Where to buy in the UK?

[rachleba99]

Hello. I found this wonderful resource while trying to source some replacement pearls for some which were stolen. They were gifts and I have no true idea what all of them were.
I am looking for two things in particular - I had a set of approx 10mm freshwater pearls - they were irregular shapes. In addition there was a string of slightly smaller dark coloured irregular shaped pearls where the pearls had many more imperfections like rings and pitting but they were ever so pretty.
A lot of the sites recommended on here are not in the UK, however they do offer international shipping. Does anyone have any UK recommendations? Thank you

 

[Jwymark]

Pixie moon is a uk based company. I’m sure if you inbox them on Facebook they could source what you are looking for. They sell good quality at reasonable prices.
https://www.facebook.com/PixieMoonLTD/

 

[cmd2014]

I would recommend: https://www.pearlescence.co.uk

The owner is a member here and if you do a search, you can see the many beautiful pieces others have purchased from her.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I'm not sure Pearl-Guide member LondonPearl sells retail (as opposed to only wholesale) , but you could message him and find out:

https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/member.php?62381-LondonPearl

 

[Katbran]

I would also recommend Wendy at Pearlescence.co.uk as she is a long time member here and has an enormous stock of all sorts of Freshwater pearls. She also wouldn't need to source anything from elsewhere as she travels to Hong Kong twice a year to purchase and hand select each strand. Each time someone has to go elsewhere it adds to the cost. So it's from the pearl wholesalers in HK then to you. Send her a message and I'm sure she can help you .

 

[Pareltje]

In the UK, I know Pearlescence, London Pearl and Isis Pearls. I think United Pearl Trading also has an office in the UK.

 

[rachleba99]

Thank you very much everyone. This is so helpful. One thing that occurred to me was importing pearls from an overseas seller incurs customs duty which quickly increases the cost. I am off to browse and consider what I would really wear. On reflection, I'd rather have one good strand.

 

[Katbran]

We have been lucky here in Australia up until now as there has been no duty for anything brought in for under 1000$ . Thats changing in a few weeks and there will be duty on everything imported. Bummer

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I messaged LondonPearl last week to inquire if they sell retail. I just received a reply. He said that while they generally sell to the trade, if a customer goes to their offices in Watford, they will sell to them.

 

[pattye]

We have been lucky here in Australia up until now as there has been no duty for anything brought in for under 1000$ . Thats changing in a few weeks and there will be duty on everything imported. Bummer

This really is unfortunate. I know you already pay high prices when buying locally.

 

[pattye]

LadyViolet, welcome to P-G. Have you purchased items from this company previously? I do notice they aren't disclosing that the black akoya and black freshwater pearls are dyed.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I checked out Absolute Pearls' website before approving the post, and they actually do talk about color treatment, but you have to click on the question mark icon next to the word "color".

This is what you see when you click on the icon::

Pearl Colour

Pearls are categorised using ‘body colour’ and refined with ‘overtone’ and ‘orient’.Overtone is the minor second colour/glow often seen on the surface pearls, in particular silver and pink overtones.Iridescence or orient (a rainbow of colours) can sometimes be seen on baroque pearls and is an optical effect much like oil films. (The same on the inside of an oyster shell i.e. Mother of Pearl).

Freshwater	Natural white, pink/peach and lilac/lavender. Other colours are colour treated.
Akoya Saltwater	Natural white. Most others are colour treated. Silver/pink overtones.
Tahitian	Natural blacks/greys/silvers. Large overtone range.
South Sea	Natural white and golden/yellow. Mainly silver overtones.

 

[pattye]

Oh, I missed this chart, thank you, Pearl Dreams.

 

[Katbran]

Really depressing. You're right we do pay a lot for everything! The only reason I'm thinking to go to the HK June show. This is going to hard on all the little ETSY stores that depend on overseas purchases to survive. It's not just the cost of materials here that drives people to purchase overseas..it's that selection here is very limited. It's obviously to try and appease retail stores who lose a fortune to people buying clothes and jewellery on line. We already lose 25% due to the dollar exchange rate...now there will be taxes on top of it.

 

[LadyViolet]

LadyViolet, welcome to P-G. Have you purchased items from this company previously? I do notice they aren't disclosing that the black akoya and black freshwater pearls are dyed.

Thanks for the welcome! I’ve only bought white pearls from them so I hadn’t noticed that. Their service is excellent though, and the pearls I had from them are lovely. I’m not exactly an expert but my pearl necklace was described as excellent surface quality and high lustre and they really are - I have another, older necklace I bought somewhere else and they’re like chalk and cheese. The older necklace has lots of flaws when you examine them closely but in my one from Absolute pearls they are almost flawless.

I’ve been reading this site obsessively in the last few days, and I’m learning a lot!