Lavender color question

[Sea Urchin]

Hi, all. I just bought some lavender (natural) colored pearls at an online pearl shop. By indoor artificial light (it's night time) they look more like a shade between brown and gray to me and I am disappointed. I'm wondering if I should send them back and ask for a better shade of lavender, or if that's just what is really meant by "lavender" colored pearls. Aside from that, they are high grade and very round. Thoughts?

 

[pearlescence]

Hi
There's lavender and there's lavender for pearls. Describing a colour to someone else is always tricky. And there are so many different shades of lavender (including the one you describe) that getting it exact is difficult. Most pearls which we call peach in the west are called pink in China, for example - something anyone buying pearls learns fast!
That being said, how to these pearls look in natural daylight? It sounds as if you were expecting something less towards a paler greyish tone and more into the purple. How do they look on you? Dark strong colours in natural pearls are the exception.
A photo (natural light and artificial) taken on a macro setting, as close up as you can get, with a white or paper towel background and your hand in the picture would be helpful so we can better judge the lavenderishness or therwise.
Welcome to the forum

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Tungsten light (the usual indoor lights we all have) has a yellowish/orangey cast to it. On the color wheel, purple and yellow are complementary colors; combine purple with yellow and you get brown. So it is not surprising if your lavender pearls look a bit brownish under that lighting, and switching pearls won't change that.

That said, there are some lavender FW pearls that are a bit coppery. Not all do; if they look brownish/coppery in daylight and that shade doesn't flatter you, then communicate with the seller and see if they have some that are less coppery.

 

[Amanda]

My lavender pearls are among my favourites, and they don't look brown-ish in any light at all. So they are out there, not all of them are coppery, yellowish, etc.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

My lavender pearls are among my favourites, and they don't look brown-ish in any light at all. So they are out there, not all of them are coppery, yellowish, etc.

Color perception is something our brains learn when we are very young; we "see" what our brains expect to see, to a point. For example, a white house at dusk looks gray to a light meter, but we still "see" it as white because we know it's white.

 

[Amanda]

Fair enough, maybe I want to like my lavender pearls. I do, however, like them (-:

 

[Sea Urchin]

Okay, here are some pics. They are 6mm, AAA grade. These were taken indoors at night (not natural light). I can see some purple tint in them but really I would call the color more like mocha or something like that, more brown-gray with a tinge of purple. They just don't "pop" or look that pretty, to me.

I'm wondering what to ask for when I return them. I had requested bright, pinky purple, not dark or grayish, so maybe this is just what they have. Maybe I should go with peach color or just get something else or a refund instead. Thoughts?

 

[Sea Urchin]

In real life, they do not look as lavender as the two pics on the left, nor as dark as the two on the right. I keep forgetting to look at them in natural daylight. Then again, indoor artificial light is probably where I would mostly wear them.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I think the bracelet goes very well with your skin tone, based on the upper left photo. These also look a lot like other lavenders I've seen.
If you don't like this shade you may wish to return them for another color, if returns are permitted.

For comparison here are my exotic lavender earrings from PP (indoor, daylight):

 

[Sea Urchin]

Thanks, Pearl Dreams. From the photo anyway, I like your earrings a lot. I wonder if size makes a difference in how the color shows too.

Ah, I think I will go ahead and exchange them. Bottom line, I'm just not that crazy about this bracelet. Thanks for your help.

 

[pattye]

Sea Urchin,

Agree with the others, since you don't love the bracelet after a couple of days, exchange it. CFWP are truly chameleons. It's a beautiful bracelet, well matched pearls and all. Please let us know what you decide on.

 

[Sea Urchin]

Thanks, I will. I called and they were very nice. I wonder if I'd be happier with a multi-color one. I don't want to keep doing the back and forths on it and I'm thinking I am just real picky about it. The only thing I don't really like about multicolor is when there's a very strong color contrast, like when some pearls are white and some almost black. He said they could make it up without the really dark ones for me and also that it would not be considered a custom order (in other words, if I didn't like that one either, I could return it).

Just wondering... does anyone have any multi-color pearls to post piccies of?

Oh, dear. I will have to be signed up for Pearls Anonymous too, I guess. Sure, I will, um, just as soon as I get this one more... ;o)

 

[Jeweljunke]

Hi Sea Urchin, there are couple of multi color pearls on thhis page of my post, a bracelet and a necklace:

https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5331&page=2

 

[Sea Urchin]

Gorgeous! And weirdly, they made me hungry. Ha ha, they are kind of like candy, yes?

Thanks.

 

[Jeweljunke]

lol, Like juicy berries!

 

[Sea Urchin]

Ah, I couldn't figure it out so in the end I just requested an exchange for white. I'm boring, I know. But I am almost 100% sure I will lurve them. ;o)

 

[perlinda]

You can't go wrong with white pearls, they're gorgeous and timeless!

 

[Alex]

Hi SU

Hope the Whites work out for you - it's horrid to be dissapointed with an online purchase of precious pearls (for whatever reason)

Pls do post picis of the replacements for the Lavenders

we like Happy Endings (if at all possible)

 

[Sea Urchin]

The Pearl Outlet called and said someone had changed their mind on a gold pearl clasp and did I want it at no extra charge. Wasn't that nice?!

They are 6-7 mm and whatever the highest freshwater grade they have is called there. Also, do you think smaller pearls are generally more lustrous or shinier than larger ones because they have more "curve" to them? These are more lustrous than my pearl necklace (8-9 mm and bought elsewhere)?

Not the clearest pic here, but I'll post my pretties in the Show Your Pearls thread, too.

I agree, you can't go wrong with white.

 

[Jeweljunke]

Oh Sea Urchin, that is sooo nice. Love the clasp and double strand.