Help From Pearl Lovers-- Should I Return These?

[vintageloves]

I bought two items from the Pearl Paradise black friday sale, and now that they have arrived I'm lukewarm about both. I'm thinking of returning, but I don't know much about pearls. Maybe I'm being unreasonable.

The first is a pair of elastic freshwater bracelets. I hate putting on bracelets, so I was intrigued by the elastic, even though I think they are a bit over priced ($150 for the pair). One is supposed to be lavender and the other multi color. The lavender is very subtle, more of a pink color, really. With the multi color, I have a hard time telling many of the pearls apart. They are more saturated in the picture than in real life.



The second is a tahitian pearl on a gold chain. I was super excited about this one, because I have never seen a tahitian in person and thought it would be a very special wearable piece, but when I opened it up I was so underwhelmed. The chain was supposed to be adjustable at 16 and 18 inches, but is just 16 inches, which disappears into the collar of many of my shirts. The pearl is a medium steel grey color. I thought it would be blackish with green and purple undertones from the pictures Pearl Paradise used for the item, but again I don't know much about pearls. It seems kind of flat and lifeless to me. If I knew it would be just a grey pearl I would have gotten the white chain; it doesn't look good with the yellow gold.



I apologize for the crappy cell phone pics. So the combined price on these was about $450, and I'm just not thinking I got my money's worth. What do you guys think about the color of these pearls? Are they on point and I just have unreasonable expectations? I had heard great things about Pearl Paradise online, but I'm not impressed.

 

[missy]

Hi @vintageloves I’d return both pieces. You’re not over the moon pleased with them so don’t worry if you’re being reasonable or not for the cost. Remember a deal is only a deal if you’re getting exactly what you want. If you don’t love them you won’t wear them and it’s a waste of money imo. Save your money for a piece you’ll adore and wear and enjoy.

 

[Snowdrop13]

If you’re not excited to wear these now I don’t think you ever will be, I’d send them back.

PP are really great and I’ve had several good things from them, however I was similarly disappointed with my Tahitian pearl earrings. They supposedly have “peacock” tones but they look like steely grey beads to me! I’m an overseas buyer so have kept them due to the hassle of returns. If I bought more in future I’d ask them for photos of several options so I could make a choice.

 

[vintageloves]

If you’re not excited to wear these now I don’t think you ever will be, I’d send them back.

PP are really great and I’ve had several good things from them, however I was similarly disappointed with my Tahitian pearl earrings. They supposedly have “peacock” tones but they look like steely grey beads to me! I’m an overseas buyer so have kept them due to the hassle of returns. If I bought more in future I’d ask them for photos of several options so I could make a choice.

Peacock! Perfect way to describe what I was expecting and what he product picture indicated. But it's just steel grey, like you said. Glad to know it's not just me. At the very least, they'd need to fix the chain. I double checked and the product description clearly says it comes with an adjustable chain.

I've also heard great things about Pearl Paradise. There are other forums that seem to push them hard. I haven't owned a ton of pearl jewelry over my lifetime, but I have to say these are the most disappointing pearls I've ever received. I hope they aren't difficult about the return.

 

[icy_jade]

Yup send back if you don’t feel crazy about them. But pearls are sly little things. They look like crap under some lighting and then in the right lighting they look stunning. So maybe see them in indoor shaded natural lighting (diffused) and see how you feel about them. That’s the best lighting I’ve found personally. If still no then send them back.

 

[pearlsngems]

Being able to see Tahitian overtones is highly dependent on the light you see them in! My Tahitians look different in every room of my house as well as outdoors.
I also find that pearl colors seem more saturated in photos-- even my own photos!

I have a chain from PP that can be attached at either 16" or 18"; it sounds like there was an error in the chain used for your necklace.

I absolutely believe in returning anything you don't love. PP has a solid return policy, so just send them back.

 

[EC8]

To corroborate @pearlsngems comments re lighting; 2 pix of Tahitian pearl bracelet, overcast day, photos taken near window but in first photo I diffused the direct light with a piece of mylar...

 

[amoline]

So just a little insight into photographing pearls...

Thing is, when you see the photos that PP does for the website, those are glamour shots - and the lighting set up used to take them is specifically designed to punch every ounce of overtone out of pearls that it can. The softboxes that are used in photography (basically what they sound like: studio flashes that sit behind big, square boxes that are diffused by screens in the front; the light shoots through the diffusion screen) emulate the diffused, curtained window type light that also shows pearls best in your house.

