Single Hanadama Pearl: not a thing?

[tinyquestion2015]

I’ve became obsessed with the idea of a single Hanadama in a pendant. Have become convinced that “it’s the best of the best, the difference will be worth it & noticeable even in a pendant”.

Come to find out you can’t buy a single GIA Hanadama, they only come in pairs?! First of all: Cue heartbreak moment for me (dramatic, yes). Second of all: Why? Why are earrings Hanadama worthy but not pendants? My understanding is: the price GIA charges for a Hanadama certification is worth it for a vendor to pass along in a pair purchase but not a single purchase, is that correct?

So talk some sense into me, be my pearl therapist
I don’t need a Hanadama for a pendant, right? I can be very happy with a Pearl Paradise AAA Akoya pendant, right? I definitely DON’T “need” to buy an earring set of Hanadamas and have them made into 2 pendants (one for me now, & one to hold onto for 10 years for my currently 6 year old daughter…I think it’s a fantastic idea, husband won’t agree), right?

Anyways that’s my Hanadama vent, thanks for reading/advising.

 

[Amoreperla]

I think if you make an appointment with pearl paradise they will show you wonderful single pearls that you will very happy with. You don’t need to buy a set ( unless you want earrings…. I love earrings.. ) your daughter may want something very different in her choice of pearls in the future. My mom and I have very different taste in pearls.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

My understanding is that Hanadama certification is only available for pairs and strands. But what is a Hanadama but a AAA that has met certain minimum standards? So just contact PP and ask for the best AAA akoya pearl for a pendant within your budget.

 

[tinyquestion2015]

I think if you make an appointment with pearl paradise they will show you wonderful single pearls that you will very happy with. You don’t need to buy a set ( unless you want earrings…. I love earrings.. ) your daughter may want something very different in her choice of pearls in the future. My mom and I have very different taste in pearls.

Sorry, should have included that I did have an appointment with PP where we did pick a nice AAA and I’m still thinking “what about a Hanadama?”
It seems you DO need to buy a set if you want a Hanadama. But currently trying to get more info on whether a single is possible or not.

 

[pattye]

Pearl Paradise may be able to show you a single Akoya pearl that has high, high luster and "perfection" equal to or even better than Hanadama quality.
Hanadama is just a certification. PP can show you how they compare.

 

[KarinK]

These days you may well find a not certified pearl of better quality than one with a certification.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

These days you may well find a not certified pearl of better quality than one with a certification.

True. Although I'm sure any Handamas sold by PP are actually Hanadama grade. This may or may not be true of other sellers.

Read this, about what has happened with Pearl Science Lab certificates:

H

Thread 'GIA adds Hanadama Quality Indicator to Certificates'

Sep 13, 2023

See the under link.
https://www.gia.edu/gia-news-press/...comment-added-to-pearl-classification-reports

• Hyun-Yoon Yoon
• Replies: 18
• Forum: Akoya Pearls

• 

 

[BWeaves]

I’ve became obsessed with the idea of a single Hanadama in a pendant. Have become convinced that “it’s the best of the best, the difference will be worth it & noticeable even in a pendant”.

Come to find out you can’t buy a single GIA Hanadama, they only come in pairs?! First of all: Cue heartbreak moment for me (dramatic, yes). Second of all: Why? Why are earrings Hanadama worthy but not pendants? My understanding is: the price GIA charges for a Hanadama certification is worth it for a vendor to pass along in a pair purchase but not a single purchase, is that correct?

So talk some sense into me, be my pearl therapist
I don’t need a Hanadama for a pendant, right? I can be very happy with a Pearl Paradise AAA Akoya pendant, right? I definitely DON’T “need” to buy an earring set of Hanadamas and have them made into 2 pendants (one for me now, & one to hold onto for 10 years for my currently 6 year old daughter…I think it’s a fantastic idea, husband won’t agree), right?

Anyways that’s my Hanadama vent, thanks for reading/advising.

When I went on my Japan Trip in June to the pearl farms, one of the vendors talked to us about NOT getting his pearls certified as Hanadama, because the certifications were lowering their standards so that more pearls would pass as Hanadamas. It's because everyone wanted a certificate with their pearls.That meant the quality of Hanadamas was now all over the place. Both a $5000 strand and a $2000 strand would both get Hanadama certificates. Someone might look at the gorgeous $5k Hanadama strand and their daughter would whisper, "You can get one for $2K, I saw it on TikTok" and they would badmouth the vendor with the $5K strand for overcharging, when he actually had the must higher quality strand.

So the vendor we talked to said he was NOT getting any certificates, because he wanted people to judge his pearls by the quality they were seeing, and not just because one pearl had a certificate and another pearl did not.

 

[tinyquestion2015]

When I went on my Japan Trip in June to the pearl farms, one of the vendors talked to us about NOT getting his pearls certified as Hanadama, because the certifications were lowering their standards so that more pearls would pass as Hanadamas. It's because everyone wanted a certificate with their pearls.That meant the quality of Hanadamas was now all over the place. Both a $5000 strand and a $2000 strand would both get Hanadama certificates. Someone might look at the gorgeous $5k Hanadama strand and their daughter would whisper, "You can get one for $2K, I saw it on TikTok" and they would badmouth the vendor with the $5 strand for overcharging, when he actually had the must higher quality strand.

So the vendor we talked to said he was NOT getting any certificates, because he wanted people to judge his pearls by the quality they were seeing, and not just because one pearl had a certificate and another pearl did not.

That’s really interesting! I wonder if the part of the problem is lack of quality in-person shopping options.

The vendor’s advice of buy based on what you find beautiful, don’t worry about certifications is great advice IF you can view a variety of pearls in person (that’s the dream!). Pick what speaks to you, certifications be damned. Unfortunately that’s not accessible to most & we have to rely on the internet which offers either stock photos that don’t do the pearls justice or worse: misleading doctored images. In the case of internet shopping, distinct categories (proven via certification) maybe becomes more important?

In person, if I want better luster than any of the AAAs the vendor is showing me I might say, “do you have any Hanadmas”? If I trust the vendor and can see with my own eyes that the “Hanadama” has better luster than the AAAs then I’m satisfied and don’t need a certificate. Internet buying does add a layer of complication I feel. If I can’t compare for myself in person, the GIA certificate is someone I trust saying “we saw it and yes, the luster is better than the AAAs”.

But I wonder if I’m just horrible at perceiving luster through photos and need the luster volume turned up to “Hanadama” before I can perceive luster in a photo

 

[BWeaves]

I would also recommend vendors that will do a Zoom session with you with a good camera to really show you the pearls like you would see them in person. I know Pearl Paradise does that.