Online pearl purchasing

[ajoh3142]

Hi everyone - There are so many resources and recommended online retailers for diamonds, but what about pearls. I have been looking for a choker (14-14.5 inches) with excellent luster, surface condition, and nacre thickness with Akoya pearls in a size of 7.5-8.0 mm. I have found a multitude of online retailers, but I don't know where to turn for truly good quality at a fair price. It is definately a more arduous task than buying diamonds as I have heard many horror stories regarding pearl purchases. Any suggestions?

 

[Treenbean]

hopefully someone will chime in because I want a pair of baroque pearls for earrings too. (a la ilanders)

 

[chemgirl]

I have some baroque Tahitians, baroque akoya, and freshwater studs from Pearl Paradise. They are all very nice and the price was fair.

 

[Treenbean]

Is there anything in particular that I should look for with the baroques? I feel like I am thread jacking.

 

[iLander]

I have had luck with Jose, and bought my golden SS from him. He has amazing prices for all types of pearls, and he does have akoya.

Your best bet is to just call him and tell him what you want, since he has a bunch of stuff that's not on the website, and because he's primarily a wholesaler to jewelers, he doesn't update his site all the time. I found all this out while working with him on a bracelet for my birthday, which I will soon post.

Here's his home page: http://www.tahitianpearls.biz/index.htm

Here's his Akoya necklaces, I don't shop for Akoya, so not sure if these are a good price or not. Judging from the goldens I've ordered, he's pretty picky on grading, so if he says it's AA+/AAA, then it really is nice. If you want a certain overtone, I'd say call and have him send you more pics. He also has an excellent return policy, but if you need more time, just let him know.

http://www.tahitianpearls.biz/akoya-pearl-necklace/akoya-pearl-necklace-anrs.htm

 

[iLander]

hopefully someone will chime in because I want a pair of baroque pearls for earrings too. (a la ilanders)

Hi Treenbean!!

I've been out of commission, and I missed you!

Here's Sarah's site, I got my baroque pair (I will post pics of my GINORMOUS earrings soon) from her. She has a pile of stuff not on her site, so ask her. She's been in and out this month, doing shows, so she may take a few days to respond.

http://shop.kojimapearl.com/collections/pairs

She's very nice, though. Read the descriptions carefully, some are quite big, but it doesn't jump out at you in the pic. Like this pair is as big as the pair of south seas I bought from her : http://shop.kojimapearl.com/products/kamoka-baroque-drop-pair The color is not an exact match, but I think they're pretty awesome.

A note on my big pair of pearls: I did them in a shephard hook which, turns out, is not heavy at all, at least not to me.

 

[VapidLapid]

iLander where have you been? Ive been worried sick about you just disappearing like that. I was getting ready to ask Barry to send you a message. I hope you were traveling or on a wonderful journey and not down with the flu that I had.

Oh yeah, and I have tahitians from pearl paradise. Very fine quality and great to work with as well.

 

[iLander]

iLander where have you been? Ive been worried sick about you just disappearing like that. I was getting ready to ask Barry to send you a message. I hope you were traveling or on a wonderful journey and not down with the flu that I had.

Oh yeah, and I have tahitians from pearl paradise. Very fine quality and great to work with as well.

HI VAPID!

That would have been so clever of you, emailing Barry.

No, nothing good like traveling, or bad like the flu (hope you're feeling better!) just me being stupid . . . I got carried away in hangout, and got booted off the island by the mods. I have learned that maybe it's better to have an unexpressed thought. . .

But I'm back now, and will try to keep my mouth shut, or at least reduce my time over in that section.

 

[Fly Girl]

I purchased Tahitians from Sarah at Kojima and got Tahitian earrings that match it perfectly from Jose at Tahitianpearls.biz. You can see pictures in this thread. [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-christmas-pearls-are-on-the-way.153899/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-christmas-pearls-are-on-the-way.153899/[/URL]

For akoyas, I keep looking at Pearl Paradise. I'm loving their silver/blue baroque akoyas. They carry white akoyas, or you can go with freshwater whites. Get the AAA quality, and I'm sure the choker will be stunning.

Welcome back, iLander.

 

[iLander]

I purchased Tahitians from Sarah at Kojima and got Tahitian earrings that match it perfectly from Jose at Tahitianpearls.biz. You can see pictures in this thread. [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-christmas-pearls-are-on-the-way.153899/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-christmas-pearls-are-on-the-way.153899/[/URL]

For akoyas, I keep looking at Pearl Paradise. I'm loving their silver/blue baroque akoyas. They carry white akoyas, or you can go with freshwater whites. Get the AAA quality, and I'm sure the choker will be stunning.

Welcome back, iLander.

Hi Flygirl!

It's GOOD to be back.

 

[4Ranch Girl]

I have had luck with Jose, and bought my golden SS from him. He has amazing prices for all types of pearls, and he does have akoya.

Your best bet is to just call him and tell him what you want, since he has a bunch of stuff that's not on the website, and because he's primarily a wholesaler to jewelers, he doesn't update his site all the time. I found all this out while working with him on a bracelet for my birthday, which I will soon post.

