowest and on the farm grading scale, the highest.

I hope this helps!

[Kevin Canning]

I switched a long time ago - too many consumers assumed that a "A" Tahitian strand was garbage because it didn't fit the scale they were used to.

Very few consumers know about the A-D system while most have at loose a loose understanding of the A-AAA system - it just makes sense use that system.