Blue baroque akoya pearls

[PearlLVR]

I'm not sure where my other thread went... but here is the blue baroque strand I'm working on. Are these common? I'd love more in this color and luster. They are more blue and less silver in person. I have to start this over due to a terrible knot that refused to come out.

 

[Katbran]

Really lovely pearls ! Such pretty colours. I know nothing about Akoya .. but I think...think... I saw some of these blue ones at the HK show and was in love with the colours that play across the surface. Very pricey tho... lol I was sadly broke by the time I saw them or I would have been tempted..

If you haven't tried Pattyes Beaders Secret thread..do try it..I find it so much easier to pick a knot out ... so annoying when a knot goes wrong !

Your project is looking good !

 

[PearlLVR]

I ordered her beaders secret yesterday.

 

[BAS]

PearlLVR -- please tell us about your project. It looks to be a long strand...

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I found the Sky Blue Pattye's Serafil thread a good color for my blue baroque akoyas, and yes, the knots come out a lot more easily if necessary.

 

[Katbran]

I just received that sky blue...along with a thousand other shades lol It's a beautiful colour..I've got some Peruvian opal I'm going to try it on..

 

[PearlLVR]

I only bought cream and white, didn't think about blue. Hmm...

 

[GemGeek]

Decisions, decisions! Those yummy pearls will look good with any thread. You can always experiment later if you want instant gratification now.

 

[pattye]

PearlLVR,

Only in the last few years are we seeing some natural color blue/silver akoya. They are offered in a range of quality, as you might expect, perhaps not qualifying as rare, but not common either. I agree, the shades are just beautiful; yours look so dark! As far as Beader's Secret thread, the SKY color was chosen specifically to compliment blue akoyas, kyanite, and other soft blue shades.

Sorry about the nasty knot, ugh. I was just noticing as BAS mentioned, looks like a double strand at least~yes, please tell us more!

 

[KarinK]

Adding my info about blue akoya - my dear friend (oh no, just realized I forgot her birthday!) who is now 71 years old has a strand of blue akoya that she got from her jeweller uncles. It's paler than mine but the reason I fell in love with the blues to start with. It is definitely not new, I'm guessing some 40 years old, but if I get more specific information I'll let you all know. It must have been very exotic at the time!

- Karin

 

[KAC]

Out of 1000's and 1000's of normal Akoya pearls at one of the big gem shows, there may only be a few dozen natural color Akoya strands for sale. They are still very rare, but we're just so spoiled here on PG that really rare pearls seem common place. Out in the real world, you could visit hundreds of jewelry stores and never see a single blue Akoya pearl.

 

[pattye]

I've picked up some lesser quality and inexpensive blue akoya from my pearl supplier, John Tu, who also shops in HK. Yes, I agree with Karin, there may have been a few blues available in the 40's & 50's. (Recalling the amazing blue drop pendant I saw from that era.)

It's wonderful now to see the high quality natural color blue and pistachio strands. Hopefully, we'll see even more of them in the future.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I've seen blue baroque akoyas in only 2 jewelry stores here in CT. In one store they were about $1800, in the other store about $1100.

 

[PearlLVR]

These were fairly inexpensive per strand at $59. The nacre isn't that thick so they look good indoors but any pearl expert would probably turn their nose up at them in bright sunlight. These are the majority of three strands so it will end up fairly long. I didn't use some pearls because they were sooo baroque or the nacre was too thin. The color is darker in the photos than in real life so I'll post pics of the finished project with the good camera later.

I would like better quality nacre for the next project but I can't spend hundreds on one strand.

 

[PearlLVR]

more cell phone pictures, but the color in the top photo is more accurate. The luster looks pretty good despite the thin nacre.

 

[GemGeek]

Very shiny and very blue. I just love them!

 

[PearlLVR]

Yes, to the "average joe" they are quite impressive. So I will be keeping them for sure. They will make a beautiful necklace for night time use. Lol

 

[pattye]

Just look at all the swirly drizzly nacre on your pearls, soooo interesting!

 

[Tumutoa Berg]

You can always experiment later if you want instant gratification now.

hahaha.. I like that expression..

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

Beautiful baby blue baroque akoyas. I too purchased a few strands with pink overtones a few years ago from PP. I used beaders secret in baby blue and it's a perfect match made in heaven. Love BS.