Rare 20% off site-wide at PP thru 1159p 10/31

[sarahb]

Oh, no! The sale has been extended through Monday night. Temptation continues...

My thought EXACTLY. But isn't it fun....

I have a package arriving next week, including both 16 & 18" ripple strands, a 35" baroque tahition strand, & a pair of earrings to match the ripples. I think I'll order a pair of tahition earrings to match the incoming tahition strand.

As far as not knowing the Nov promotion: I've decided w/ PP, it's more like playing retail roulette.

An aside, is POJ related to PP? Or are they separate companies? The reason I ask, their web sites are strikingly similar.

 

[marymm]

Oh, no! The sale has been extended through Monday night. Temptation continues...

My thought EXACTLY. But isn't it fun....

I have a package arriving next week, including both 16 & 18" ripple strands, a 35" baroque tahition strand, & a pair of earrings to match the ripples. I think I'll order a pair of tahition earrings to match the incoming tahition strand.

As far as not knowing the Nov promotion: I've decided w/ PP, it's more like playing retail roulette.

An aside, is POJ related to PP? Or are they separate companies? The reason I ask, their web sites are strikingly similar.

AFAIK, Jeremy Shepard (PP) and Kevin Canning (POJ) are colleagues but not related, and their companies are completely separate. To me, the two websites are not similar, other than noticing the Los Angeles pearl company websites (including Pure Pearls) tend to promote similar things seasonally and especially after pearl-buying trips. I definitely find the POJ website much easier to navigate in that it allows me to sort any category by "Newest" -- and also I love POJ's "Maven Collection" sub-category.

(I do seem to recall that The Pearl Outlet is owned by Jeremy's brother (Terry), but the two websites are quite different in look and navigation)

 

[Tucs]

I haven't purchased anything in this sale (yet!) because I've already gotten a few pearly things quite recently. Now, of course I still have a nice big far wish list, so my question is as follows. Do the Black Friday and Christmas PP sales tend to be site wide or just for a number of items, and do the discounts tend to be similar to the current 20%? As much as I imagine things can always change, I was wondering if there is a trend.

 

[ennui]

Tucs, if I recall correctly, the Black Friday sale is on selected items. I can't remember how Christmas works. I think the discount code events are Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Halloween. Obviously, PP can change things up.

 

[Pirard]

My first purchase from PP was during their mother's day sale this year. I believe the May sale was Edison strands, and I don't recall there being another discount for Mothers Day...but I could be mistaken!

 

[Frost Me]

Thanks Nacrelover & Pkinnew for the positive comments on my Tahitian studs. Cant wait!

Bailey1856, I believe you are correct I will wear these a lot, I wanted a light pair and this will hopefully fit the bill.

Pkinnew, I am excited to see your south seas charm bracelet!

Flygirl, Good call on the embrace for that fabulous pearl, it is worth looking at often on your hand.

Goodness new and seasoned pearl girls, cmd2014, EvangelineG, Jambalaya, Pencilcase, and Sarahb,lots of stocking up on pearls, I am so looking forward to viewing new pearly purchases!

 

[ennui]

My first purchase from PP was during their mother's day sale this year. I believe the May sale was Edison strands, and I don't recall there being another discount for Mothers Day...but I could be mistaken!

Yes, there's always a monthly special, and codes and sales are extra goodies. I'm probably wrong about a Mother's Day discount code.

 

[cmd2014]

My 8.5-9 mm metallics arrived! I wasn't sure this was the best choice for me, as I've been feeling lately that I'm not sure I'm a white pearl girl except for special occasions, but I am happy to say I was wrong. I'm super pleased with these new additions to my pearl family.

So excuse the bad light, but here are the first pics:

With AAA Akoyas and 6.5-7mm metallics as comparisons:





Earrings:



Full strand with Akoyas:

 

[cmd2014]

And neck shots:

 

[bsomlo]

What a great set! You must be thrilled. And your hair is perfect to show them off!!!

 

[Frost Me]

I really love your new metallics, cmd2014 they are glowing from the inside. So glad you are pleased. They look marvelous! Wish I would have

 

[Tucs]

They look beautiful on you, cmd2014! I have a similar strand and I also love them. They go with everything!

What size are the earrings, 9.0-10.0mm? They look big!

 

[Jambalaya]

I ordered:

26-inch opera necklace, no clasp, white, 7.5-8mm, AAA quality.
Lavender freshwater double strand, 7.5-8mm, AAA quality.
8.5mm lavender freshwater studs.
8.5-9.5mm white metallic strand.

I'm a little disappointed with my order, but I think it's down to my own pearl ignorance. The key issue is how off-round all the pearls are, and how much smaller they look than round pearls of equivalent size, even though I ordered AAA.

