Some recent Wen purchases

[pammbw]

I ordered a few things from Wen recently, and here are the results. I had ordered 3 strands before Christmas and been happy with all 3, they were AA+ grade, (gave 2 as gifts so no photos) so I experimented a little and chose 3 AA strands. All were very inexpensive freshwater so no big deal there. One of the strands was listed as AA but was on sale 50% off. It was in no way AA. It was not at all usable. Wen was very good about crediting me for the strand and not asking to ship it back because the shipping would be more than the strand. Customer service win for Wen. Next order was a few strands in AAA. All were very nice. Now I know what her store grading really looks like and can shop better. Now on to photos ( I left the photos large so you could see details of the pearls)-

Metallic blue potato shape. AA grade


Metallic lavender rice shape. AA grade


White baroque AAA and little white rice pearls. Loved these. I will post the projects I made with these as soon as I finish them up.

 

[JerseyPearl]

Can't wait to see what you create with these!
One thing I have learned from working with different suppliers, especially those overseas...be as specific as you possibly can on what is acceptable in terms of quality.

 

[Sanippy]

Fun pearls! I love the little rice freshies! Looking forward to seeing what you make with these.

 

[pammbw]

Here are the necklaces I made with the white pearls. I think I will get a lot of use out of these.
First one is the little rice pearls mixed with some lapis beads. I goofed on this and put a vintage clasp I had on it instead of the gold I should have used to match the little gold beads so I will have to redo it.


Next is the baroque pearls mixed with the rice in a long rope. This will get lots of wear!

 

[Sanippy]

They look amazing!! Well done!

 

[Katbran]

Wow you work fast !!! lol They look great..and it is a bit of a trial run with suppliers . One stores AAA is another AA . Well done !

 

[Karman]

Pretty pearls and fun necklaces!

I really do love Wen as a pearl vendor. I don't expect to by top quality pearls from her (she does have some really, really nice pearls for very decent prices though), but she has some wonderful craft-quality pearls, good for personal pieces. It certainly beats buying the sad poor quality pearls from my local beading supply stores.

My husband recently asked me what I wanted for our 5th wedding anniversary, and I chose a large metallic white 10.5-11.5mm Edison strand from Wen. I haven't decided what to do with it yet (it hasn't arrived) but I might actually just knot it up into a 17" necklace!

 

[pammbw]

Congratulations on your anniversary Karman! Hubs and I just had our 25th. I agree that Wen is a good vendor for mid grade pearls, and that suits my needs just fine right now. I will move up to higher grade pearls soon. The gift for 30th anniversary is pearls, so a few years for him to save for that knockout strand of tahitians!

 

[pammbw]

Katbran- I had the 2 white strands mostly done when I made the original post, so don't be fooled, I am not super knotter, lol. A few episodes of Breaking Bad and they were done!

 

[pattye]

Pam, So pretty and wearable! I can imagine you layering these with other ropes or chains, too!