White SS Pearl Pricing

[Annuta]

Hi everyone,

I am new to buying pearls, though I have always been an admirer! I am currently looking at individual white SS pearls in the 10-11mm size range. The prices I am seeing are all over the place. What is a fair price range for a pearl that size in AAA quality? I see extremely cheap SS pearls on Ebay from sellers with good feedback, but it just seems too good to be true.

Thank you for your help

 

[pearlescence]

With pearls you get what you pay for, once you are paying a reputable seller.
With all due respect to many ebay buyers they would not know the difference between a south sea pearl and a majorcan pearl.
there are some good south sea pearl sellers on ebay, two or three maybe, but I would not touch the others with a barge pole!
When you say you are looking at individual white south sea do you mean round, drilled, half drilled, made into something...? 10-11mm isn't huge for south seas so prices should be keen, even for good quality
Where are you

 

[Caitlin]

Beware the "baby" South Sea pearls on eBay. 10-11mm are often freshwaters. Good SS should not be inexpensive. Check Pearl Paradise prices for them and realize those are honest prices and as low as you can get for good quality. 3k for a SS necklace is a good price. You can get baroques for 1/2 that price. If you try to get them for less, you will not be getting a good deal. Check out Drusy Design on eBay. You can get single SSPs and also some SS keshi for decent prices, though I doubt they will have a necklace.

 

[Annuta]

Thank you for your replies, Pearlescence and Caitlin.

I am looking for round, or as close to round, undrilled or half-drilled. The purpose is to have my jeweler design earrings and a pendant. I am located in WA, USA.

Caitlin, do you have a link to Drusy Design? I can't seem to find the seller/store on Ebay. Thanks!

 

[Caitlin]

LINKhttp://stores.ebay.com/Ehret-Design-Gallery

I see they changed the name from Drusy Design to Ehret-Design, their personal name. This family travels to Tahiti, the Cook islands and other exotic places to pick up their pearls and other gemstones. They also have Sea of Cortez pearls from Mexico and Kamoka pearls from our member Josh, the Tahitian pearl-farmer.

Many of us on Pearl-Guide have bought from them with happy results.

 

[Annuta]

Thank you for the link, Caitlin. I will take a look through their auctions right now.

I found this auction (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270604468247) from a seller who has 100% feedback. What do you think about about these pearls? I do see some blemishes, so they can't be AAA, I am guessing. The seller doesn't provide a rating. Are these likely to be genuine SS pearls judging by the pictures? Also, is this a fair/low/high price for the pearls this quality (assuming they are real)? Did anyone ever buy anything from this seller?

I am trying to get a feel for how to identify real SS pearls, what to look for, etc. Thank you for helping a newbie out!

 

[Caitlin]

IMO, those are lackluster. See the very diffuse reflections in every picture?
There are some better pearls than those on that site.

 

[Annuta]

Thank you for taking a look, Caitlin! I'd just like to get an eye for good quality SS pearls, what to look for, etc. I will get a chance to see some in person in a few weeks and would like to judge them as accurately and fairly as I can. It's so much more difficult with pearls than diamonds, with which there is always quite a bit of objective information one can evaluate. With pearls, I have to trust my eye more, and that's the most difficult part of selection for me right now. Does anyone have any comparison pictures of a bad SS pearl next to a good SS pearl?

 

[Caitlin]

If you use that website, the pearls get better in quality as the price goes up. You can see much better luster in some of them. That's the best way to learn form pictures, anyway.

 

[GemGeek]

South Sea pearls generally have a soft luster. To get the ones with high luster, you'll need to pay a lot more. Caitlin is a luster afficianado, so her preference would be to get the best.

Pearl Society is a good seller. They go out of their way to show you exactly what they are selling so there are no surprises. For the price, those are nice earrings.

Good Luck!

 

[waimeamomi]

I don't recall ever seeing any pearls on Ehret that aren't drilled all the way through. You can check Augustus Collection. I think they have very nice pearls, the pics are of the pearl you will receive, and I've gotten some very nice pearls. The Buy It Now prices are a little high, but you can make an offer. If you have the patience to wait out the auctions, you can get better deals, usually
http://stores.ebay.com/AGUSTUS-Coll...Q2ec0Q2em14?_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1513&_pgn=3

 

[Caitlin]

Those are both good sellers. Good luck!