I think I know why the pearls look this way to me: I have spent the last few months being spoilt by my big, fat, round 9.5mm Freshadama studs.

I had no idea how off-round non-Freshadamas would look, and crucially, I didn't realize what a visual size difference it makes. For example, my round akoya 8-8.5mm studs look much bigger than the pearls in my 8.5-9.5mm white metallic strand. Because, of course, off-round pearls do not have their full spherical volume like round pearls do.

I wish I had known how off-round even AAA pearls are (like donuts) and what a visual size difference that would make. But I'm very used to round akoya and Freshadama studs so perhaps that's the difference.

And my 9-9.5mm Freshadama studs look about a third larger than the 8.5-9.5mm pearls in my metallic strand. I had it strung to 15.5 inches so I have two loose pearls from the metallic strand. I measured them and they are correct, but they have nothing like the volume of my round 8-8.5mm studs or my 9.5mm Freshadamas.

But looking at the PP website picture of the white metallic strand, it looks pretty much round and the product description says "Round to near-round." If the AAA quality is this off-round I'd hate to see the AA. It's a little annoying because my AAA metallic strand is significantly less round than the website photo.

But all the freshwater AAA pearls I ordered have this donut look to them, so it really must be me.

In addition, I'm not wild about the colors of the lavender set. The double lavender strand is still pretty so I think I'll keep it, although I probably wouldn't have picked it out of a line-up in a store because it really isn't on the pink side of lavender like I wanted, but more like the color of skin. However, the lavender earrings are a peachy gold, despite going to great lengths in my order to explain the light pink/lavender color I wanted and directing them to a picture on their website which had the exact color I wanted.

I waited 12 days after ordering and my order was still not shipped so I asked them about it, and they said they just needed to set the lavender studs for me and they would be shipped that day. I did wonder if they would be done in too much of a hurry, and I was right because the gold peach studs do not match the lavender necklace at all.

I spoke to PP and I'm going to exchange the gold peach lavender studs for ones that look like lavender/pink. But then I got home and started looking at the order anew, and I can't say I'm wildly happy about any of it - they just look like donut-shaped pearls.

I've wanted a large white strand forever, but this 8.5 - 9.5mm off-round AAA metallic one doesn't look that different on my neck from my 7-7.5mm akoyas. I do love the sharp metallic luster of the metallics - that's the best thing about the pearls. The Freshadamas have a much more satiny luster. So I think I will have to choose between size/fullness/roundness on the one hand, and sharp luster on the other, for my large white strand. Before I decide what to do,I might order a 9.5mm Freshadama strand, or even a 10.5mm, and see what I think.

I will have to take another look at the pearls in daylight tomorrow - I've only seen them under electric light. Perhaps I will get used to their "donut-ness" and like them better, also considering they weren't really that expensive. I don't wear pearls enough to justify a huge investment.

I ordered some other things from PP a few years ago that I was disappointed in, too - for example a black Tahitian pearl with green overtones, which was simply dark black without a hint of green whatsoever.

I think perhaps I just expect too much of pearls. I do wish could select them in person - trying to get accuracy online just seems very difficult.

 

[bsomlo]

Jambalaya -- I feel sad reading your post.

Here are my thoughts:

Wait a day or two. When I ordered my metallic multi-color double strand from POJ and opened the box, I immediately thought "I am returning these, they are too off-round!". The next day I wore them and man, I fell for them hard! This double is one of my very favorite necklaces and some of the pearls are really off-round:



My triple metallic white also has lots of very off-round pearls:



Both these necklace's pearls appear round on the neck, though. And I love both necklaces. Many have commented in past posts that off-round pearls appear round to the eye when worn. That may make you feel better -- but don't talk yourself into accepting shapes that don't please you!

I also have lavender pearls with the same measurements and quality (7.5 to 8mm, AAA) but they are on the darker end of the lavender spectrum and I just love them. There is a large variation in the shades of lavenders in the necklace and I enjoy that:



If you want to post pictures of your pearls, we'd love to see them. But what matters is how you feel about them.

If you are unhappy with pieces after a trial period, I would return them. There is no point in keeping pieces you don't love.

Pearl shopping online is hard for a large variety of reasons and PP's return policy is very generous.

 

[greenteabiscuit]

I ordered a 8.5-9mm white metallic strand(AAA) during the discount period and returned it.
Even though the pearls weren't as round as my freshama studs, I really liked the luster and the off-roundedness wasn't that obvious once it was on my neck. I did notice it looked smaller than the rounder pearls in the same size but considering the price, I thought it was fine. Everybody knows tiffany's markup is high but I thought the pp's necklace looked so much better than T&co's freshwater pearls in the same size but cost more than $1k.

