I really need cheering up at the moment so I have ordered myself a pair of 7mm Premier Akoya pearl earrings from Blue Nile. They'll be here tomorrow by 10am! I'm hoping they'll be super-sheeny!
Thanks! I've purchased quite a bit from Blue Nile in general, but in terms of pearls, mostly inexpensive freshwaters. I got their pink freshwater studs and the lustre is amazing, and also their pink/peach multicolour freshwater strand. That was only about $65.00 as I had them make me a 15.5 inch strand (I'm short) and again, the lustre is incredible. I appreciate that for these prices, they're probably highly treated.
Anyway, I thought I'd do it properly so I got the highest quality this time. I know hardly anything about pearls. But I need these to arrive tomorrow and BN is the soul of speed and efficiency, so I thought why not. I think they are also a very reputable company.
Forgot to add - I do have some sapphire and akoya earrings from BN. They're just classic akoya, not premium. Anyway, the earrings are a sapphire stud with an akoya drop, set in 18k white gold. They're pretty nice, espcially as they cost approx $380 in a sale. Also, to have a sapphire with a pearl is quite an unusual drop earring combo in my opinion. I'll have to post pics when I get round to it.