help choosing a Tahitian strand

[notNotDaniel]

Hi Everyone,

I''m attempting to select a strand of Tahitian pearls for my wife as a wedding gift (ideally green to match her eyes), and not having any experience with pearls, I was hoping some of the experts here could lend some advice. So far I''ve been considering:

* "18-inch AA+/AAA 8.1 to 9.9 mm Round Tahitian Pearl Necklace" from Pearl Paradise
http://www.pearlparadise.com/18inch-AAAAA-81-to-99-mm-Round-Tahitian-Pearl-Necklace3330.aspx

* "18-inch AA+ 9.8 to 12.4 mm Round Tahitian Pearl Necklace" from Pearl Paradise
http://www.pearlparadise.com/18inch-AA-98-to-124-mm-Round-Tahitian-Pearl-Necklace3326.aspx

* "11 x 13mm Seafoam Green Tahitian Cultured Pearl Strand" from Future Fashionista
http://store.futurefashionista.com/11x13segrtac.html

The Future Fashionista one can have a 25% off coupon applied to it, which puts it in roughly the same price range as the other two. Not being familiar with pearls, I don''t really know how significant the difference between the size of these are, nor how significant the difference in the descriptions of the "blemishes" or shape are. They are all described as "high luster" which sounds like one of the most important aspects to get right, and both Pearl Paradise and Future Fashionista appear to have good reputations here, but I''m less sure if either the "near round" shape or the "Minimal to Moderate Blemished" aspects of the Future Fashionista one are likely to compare negatively with the Pearl Paradise ones (described as "round" and "Light" or "Very Light to None"). I buy very little jewelry, and would like to emphasize quality over quantity (in terms of overall effect and appearance more than whether it is technically graded better), so I''m leaning in the direction of the smallest ones (perhaps with a pair of matching earrings), but I''d greatly appreciate any words of wisdom from anyone who''d be willing to chime in with their thoughts about the three strands, or pointers to other reputable sources.

Many thanks!

 

[SB621]

I personally like the color in the FF strand the best. But I am no expert so I bet some of the other women who are much better with their pearl knowledge then me can answer your questions.

 

[gardengloves]

Honestly notNotDaniel,

I don''t think you can go wrong with PP or FF. I''ve bought from both guided by the PS pearl ladies and have never been disappointed. These Tahitians are so addictive, I am sure this will be the first of many tahitian strands, each one calls to the next...

 

[elle_chris]

Honestly, if I had to choose I''d go with one of the PP strands for three reasons. First reason being less blemishes. I have two FF strands and on a few of the pearls, the blemishes are definitely noticeable. They don''t take away from the beauty of either strand, but if you''re anal about them, it''s something to consider.
Second is the shape. I can easily see the off round pearls on the FF strand. Don''t know how obvious it would be once worn, but if I''m paying for round, I''d want all round pearls.
Third is the color but this is a personal preference. I love darker tahitians, with Peacock being my favorite color for them. A uniform peacock is just stunning. It''s a classic tahitian strand.

The deciding factor between the two PP ones would be the luster for me. I''d ask PP which is better and choose that one.

I see the first link doesn''t work anymore. Did you get it??

 

[LGK]

Speaking really generally, I''ve found FF tends to choose pearls with the emphasis on lustre, color, and orient. Elana tends to carry unusual colored strands. She is less worried about roundess and/or blemishes.

PP tends to go more for roundness and blemish-free over lustre, color and orient. In my opinion anyway. Not that theirs are anything to sneeze at!

Any of those are gonna be gorgeous. Just a matter of taste and color choice really. I would prefer the FF strand, because my pearl preference tends to match Elana''s a bit more (I will go for a lustrous, iridescent, off round and slightly blemished pearl over a rounder, less blemished and slightly duller one any day. And I really like the more unusual colors she stocks).

Also I find FF tends to underestimate size and other things often, so I have found her stuff to be really really reasonably priced for what you get.

I also think FF tends to have more-true-to-life pics, although they aren''t as professional looking as PPs.

 

[Kaori Oku]

I live about 45 minute from PP and visited them to buy pearls so I can''t agree totally with that one. PP have more than thousand Tahitian strands. I know that HHPmom also been there to see coz I first saw her picture there in a pearl forum before I go.

Most of the pearls are really good quality and amazing luster. The big size baroque pearls are not so much as the small ones because they are from second grafting. I think why people don''t see so many strange colors is because they buy the loose pearls and make the necklaces. But they have to buy so many that are similar pearls to be enough to make the necklaces. So when they are a manufacturer maybe they have 200 necklace that always looks similar because all pearls come from one lot. But one that''s not a manufacture can buy selections on different colors and quality and shape and surface so they have not so much pearls but it is a selection not just all similar.

 

[notNotDaniel]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I ended up applying logic similar to elle_chris''s regarding going with the PearlParadise ones since they sounded like they were less noticeably blemished. Jeremy at PP was extremely helpful and informative, and actually sent me the two strands for comparison. Both were amazing, the peacock luster is really indescribable if you''ve never seen it. But I concluded that at AA+ quality they weren''t quite right for a surprise gift (the blemishes were fairly obvious, though IMHO they were completely overshadowed by the peacock effect, and were''t noticeable from more than a foot away). So I ended up with a strand of the PP exotic metallic freshwater pearls, which is gorgeous. I''m planning to pair them with a more traditional white strand, so I''m now caught between PP''s Freshdama line and their natural colored hanadamas. I really like that the Freshdamas are solid nacre, and that they are _so_ much cheaper than the hanadamas (which would be stretching my budget), but i''ve been given the impression that the natural colored hanadamas exhibit significantly more of that rainbow "orient" effect than the freshadamas. Has anyone here see both of these lines? Or does anyone know how much longer the solid-nacre freshadamas will last compared to the bead-nucleated hanadamas?

Thanks again for all the help,
Daniel

 

[elle_chris]

google "pearl-guide" and you''ll get a ton of pics and info. comparing freshadama and hanadama