Pearls people...PEARLS!!! Help.

[Nicrez]

Ok, my jewelery foray had lead me down the pearly path, and I just bought a string of cheap 6mm pearls as they were slightly ovalesque and not perfectly polished, but absolutely lovely($30) with a simple 14K gold clasp ($17) and the restringing ($10), which all comes out to about $61 with tax.

My questions:

What makes pearles cheap, what makes them outlandishly expensive, like the $500 strand I saw... How can you tell when buying?

Can you ever string a simple set of pearls with anything fun, like a pendant without making it look tacky?

How can you tell cultured pearls from natural pearls?

What are Freshwater pearls and how do they fit amoung the pearl hierarchy...?

Thanks for any help on this!

 

[winyan]

In cultured pearls the amount of nacre on each glass bead and how perfectly the oyster laid the layers on determines the grading.

Thickness of nacre is one of the biggest items, as far as I know.

Baroque (oddly shaped pearls), are in demand in Europe, not so much in the perfection driven US.

Fresh water pearls are just starting to come into their own, as shaping gets better. The smaller rice pearls are not as coveted as more rounded pearls.

Most pearls sold today are cultured, the 'natural' pearls are almost impossible to find, simply too expensive for words.

win (not a pearl expert, just giving some stuff she's found out)

 

[Nicrez]

Win, thanks! (as always so knowledgeable and helpful!!!)

I have never seen natural pearls that looked perfectly round and perfect...I have seen the pearls that were slightly mishapen, and I remember a woman who had them, as they were STILL very pricey, but NOT cultured at all...

I have seen rice pearls, from my kiddie jewelery, and curious as to how they are made... I am falling in love with ALL types of jewelry!!! *SIGH*

They even had interesting red, gold black and white coral, gemstones, etc at the pearl store I went to.

Anyone have good book ideas to read up some details on them?

 

[katbadness]

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On 5/3/2004 3:38:47 PM Nicrez wrote:


What makes pearles cheap, what makes them outlandishly expensive, like the
$500 strand I saw... How can you tell when buying?
----------------

I would honestly think that the thickness of the nacre is not the only determining factor for pearls.

These are the other things that are price factors for pearls (IMHO):
* the origin of the pearl (South Sea, Tahitian, Japanese akoya, Chinese freshwater)
* the size of the pearl (9mm akoya is not as abundant as 9mm South Sea)
* roundness of the pearl (the less round, the less money)
* thickness of nacre
* amount of blemish of on the surface of the pearl
* color (certain body colors and hues are more desirable than others).

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On 5/3/2004 3:38:47 PM Nicrez wrote:


How can you tell cultured pearls from natural pearls?
----------------

As Win said, most if not all the pearls on the market today are cultured. However, if one stumbles onto one of these natural pearl rarities, I'd say the only way to determine whether it's truly a natural pearl vs. a cultured pearl is through gem lab examination. I think GIA and a couple other labs in the world does this, but I am not 100% sure.

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On 5/3/2004 3:38:47 PM Nicrez wrote:


What are Freshwater pearls and how do they fit amoung the pearl hierarchy...?
----------------

This is the 'hierarchy' (based on price) that I've concluded. It's not authoritative, so others... feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

1. South Sea pearl
2. Tahitian pearl
3. Japanese Akoya
4. Chinese freshwater pearl.

 

[sumi]

I don't think you need to worry about natural vs. cultured pearls. You'll have a hard time finding natural pearls, they're basically all cultured.

Thickness of the nacre is a determining factor in price, but not the only one. Look at the quality of the sheen and the color of the pearl. There are so many colors of pears. It's not just black and white. There are greenish ones, copper ones, gold ones, the list goes on. Look at the quality of the surface, is it smooth?

 

[winyan]

You, and Kat are very right Sumi, other factors also indicate value.

Personally I like irregular pearls. I have a strand of baroque that my SO strung himself, for me, that really needs restringing. I have a coppery shade, a black shade, and a pink shade that is strung so that it appears to be invisibly floating on my neck. All are irregular. My SO has strung perfectly round cultured pearls that I believe were Akoya, we got them from a dealer in NYC back when we had a small business. They were to be a family gift, so I made an aqua enhancer in oval to go with. The pearls, wholesale were $300, unstrung, so I'm assuming w/jewelers' markup, and this being about 10 years ago, they are probably worth upwards of $1k now.

Pearls are wonderful to collect, (oh I forgot the single 16 mm pearl that I won from Mercier (bless him) in a contest last year). I love that pearl. Pearls should be wiped clean after wearing to remove skin oils, and never put on perfume when wearing pearls, or, at least anywhere near the pearls.

You are right Nic, jewelry is an obsession, and I'm definitely obsessed!

win

 

[winyan]

Oh, Nic, if you like coral, I'd grab it now, I believe it's becoming a rarity because of distruction of the coral reefs, and if not already, will soon be banned from harvest.

win

 

[valeria101]

Anyway. I am not sure what exactly makes pearls precious, but the story is not very different than diamonds. If there wasn't allot of market facilitation for the product, who knows? These are man made stuff after all.