Fact is, in not-great light, a lot of Tahitian pearls look pretty flat/steely. In a sense, this is the beauty of pearls. They do have a lot of photo personality and they do change.

So, I guess two things. You shouldn't expect pearls to look like they do on the website glamour pics all the time, because they just won't. That said, you may yet surprise yourself in moments where your pearls do pop and look stunning. On the other hand, if you aren't real happy now, it's unlikely that it will change significantly in the future, so in that sense don't feel bad about returning them either.

Hope that helped a little bit.

 

[bludiva]

based on what you wrote i'd send them back - it would be easy to find these or something similar in the future if you decide you do want them after all.

 

[mtsapphirelovingannie]

If you are not happy, I would return them.

PP has a good return policy; I've never had any problems.

 

[FreeYourMind83]

To corroborate @pearlsngems comments re lighting; 2 pix of Tahitian pearl bracelet, overcast day, photos taken near window but in first photo I diffused the direct light with a piece of mylar...

I love them! They look great!

 

[cmd2014]

I would suggest looking at the thread here about Tahitians in glamor shots vs real life lighting conditions (diffused and bright direct light) to get an idea about what to expect. And freshwater pearls tend to be very pastel, no matter the colour that is seen in the photo shoot picture. But the bottom line is that if you don't like them, send them back. PP has a generous return policy in acknowledgement that it is difficult to buy pearls online due to the issues noted above. So if you don't love them in person, don't keep them. You'll just regret it.

 

[KristinTech]

My husband calls my Tahitian drop earrings “fishing weights,” and it used to make me sad, because I knew they looked steely and not as colorful as I had hoped. But darned if DH doesn’t gaze at me so lovingly when I wear them! So they have grown on me, haha!

I only spent $130 on them during a sale. $450 would be too much for me if I weren’t happy!

 

[Weeivy73]

My husband calls my Tahitian drop earrings “fishing weights,” and it used to make me sad, because I knew they looked steely and not as colorful as I had hoped. But darned if DH doesn’t gaze at me so lovingly when I wear them! So they have grown on me, haha!

I only spent $130 on them during a sale. $450 would be too much for me if I weren’t happy!

I have purchased ( by choice cos I like them) steely grey Tahitian studs which I will get at Christmas and my husband has already nicknamed them my ball-bearings. I don't care I just like them.

 

[vintageloves]

I went ahead and returned the items. The elastic bracelet was pinching my arm and painful to wear. I couldn't get the tahitian to look any differently in any lighting. I get the idea of glamour product shots, but it does make it difficult as a buyer when what you get looks nothing like the pictures.

 

[missy]

I went ahead and returned the items. The elastic bracelet was pinching my arm and painful to wear. I couldn't get the tahitian to look any differently in any lighting. I get the idea of glamour product shots, but it does make it difficult as a buyer when what you get looks nothing like the pictures.

Good for you. Save your money for something you’ll love and enjoy wearing. I’m with you. Glamour shots are useless irl. We need to see them how they appear a great majority of the time under average/normal viewing circumstances.

 

[mtsapphirelovingannie]

I went ahead and returned the items. The elastic bracelet was pinching my arm and painful to wear. I couldn't get the tahitian to look any differently in any lighting. I get the idea of glamour product shots, but it does make it difficult as a buyer when what you get looks nothing like the pictures.

vintageloves, I want to recommend KamokaPearls to you. The pictures on their site are the actual product you receive. My experience is that their pictures match what I see in real life...way better than any of the pearl vendors.

They have single pearls on chains.

 

[icy_jade]

I have pearls that look stunning in any lighting. It does depend on how strong their overtones and body color are in the first place... generally I don’t like pearls described as dark body or grey body.

You can also ask pearl vendors to take phone pics for you before shipping etc, or even to do personal picks from the vault

 

[NacreLover]

Pearl Paradise doesn't use diffused screens when taking photos. I've seen their photographer taking photos and the light box they use.

 

[amoline]

Regardless of the actual tool used to take the photos, the effect of diffused light remains the same. -- But yes, softbox, lightbox, whatever they choose to use - similar to curtain lighting.