First time buying!

[petitepearls]

Well I have to pick out my own christmas gift but my boyfriend is paying for it so I want to keep the price around $150 or below if possible. I started at Macys and found

http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/...l-strand-7-1-2-8-mm?ID=604769&CategoryID=9569

I saw bracelets but the AA+ were larger (8-9mm) and I'm petite so I don't think they would look good on my wrist

I love white pearls, I'd be fine with freshwater ones as long as they are good quality. I found

http://www.pearlparadise.com/7580-mm-White-Freshwater-Pearl-Necklace60.aspx

Which look gorgeous but I'm unsure of the website
Is it safe?
Have people bought from there before?
Will I receive pearls that look like the picture not wocky and oblong?

Any recommendations on pearl sizes for a bracelet and where I could find some with a filagree lock? I have a wrist size around 6in.

 

[pattye]

Welcome, Petite Pearls,

Pearl Paradise is a great and safe website from which to purchase your pearls. Their pearls are lovely; many of us here on the forum are very satisfied customers. Nice boyfriend there!

The folks at PP will be able to customize a piece for you. Recommend you give them a call. You might prefer pearls from 7-7.5mm. Let us know what you decide.

 

[Caitlin]

I have very tiny wrists for my size, 6" like yours. I usually have to get a 6.5" bracelet so it won't fall onto my hand, but stay put where bracelets go.

Pearl Paradise will give you higher quality than Macy's, for the same price. You might even have a couple extra pearls to turn into earrings after the bracelet is sized for you.

I would go for the freshadama bracelet. I wear all sizes of pearls on my wrist from teensy natural seed pearls to about 8mm. So I think anything between 6-8mm, 7mm being a perfect "not too" size (not too big, not too small). What I like about bracelets is I can see the pearls too! Short necklaces, I can't see the pearls, except in a mirror...

 

[petitepearls]

Pattye: Thank you, I'm always unsure of websites and since the layout was so simple and the prices seem awesome I was skeptical. Plus you can't see what you're getting in person till it arrives in your mailbox.
I know, it took a bit of convincing but since its a dual birthday/christmas gift he was willing to get me something I've been wanting for a while

Caitlin: I was upset with Macy's selection of bracelets and thats how I found this site. I get what you mean, I once wore my mother's pearls (which I will probably post later on to figure out what they are) and I kept trying to crane my neck to see them. If I wear pearls I have to be stationed next to a mirror so I can see them.
What are freshadama, I know hanadama are all natural and aren't treated (to the best of my knowledge) and I see when they are called hanadama there is a large price increase.

 

[Caitlin]

Hanadamas are not all natural untreated. They have gone through the undisclosed pre-treatments and the usual treatments. They are merely a certification of how thick the nacre is, how many blemishes on the pearls, their roundness and a few other factors. Pearl Paradise and others get the hanadama cert for people who want an objective description of the pearl. In a world of thin skinned akoyas, that certification tells you how thick the nacre is. The other qualities can be more easily judged by experts than what the actual nacre thickness is, but it is that quality that tells you how long the pearls will last. The worst of the thin skinned ones wear out in a few months.

Jeremy has to look for the untreated, unbleached, top quality pearls and those are hard to find, though they are out there.

Freshadamas are the highest quality from the AAA spectrum of freshwater pearls. AAA as all other grades, is on a continuum. The roundest and most lustrous get that top, cherry picked, designation. The rest are sold as AAA without saying freshadama.

 

[pearlescence]

Quick nitpick - Freshadama is a specific trade description for one brand's best round pearls - there are other descriptors for other brands.
Addendum next day - and of course I recommend Pearl Paradise for pearl shoppers in the USA. I'm assuming you are there OP since you talk about MAcy's. I have no axe to grind or anyone to promote since I am away over the deep pond

 

[KarinK]

Hi Petitepearls,

Jeremy Sheppard, who owns and runs Pearl Paradise, is very active on this forum. So when we all like him (as you will find) it's because we feel we know him. Several do indeed know him in person as he sponsors a pearl-get-together once a year that many have attended. So Pearl-Guide is a little like a family where many hang out for years.

The tone here is matter of fact and very friendly. If a seller here has a link to his or her website, it's because we feel that person can be trusted. I too would question a on-line seller with prices almost too good to be true if I didn't know that seller through PG I think you're doing a very sensible thing, asking questions. The prices, though, are due to PP being one (if not the) largest on-line pearl stores on-line, so where there is a lot a volume, there is a lot of experience and good prices. PP takes great care to give great customer service. And please don't hesitate to ask them - or another vendor - every possible question and ask for all the photos you need.

- Karin

 

[Pearl Dreams]

The top of the line freshwater pearls are pearls that were originally separated out as earring-grade (the best of the AAAs) but were instead drilled to make strands. Jeremy at Pearl Paradise did it first and called them Freshadama; a forum member actually came up with the name as it was a composite of "freshwater" and "hanadama". Other vendors soon followed suit with their own top of the line freshwaters, calling them other names that indicate they are the best grade.

Solid-nacre freshwaters will last and last as there is no bead inside. Bracelets take more of a beating than necklaces and earrings, so I think freshwaters are the way to go.

I've bought many times from Pearl Paradise without problems but any of the vendors on P-G are safe to buy from.

 

[Lindaphillipsbong]

Hello Petite; I am one of the lucky people who has met Jeremy, and I consider myself to be a good judge of character ...... he seems to be a very nice, first class guy. Over the last year, I have been "hanging out" at this forum, and I would say that most of the regulars here are genuine people; friendly and trustworthy. I have bought pearls from five different vendors, all who were discovered on this forum, and I am very happy with every purchase. I have developed an addiction to pearls, and I am poorer now, but that's OK with me.
Linda.