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A Moline multicolour masterpiece

carbonfan

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What an amazing piece, @yssie, and thank you for sharing the backstory about how all of this unfolded as well! Seriously, your new stunner is just mesmerizing! Feel free to post many more photos so we can bask in that luscious iridescence! :love:
 

Rhd3

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Truly a sight to behold! I can’t get past the details in the reflections. It really is a marvel.
 

Cerulean

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MMk so I saw these on insta - and had a sneeeaaaky suspicion that they might be yours :lol:
SO glad they are so I get lust after additional photos. Just incredible.
Your pearl collection is #goals
 

molinePDG

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Wow! I really am amazed at the very talented photos, first of all. Pearls are really difficult to photograph, and these photos bring so much grace and beauty to that bracelet. Secondly, I am almost tearing up just because this thread exemplifies PS and the journeys that so many people take with their jewelry.

When I joined PS just as a regular member, I knew enough about pearls from my family being related to the trade, but I didn't know much about many other stones (and I still disclaim I'm no expert in sapphires, diamonds, and so forth!)

I often opine with suppliers about how amusingly different PS is from any of my local sales - people who want something genuinely nice but don't care about the top 3% vs 2% vs 1% of anything. And then there are the truly amazing eyes here on PS that can discern between top .1% and .01%.

I have PriceScope -- and more so the people of it -- to thank for so much. This thread really exemplifies why being in the gem trade is so amazing; to know that you are helping to provide lifelong, treasured pieces to people who will appreciate them is so rewarding. And PriceScope members have been key in the crazy pandemic world. PriceScope projects have kept me afloat during the past year when local sales can't happen. I am going to sit here with a giant grin for at least a week. There is no greater honor than when those of you with bionically discerning PS eyes are so complimentary of gems that I was fortunate to have a part in finding.

I am truly and genuinely very humbled. Thank you, all of you --for everything. It really is a privilege to be apart of this online place, with so many very real friends.
 

marymm

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yssie, thank you for this thread, for sharing this story, for sharing the process, for sharing the photos, for being explicit with details ... your two Tahitian bracelets are heirloom-quality, wearable works of art, each so beautiful; I love the "warm" and "cool" designations ... wear them in happiness and delight!
 

whitewave

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That is - an Andrew Moline multicolour Tahitian masterpiece ::)


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Wow. My goodness. What an amazing bracelet, Yssie!
 
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Cerulean

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Some progress pics and #LearningMoments...


I’m a lustre fiend. Lustre first. Lustre over everything else. Wanna see my favouritest pic? Those silvers are ball bearings. Actual, real, brand new steel ball bearings. These pearls hold their own against actual, real ball bearings. You can't beat this!!!! :geek2:

FINAL_BALLBEARING.png


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A comparison of three strands. The pearls in the innermost strand are almost all fully solid-bodied (the center pearl is the exception). This piece has since been rehomed, but I recall that it held its body colour amazingly well through various lighting types - much, much better than any of the pearls with stronger overtone regardless of other quality factors! I’ve learnt that I personally value a strong and contrasty overtone, and I'm willing to sacrifice colour stickiness and just save my Tahitians for dreary grey days. Certainly no dearth of those in New England ::)

FINAL_TRIOCOMPARISON.png


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Most multicoloured pearl strands balance both body colour and body tone - they repeat patterns of colour and light vs. dark body. Neither of my strands do either, really. The new strand from Andrew is largely the same body tone. The reworked Pearl Paradise strand has more tone variance, but the ends skew lighter than the middle. I turned both final lineups into B&W to show it better here - the Moline strand is on the top, Pearl Paradise below. Ideally I’d like a more organized pattern in the Pearl Paradise strand. I’ll find some pearls to adjust it one day… Far in the future - I’m seriously so done with Tahitians for such a long time :shock:

FINAL_B&W.png

I had originally wanted to send the strand to PSL (yeah, I’ve got the American predilection for paperwork :mrgreen:) but I was advised not to. The reason is kind of interesting: Apparently PSL has four colour designations for strands - green, purple, multicolour, and grey. A strand that has even one pearl that isn’t green or purple is disqualified from earning those names. A strand that doesn’t have at least four distinct colours isn’t eligible for the multicolour specification. And any strand that isn’t green, purple, or multicolour is called grey. And oy, my strand is most certainly not grey!! :eek-2::???:


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These were my final candidates for both strands. Moline behind and Pearl Paradise in front.

