tinyquestion2015
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Single Hanadama Pearl: not a thing?
- Thread starter tinyquestion2015
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Amoreperla
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I think if you make an appointment with pearl paradise they will show you wonderful single pearls that you will very happy with. You don’t need to buy a set ( unless you want earrings…. I love earrings.. ) your daughter may want something very different in her choice of pearls in the future. My mom and I have very different taste in pearls.
Pearl Dreams
Pearl Enthusiast
My understanding is that Hanadama certification is only available for pairs and strands. But what is a Hanadama but a AAA that has met certain minimum standards? So just contact PP and ask for the best AAA akoya pearl for a pendant within your budget.
KarinK
Well-known member
These days you may well find a not certified pearl of better quality than one with a certification.
Pearl Dreams
Pearl Enthusiast
True. Although I'm sure any Handamas sold by PP are actually Hanadama grade. This may or may not be true of other sellers.
Read this, about what has happened with Pearl Science Lab certificates:
BWeaves
Well-known member
I’ve became obsessed with the idea of a single Hanadama in a pendant. Have become convinced that “it’s the best of the best, the difference will be worth it & noticeable even in a pendant”.
Come to find out you can’t buy a single GIA Hanadama, they only come in pairs?! First of all: Cue heartbreak moment for me (dramatic, yes). Second of all: Why? Why are earrings Hanadama worthy but not pendants? My understanding is: the price GIA charges for a Hanadama certification is worth it for a vendor to pass along in a pair purchase but not a single purchase, is that correct?
So talk some sense into me, be my pearl therapist
I don’t need a Hanadama for a pendant, right? I can be very happy with a Pearl Paradise AAA Akoya pendant, right? I definitely DON’T “need” to buy an earring set of Hanadamas and have them made into 2 pendants (one for me now, & one to hold onto for 10 years for my currently 6 year old daughter…I think it’s a fantastic idea, husband won’t agree), right?
Anyways that’s my Hanadama vent, thanks for reading/advising.
When I went on my Japan Trip in June to the pearl farms, one of the vendors talked to us about NOT getting his pearls certified as Hanadama, because the certifications were lowering their standards so that more pearls would pass as Hanadamas. It's because everyone wanted a certificate with their pearls.That meant the quality of Hanadamas was now all over the place. Both a $5000 strand and a $2000 strand would both get Hanadama certificates. Someone might look at the gorgeous $5k Hanadama strand and their daughter would whisper, "You can get one for $2K, I saw it on TikTok" and they would badmouth the vendor with the $5K strand for overcharging, when he actually had the must higher quality strand.
So the vendor we talked to said he was NOT getting any certificates, because he wanted people to judge his pearls by the quality they were seeing, and not just because one pearl had a certificate and another pearl did not.
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BWeaves
Well-known member
I would also recommend vendors that will do a Zoom session with you with a good camera to really show you the pearls like you would see them in person. I know Pearl Paradise does that.
BWeaves
Well-known member
Also, to get back to the quality that Hanadama strands used to be, they now have several qualities higher than Hanadama, like Tennyo and Granpearl. But again, these are for strands, not single pearls. Single pearls for pendants were and are always a much higher quality that pearls that are matched into strands, so asking for a Hanadama single pearl means you may actually get a lower quality pearl than if you never mentioned it. Part of the certification process is how well matched the strand is in size, shape, color, nacre thickness, etc. With a single pearl, you're not matching anything.
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