Pearl shrinkage syndrome

[cmd2014]

I think I know why this happens! I put my 7.5 - 8 mm Tahitians (edit: I actually meant Akoyas) on to go out last night, and suddenly they seemed small. Then I realized that I've been wearing 8 - 11/12 mm Tahitians for weeks and have gotten used to looking at that size on me. DH's only comment when I mentioned it was that if I was going to get bigger Akoyas, I should go really big, and not just one size up. Given the price jump, I don't see that in my future, but it's funny what we get used to looking at, because when I considered the 8 - 8.5 mm and 8.5 - 9 mm strands in NYC, I thought they looked too big. 7.5 - 8 is the classic size for white pearls here.

 

[baby monster]

Oh yeah, PSS is real. That's why akoya strands are not for me unless it's a double or triple strand. I like lots of presence .

Seriously though, I didn't think tahitians came in sub 8mm size.

 

[bsomlo]

I can't get past your DH saying to go "really big"! My husband just rolls his eyes at this point at the whole pearl thing.

 

[cmd2014]

Oops, I meant Akoyas. I put on my Akoyas. Clearly I have Tahitians on my brain!

 

[cmd2014]

I can't get past your DH saying to go "really big"! My husband just rolls his eyes at this point at the whole pearl thing.

What can I say...I married an enabler!

 

[icy_jade]

Oops, I meant Akoyas. I put on my Akoyas. Clearly I have Tahitians on my brain!

Haha, and given your recent acquisitions, who can blame you? Personally I think Tahitians have more personality. And yeah, I'm with baby monster on pearls with presence. So 8 mm strands need to be doubled, tripled or as a looooong rope. But then again my petite friends look great in 8 mm strands n find my 9-10 mm ones too big so I think size/height matters lots. Bigger pearls for bigger girls, and bigger when you are older too.

Your DH is a sweetheart.

 

[Fly Girl]

Don't bother with getting big akoyas. Head straight for the South Seas!

 

[icy_jade]

Don't bother with getting big akoyas. Head straight for the South Seas!

You are absolutely right!

 

[Bailey1856]

Don't bother with getting big akoyas. Head straight for the South Seas!

I agree! I used to think 10-11mm ssp stud earrings are too big for me but I now think my 12-13mm gssps are marvellous. I don't even know what to do with my 7-8mm Akoyas now.

 

[cmd2014]

He is a sweetie. We just spent 20 minutes with him looking online with me at big Akoyas vs WSS, because he wanted to know what might be "my dream strand". Poor man probably doesn't realize yet that I have many!

 

[bsomlo]

Which did you like better? They're so different...

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Don't bother with getting big akoyas. Head straight for the South Seas!

I agree! I used to think 10-11mm ssp stud earrings are too big for me but I now think my 12-13mm gssps are marvellous. I don't even know what to do with my 7-8mm Akoyas now.

Oh, you can just send them to me

No? Oh, well, then perhaps you could combine with a second strand of Akoyas for a rope - doubling or tripling them around your neck might give you the impact you want.

 

[cmd2014]

Which did you like better? They're so different...

Tough to say. I love the sharp luster and rose overtones of Akoyas, but the satiny silvery quality of WSS are beautiful too. DH prefers the Akoyas. His vote was for a large, longer strand of those and for a round matched strand of Tahitians as the "dream strands". All academic at this point, but it's fun to look.

 

[pkinnew]

PSS Is a growing (lol) problem in the pearl industry! I myself have this syndrome and don't aniticpate recovering soon!

How great your DH went online shopping with you!

 

[Kay]

Oops, I meant Akoyas. I put on my Akoyas. Clearly I have Tahitians on my brain!

Haha, and given your recent acquisitions, who can blame you? Personally I think Tahitians have more personality. And yeah, I'm with baby monster on pearls with presence. So 8 mm strands need to be doubled, tripled or as a looooong rope. But then again my petite friends look great in 8 mm strands n find my 9-10 mm ones too big so I think size/height matters lots. Bigger pearls for bigger girls, and bigger when you are older too.
Your DH is a sweetheart.

This is so true. I bought 7-7.5 mm akoya strands 9 years ago (when I was a waifish size 4), and they looked appropriate on me at the time. Nearly a decade older and 2 kids later, I need bigger pearls!

