Christmas gift for wife help!

[Herringbone]

I hope I'm in the right place for this but I am in research mode right now and just wanted some opinions.

I can pictured what I want. It's a white necklace with round pearls that have terrific shine. I started locally before researching on the web and was almost certain Akoya pearls are the way to go. Now on the web I see fresh water pearls that look so much like Akoya pearls and they cost a lot less.

The shine is the most important thing to me so I'm still feeling the Akoya, which I understand are salt water pearls instead of fresh water but am hoping for more opinions and advice from here. Also if AAA or handama.

 

[CathyKeshi]

Welcome Herringbone ... you ARE in the right place ... there are lots of people here who love helping Good akoya pearls are stunning, and you are right that the best metallic freshwater pearls can easily rival the akoya look for much less money. Many of the trusted online vendors you'll see mentioned here can help with that, with great customer service and returns policies to help you find exactly what you want. Do you have a pearl size and necklace length in mind?

 

[Herringbone]

Thank you for responding Cathy!

I've been sort of vacillating on size. I want something that isn't small but also isn't going to be overwhelming. Sort of a classic white strand look is what I have in my mind's eye. Would some in the 71/2 millimeter or 8 millimeter fit my scenario?

 

[cmd2014]

I think it really depends on what you want and what your budget is. The classic pearl is the Akoya, and for good reason. In my opinion, nothing really beats the shine and glow of a high quality Akoya...but they are also priced accordingly. I love mine, and they are what I pull out for fancy occasions. I marvel at them every time I do, because they just look like what you would want top quality pearls to look like. If you were wanting to buy a really *special* gift and have the budget, this is what I would personally recommend. Different vendors have different names for their top quality pearls, so you'd want to do some research. There are threads here as well comparing different vendors, so you'd want to look at them as well.

Metallic freshwater pearls will also have great luster, but they are typically not quite the same colour as an Akoya pearl (they may have silver, green toned, or rose overtones) and in person you can tell the difference. They aren't worse, they're just different. The nacre has more of a soap bubble effect whereas to my eye the Akoya pearls have a deeper glow-from-within look to them. Also, metallic freshwater pearls will not be as round. It's not unusual for them to be slightly off-round or egg shaped. If you were thinking of going that route, I'd get a vendor to show you side by side comparison pictures of their metallic strands vs. their top quality Akoya strands. Keep in mind though that sometimes the differences look subtle in pictures and are more apparent in real life. They are usually at a nice price point though. I tend to wear mine fairly casually as they are quite off-round.

You can also get top quality non-metallic freshwater pearls for quite a bit less than what you would pay for good quality Akoya pearls. They will be more round, but tend to have a softer more satiny luster to them. They are also beautiful, but you can tell the difference between them and akoya pearls if held up side by side. Women who know and love pearls will know the difference; those who don't probably won't.

This of course is just my opinion. Others may have a different point of view.

 

[cmd2014]

When I think of a 'classic' white strand, I tend to think 7.5-8mm. It's not too small, and not jumping into one of the larger sizes.

If you were wanting to go the top quality freshwater route, there is someone here looking to sell a strand. Check out the "a little help would be very much appreciated" thread. Pictures of the strand for offer is on page 3 of the thread.

Also, Hanadamas are on sale at Pearl Paradise right now if you wanted Akoya pearls instead.

 

[Katbran]

Having just been in Mikimote in NYC I can tell you that their top of the line Akoya strands in 8-9 were around $30,000 USD . Assuming you want to spend less...
Check out the Hanadamas at PP as cmd2014 pointed out...I have to go look now as I didn't know they were on sale !! - That is your top-of-the-line Akoya.
If they are out of your budget..then you have a few things to consider. The Freshadama strands - best of the best Freshwater - then the AAA strands . If you call them I'm sure someone at PP will line up a strand of each in a photo so you can see them next to each other.

Also consider that white pearls come in various shades of white...so you need an idea of the colour you are going for...

Cmd made a good suggestion as there is a fellow looking to sell a lovely strand of top white freshwaters - he's in the UK . Not sure where you live..