tiffany ?1400 vs mikimoto a1 ?2600

[awohc]

Hi everyone, I have decided to buy a pearl necklace for my wife to celebrate her first anniversary of being a mother (on my baby girls first birthday) as a surprise. I am in London and visited bond street at lunch time to see what I could find.

I am looking for a 16 inch necklace with pearl size of 7-7.5. Tiffany had one for 1400 pounds which is within my budget so I was quite happy, however, I also decided to visit mikimoto as it seems they are more highly regarded for pearls. A necklace of the same length and size with a1 (lowest) grade was a lot more at 2600 pounds, almost double.

So what I wanted to ask was if the difference is worth it, and if anyone knows, what grade Tiffany pearls are comparable to on the Mikimoto scale?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Caitlin]

HI!
Have you spent the money yet? If not, don't.

Unless you absolutely must say the piece is from Tiffany's. Both places put a premium on pearls because of their brand names. In fact, if you know pearls or can get someone (like us here on the forum) to help you get the same quality for a lower price, from an online dealer.

Anyway, as you appear to love quality and are looking at akoya necklaces, the important thing to know when shopping for the best, you want to know how thick that nacre is on the bead inside. You can count on the quality from the brand places, but others offer better quality at less money if they do not have an accumulation of foreign buyers, importers, wholesalers, etc, between them and the price of the pearl.

I would suggest you look at hanadama necklaces. Those have been measured as to how thick the nacre is, and how good the overall quality.
Here is a link to a hanadama 7.0-7.5 for $1,732. The quality of that necklace will exceed either of the two you looked at.

Now here is the link to very high quality akoya necklace, the exact equivalent of the ones you mention above, for less than $450.00. The company is the leading online seller of best quality pearls for low prices because this company shops directly for the pearls and imports them directly. I use this company as my price base when shopping for pearls.

There is no reason to pay more.

PS. I am talking Dollars, not pounds so the savings is even greater once you translate the money....

 

[Lulu]

Also if he is in the UK, maybe Wendy at Pearlesence? (I have probably spelled that wrong...)

 

[pearlescence]

Thanks Lulu..I need a c in there !

 

[Caitlin]

Absolutely- Wendy is located in the UK.

 

[Lulu]

No kidding. Just for kicks, I browsed Nordstrom and Tiffany's online for some comparison-price shopping and was completely floored by what I found.

For instance, this rope. Albeit has a diamond clasp, but if you zoom in on it, the pearls are irregularly shaped.

That said, having seen the Tiffany pearls in person, they are really beautiful and lustrous. You're just not likely to get a salesperson who knows very much about them or be able to present you with many options other than what they happen to have on hand, though

 

[awohc]

Thanks everyone for the invaluable advice. I haven't parted with my money yet which is a good thing, and I am now looking, as suggested by Caitlin, at the Pearl Paradise website for a much better deal. I did look at Wendy's website but i didn't see anything like what I am looking for.

I don't think my wife would mind if the pearls were branded or not, I think given the choice she would much rather have high end pearls rather than substandard pearls from a high end brand. I am sure she would love it to be both, but until I win the lottery, that can wait =D

Given that my budget stretches a lot more at pearl paradise I am thinking of getting the natural white hanadamas as they seem to be some of the best, if not the best Akoya pearls available and I would love to be able to tell my wife that when I present her with her surprise present. Only problem is it seems they only offer an 18 inch necklace and I was thinking of getting a 16 inch as my wife is quite petite and I think the shorter length looks a little more contemporary and would suit her more. Maybe i will contact Pearl Paradise to see if a 16 inch can be made available, if not, I guess 18 inch isn't a complete deal breaker.

My only other dilemma now is potentially do i go for the natural white hanadama necklace, or go for the normal white hanadama necklace and some white hanadama earrings as a set? any advice or views on this would be great!

Being in UK, I assume i will have to factor in some customs and tax costs when purchasing from USA which is a bit of a downer!