Here's his home page: http://www.tahitianpearls.biz/index.htm

Here's his Akoya necklaces, I don't shop for Akoya, so not sure if these are a good price or not. Judging from the goldens I've ordered, he's pretty picky on grading, so if he says it's AA+/AAA, then it really is nice. If you want a certain overtone, I'd say call and have him send you more pics. He also has an excellent return policy, but if you need more time, just let him know.

http://www.tahitianpearls.biz/akoya-pearl-necklace/akoya-pearl-necklace-anrs.htm

I can also recomend Jose at Tahitianpearls. I worked with him in November. He is in my neighborhood so I met with him personally. He is very accommodating and has many, many pearls not on his site.

I have also been to Pearl Paradise's vault. I can recommend this site to buy pearls from too. I have probably bought 15 strands plus earrings and pendants from PP. With no problems at all.

 

[Treenbean]

Hi ilander
I should have checked back sooner but we moved to Ca from Pa. Been busy too. I'm glad your back. I got a quote from Sarah for $300 is that a fair price or should I check around? The measurements are 14 x 19 I want them big.

 

[iLander]

HI TREENBEAN!

Is that Sarah's price for freshwater or South Seas? Mine were South Seas, but I'm not sure it really matters, that size is VERY rare no matter what type of pearl it is. Since SS tend to run bigger, it may actually be rarer in freshwater.

Now, 19mm is a TRULY big size, Treenbean. I wear my 16mm when I am in an Over The Top Mood, and thet do look big on me. I adore the look myself, and you can't miss them, even under my dark hair. I've posted some new pics over in my thread on the big pearls. I am a size 4 though, with a skinny, pointy face, so they look big on me. My DD is also a size 4, but she has a wider face, and my 16mm looks perfect on her. I think it's all a matter of scale, as opposed to size.

I suggest that you cut out a piece of paper that is the size and shape of the earrings that you are considering, and hold them up to your ear. I found that with mine, it made more sense to have them closer to my ear, they looked a little more balanced.

But they really do make me think of pirate booty, when they are so luscious and huge!

As far as checking with someone else, I haven't really found anyone else with jumbo pairs like Sarah has, so I don't know who to suggest. I've been looking through the ebay sellers (druzydesigns/ehret, augustus collection) for a while and haven't seen any jumbo pairs. I think Jose is more geared to strands or really round pearls (he has the jumbo ROUND 17mm that I mentioned on another thread). Rounder is usually more expensive than baroque.

If anyone else knows where to get jumbo pairs, please post.

Hope that helps, Treenbean, I was kind of rambly there . . .

 

[iLander]

Oh, I forgot, Treenbean, congrats on your move! How do you think the weather compares between the two places? Do you like your new town? I can't imagine how painful it was to pack for such a big move, and then all that driving! Ugh!

Tell us all about it!

 

[Treenbean]

I just emailed Sarah to tell her that I will take the baroque beauties.
About the move. Packing was horrible, couldn't and wouldn't have finished if it wasn't for my sister. I miss my sis and here two little girls but I am hoping to see them soon. We now live in Nipomo Ca. It has beautiful weather and is close to the beach. So far I like the proximity to the water and shops. I miss having more wide open space.

We drove with my cat, two dogs and one bunny. Everyone was sick of driving by the end of the trip. It took us 5 nights and 6 days to get here. We didn't run into any bad weather, but had to out run 18 inches of snow that was supposed to fall on Flagstaff, which allowed us to arrive one day early. I don't start my job until the 14th, so I am having some fun with local farmers markets and trips to the beach. The average temp in Nipomo is 72-75 degrees with 300 days of sun. Come visit.

Thanks for all the info.

Can you explain options for drilling and which in your opinion would be best?

 

[iLander]

Six days of driving! Bleah! That is rough! I drove once with 2 dogs and a cat, but only for 3 days, and I couldn't WAIT to get out of the car! The cat pooped all over his carrier about 3 hours into it, of course. Then we had to stop and try to clean him and his carrier in a gas station rest room. Of course they didn't have towels, only a blow dryer. After he was thoroughly blown dry, the cat was pretty quiet the rest of the trip.

I had Sarah drill my giant pearls all the way through, because I wanted the flexibility to play around with them. I can just put in a new headpin if I decide to add more pearls, or some beads, or a pearl/bead cap, or if I decide I want to make a pendant some day. I used flat headed headpins, and you really can't see them when I'm wearing them. I can change my mind completely & make sterling earrings if I like.

I use gold-filled for all my findings, rather than plated, because it really doesn't tarnish (I have 20 year old pieces that still look good), and it's SO much cheaper than 14K gold. I don't know if you're a beader Treenbean, but it's pretty simple to put the pin through, make a loop, and the twist the pin around the base of the loop. You will need a pair of ROUND nose pliers, though, that makes all the difference. I practiced a few times, on some cheap wire, until I got the hang of it. Just telling you the whole story, you probably already know all about it.

I don't completely understand half-drilled, maybe someone will chime in. I think to attach the finding there is super glue involved? I didn't want to chance a gob of super glue rolling down the pearl. And if my tastes changed, I didn't want to be stuck with a finding that I didn't like anymore.

Probably way more info than you wanted, TB!

I can't WAIT to see your new pearls, TB!

 

[Treenbean]

LOL hehe we made sure that Finna had a liter pan in her crate. By the time we reached the new house in Ca the animals were in a stupor especially the rabbit (he's very sensitive).