Newbie - Opinion requested on loose pearls

[agenova]

Hi everyone-

I have been a lurker for some time now and have really enjoyed learning about pearls! What an amazing group of experts. I am a goldsmith and while I love buying other people's designs, I feel so proud when I wear something I've made myself. In addition, while I love strands, I don't think I can pull them off yet. I am a casual dresser and prefer to have something less formal to wear everyday.

All this brings me to my question of which loose pearls to buy. I have found a lovely set on Eastern Trade Winds and a few sets by Druzy Design that can be combined. I'm aware that pearls tend to look a bit brighter and lighter when photographed by vendors so I want to keep that in mind. I do prefer them on the lighter side though not necessarily pastel. Here are my options thus far:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AA-4pc-HIGH...574?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e8befe4c6

and

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5pc-BEAUTIF...349?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58ae214e3d

or

http://www.easterntradewinds.com/st...-Black-Multicolor-Peacock-Baroque-88.55g.html

I would love feedback on color, overtones, sizes, blemishes and overall value.

So many thanks in advance!
Anne

 

[pattye]

Anne, Welcome!

Both of these vendors are trustworthy. The sets from Druzy may be slightly more colorful than the Eastern Trade Winds set, but probably less colorful than in the photos. Both sets will have some blemishes, but either will be a great choice for your jewelry designs (how great that you are a goldsmith!). These sets are offered at wholesale, not retail prices. I'm sure there will be more Tahitian pearl purchases in the future!

Do you want to share what you'll be making?

 

[Katbran]

I agree with Pattye . I've bought from both and found the the Drusy photos, while they accurately reflect the defects, often appear much more colourful that in real life. A common occurrence with pearl photos. Did you go ahead and buy them ? They appear to be sold

 

[agenova]

Thank you Pattye and Katbran for your replies! I did go ahead and order the DruzyDesign because they would arrive much sooner than the Eastern Trade Winds, coming from Bali. I needed some instant gratification and I have an event the first week of October for which I would like to have the necklace ready. Fortunately, there is a return option with DruzyDesign but I'm hoping that I'll like them despite the potentially exaggerated photos. It really is difficult to judge these pearls on a computer screen! I would love to hop a plane to Hong Kong for the next market but that's not likely to happen any time soon.

I'm planning to make a necklace using silver chain interspersed between the wire-rapped pearls. I haven't quite settled on the design of the links but I have some ideas to try.

Attached is my most recent necklace, in which I incorporated some fireball pearls I bought at a gem show in North Carolina.



The links are 14k gold fill which I made by hand from coiled wire. I love wearing it and can't wait to have a Tahitian necklace to wear.

I will post an update once I get the pearls.

Thanks again!
Anne

 

[GemGeek]

How glamorous! Love the figure 8 gold links with the fireballs. Just wait until you get the Tahitians - inspiration galore!

 

[Katbran]

Great idea glad that was you that snapped them up ! I got a bit worried lol Love the necklace design !

but just to be clear..I didn't mean the photos were exaggerated ... it's just that some pearls photographed in certain light look quite colourful...but in other light can look just shiny and grey or green... so it can be a bit disappointing initially when you see them in the box. The photos are accurate for that light. It's the same for most 'glamour' shots of pearls , I think people would agree with that. It's hard to get a decent accurate photo since the colours change with the lighting. Blaire is an expert at jewellery photography so she would be best to comment.

 

[agenova]

I'm sorry Katbran! I didn't mean to imply that the photos were intentionally misleading. I am just factoring in the reality that the pearls will not be quite as spectacular as the glamour shots!

 

[pattye]

Beautiful necklace, agenova! The gold links look terrific with the white fireballs! Looking forward to see your new designs.

 

[agenova]

Thank you Pattye! I could use an opinion on another lot of pearls I'm considering. They look beautiful to my untrained eye but I wanted to see what you experts think. I have purchased from this seller before and was happy with the pearls.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/204696067/25-off-sale-amazing-lot-of-6-round-black?ref=favs_view_17

They are 25% off making the price $187.

Thanks in advance!
Anne

 

[pearlescence]

Well, I wouldn't. the lustre seems poor especially on the two greys. And that is nothing special as a price for six 10mm pearls. You could do much better
A two month trip seems a bit excessive too.

 

[Caitlin]

I kind of like the store and those Tahitians you like are 25% off. Wouldn't that make them under $200? And they are large at 10+mm.

The people who sell those little lots of pearls- Care Ehret of Drusy designs does that too, are always a bit high priced, but they also keep one from buying a whole strand if you are just going to take it apart anyway. And a whole strand of Tahitians like that would cost a fair amount

They could be more colorful and lustrous, but that would just up the price more and those really are acceptable Tahitians to my way of thinking, but I am just a lowly beader, not a professional pearl person.

Maybe you could ask the store owner to join P-G, not to sell or market, but to share experiences and expertise. And his signature will be clickable, so people can leave P-G if they want to buy.

 

[KarinK]

I thought at first it was a lot of money but, yes, they are big and appear to be round. I tried to compare to loose pearls from PP, http://www.pearlparadise.com/p-58-loose-round-tahitian-pearl.aspx. They may well be better quality but they are also a lot more expensive. So I guess it depends on what your plans are.

- Karin

 

[pearlescence]

It is a lot of money for pearls with little or no lustre. You can't compare prices with Pearl paradise for example. Jeremy wouldn't let them near the door.

 

[pattye]

Anne,

These pearls are higher priced because they are round. They will come undrilled unless you request it; and 1mm, the smallest they offer is rather large for traditional knotting; 2mm and 3mm holes would be for stringing on leather or heavy cord.

The color combo seems interesting, perhaps not the highest luster.

If you've been happy with previous purchases and these fit your budget and suit your project, it's a good fit.

 

[KarinK]

Anne, have you considered baroque Tahitians? Do they have to be round? Or would colour and value for money be more important to you? You can get wonderfully colourful ringed Tahitians full of luster.

- Karin

 

[agenova]

Thanks everyone for your input. Clearly my eyes need more training!

Caitlin, you bring up a good point. For someone like me, who is mainly looking for small lots or even individual pearls, there really aren't may reliable sources. At some point, I hope to buy myself a beautiful strand from Kamoka (and let my husband give it to me). In the meantime, I'm interested in pretty pearls that I can incorporate into my jewelry. I love all of Pearl Paradise's goods but individual pearls are prohibitively expensive.

Wendy, I enjoyed reading your blog of your recent buying trip to Hong Kong.

My DruzyDesign pearls are coming on Monday so I will report back. I am off to try drilling some Tahitians for a necklace I want to wear tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Thanks so much!

 

[agenova]

The pearls arrived on Saturday and I was very pleased to see them in person! They are much higher quality than the ones I purchased on Etsy so I'm glad to have found DruzyDesign. I'm feel that I've learned more about judging pearls from photos thanks to everyone's help.

I threw together a quick tin cup necklace for a trip we're taking this weekend. I dug up an old macro lens and tried to get some better close-up photos.

Let me know what you think of the pearls in comparison to the glamour shots.

Glamour Shot -



My photo -



My tin cup -


Thanks!

Anne

 

[pattye]

Anne, Those pearls worked up very well as a tin cup! No doubt you will get lots of compliments! Congratulations!

 

[BAS]

Oh, I would wear that in a heartbeat! Well done!

 

[GemGeek]

I love a happy ending!