Your DH is so sweet to shop for pearls with you. Mine would rather have a root canal. Of course, my eyes glaze over when he talks about some of his "toys" too.

 

[cmd2014]

Your DH is so sweet to shop for pearls with you. Mine would rather have a root canal. Of course, my eyes glaze over when he talks about some of his "toys" too.

Sadly, looking at these things with me will never translate into buying things for me...but he is really good at engaging with me about the things I love, and has always taken the attitude that if I can afford it, I should get it for myself. Of course, it has also meant that I have spent way more time than I'd care to think about looking at his "dream" boats, road bikes, backpacking gear, and Mt. Everest Base Camp (this last one is particularly funny as DH is terrified of heights, but somehow dreams of mountain climbing).

 

[Frost Me]

...but he is really good at engaging with me about the things I love, and has always taken the attitude that if I can afford it, I should get it for myself. Of course, it has also meant that I have spent way more time than I'd care to think about looking at his "dream" boats, road bikes, backpacking gear, and Mt. Everest Base Camp (this last one is particularly funny as DH is terrified of heights, but somehow dreams of mountain climbing).

Hmm… this is so similar to my DH.

 

[Frost Me]

Don't bother with getting big akoyas. Head straight for the South Seas!

You are absolutely right!

I will take this advice too!

 

[cmd2014]

Don't bother with getting big akoyas. Head straight for the South Seas!

You are absolutely right!

Good advice! I'm imagining that huge Akoyas are likely in a similar price bracket as WSS....and of course WSS have the option to go waaaaaaay bigger!

While we're dreaming....anyone have any thoughts about silver vs rose overtone in WSS pearls?

 

[icy_jade]

Don't bother with getting big akoyas. Head straight for the South Seas!

You are absolutely right!

Good advice! I'm imagining that huge Akoyas are likely in a similar price bracket as WSS....and of course WSS have the option to go waaaaaaay bigger!

While we're dreaming....anyone have any thoughts about silver vs rose overtone in WSS pearls?

I've tried both n silver works better for me. It really depends on your skin tone. I just look bleh in pastels and realise that it applies for pearls too. So lavender and peach fwps are no-no for me. I tried on a multicolored Edison necklace in Hong Kong and I really make the pearls look bad. But look at bsomlo, she looks fab in rose overtones for both wssp n akoyas.

 

[katbran]

you could consider getting a strand that matches up with your smaller ones..but up one size and have a double strand made..

We all understand the issues with pearl shrinkage..and most experience pearlie people will recommend that 8mm + is a good way to go as anything less will somehow be less satisfying as time passes.

As for what type of pearl...that often comes down to budget. Decide how much you want to spend and then buy the top quality/ best strand of 8.5 - 9mm pearls you can get for that price.. always go for the very best luster.

 

[mapo]

Have you thought about a white edison strand? PP's blog had a picture of one edison pearl next to a ss strand. To an untrained eye (like mine), they look identical.

From PP's blog:

 

[NacreLover]

I've been wanting them since I saw my first Edison's. It depends if they are bleached white or grown white.

 

[cmd2014]

Are the bleached white ones not as nice? (I didn't realize that Edisons were bleached).

 

[NacreLover]

Most all white pearl are bleached to a standard white, some types pinked afterwards. If these were peach, lavender and cream and bleached white, they could be potentially over processed. That won't show up for 6 months and the pearls turn chalky. Once that happens..... I purchased a white pearl strand that turned chalky in the past from a vendor, I am leery now. I would need to know more before buying them. The white south sea are white. I don't know what they do with the off white pearls.

 

[Ella]

A friendly reminder that we don't allow vendors to sell, or promote their businesses or blogs on PS. As a result some posts from this thread have been removed.

 

[Pearlescence]

There were lots of south sea strands in various grey-ish shades from very lightly tinted to seriously grey in HK.
Why not consider a white freshwater bead nucleated strand. There were some from a main wholesaler which were $12k wholesale which was just silly but you could get a fairly smooth ripple type strand for much less and some of them look very like white south sea pearls. And the white bead nuked freshwater are usually natural white.


Ella:sorry! Hope this is okay