Because of this forum ...

[icevic]

My wife now has some very nice pearls. These are her favourites. Please excuse poor photography and a cheap camera.

From Pearl Paradise, the classic 7-8mm AAA white freshwater set. Everyone has these and they aren't exciting, but they are timeless, beautiful, and always appropriate.


Also from Pearl Paradise, 7-8mm black freshwaters. They look very metallic in this picture, but they are more colourful in person.


From Pearl Outlet, gorgeous 14mm (length) multicolour baroques. These have a lot more orient in person, but also quite a few surface blemishes that don't show up in the picture. Everyone seems to love these.


Finally, also from Pearl Paradise, a fabulous lavender 9-10mm
15" necklace. This is a perfect length choker for her, because it sits on her collar bone and you can see it with any collar or neckline. The choker seems to have a magnifying effect with pearl size, so they look even bigger on her than they are. Also Jeremy selected some beautiful pearls with wonderful orient and colour, which doesn't show up in the photograph but in person are fascinating to watch as they change with the light and the surrounding colours.

 

[youngster]

Lucky Mrs. Icevic! Lovely pearls. I particularly like the lavender and baroque strands, though the all-white strand is beautiful and classic.

 

[jerin]

Lovely Pearl necklaces

Lovely Pearl necklaces

Icevic,

lovely photos of fine pearls. Are the lavender pearls Freshadama-quality?

I think your wife must feel very lucky to have a husband with such an understanding about what pearl jewelry should look like....

 

[Raisondetre]

Very lovely. I do agree the dyed freshwaters show more variation in real life.

You've totally convinced me to get some pink and lavender freshadamas in the bigger sizes now. They look absolutely wonderful. I was not a fan of lavender before this or the freeform baroques. Total convert now. Never thought it'd complement my skintone so well!

 

[icevic]

The lavender ones are not Freshadama. For some reason they look rounder in the picture than the actually are, but they have beautiful orient which does not come across in the picture at all either. Like most people on this forum, I will take off-round with orient over round with orient any day.

At 9-10mm they are a decent size to begin with, but the choker length seems to make them wear even bigger. They really gleam and shimmer, and pick up the colours of everything around them in the subtle way that pearls do. My wife says they attract a lot of attention. Our thanks to Jeremy for picking them out for us.

 

[Casey.R]

I love the way they look in the photo. What color is the orient? Are they AAA?

 

[Raisondetre]

Icevic, I do realize the lavenders are not Freshadama but even then they look real good. I've got a Freshadama set and I'll probably never go back to the regular ones for freshies apart from maybe the freeform baroques which are outstanding. While I love the dyed freshwaters (my substitute for larger Tahitians until I have the cash to buy them) they are still a grade lower than Freshadama and I'm very picky about the shape. There was just one off-round in the strand and I noticed it straight away. I do not expect perfect spheres, but the reason I never got into freshwater pearls before this was because they were off-round and the ones I saw were not of the highest luster. Now that I know I can get perfection I'll never go back unless there is exceptional color or luster, e.g. freeform baroques. Those are unique pieces I will never come across in my lifetime. I have access to the wholesale markets in Guangzhou (not for the retailer - good for consumer shopping) and they just don't fulfill my needs. But thanx for the clarification. Much appreciated. And really love the pearls.

I need to get around to photographing my dyed freshwaters. Gotta find a way of making the peacock hues show up. They only show in certain light against certain backgrounds. I think diffuse natural light is the best. Looked quite metallic under straight fluorescent.

 

[Casey.R]

For me color and orient is what I'm after. I actually prefer baroque and off round shapes. But I think round is more popular in general with most people.
The reason I asked about the orient actually s because someone told me that the non freshadama freshwater pearls didn't really have orient. But you own a some and say they do which is nice to hear.