FINAL_ColourOptionsProgress.png

I think these strands are actually an excellent real-world manifestation of that tried and tired 80/20 rule - that it takes 20% of the effort/time/money/valuable-whatever to get 80% of the way to perfect, and it’ll take 80% of the effort/time/money/etc. to get through that last 20%, all the way to 100% perfect. My Pearl Paradise strand took about a month, the Moline strand took six. The Moline strand will end up costing about 7x the Pearl Paradise strand. So is it worth it? That last photo I posted is true to what my eyes see - we really are talking 80% vs. 100% perfect here.

Me, I treasure the knowledge that I’m looking at some of the most magical pearls ever created. I personally put huge value on knowing that there’s nothing better to be had (other than bigger!), and that any comparisons I might make in the future will be against the best that an oyster can offer. This bracelet is such a special piece, I can’t envision ever not admiring it every time I see it :love:

This sums it up exquisitely.
The outcome of your dedication is palpable.
Both bracelets are stunning. 99.99% of the population would be delighted to own either.
You have a piece from Moline that is truly otherworldly. Each pearl a masterpiece of nature.
 

canuk-gal

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HI:

How thrilling would wearing this bracelet be! Outrageously beautiful!

cheers--Sharon
 

yssie

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yssie

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@Tartansparkles Thank you!! ::)

That one’s my favourite pic for exactly the same reason!! Comparing pearls to other pearls is great n’ all - but there’s just nothing like a banana for scale or a ball bearing for sharpness :bigsmile:


Thank you @Slick1! ::)


@icy_jade I totally get you!! :love: And I meant the PS Pearl Queen bit, no joke, you have such a vast and varied collection, and you’ve been so generous with your photos of it!! :cool2:

So I know that you know… How do I say this? You are the sort of person who knows how the camera lies. Better phrasing - anyone who’s familiar with pearls knows that the camera’s truth doesn't necessarily match a real-world truth. So when someone who’s familiar with pearls looks at the first few pics that I posted in this thread, they’ll know that that’s the best that these pearls can look in that particular lighting environment… Of course, we also know that a phone in more flattering lighting could still take more engaging photos!

That’s what I’ve come to love most about pearls, I think. A diamond is a diamond in any light. It’s really predictable and it's always going to show one personality. Pearls are such little changelings :love:

The top 1% of the top 1%. Good thing I’ve already told Andrew he isn’t allowed to fire me as a customer :lol:


@carbonfan Thank you! It was such a long work in progress. When it came back from stringing - the thing I felt more than anything else was relief that it was all done! Everything was already known, everything was already mentally "approved of", nothing more to figure out or worry about.

I will definitely be back to post a ton more photos as I get them over the next - um. Days? Weeks? Years? :halo:


@Rhd3 Thank you!! I fit a piece of paper around the camera lens for most of the pics - reflections of fingers and whatever was in my background were interrupting the colours in the pearl itself :lol:

If I get right up close - I can see fingernails and eyelashes in these pearls. It’s unreal.
 

yssie

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@Cerulean, @lovedogs Thank you!!

I’m laughing at having been “outed” on insta before I posted anything myself! :bigsmile:

I had 648 photos to sort through yesterday… I may have gone a touch overboard :twisted2: But pearls, they aren’t nearly as easy to photograph as diamonds! They’re so finicky about lighting, and their opaque surfaces won't hide anything at all - I’m pretty sure at least half got ousted over dust, cat fur, dog hair, the one photobombing beetle… :lol:

I’ll dig out some of the closeups I took of my favourite pearls ::)


Thank you so much @marymm ::) Pearl Paradise has a handful of projects in their queue for me, including the restring - I can’t wait to see it!!

