Please take a look at this picture. Need HELP!

7

7bottles

Guest
Hello all,


I'm looking to buy a set of pearls (earrings, bracelet & strand) as a wedding day gift for my future bride to be. For that to happen, I would REALLY REALLY appreciate some of your opinions, considering I know nothing of pearls.

So I narrowed it down to a strand/set of top quality (so I'm told) Freshwater pearls & AA+ Akoya's

Please feel free to chime in. I really don't know which strand is of higher quality, durability, etc. Also, would most people even consider these two strands as bad, good or great?

Just remember, my goal is to offer my girlfriend the best possible pearls I can.

Mucgh appreciated!!
 

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The strand on top has better luster. Most freshwater pearls are solid nacre. Modern akoya pearls often do not have a heavy coating of nacre, so eventually the nacre will wear away to reveal the bead. If the pearls are good, that should take many years to happen, if at all. Have you looked at PearlParadise.com? They have high quality and good prices, so they would be good sites to make a comparison. You should get lots of feedback by tomorrow. Good Luck! :)
 
I agree with GemGeek. I like the look of the akoya strand at the top better but am not sure if you have found the best freshwaters for money. As GG says FW can't be worn out but akoyas, unfortunately, can so you'll find many people here on the forum voting for freshwater pearls. Check out the sites suggested by GG if you haven't already That will give you a better background for comparing prices and quality.

- Karin
 
Let's just say the pearls on the picture comes a reputabel online store :)
 
The photo looks out of focus, but from what I can see, they look okay. If they come from someplace reputable, order them and see for yourself. Or order from your top two and compare the actual quality and then return the set you like the least. :)
 
It is very sweet of you to do this for your future bride and I am sure she will love and appreciate anything you get her. I personally would want the akoyas. I would skip the bracelet and go with AAA earrings and a AAA strand. I would highly recommend going with Pearl Paradise if you do decide on purchasing akoyas to ensure they are of the highest quality (with proper care they should last a lifetime).
 
May I ask where you're located? VAT issues sometimes influence where you want to buy :)

What you're doing is lovely!

The akoya luster is gorgeous, but they do wear out. I wore my strand every day for years and my heart hurt when they wore out, so now I'm totally sold on freshwater. Not everyone wears pearls every day, however, so just consider this as someone else voicing an opinion, ok?
 
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I currently live in Ottawa, ontario, Canada and the pearls i'm looking at would be from PP. The thicker strand is their Freshadama.

Lit geek, I was in contact with someone at PP and I specified that I'm looking for a white set with silver /pinkish overtones and she stated that the Akoya strand in above picture was one of their best in terms of quality and specifications... She also stated that she looked in the 7.5/8mm lot as well as the AAA quality lot but could not find a better necklace. I have to say, I was impressed by the fact she wasn'T trying to simply sell me anything at a higher price. I have much respect for her honesty/ethics. Actually, here's part of the email I received:

"I did look through a lot of our stock to find that Akoya strand- I started with AAA, 7.5-8, but couldn't find anything in that overtone.
Then I went down a size, to 7.0-7.5 AAA, and honestly I didn't see anything that was really impressive- although I can take another look!
Although this strand was marked as AA+, probably because it does have a lot of texture and some blemishing on the pearl surface, it does have really great luster and is a great example of a nice silver rose overtone.
If you'd like a cleaner(less blemished) strand with slightly lower luster, I can look through our AAA box again, and get an image to you tomorrow."


I do want to upgrade the set to AAA but according to what I was told, this is the nicest set she could find.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their opinion. Keep em coming
 
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One more thing - if your sweetie has pinkish skin tones the silverypink won't POP visually as much as a silvery blue will. Again, it's a matter of preference; some people like POP, some like Subtle. :)
 
Good point lisa c. I purchased silver white AAA's from PP for just that reason.

7bottles If you were told by PP that was their most lovely akoya strand then I would definitely choose that strand! Is it possible to get that strand and go with slightly larger AAA pearls for the earrings? If you are going to get a bracelet, I suggest getting a multi-strand with a pretty clasp ~ AA+ would be my choice since it is likely to see wear. Please let us know what you finally choose!
 
