Recent content by Mary-Contrary

The clasp is solid 14k, I have the xrf for it. It’s stamped 585. I’m not sure what stamps you’re seeing, but in person it’s stamped for solid gold and I only buy with stamps plus xrf. It was sold out of Miami as a set of a choker and 2 matching bracelets, I wound up with only one bracelet. Gah.

If you want to shop in person, I highly recommend the Tucson Gem Show. Ive bought several interesting natural pearls over the years (mostly American but I also have a matched set of wild-found Tahitian pearls), you never know what vendors might have. Kojima even has a booth!

So, I scored this for $25 so it doesn’t really matter what it is. But, I’m curious! They’re 11 mm and almost all of them are very round, one is slightly drop-shaped. They seem to have enough wear to have been someone’s favorite bracelet. My guess was South Sea but what do you guys think?

It helps very much! You hit the perfect balance between too symmetrical and too chaotic. It’s just right!

Heres my 5 for right now, left to right: —multicolor Tahitian strand —vintage Zuni mop & turquoise ring —Tahitian studs —my great-grandmother’s Mikimotos —Akoya studs I bought myself 20 years ago —the first pearl necklace I bought for myself, peach rosebud pearls with teeeeeny keishi on a...

Thank you so much! I’m really happy with it. I have a few more similar, unconventional projects planned. I’ll post them when I finish them!

Today is akoya day, some 9.5mm akoyas set in rose gold with garnets and a vintage graduated necklace

The thrift shop by my house and shopgoodwill. Don’t do it unless you’re ok identifying pearls off a few bad pictures and comfortable with how much you spent and you’re wrong & got a faux strand. Prices on that site will come back down after New Years. I have scored some pretty incredible...

Thank you! The pearl one is a rather large feather pearl I picked up at the Tucson Gem Show years ago that I had made into a ring. It’s so unique! The areas that show up darker in the picture are completely rainbow iridescent. The other ring is my peak millennial wedding ring I just booked...

Thank you! They’ve got nothing on yours but they’re really fun. I’m thinking I should come up with a bracelet that better matches the necklace but the little akoyas are so sweet. Seeing how much you (and everyone else on here) wear your “fancy” pearls really inspires me to wear the ones I...

Had a Christmas party to go to last night so I got out my multi-color necklace (Fiji? Tahitian? Mix with South Sea? The gemologist report is pending) with gold pearl earrings & bracelet and my feather pearl ring. It was so fun to actually wear them, I have been inspired by everyone on here to...

Exactly—sometimes you just need some cheap thrills. I’m booking to go to the Tucson Gem Show and to the Cook Islands in the next few months, so I’m trying to save my Pearl budget for those.

Ive really been wanting some interesting, different pearl jewelry so I took a $6 thrifted fwp necklace and added some baroque Edison’s from Uodora and a few gold beads and poof! A fun, interesting necklace. I love it! That stringing tutorial has really helped me

Honestly, they’re worth the same whether they’re beads or pearls. This is basically “fine costume” at best and worth the melt of the metal. But, it’s fun so wear it without worrying