The biggest point that made me return was that the silver tone in the necklace accompanied green. I never had a chance to compare another silver tone pearl necklace on a sunny day so I do not know if green is typical for pearls with silver overtone or not but i didn't do well with that type of green, so I had to return it.

Does anyone know if white metallics also come with rose/cream overtone?
I am debating whether I should pay extra to get a Freshadama strand with silver-rose overtone or wait until a white metallic strand with rose or cream overtone is available.

 

[bsomlo]

greenteabiscuit -- do you have pictures of the strand you returned? Green overtones sounds exotic and delicious to me! I'd love to see that!

An un-named person (cough, cough) on this forum has metallic lavender pearls with strong green overtones and the pearls are mesmerizing and I am "green" with envy over them!

 

[sarahb]

My 8.5-9 mm metallics arrived! I wasn't sure this was the best choice for me, as I've been feeling lately that I'm not sure I'm a white pearl girl except for special occasions, but I am happy to say I was wrong. I'm super pleased with these new additions to my pearl family.

So excuse the bad light, but here are the first pics:

With AAA Akoyas and 6.5-7mm metallics as comparisons:





Earrings:



Full strand with Akoyas:

CMD, they are all beautiful! What color do they call that lavender strand? I'm interested in getting something like that, I love that color Thanks!

 

[cmd2014]

I would suggest trying them on too and seeing. What I learned on this forum was that metallics just aren't really normally that round. Even the AAA ones. Mine are clearly not. But the interesting thing is that even though the camera shows them to be off round on the neck, to the eye they actually look pretty round. It's weird. I think in many ways pearls are like diamonds though, in that each person has to weigh the trade-offs. You can spend $$$ to get perfect 8 way rollers with brilliant luster in a large size, but that's out of reach for most of us. So, you have to weigh luster vs size vs shape...some people will lean more one way than another. If round is premium, then freshadamas or Akoyas would be the way to go, or even WSS. But the price will reflect it, and the freshadama luster will be softer and more satiny. The metallics offer luster at a good price point, but are off round for sure.

Mine aren't as metallic as I was expecting...and then I realized two things. One was that I was comparing them to my small rope from the July sale (the one in the pic). I forgot that larger sizes struggle to be as bright as the small ones. The second thing I realized is that the white metallics are a bit less metallic than the darker coloured ones. You can see it in Bsomio's multi as an example. Dark just reflects better somehow IMO. But they have a pretty glow even though they aren't the round white metal-like mirrors I was (unrealistically) imagining.

I also had some snags with the ordering process. I think that PP might still be a bit overwhelmed from the Connoisseur sale with all the custom requests.

Greenteabisciut: the whites come with different overtones. I asked for silver or silver rose, as I worried that the green would not suit me, and am pleased with the silver I got. Might be a way to go for you too.

Sarah: the pink looking strand is a 7.5-8mm AAA rose overtone Akoya strand from American Pearl. They photograph really pink, but in reality they are white with a subtle pink overtone, and look white on the neck. In some lights they glow pink though. DH says they do that in sunlight.

 

[cmd2014]

They look beautiful on you, cmd2014! I have a similar strand and I also love them. They go with everything!

What size are the earrings, 9.0-10.0mm? They look big!

Yup, 9-10. They are big, but feel like nothing on as they are so light.

 

[cmd2014]

What a great set! You must be thrilled. And your hair is perfect to show them off!!!

Thanks! I really like them! And I am really beginning to appreciate how much pearl can be seen with the shorter hair. It's way better than the front 2 inches that could usually only be seen when my hair was long. Plus I can actually see my earrings now. "All the better to see you with my lovelies!!!"

My only issue is the layers. She forgot how curly I am, and even after straightening with a round brush I'm getting flippies by the end of the day.

 

[greenteabiscuit]

greenteabiscuit -- do you have pictures of the strand you returned? Green overtones sounds exotic and delicious to me! I'd love to see that!

An un-named person (cough, cough) on this forum has metallic lavender pearls with strong green overtones and the pearls are mesmerizing and I am "green" with envy over them!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos. I shipped it to a U.S. address(i live in Canada) so i needed to decide quick if I wanted to bring it across the border.
I think I would like green overtone as well if it accompanied other overtones or if the body color wasn't white....

Cme2014, thanks for the info. I think I will look for a silver-rose white metallic necklace.

 

[Jambalaya]

bsomlo - thanks so very much for your long reply with pix. It helps and I appreciate it very much indeed! I'm visiting family this weekend but am going to examine all the pearls in daylight next week and I will take some photos then. I do love the luster of the white metallics. Perhaps I will be really naughty and keep them, but also get the 9-9.5mm Freshadamas as well in a future sale!

