Tahitian Black Pearl Question :o)

[DiamondRascal]

Hi Everyone!
I have fallen in love with a pair of Tahitian Black Pearl Earings! The only problem is that I am completely ignorant as to their pricing. I adore my jeweler, but just wanted to ask all of you your thoughts as well

) A MILLION thank yous in advance!

Here''s the deal:
AAA, 10.5mm Tahitian Black Pearl studs. They are perfectly round, have beautiful luster and a few super teeny tiny dimples which really would not be noticable once they are drilled and mounted as earings. The are currently loose and will cost $400 out the door, drilled and ready to wear.
My question is: Is this a normal price? I have absolutely no clue and would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks a bunch

)

 

[Kaori Oku]

It sounds good, but the thing about the dimple. You can get that price for no dimples and no spots.

http://www.pearlparadise.com/100110-mm-AAA-Tahitian-Pearl-Stud-Earrings20.aspx

 

[LGK]

Yeah that sounds a bit high for blemished pearls. Earrings really ought to be blemish free in that price range IMO. FutureFashionista.com has absolutely gorgeous Tahitians- I've bought quite a few from her- and PearlParadise.com also have great Tahitians. I have heard good things about PearlOutlet.com, and I've bought freshwaters from them, but not Tahitians. Of the three vendors I prefer FutureFashionista because the owner, Elana, loves the unusual colors that I prefer too, and I like her more true-to-life pictures. (Plus she's a sweetheart and is great to work with.)

However if you love them and they really do have excellent lustre and orient/iridescence and you've seen them in person, the price isn't like... insane. But they'd really have to be fabulous, with great peacock colors and top-notch lustre. Have you seen really good Tahitians in person and are able to judge the quality of the lustre and whatnot? I know when I finally saw some Tahitians that were really excellent quality (a strand I got from FutureFashionista, actually) I was like... oh! So that's what really good quality looks like! And I realized that some I'd previously thought were fabulous were not so much

 

[that_someone_special]

I think it really depends on the color...

I got a pair of 9-10mm AAA in YG setting (studs) from TPO for $165. They are a nice green and are PERFECT... GORGEOUS. But, if I found ones with a super deep peacock.. to die for color, I would consider $400. It DOES seem pretty steep.

What color tahitians are you looking at? Green? Silver? Peacock? Blue?

 

[y2kitty]

Eh, I have a pair of GEM quality Tahitian earrings that are 10mm and they were $700. There is a noticeable difference in luster between them and other pearls I have. Of course, they were purchased in ''07 so I think prices were higher back then.

 

[chemgirl]

Just make sure you only deal with reputable sellers. Some sketchy vendors use the term "Tahitan black" to describe dyed freshwater pearls.