The freshwater are so lovely! Esp the colored ones

There certainly is some hype after natural pearls, bt more if you go way estwards - these were rather customery posesions among my Indian and Pakistani colleagues in London. At least two pieces were very round, large and basically awesome. However, just imagine trying to sell a white bead that looks like a $100 cultured pearl for 50 times that! It does not really work unless there is some cultural belief asking for "natural or else" - so if you look for natural saltwater pearls, those are more likely found in precious "vedic" talismans and the such.

Keshi are about the same thing... and more readily available. Anyone care for them? Aside Tiffany, I have no idea what jewelry brand makes a case for Akoya Keshi pearls. Did any turn out in your hunt, Nicrez? They do have it all in your town !

 

[valeria101]

Reading about pearls

Not sure what could be a comprehensive electronic source, but ...

GIA lists a table of all significant pearl localities (LINK) If you ever plan to look up unusual names, this is a good check list!

And I think you'd like this one

Blue Pearls

It just happens that the posted number of the SSEF Gazette (LINK) has a story on pearls. I could not find their report on Kasumiga pearls online, but maybe you have more luck - the followup by GIA has no reasonable piecture !

And a little shop

(LINK)

 

[sumi]

When you request a Mikimoto catalog, you'll get an informative pamphlet on the history of cultured pearls. The catalog is really nice too, it has some great pearl eye candy. Sadly, many of the necklaces are in the 100k and 200k range, so I don't think I'll be getting one anytime soon!

 

[katbadness]

More information on pearl types.

And a small example of a strand of Kasumiga pearls.

Quoted from the site:

Kasumiga Pearls

 

[katbadness]

For more information about quality of Tahitian Black Pearls.

A couple of A Quality eye candies from the site:

and

 

[Nicrez]

WOW! You guys really do rise to the task when I ask a question! THANKS! I honestly and starting to fall slowly in love with pearls now too! *SIGH*

Will this torture never end?! Honestly, I am going to need a few more fiances to cover my jewelery expenses!

(don't tell Rand I said that!)

Well, I have time on my side, so I will put all of these lovelies on the wish list, especially the Kasumiga pearls! *SWOON* By 100 I should have everything I want...but I may not have the eyesight to see them!

I will go through all the links and read up when I get more time...For now I only have Chinese Freshwater Pearls, and they seem to be as cheap as $90 for a 17" strand (unstrung) for 7mm white pearls.

My mom on the other hand has a beautiful pair of Mikimoto pearls my father bought her... I wonder what it would take to convince her that pearls are "out of fashion" so she'll give them up?

I will go back to the pearl and coral wholesaler again, perhaps this week, if not next. I just wanted some pearl info for ammo to know what to look for and what to avoid...Pricing, I suppose is probably something that takes a while to get the knack of, once you can properly identify the pearl types and varieties...?

 

[valeria101]

Hm... pictures, pictures

Is Mikimoto marketing their colors in the US?

And, Nicrez, is THIS the wholesaler you were talking about?
Not that there wouldn't be 100 others around the corner, but I just know this one !

 

[katbadness]

Nic,

This is actually quite funny for me... Hahahahaha...
My love for jewelry started from being in love with my mom's pearls, on to liking gemstones then finally on to diamonds... You started from the other end (so to speak)... Funny...

I found these 2 pearl dealers on Sotheby's site back when Sotheby's has online auction.

American Pearl seems to be a bigger site with various selection on South Sea, Tahitian, Akoyas and even freshwater pearls. They claim that their top quality Akoya pearls are comparable to Mikimoto's.

Dillon Pearl is another site that also has a pretty good selection.

I'm so in love with what they have on their main page...

I have no idea who sells Kasumiga pearls, though. It's been a while since I look into this.

Have fun!!

 

[elmo]

Here are some pretty good links to discussions of pearl quality:

Tahitian Pearl: Tropical Lure

Rosebuds Filled with Snow: South Sea & Chinese Freshwater Pearls

The rest of the book is worth reading too

.

 

[valeria101]

 

[Hest88]

Oh, I've never seen those blue pearls before. Aren't they exquisite?

 

[valeria101]

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On 5/4/2004 11:44:00 AM Nicrez wrote:

Mabe (?) pearls.
[...]Keep the pearl sites coming people! Thanks!!!!

----------------

Assuming the "Mabe (?)" means "question" , here's the lowdown:

"The Italian National Association for Industrial Uniformity (UNI) has defined them as "composite material made up of a layer of nacre with a curved surface and of various shapes, filled with different materials, with a backing of mother-of-pearl or other material". The most common type of Mabe has four distinct parts: a thin convex layer of nacre; an inner mother-of-pearl bead (not always present); bonding agent and base mother-of-pearl disc. Mabe pearls generally measure from between 13 to 16 mm. In Japan these cultured blister pearls are obtained from the Pinctada or Pteria penguin, a large mollusk with multicolored iridescences, which was called “Mabe” in the old Ryukyu dialect. In the South Pacific both the Pinctada maxima and the Pinctada margaritifera are used..." (from perle.it)

This might not sound very appealing, but aside button-shapes pearls, it takes allot of engineering (or a pair of unusually sturdy earlobes) to set a 15mm pearl into a stud - mabe with their cab-like profile make it a no-brainer and... they are relatively inexpensive, to boot.

