100 inch pearl ropes

[BWeaves]

I've always wanted a 100 inch pearl rope with pearls in the 5.5 to 6mm size, but I always end up buying better quality pearls in shorter lengths.

Those of you who have long pearl ropes:

1. Where did you buy them?
2. How is the quality of the pearls? Size, shape, luster, orient, thickness of nacre, etc.
3. Any regrets? What would you do differently if you had to buy them all over again?
4. Do you use a pearl shortener? Or is it not worth the money?

I'm considering this 5 1/2 to 6mm strand from American Pearl:

http://www.americanpearl.com/6mmwhro10.html

Or this one from Pearls of Joy:

http://www.pearlsofjoy.com/Endless-100-inch-White-Freshwater-Pearl-Rope_p_423.html

although I think it might be too heavy because the pearls are in the 6-7mm and 8-9mm range.
I have a 36" opera length strand with 8mm pearls and it is quite heavy.

Any other suggestions or warnings would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[ckrickett]

I got a 100 inch rope from the Pearl Outlet, you can also get them at PP or anywhere else. If they don;t have them available you can always request they put one together for you.

 

[ckrickett]

Also if you could get a clasp on it, they are very helpful. I am kinda sad I didn;t get one for my 100 inch rope, but for my 54 inch rope I definitely got one! You may even be able to get the necklace broken up with mystery clasps and get a bracelet, and different lengths of necklaces, but when they are all together they look like an endless rope

 

[ckrickett]

Here is Bsolmos 135 inch rope with mystery clasps at different lengths. I believe Jeremy at PP put it together for her. But I could be mistaken
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-version-of-a-long-rope-being-made.189331/

 

[BWeaves]

Hi ckrickett:

Was your rope from The Pearl Outlet, this one?

http://store.thepearloutlet.com/sale-100-pearl-rope-6-7mm-aa-p344.aspx

What do you think of the quality of your Pearl Outlet rope? Shape, size, luster, etc.

I just went and looked that one up, and it definitely has the lowest price.

Thanks.

 

[ennui]

I hate to admit this, but I got my 100" white freshwater rope at TJMaxx. It was an insane bargain, and the pearls are surprisingly nice.

I don't wear it a lot because I tend to feel overdressed when I do. And it's heavy. So, I hate to see people spend a lot of money on what is essentially a fashion item. I think ropes are fun and easy, and no one looks that closely at them.

I have a pearl shortener but I don't use it. I usually just wrap the ropes over my head, or just go once or twice and wear them long.

 

[BWeaves]

Thanks ckrickett and ennui!

Ennui:

What size are the pearls in your rope?
Because I am concerned with weight if I get something this long.

I have a 32" opera length strand of 5.5 to 6mm pearls that feels like nothing when I wear it. Very light and easy.
I have a 36" opera length strand of 7.5 to 8mm pearls that is surprisingly heavy. It's actually at the very limit that I find comfortable to wear.
I also have a 28" strand of 12 mm x 5 mm coin pearls, that while weighty, doesn't feel as heavy as the 8mm rounds.

Thanks, Berna

 

[ennui]

My 100" rope are 7mm pearls. They are potato shapes, so not perfectly round, but they give the illusion of being round.

I was going to be goofy and weigh it for you, but my little scale only goes to 100 grams.

Costco has a 100" rope, 6-7mm, for $199.99.

 

[BWeaves]

Thanks, Ennui.

You don't have to weigh it.

From the size of the pearls and the length, I have a good feel for what you are telling me.

Hum, I'll have to give this some more thought. This may be more pearl necklace than I really want to deal with.

 

[ennui]

Another thought is to get a 100" with different sizes, like a mix of 5mm and 8mm pearls. Tiffany has one in their Ziegfeld Collection that is 87". The mix of smaller pearls makes it lighter, but you still get the drama.

 

[cmd2014]

I have a couple of white ropes. 1 36-inch 5-6mm metallic from PP's last July sale (very light). 1 60-inch 6mm ish potato shaped freshwater strand from a department store (less light and lots less luster, but fun and easy). And 1 72-inch rope that's a combo of 6mm and 9mm freshwater pearls, which I also find to be light. They are all less heavy than a single strand of Tahitians.

