7.5mm AAA or 8mm premium Mikimoto necklace?

[love_pearls]

I have just received my Mikimoto ear studs in 9mm AAA. I also tried on the 7.5mm AAA necklace and 8mm premium necklace. They are at the similar price point. I do want necklace in AAA grade but I am just being stopped by the price point of the 8mm AAA.

It seems like bigger size pearl necklace is worth keeping as it feels like it might not be easy to come by. But I can only afford and willing to afford 8mm premium price point. As premium 8mm and 7.5 mm AAA are at similar price point. Should I focus on grades and compromise on size thus get the 7.5mm AAA or get the harder to get size--8mm premium?

 

[yssie]

My understanding - from both what I’ve been told directly and what I’ve chosen to infer indirectly, but I’m not a professional or tradeperson! - is that availability doesn’t decrease linearly with increasing size. It’s more like… There isn’t much of a problem until suddenly there is, and “availability” kind of falls off a cliff. My mental set point for that cliff is 9mm.

And then when one adds quality questions - Mikimoto’s Premium, those are still very nice pearls!! But I think availability decreases with quality similar to with size - there isn’t too much of a problem until there is and “availability” falls off another cliff!!

So your earrings, 9mm+, those are off the cliff in terms of both size and quality. No question that those are RARE pearls, and a good match is even more special. I’m so glad you jumped on them when you did. The size that I bought last year is no longer even offered in the US.

For your necklace, are you still thinking one Mikimoto strand and one VCA ten motif? For the Mikimoto strand - one long strand that you double up sometimes, or an actual double strand?

I know that you already know my personal philosophy to I won’t belabor the point Just to say that between rarity and size, in the 7.5-8mm range, I do think top quality is definitely harder to get than the extra size. As in, 8mm akoya in not-top-quality aren’t rare. But if you were looking at much larger akoya I don’t might say the opposite.

 

[love_pearls]

My understanding - from both what I’ve been told directly and what I’ve chosen to infer indirectly, but I’m not a professional or tradeperson! - is that availability doesn’t decrease linearly with increasing size. It’s more like… There isn’t much of a problem until suddenly there is, and “availability” kind of falls off a cliff. My mental set point for that cliff is 9mm.

And then when one adds quality questions - Mikimoto’s Premium, those are still very nice pearls!! But I think availability decreases with quality similar to with size - there isn’t too much of a problem until there is and “availability” falls off another cliff!!

So your earrings, 9mm+, those are off the cliff in terms of both size and quality. No question that those are RARE pearls, and a good match is even more special. I’m so glad you jumped on them when you did. The size that I bought last year is no longer even offered in the US.

For your necklace, are you still thinking one Mikimoto strand and one VCA ten motif? For the Mikimoto strand - one long strand that you double up sometimes, or an actual double strand?

I know that you already know my personal philosophy to I won’t belabor the point Just to say that between rarity and size, in the 7.5-8mm range, I do think top quality is definitely harder to get than the extra size. As in, 8mm akoya in not-top-quality aren’t rare. But if you were looking at much larger akoya I don’t might say the opposite.

I want to maximize the frequency of use of all my jewelry as cost per wear is important to me. That's why I think for a long time before my purchase. For VCA, a 10 motif(not MOP) is for sure in the future.

Now for the necklace, I have so much hesitation because I am still yet to be married. I mean I can dream, right?. If I get the 7.5 mm, it might not be able to pair with a gown. Put this into consideration, it does seem like an 8mm or a fixed double is the option.

For the flexible long necklace that can be worn double, I am hesitant because even with the help of an SA, it still took quite a while to put it on so I think a fixed double is neater and easy to be put on but when I put on the long strand, I feel happy just like when I put on the fixed double strand. Right now, I am bitten by the pearl bugs. I want three strands of pearls. One double, one long and one single strand. It's a bit much and I have to keep a cool head. For the sake of my wallet, I have to calm down.

 

[love_pearls]

I have just visited Pearl Paradise website and saw the double strand akoya necklace in 7-7.5mm. The price is tempting. What's more, it's AAA.

Would anyone please let me know how is PP's AAA look like?

I can't seem to forget the double strand necklace I tried on in Mikimoto but I don't think miki's A grade is that great.

 

[yssie]

I have just visited Pearl Paradise website and saw the double strand akoya necklace in 7-7.5mm. The price is tempting. What's more, it's AAA.

Would anyone please let me know how is PP's AAA look like?

I can't seem to forget the double strand necklace I tried on in Mikimoto but I don't think miki's A grade is that great.

No you don’t want to do that. If you’re going non-branded for akoya, 100% Takahashi. For other types of pearls I go to Pearl Paradise first. But not akoya.

Pearl Paradise’s grading is A, AA, AAA, Hanadama - from worst to best. Most US vendors use this scale actually, with Hanadama being at the top. “Hanadama” akoya have a report from Pearl Science Laboratory, if you search PS for “PSL” you’ll find a fair number of other posts… For a number of reasons, most Hanadama pearls that are sold in the US are not of exemplar quality. My multiple Hanadama/Tennyo strands, about the same as Mikimoto A or maybe A+.

I will say that on some other pearl info venues Hanadama is considered the best that’s available. My recommendation is to check whether those assertions are coming from people who have done their own in-person comparisons. That holds for any statements made on PS too!

Takahashi has genuinely top quality akoya at extraordinary prices.

 

[pearlsngems]

The way I see it, Hanadama are the best that a particular vendor has available. Online vendors need to be able to have enough quantity of any given grade that they can list it as a routinely in-stock item. In other words, it can't be one-off.

 

[yssie]

The way I see it, Hanadama are the best that a particular vendor has available. Online vendors need to be able to have enough quantity of any given grade that they can list it as a routinely in-stock item. In other words, it can't be one-off.

This, 100%, I agree. Inventory - both a blessing and a curse, from both perspectives!