 

[Marianne]

I would contact Pearl Paradise. They will work with you to get what is best for your family! Oh Golly, you have a very lucky wife

 

[Sea Urchin]

I believe PP will shorten that strand for you. You might want to keep the other two inches worth of pearls, in case she changes her mind (or gains weight haha) later on. That way, you'll have a perfect match.

Those who have seen them seem to really love those natural hanadamas. They are the rarest of the rare! However, "regular" hanadamas are drop-dead gorgeous as well, and if it was me, I would definitely want to wear my pearl strand with matching pearl earrings. Also, I would prefer the earrings be at least a size larger than the pearls in the strand, to set them apart from looking like just another pearl from the strand. Yep, if it was me, I'd want the earrings, too, over the natural hanadama strand without the earrings. But I have no idea if anyone else agrees, and in fact the true pearl connoisseurs on here may be shaking their heads sadly, lol, so maybe they'll weigh in on that too...

Well, honestly, if it was me, I'd go with the much less expensive non-hanadama pearls Caitlin trusts (I'm not an expert but she is). But I understand if you want that hanadama certification to go with your gift.

Please post photos and show us what you get!

 

[Nerida]

Just a quick addition to this thread... I recently was shown a strand of Tiffany pearls - tiny (6.5mm or so?) rice shaped pearls with a sterling silver toggle clasp and the ubiquitous T charm - RRP in Australia was $629. I could buy the same pearls (the VERY same) for around $4 per strand directly from the processors, around $15 AUD for the clasp and charm - their margins are very very good. Sadly, for the owner of this particular strand, the T brand, and packaging etc was important. I guess the lesson is that if you 'need' the brand, sure, go for it. If you don't then, as Caitlin and others have said, your money will go a lot, lot further with other vendors.
Good luck with the akoyas - I am sure your wife will be absolutely delighted!

 

[willeyi]

Hi... I'd like to give my input here in support of Mikimotos. I am a big fan of Mikimoto pearls. You will find most people here in this forum are anti-Mikimoto or anti-branded pearls (e.g. Paspaley), so I'd like to give you a different view.

Mikimoto pearls are absolutely gorgeous and are worth every penny to me. Yes, they are expensive, but the luster and glow is comparable to none. Before I started buying Mikimotos, I did a lot of research and looked at a lot of pearls, including Pearl Paradise and Tiffany. Yes, both have nice pearls, but both do not compare to Mikimoto...even the Hanadamas did not compare to the Mikimoto AAAs... a comparison of the best to the best . Also, what people call AA is far worse than what Mikimoto calls their AA, so it is not equal and there is no official pearl grading system. People just copy Mikimoto's grading system because to me, Mikimoto is the reference for pearls (at least akoyas).

If you are willing to spend the money, no doubt in my mind... I would get Mikimoto pearls. Mikimoto is known for their quality and you can see it. There is truly no comparison.

That said though... if you don't want to spend the money and you want to go cheap, Pearl Paradise is a good alternative. I have actually purchased Pearl Paradise pearls as gifts, and they pearls are very pretty, though definitely not the quality of Mikimotos (I have compared them when I received them).
But yes.. you will pay significantly less. So if it's value for the money that you want, Pearl Paradise is great. If you want a branded name, reference strand of pearls, I would definitely get Mikimoto.

For me, the brand is well worth it. Otherwise, a non-branded pearl is just a pearl. If your wife likes brand names, hands down, she will love her Mikimotos!

On size, 7-7.5mm is a good size, and classic, but if you can spent a bit more, I would go for 8-8.5mm. The bigger size will carry her through the years. A 7-7.5mm may be a bit small as she ages. But.. I would rather have a 7-7.5mm Mikimoto strand than a 8-8.5mm no name strand.

Good luck to you, and congrats to you and your wife! A strand of pearls is great idea, and my husbands does the same!