Please help! 40th Birthday Gift.

[GliderPoss]

Hi All,

It's my beloved older sister's 40th soon and she has requested a very specific set of pearl studs & matching bracelet. I've hunted high and low through the sticky list of vendors and already contacted CC but no joy.

She would like a pair of 6mm silvery/grey freshwater stud earrings (NOT actual Tahitians, just silver/grey toned) and a matching bracelet with a silver clasp. Kicker is - she wants natural freshwater pearls, ones that are slightly irregular ie. not perfectly round and smooth! I have a set like this from CC (see pic attached for reference) but apparently she does not have any in that colour scheme nor does she do studs.

Everywhere I look are super-perfect round sets but I know that is not really her, she is a SAHM and would like something more casual and minimalist. Budget is $AU400 maximum. Please can you help me?

 

[NacreLover]

Freshwater pearls don't come in that color unless they are dyed. You may find some Tahitian Keshi that are gray she might like. Have you looked for them?

 

[marymm]

Maybe contact the seller and see if she'll string into a bracelet? Not sure she makes stud earrings, but you could ask... http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-STUNNIN...950?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e9b962f9e

 

[cmd2014]

You might want to email the vendors in the trusted vendors sticky thread with your pictures, as they often have stock that isn't on their website.

 

[ennui]

Honora sells tons of silver gray pearls. If your sister wants baroque, that should be easy and inexpensive. I'd also suggest keshi pearls, for a casual look and great lustre.

There was a thread for "moonacre" pearls, and it had lots of links for silvery-grey baroques with shimmer.
[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/secret-of-moonacre-moon-pearl-project.207484/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/secret-of-moonacre-moon-pearl-project.207484/[/URL]

 

[NacreLover]

Sarah at Kojima pearls posted a photo of these keshi yesterday.

 

[arkieb1]

Have you looked on Aussie Ebay? It might be possible to find a small pair of silvery grey keshi South Seas on there, I have not seen many freshwaters that are a true grey or silver unless they are dyed or you go for Tahitian pearls.

 

[NacreLover]

PP has silver blue baroque akoyas in stock. Some think they look silver. They are not as molar shaped as the keshi though.

 

[katbran]

Well aren't you a sweetie to try to find such a lovely present for your sister !! Happy Birthday to her !

As Nacrelover says, quite correctly, freshwater pearls are not naturally grey ... sometimes the very palest of lavenders can look grey..but they are not a true grey. You will need to go for dyed to get grey in freshwater.

Those little Tahitian keshi look very cute .. just be sure to picture the size correctly as they are very small and I'm guessing that isn't quite enough for a bracelet..maybe around 5 or 6 inches??..hard to tell from photo. You might need to ask them if they can do a strand of whatever length you need.

Very cool studs Sarah has done...

I feel for you in the search for grey .. I have someone who wants grey baroque pearls..but the nice shades of grey (50?) are hard to find..most seem to be a soft dove grey... nice..but not what she wants.

 

[baby monster]

If you're still looking, RueLaLa is having a huge Honora sale today. Lots of gray pearl options but, as others mentioned, they are dyed.

 

[Marina87]

Lovely pearls ladies!!!

 

[GliderPoss]

Thanks for your suggestions everyone! Eventually I found a local vendor and contact her. She has a range of baroque pearls in silvery grey colour. I showed my sister and she was happy with them so I think we'll use these but I wanted you opinion anyway... See pics below. Vendor is posting me a few samples so I can examine in real life to make sure I'm happy with them before she makes the bracelet & studs.

 

[ennui]

In my experience, it's difficult to judge grey pearls from photos. They are much better in person. I have a strand of grey/silver rounds, and they look completely flat until I put them on. For some reason, they look 100% better against skin.

My two cents.