Southsea Pearl vs Edison Pearls

LondonPearl said:
That is a very fine question. I don't believe anyone knows for sure. I think I have much longer experience with these pearls than nearly anyone else in the market. I have pearls from the very first few years of harvest ..... are they an accurate indication?
Click to expand...

How did these early harvest ones turn out? How long ago were they? To be honest, all this rhetoric just shows we don't have definite answers after all.
 
I'm 61, and I'll be happy if I last another 20 years! ;)

Not so worried about my pearls. Nothing lasts forever.
 
I very much look forward to that report, Katbran and LondonPearl. Private messages welcome .. I'd love to hear more.
 
Cathy, I think the jury is still out on "Edisons". Too many unknown variables.
 
I love white SS pearls but I could never afford a strand. I have one SS pearl pendant which is beautiful. But I wanted a strand of large white pearls, so I bought Edisons. To me they are very beautiful. I love being able to have a necklace of large pearls; I never did want a dainty strand of Akoyas; just too old fashioned for me.

And I don't care if they last 10-20 years; I may not be alive then! As others have said, enjoy them now.
Linda
 
I think this is an interesting discussion but there are a few points I don't understand:

- is this a hypothetical discussion or is there actually evidence that the Edison pearls won't last? If the latter, then photos would be much appreciated.

- fwp colors are natural (lets exclude the dyed ones here)? So is there a concern that the fwp colors would fade, much like conch and melo melo pearls?

- from what I understand, freshwater pearls have been around for a while, and Edison pearls are just fwp with bead nuked right? So i can understand the concern if fwp have had problems with retention of colors or lustre, but I haven't seen anyone raise such concerns before? And Chinese fwp have been around for years, certainly more than ten years correct? So is the concern over just Edisons, or fwp in general? If the former, then what is the reason for that?

- if the concern is over pearl treatment/maeshori, and most ssp undergo maeshori as I understand, then is the concern over maeshori in general or Chinese treatment techniques? If the former, then the concern extends to Ssp as well and not just to fwp? I'm assuming that since treatment has been around for a while it's a fairly stable/mature process.

- I believe there are quite a few early adopters of Edison pearls in this forum. Pp brought in some big black pearls and had them as a pendant special a few years ago? Has anyone spotted differences in their early batches of Edisons?

Sorry to raise so many questions but I've been reading this thread and LondonPearl has not given any definitive response and I can't be the only one who's curious... :p
 
I agree. Selling Akoyas for 49+ years and constant handling the FWCP don't have the depth of Akoya or SSC. The few 6-8mm treated
Japanese Akoya to black are quite amazing. No big deal just one or two here of there.

Norm
 
LondonPearl,
If there is something to say or show about Edisons deteriorating over time, please just say it plainly and show us photos. This is a pearl discussion forum after all; why be coy about it?
 
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Pearl Dreams - A question for you - how do you show that a pearl or a series of pearls has deteriorated over time? If you have a physical item now - how do you prove in a definite manner that it has changed over time? Sure - you might have photo's of what the items looked like at the time of purchase - but lustre and colour saturation are hard to photograph. Also you would need identical lighting and so on - on items that you purchased over a decade ago. I am not being coy. This - in my view is a serious matter and best discussed face to face rather than on an open forum. I also want to ensure that I do not say or do anything that might lead to any legal action - I don't have the time or patience for that. It is also worth pointing out that there are large vested interests here who have far greater financial muscle than I have ......
 
LondonPearl, I understand--thank you.

Okay, a question for anyone: Is the pre-treatment of Edisons any different than the pre-treatment given to other freshwater pearls? I have exotic/fancy multicolored FWP bought from PP in Feb. 2008 that are as colorful and lustrous now as they were when I bought them 9.5 years ago. (These are the ones in my avatar.)
 
Pearl Dreams said:
LondonPearl,
If there is something to say or show about Edisons deteriorating over time, please just say it plainly and show us photos. This is a pearl discussion forum after all; why be coy about it?
Click to expand...