I wonder if the opera length looks a bit frumpy on me - I was influenced by watching re-runs of Downton Abbey and they all have these lovely long strands of pearls (about chest length) but they are all very thin and I'm not, so I wonder if they look a bit "old" on me. I will take photographs next week.

cmd2014 - your set looks amazing on you! Your dark hair really shows off the pearls.

Greenteabiscuit - thanks for sharing your experience. Green overtones sounds a little odd to me, but then what do I know - I'm a pearl beginner! For reference, my metallic strand is very silver-white. Anyway, glad you were able to return.

 

[ennui]

Jambalaya, I'm sorry you are disappointed by your order. After all that anticipation! Let them sit a few days, and revisit. Maybe walk around some jewelry stores, just to look and see. I've seen some beautiful strands, but they were not in my budget. And I agree with the others who said that off-rounds do appear rounder when worn. I saw a freshwater rope at a store recently that looked round, until closer inspection showed they were off-rounds and potato shapes.

I, too, have a large Tahitian from PP that's just dark, not much color play. I use it for a charm, and it's not my favorite.

greenteabiscuit, in my experience, salt water pearls tend to pick up green tints. I would love freshwaters with green overtones, but I prefer the blues and greens over the pinks, anyway.

 

[Jambalaya]

cmd2014 - I forgot to reply to your longer post. Thank you for your response! You are absolutely right about all the trade-offs involved in buying pearls. I hadn't realized that. Yes, the metallics are off-round but no one would notice on the neck, except they do look smaller than round pearls of the same size.

Ennui - I know, it's a pity, after all that anticipation! Unless you're experienced, I just think it is hard to buy pearls online.

For the large white freshwater strand that I've been craving forever, I'm unsure whether I want the high luster/smaller look of the white metallics, or the large round satiny look of the Freshadamas.

I might get to the bottom of it for once and for all by ordering the 10mm Freshadama strand now to compare.

 

[baby nurse]

greenteabiscuit -- do you have pictures of the strand you returned? Green overtones sounds exotic and delicious to me! I'd love to see that!

An un-named person (cough, cough) on this forum has metallic lavender pearls with strong green overtones and the pearls are mesmerizing and I am "green" with envy over them!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos. I shipped it to a U.S. address(i live in Canada) so i needed to decide quick if I wanted to bring it across the border.
I think I would like green overtone as well if it accompanied other overtones or if the body color wasn't white....

Cme2014, thanks for the info. I think I will look for a silver-rose white metallic necklace.

The green overtone can definitely look different depending on the pearl body color. The pearls in my pic are lavender but in person the green overtone is so strong, they appear green.

The green overtone is more obvious in the fireball earrings. I think the body color on those is also lavender.

 

[Frost Me]

Jambalaya I want the green overtone in a metallic strand. My metallic earrings are very round and white with strong green overtones and I am spoiled. They are earring grade. I realize from this forum and great conversations with vendors a metallic strand will be off rounds. I think you should give it some time. I think you should be in love with your new pearl purchases, and that can take a little time.

 

[Jambalaya]

FrostMe - your pearls look great.

Youre right - it takes time to fall in love!

 

[bsomlo]

Baby nurse -- thanks for the wonderful pictures of those mesmerizing pearls with strong green overtones. Yum!

 

[cmd2014]

Sarahb,

Here's a neck shot of the Akoyas. You can see how they end up looking white. If you want more pink/lavender pearls, you'd be better to go with coloured freshwaters.

 

[cmd2014]

The key issue is how off-round all the pearls are, and how much smaller they look than round pearls of equivalent size, even though I ordered AAA.

Ok, I know what I am going to say is going to make some folks upset, but I actually think part of the problem is that PP describes them as round. There are clearly round freshwaters, including 'earring grade' metallics. And the descriptions of the grading system for the freshwater strands clearly states that AA is off round, and AAA is round, even in the drop downs when you order. So you pay extra thinking you will get round....and round should be round, NOT off round. But what you get is off round. If it's an issue of expense to get round strands, then they just shouldn't call the AAA's round. I know I was shocked with the first metallic strand I got from the PP July sale where it had been described as the roundest top 1% of the harvest and the pearls that arrived were potato shaped. Really excellent luster, but as potato shaped as my cheap freshie low luster strand. I have since come to adjust my expectations based on experience and this forum and know that AAA freshwaters will be off round unless you want to buy freshadamas or earrings, but it doesn't change the fact that the descriptions are inaccurate, and it would probably save them a lot of returns if they were more up front about the potato shaped tendencies of their freshwater strands.

Edit: in the grading section, PP actually describes AAA as "round to the eye". I guess there is probably some subjectivity to this depending on from how far away you are looking at them.