I’m sure I’ll be wearing them together fairly frequently so I do hope they work well together :mrgreen:
 

Ann

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I'm in awe of your knowledge and love that you are sharing it here! I'm speechless. Please never stop posting.
 

yssie

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A couple more photos from today - I wore it with one of my gemmy akoya bracelets to putter around ::) I think these pics show how these pearls change personality rather well :))


First one is in the basement with (very very bright) overhead fluorescents. Most of my pearls have green bodies and this lighting really highlights that! Only the strongest overtones show through.

Basement.png


This is in the bedroom. The walls, ceiling, and floor are shades of beige, peach, and brown. We use only night lamps in here so it's pretty dark; I let the camera auto-ISO and it skyrocketed. The softer single-lamp lighting definitely greys body colour out, but it's actually - unexpectedly! - quite a bit more forgiving toward the overtones! I'm curious to see how the reworked Pearl Paradise bracelet behaves in comparison...

Bedroom.png
 

yssie

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@molinePDG You’re very sweet. Thank you. ::)

I’m so glad you emailed me last year. I’ve learnt so much from chatting with you, and the plethora of pearls that you’ve found for me - exquisite is a woefully insufficient description. You already know that I adore them all :love:

“Bionically discerning PS eyes”. So many experts find PSers… daunting, difficult, dismissive. I think we all acknowledge that our peculiarities make sourcing for us challenging, and - let’s be honest - not necessarily particularly profitable. I know that I’m not an easy customer, and I feel very lucky to be able to work with vendors who find my projects and my interest in their trade rewarding :love:

When I first started in pearls - I think my eyes could identify the top 1%. I think I could certainly have seen that there was something different... But I couldn’t have elucidated that difference, and I definitely couldn't have dictated my own preferences. Even just four months ago - I recognised that I would see see a disntiction between “otherworldly” and “so close but not quite”, but still I didn’t know myself well enough to recognise that “so close but not quite” wasn’t going be good enough for me! Now, well, like I wrote before - we both know better :lol:

Thank you so much for bringing this bracelet to life for me ::) I can’t wait to meet you in-person one day so you can see it all put together for yourself!! :bigsmile:


@whitewave, @Snowdrop13, @canuk-gal Thank you!! :bigsmile:


@Ann. Oh my goodness. Thank you!! I confess, I'm always a little awed when people who joined the forum long before I did compliment my pieces, or more generously, my participation here :oops::mrgreen:
 

yssie

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Some of my favourite pearls!!

These pearls went to GIA - more on that saga of sadness in another post one day :rolleyes: The potted version - if you're think about sending pearls to GIA, save yourself and your jeweller several hundred dollars and several headaches and don't! GIA called these pearls a "very good" match because their grading scheme has no concept of "multicoloured".


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The Pearl Paradise gateway pearl - R2 in the lineup :love:

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Here's the middle pearl. This pearl, L6, and R3 are from the first bracelet lineup attempt - there were some pretty purples in that set :))

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R5 is my holy grail pearl - tons of photos of this one in this thread already, but I can't resist...

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The fluorescent pink L5. This thing really is this bright in-person. It defies belief!!

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And R7, the right end pearl - this is the lightest body of all of them ::)

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Daisys and Diamonds

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A couple more photos from today - I wore it with one of my gemmy akoya bracelets to putter around ::) I think these pics show how these pearls change personality rather well :))


First one is in the basement with (very very bright) overhead fluorescents. Most of my pearls have green bodies and this lighting really highlights that! Only the strongest overtones show through.

Basement.png


This is in the bedroom. The walls, ceiling, and floor are shades of beige, peach, and brown. We use only night lamps in here so it's pretty dark; I let the camera auto-ISO and it skyrocketed. The softer single-lamp lighting definitely greys body colour out, but it's actually - unexpectedly! - quite a bit more forgiving toward the overtones! I'm curious to see how the reworked Pearl Paradise bracelet behaves in comparison...