I do find that they are difficult to keep tidy if you want to wear them arranged at different lengths. Maybe I need a pearl shortener (or maybe I should just fidget less), but mine tangle and go messy and need semi regular adjustment. So I end up wearing them as a loose tangle of all the same length most of the time.

Edit: and a clasp is handy for winding. Saves a lot of fiddling to rearrange which you have to do if you are pulling strands over your head.

 

[ennui]

I do find that they are difficult to keep tidy if you want to wear them arranged at different lengths.

I find that if I want to wear them wrapped at the same length (say, four at 25"), they will ultimately separate into different lengths as the day goes on. Pearl ropes just do whatever they want, which is part of their appeal.

 

[Pearl_Girl]

I have 3 100 inch ropes, in white, black and grey. All Chinese freshwater, so the black and grey are dyed. My husband bought me the white from PP during one of their 20% off promotions and the others from the pearl market in Beijing.

The black pearls are the biggest but also the worst quality - they're about 9-9.5mm and look round to the eye, but have flaws and the colour isn't even. I think I paid about $80 for them. The white are smaller, 7-8mm, and AA grade, so potato shaped and with some blemishes but a surprisingly sharp lustre. The greys are my favourite even though they are dyed, they are 8-9mm and have a beautiful soft lustre and even colour, and they look round to the eye. They were the most expensive though, I think I paid about $400 for them.

All are strung to be endless (so no clasps) but I find that much more versatile than having clasps. If I want to wear them short, I use a small length of black silk ribbon in the place of a shortener. At the moment my favourite way to wear them is to take 2 ropes and loop them messily through the ribbon, then tie the ribbon at the back of my neck. It looks very nice with my high-necked black work dresses, and unless I'm moving around a lot it stays in place. It's heavy but bearable.

 

[seaurchin]

The closest I have to a 100 inch strand is these two 48 inch 6.5-7.0 mm endless pink ropes from Overstock.com, their AA grade. They were only about $55 each, so I got two in case I ever felt like wearing both. They have nice luster and uniformity and look round unless you inspect very closely. I'm quite happy with them. This is a quick indoor shot of both at once. They are still available:

 

[seaurchin]

Here are a couple of earlier shots:

In the back right here (in the box):



And on the right side here (one strand):

And

 

[ckrickett]

Another thought is to get a 100" with different sizes, like a mix of 5mm and 8mm pearls. Tiffany has one in their Ziegfeld Collection that is 87". The mix of smaller pearls makes it lighter, but you still get the drama.

I love necklaces like that!

 

[ckrickett]

Hi ckrickett:

Was your rope from The Pearl Outlet, this one?

http://store.thepearloutlet.com/sale-100-pearl-rope-6-7mm-aa-p344.aspx

What do you think of the quality of your Pearl Outlet rope? Shape, size, luster, etc.

I just went and looked that one up, and it definitely has the lowest price.

Thanks.

Yes, Thats my rope.
I really like them. The quality is good for the price, some are little more eggy then Id like, but overall they look really nice.

Here they are with my tahitian rope

 

[Fly Girl]

I had always wanted a 100 inch pearl rope as well, so I picked mine up during last Fall's Pearl Paradise Black Friday sale. So far, the only one to wear it has been my Christmas tree. I've reached for it a few times since then, but always decided to wear something else on that day.

To be fair, I'm not much of a white pearl necklace girl to begin with. I still think those ropes look great, and my Christmas tree will undoubtedly wear it again.

 

[cmd2014]

Here's my 72" rope with the smaller and larger pearls. I typically wear it in 3 strands, but it will do 4. 4 is trickier to keep looking nice unless I want to do a messy quad of equal lengths.