I am glad someone actually said this.

I have Edisons from 2012. They look the same. And even if these don't last, I am having fun with them. SSPs won't last forever either. These Edison's are so opal-like I love them.

Regarding vested interests, where do you sit on the fence? SSPs?
 
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How long can the various types of pearls last anyway, if properly taken care/stored? Am especially curious re: tahitians and ssps.
Have seen plenty of vintage akoyas and they are invariably yellowed... I'm guessing they were fairly white when new. What do vintage ssps and Tahitians look like?

I've never expected my pearls to last forever... if they can last my lifetime I'm pretty happy but I don't expect them to last like other gemstones. Diamonds are obviously pretty hardy...
 
I think that as long as you don't pay a fortune - then if they last 10-15 years that's great. I wonder if the colour change issue that's implied is more of a white pearl issue in general? I know someone here mentioned that white freshwaters don't stay white forever. . but I don't recall the lifespan. If you want forever then I think it's diamonds lol
 
Katbran - Of course it does boil down to the expectation of the customer. What is considered to be a 'snip' to one customer is a fortune for another. I feel that there is a general expectation that one should be able to pass these items on to the next generation. If a pearl changes in a really noticeable way in a decade that might not be viable and there will be resentment from some clients. I personally don't want to sell items that have poor longevity. Many of my customers have been with me for over 25 years and rely on me for that specific product knowledge. All those on this thread that are happy with the product - fine- great - enjoy your pearls - As a pearl dealer I want client "joy". As I said earlier in the thread Caveat Emptor!!!
 
I think that's a great way to look at this. As a jewelry designer, you must choose the materials that work best for your designs, and that will appeal best to your clients. Maybe this is like comparing a treated semi-precious gemstone to a precious, untreated one.
 
It's all about expectations.

Think of what your last car cost; how many years will you get out of it, even if you keep it going as long as you can?

And when I consider what my last 2 washers cost, and neither lasted more than 5 years. (That's when I switched to Speed Queen ;) I do expect more durability from a washer!)

While I love the idea of passing on my pearls, the only strand my daughter is even remotely interested in is my GSS. I am not going to stress about whether my pearls will have a future home with her. I wanted almost nothing of what my parents left behind. I suppose each generation has its own idea of things worth owning.

But I'd want to hear more about deterioration of Edisons, from more people, before I would conclude that was a real problem rather than an anomaly. And I'd want to see photos. IMO that is too broad a caveat with no evidence presented.
 
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Pearl Dreams - in your opinion what "evidence" would you require? What would be definitive proof? My time machine is inoperative right now and without it - it will not be easy. Do I have pearls that are not what they once were? Certainly. But that begs the question - how do I prove what they looked like a decade or more ago? I was one of the earliest adopters of this product - if not the first. Don't shoot the canary in the coal mine!
 
Not shooting canaries :p and I understand that you can't provide evidence.

What I'm saying is that with so little to go on, it's just too broad a warning to buyers, at this point IMO. Let's think of how the public should react when one person reports a problem they have experienced with other kinds of products. E.g. One person reports a side effect of a new medicine. Or one person reports a problem with their new car. Is one report enough for all buyers to need to beware? Maybe it was an anomaly. But if more reports come in, if they are a significant number, then more concern is warranted.

I have no doubt you have seen a change in your pearls. I just would need to hear more people say that, and ideally I really would like to see photos. A great thing about P-G is that so many of us post photos of our new pearls. I invite people who have bought Edisons and have taken/posted photos of them to come back in 5 years, 10 years etc. and post photos showing what the passage of time has done, or not done.

For you personally as a seller, I can see why you may not want to risk selling Edisons, given your experience. As a buyer, though, I want to wait and see what others have to say as time goes on.
 
Pink Pendant.jpg

This pendant was made with the largest baroque from one of the very first harvests.
 
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