My first akoya strand! Opera length Tasaki 7mm

[tpt]

Hello! I’m new to this forum and I’ve been reading all the wonderful posts and drooling over the beautiful pearls. I’ve only recently started my pearl obsession a few months ago, and I started off with white south sea pearls. In the beginning I was obsessed with huge white south sea pearls and I now have a gorgeous pair of 14mm ssp studs and a 10-13mm princess length strand, both of which I adore.

But after that I discovered akoya pearls and it’s been a slippery slope! I feel like smaller akoyas are so feminine and youthful, while the large south sea pearls are statement pieces. I’m now in Japan on vacation, and on a day when I had a few extra minutes to spare I walked in randomly into the Daimaru department store in Osaka and went straight to the Tasaki counter. I asked for an opera length strand, and the sales associate showed me a strand of white pearls. I asked about the grade of that strand, and he said it’s a C grade. Then he showed me two more strands, both with a pink overtone (which I preferred over the white). One was A grade with 8mm pearls, one was B grade with 7mm pearls according to the sales associate. I chose the B grade of 7mm pearls because the price jump between the supposed A and B grade strands was very big.

I do feel that when worn the difference in the A and B grading was not visible, and I preferred the 7mm size on myself. I am however, somewhat confused by the grading that the sales associate mentioned. He said that the A grade strand is the best of the best that Tasaki has. So I suppose my B grade strand is just a step lower.

My question is, generally what grade are Tasaki pearls? How do they compare to hanadamas or tennyos? The price of my strand is about 1,650,000 yen.

Thanks for letting me share!

 

[BWeaves]

Each company grades their pearls differently. And there is a huge price jump at 8mm, just like there's a huge price jump in diamonds at the 1 carat weight. Yours look lovely! Wear them often!

 

[jeg]

Welcome to the forum tpt! And congratulations on your new opera length necklace. As BWeaves mentioned, there isn’t a standard for grading pearls and chasing perfection can be a bottomless pit. Your necklace looks gorgeous and what really matters is how it looks and feels to you. You’re not going to be wearing it with comparison strands. Enjoy wearing your pearls and have a great time vacationing in Japan. I could eat my way through the country!

 

[Barbarino]

Hello tpt- Your pearls are lovely, wear them in good health! If I did my math correctly, your necklace cost you a pretty penny. Didn't you have to pay approximately $500 in American duty fees when you came back here for that value of cultured strung pearls?

 

[hungry4nacre]

Hey tpt. First off what a beautiful necklace you got on your trip to Japan. I hope your travels went well. I did some research and anyone feel free to correct me if I am wrong. When I searched the forums for a great explanation by @Pearls_by_Angel_a_Coral back in 2006. You can read the original post here

Hanadama is the highest quality grade an Akoya pearl can achieve (with a few rare exceptions, such as Ten-nyo pearls). A pearl is recognized as Hanadama only after receiving a certificate from a lab in Japan, although I’m not entirely sure if this certification is exclusive to Japan.

Because certifying each pearl individually is expensive and time-consuming, luxury brands like Tasaki and Mikimoto use their own internal grading systems. These systems allow them to uphold strict quality standards and ensure consistent, high-quality pearls across their jewelry without the time and cost of certifying every single pearl or piece.