 

[BWeaves]

cmd2014: Ooo, I like the random larger pearls. I really do.

ennui: I found the Tiffany Ziegfeld 87" rope of 5mm and evenly spaced 8mm pearls. I like it a lot, but I'm not sure I want to pay a premium for the Tiffany name.

http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=29402523&mcat=&cid=2610354&search_params=p+1-n+10000-c+2610354-s+5-r+-t+-ni+1-x+-lr+-hr+-ri+-mi+-pp+2072+6&search=0&origin=browse&searchkeyword=

I think an 80 or 90 inch rope may be considerably lighter than a 100 incher, and still give the same look.

OK, now I'm leaning towards a mix of sizes in the pearls, because that would give me a very different look than when I wear multiple necklaces at the same time.

 

[ennui]

My Tiffany suggestion was for illustration purposes only. Honora did the same necklace in 60" for much (MUCH!) less.

I love CMD's rope with mixed sizes. I keep checking that store, waiting for another sale. I just love it. There's also a multicolor version.

 

[BWeaves]

Which store is cmd2014's rope from? Thanks.

 

[ennui]

Maison Birk's, in Canada.

I know CMD has posted other photos of her rope, but I can't find them now. They're here somewhere.

 

[cmd2014]

I'm pretty sure I have too...but I'm not sure where either.

Birks doesn't have sales often (I managed somehow to get on their mailing list despite not being wealthy enough to rank as a 'good customer' there, as it's considered to be a premium jeweler here), but their stuff is really nice quality, so I tend to take a peek when they do. I loved the multicolour version of this one too.

They also have a few other freshwater ropes that are nice. One is segmented with clasps into sections so that you can wear it long, as a double 18 inch, as a bracelet....can you tell I've been looking at it lots? They also have another that alternates large and small pearls in a repeating pattern. You guys would be at a buying advantage now as our dollar is low compared to yours (I think it's 76 - 80 cents US to purchase a Canadian dollar, and the prices listed on the US site are still in Canadian dollars). The only problem is that their prices have really gone up, maybe to compensate for this. Dang, I should have bought more!

 

[ennui]

My Tiffany suggestion was for illustration purposes only. Honora did the same necklace in 60" for much (MUCH!) less.

Btw, the Honora version is available on Kohls.com (online only) (search "Honora long"), and it's on sale this weekend. Look for online coupon codes to increase your discount.

 

[innerkitten]

I have an idea for you. I was looking for pearl beads and youpearl was mentioned in another post. I decided to try one thing from them with slow mail ( I hope it gets here ), and see what the quality was like. It is really cheap when you compare it to retail stores online. They do have opera and rope length necklaces already strung for under $25 dollars. I asked them if they could do a 26 inch necklace with the smaller triple A round pearls and they did one for me. I'll post mine here for you when they arrive and you can see what you think about the pearls. Maybe it would be an option for you do something custom with them? They did mention to me that they prefer people to buy more than one item because they are wholesale.

 

[BWeaves]

Thanks again to everyone for your comments and suggestions!

I'm not wild about Honora pearls. I've seen some of their necklaces in stores, and the quality just doesn't seem there. Just me?

While I appreciate a bargain, I'm not looking for cheap pearls. I'm afraid I've developed a taste for quality.

 

[ennui]

While I appreciate a bargain, I'm not looking for cheap pearls. I'm afraid I've developed a taste for quality.

Unfortunately, price and quality do not always go hand-in-hand. There are some bad pearls with high price tags, as reported from the Shreve visitors. And, there are some nice pearls at affordable prices, especially in the freshwater category.

innerkitten, please let us know when you receive your pearls. I'm curious.

 

[innerkitten]

While I appreciate a bargain, I'm not looking for cheap pearls. I'm afraid I've developed a taste for quality.

Unfortunately, price and quality do not always go hand-in-hand. There are some bad pearls with high price tags, as reported from the Shreve visitors. And, there are some nice pearls at affordable prices, especially in the freshwater category.

innerkitten, please let us know when you receive your pearls. I'm curious.

Will do! I'm very curious too

 

[BWeaves]

I know, I know.

I just amazed at the quality of some of the Freshwater pearls that are available these days.

I'm also looking forward to innerkitten's pearls. Please post them and let us know what you think of them.