Larger, less than perfect pearls make lots of sense to me, esp. that the look of that top notch orient quite illusive anyway. And prices are good

BTW: is anyone a fan of faceted pearls ? (EXAMPLE) and ANOTHER

 

[Nicrez]

GREAT ANA! Now I am officially in love with grey Tahitian pearls!

 

[valeria101]

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On 5/4/2004 12:40:04 PM Hest88 wrote:



Oh, I've never seen those blue pearls before. [...]
----------------

Actually, you may not be in the minority at all. Despite all efforts, Abalone pearls are still impossible to produce en-masee, hence relatively rare and impractical to market widely, despite some valiant effort (GIA article)

 

[katbadness]

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On 5/4/2004 12:58:55 PM Nicrez wrote:

GREAT ANA! Now I am officially in love with grey Tahitian pearls!

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Grey or these??

 

[katbadness]

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On 5/4/2004 1:02:02 PM valeria101 wrote:

----------------

On 5/4/2004 12:40:04 PM Hest88 wrote:




Oh, I've never seen those blue pearls before. [...]

----------------

Actually, you may not be in the minority at all. Despite all efforts, Abalone pearls are still impossible to produce en-masee, hence relatively rare and impractical to market widely, despite some valiant effort (GIA article)

----------------

As far as I know, anyway, these blue pearls are only produced in the waters of New Zealand.


And there is another effort in developing saltwater cultured pearls on the Mexican coast.
Quoted from the Professional Jeweler article:
"They're about the size of freshwater pearls from China and have the miraculous rainbow colors of fine-quality Tahitian pearls. But they're 100% North American."

These pearls look more or less like the Tahitian ones..

 

[bethann]

My husband will be in China next week and I have pleaded with him to buy me a strand of pearls there.

I found the Pearl Marketplace in Beijing. But how on earth can you tell if you are getting real or not. If I was there, I think I could, but how do I instruct him?

Does anyone know of any vendors there that have a web site? Help, I want more pearls! Love the links that all of you are posting.

 

[Nicrez]

real=cultured, I assume?

Don't worry, in China, they will have Chinese Frechwater cultured pearls ALL OVER! My friend got me a pearl of pink baroque pearls from there (which I ADORE!) for like $5!

If you like, try finding a nice set that are perfectly round and as flawless as possible, smooth, shiny and pearlescent. If you want higher quality, China MAY import, and I am told they have Tahitian as well... but you may be looking at mostly the Chinese goods in good/bad/ugly proportions...so I would tell him to know his pearls a bit before going, or tell him exactly what to buy?

Maybe he can try to look in the stores to see the "expensive pearls", get a feel for them, and try to find a matching set in the Pearl Marketplace?

I was told to rub pearls together and if they have a pwdery residue, but streak when being rubbed it's a good start. The scratch must rub off entirely, and that usualy determines if it is a "real" or cultured pearl...Some people scratch them ith their teeth for the same effect...

Aren't there some pearls that have the nacre over glass beads underneath? How can those be told apart?

 

[katbadness]

I have heard a couple ways to tell whether a pearl is real or not.

The first version is rubbing the pearl against your teeth. A natural pearl should feel gritty/sandy. If it's smooth, then it's probably plastic.

This is the version I have tried myself.

The second version is exposing the surface of the pearl to a small fire from a lighter or something of the sort. A natural pearl shouldn't burn off/melt, a plastic will. I have never tried this one myself, nor would I dare do this somebody else's goods.

I'm guessing nacre coated glass beads would probably feel like a natural pearl, so I don't know how to tell them apart from a 'true' natural one.

 

[bethann]

I also read that you can hold the pearl to your neck and if it feels
cool, it is real. But, if the pearl is nacre over a glass/plastic bead, would'nt that feel like a "real" pearl? I want as much as he can cart home. So, I guess pearl school will be in session this week.

I was hoping to find a shop there that has a web site and I could just e-mail them what I want. That might be like trying to find a needle in a
haystack. The pearl marketplace is actually a 4 story bldg., with the supposedly good stuff on the 4th floor. Man, I need some help. I bought some pearl pendants in Kauai recently. A 13mm Light Golden South Sea, with a few little diamonds on the bale. And a 3 Pearl, 3 different color drop pendant, with tiny little bezel set diamonds in between each pearl. So, I am hooked. Thanks, you guys for all the great posts. Love this place.

 

[gct888]

Hi, one more pearl site is http://www.americanpearl.com/. It's quite a good site - they have some educational info and affordable pearl jewelry. You can choose between chinese freshwater, Japanese akoya and more expensive varieties. They responded quickly to my email queries, though I haven't purchased from them yet.

These are my favorites:
3-pearl pendant
and the daffodil http://americanpearl.com/ro6600330btky.html

 

[gct888]

Oops, sorry didn't realize americanpearl had been posted already.

 

[katbadness]

I know it's not Friday, yet...

But I thought this is an interesting article.

Tiffany to open pearl jewelry stores