Oooo, that's funny because I'd go for the AAA on the wrist because I'd be looking at it all;) the time and I want to look at the best! I totally agree with your multistrand bracelet.

What's your GF like, 7? Does she like singles, or is she a multilayered type?

 
7bottles said:
Lit geek, I have to admit, this does look DAMN good... http://www.pearlparadise.com/7580-mm-Multicolor-Freshadama-Pearl-Bracelet-2435.aspx. I though coming here would simplify things haha
Click to expand...

Oh no, it only gets worse! :D And you should guide your lovely wife to the forum once you are married and there is no surprise to spoil. That could prove either expensive or dissolve any problems in the future of what to get her (she'll have a list ready at all times).

As for the pearls I would personally prefer luster over a few blemishes. That kind of lightbulbs will make both size and surface unimportant.

- Karin
 


Oh, Dear7, don't get us started! This is Wonderland if you like pearls. For example, I immediately went to the lower left side of that page to look at The Set. The upside is that if your future wife likes pearls, you can continue to indulge her.

You can try to find out which she'd like better. Some people think multicolored strands are worn more frequently than whites. Whites are the classic wedding choice.

Don't fret, though. Your heart is in the right place!
 
For the best of both worlds-- high luster plus solid nacre-- consider the Freshadama quality metallic white freshwater pearls in 7.5-8mm:

http://www.pearlparadise.com/7580-mm-Metallic-White-Freshadama-Freshwater-Pearl-Necklace4884.aspx

If you go that route, do consider-- and ask about-- the overtones. These metallic white FWPs tend to have bluer/green overtones. Personally I prefer that to my silver-rose Freshadama FWP as they stand out from my skin more and seem whiter. The Freshadamas blend in more-- also nice, but a different look, a bit creamier in color.

Luster definitely compensates for a few flaws. However "a lot of texture" would not appeal to me personally. If you really want akoyas my advice it to keep looking.

Also, size. Is your future bride petite? If not especially petite, I would not recommend 7-7.5mm personally. As we get older we ladies like to have larger pearls...:) As these will be very special pearls to her, it would be great if they would be a slightly larger size to start off with. JMO.
 
If you have a bit of time, Jeremy, of Pearl Paradise, is in Hong Kong right now buying more pearls. Why not give him a call when he gets back? He'll enjoy your story, too. :)
 
Absolutely love the double strand Akoya bracelet, very elegant. So far i'm really leaning towards the the Akoya Necklace that it shown in the first post. The only upgrade I might do is the double strand bracelet.

I thought about the multi coloured bracelet or a tahitian pearl earrings but I think my fianc? would much rather have a complete matching set to wear on her wedding day.

As for Jeremy, I love the idea. The thought of him coming back with some new stock is intriguing. His input would obviously be highly valuable.

This is seriously more challenging than the wedding band/engagement ring I bought lol

Once again everyone, I value all your input and opinions!
 
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Yeah, I kinda feel the same. If I'm gonna spend a bit of money for this gift, I would rather it be excellent quality rather then just good. Problem is, I do have a budget. The cap is at 1500$ if I go with the 7.5/8mm Akoya AA+ set (with an upgrade to 18" necklace) i'm looking at 1400$ or I can upgrade the quality to AAA for the same set but in 7.0/7.5 mm for 1110$. I think once I figure this out, I'll be out of the woods... I hope.
 
Ah Yes, wearing white pearls on the wedding day, not just a gift. Don't freak out, there's one more thing to consider - aside from her skin tones, the shade of white for her gown matters. When you find out what the shade is, also find out what the neckline looks like. This will matter a lot if the pearls will lay across the fabric, not so much if it drapes over her skin.

I remember one of pearlessence's customers had an issue with the 'whiteness' aspect of a necklace vs the gown.

I'm sighing over the romance of this, just lovely.
 
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