Bedroom.png

My favourite photo so far
 

Daisys and Diamonds

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7823f28bb4a7b40d47be7054bcc5ffa5.jpg i know this doesn't sound anywhere glamorous enough but Ive always thought petrol in a puddle ( while not good for the environment) is very beautiful Screenshot_20210122-195744.png
This is what these pearls remind me of
But the luster is out of this world
.1% indeed !
Unless we meet in real life i never exspect to see a Tahitian like this in real life
 

yssie

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7823f28bb4a7b40d47be7054bcc5ffa5.jpg i know this doesn't sound anywhere glamorous enough but Ive always thought petrol in a puddle ( while not good for the environment) is very beautiful Screenshot_20210122-195744.png
This is what these pearls remind me of
But the luster is out of this world
.1% indeed !
Unless we meet in real life i never exspect to see a Tahitian like this in real life

I had the exact same thought when I first saw this pic!!

I will say that I've never got it to look quite like this, in photos or to my eyes. This is either a supplier's photo or the farm's photo, I'm not entirely sure, but I know that Andrew didn't take it. I gotta be honest, I've wondered if this photo wasn't tweaked a touch - the blue/violet "eye" inside the pink halo that's barely visible in this pic is much more prominent in-person (#Like!), and the wide yellow banding that this photo shows - I've never ever seen more than the barest hint of yellow, even in #SuperDuperFlatteringLighting (phooey).

I think the pearl itself is pretty seductively oil-slick-ey in-person though :cool2:
 
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icy_jade

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@icy_jade I totally get you!! :love: And I meant the PS Pearl Queen bit, no joke, you have such a vast and varied collection, and you’ve been so generous with your photos of it!! :cool2:

So I know that you know… How do I say this? You are the sort of person who knows how the camera lies. Better phrasing - anyone who’s familiar with pearls knows that the camera’s truth doesn't necessarily match a real-world truth. So when someone who’s familiar with pearls looks at the first few pics that I posted in this thread, they’ll know that that’s the best that these pearls can look in that particular lighting environment… Of course, we also know that a phone in more flattering lighting could still take more engaging photos!

That’s what I’ve come to love most about pearls, I think. A diamond is a diamond in any light. It’s really predictable and it's always going to show one personality. Pearls are such little changelings :love:

The top 1% of the top 1%. Good thing I’ve already told Andrew he isn’t allowed to fire me as a customer :lol:

Wow thanks. Never thought of myself that way as there were so many on PS with such vast collections when I first got started in pearls.

Your pics made me want to dig my Tahitians out to play!

Curious what you will be getting next... SSPs?
 

Daisys and Diamonds

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I had the exact same thought when I first saw this pic!!

I will say that I've never got it to look quite like this, in photos or to my eyes. This is either a supplier's photo or the farm's photo, I'm not entirely sure, but I know that Andrew didn't take it. I gotta be honest, I've wondered if this photo wasn't tweaked a touch - the blue/violet "eye" inside the pink halo that's barely visible in this pic is much more prominent in-person (#Like!), and the wide yellow banding that this photo shows - I've never ever seen more than the barest hint of yellow, even in #SuperDuperFlatteringLighting (phooey).

I think the pearl itself is pretty seductively oil-slick-ey in-person though :cool2:

Phew
im so glad you got where i was seeing it from
(Sometimes over the internet its easy to misinterpret)

Apart from the oil slick i have no point of reference to judge the ultimate beauty of your pearl(s)

They have set an unattainable benchmark :mrgreen2:

I really hope you are 110% overjoyed with them in every way
 

MMtwo

Ideal_Rock
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4,441
@yssie when I saw this bracelet it caused me to exhale with an "ohhhh!" It is the most beautiful bracelet I have ever seen. I am so happy for you!. I sincerely congratulate you (and Andrew, the pearl wizard supplier @molinePDG ) .

The story though!! I wanted to just grab a tub of popcorn and live vicariously! You are a dedicated pearl huntress :) It's a privilege to "shop along" as you determine what you want. You're a true curator. It's exciting you were able to find those precious pearls. I keep re-reading this over and over again!
 

diamondseeker2006

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Just amazing, Yssie!:love::love::love: It's kind of a curse to become acquainted with "the best" of anything, because then nothing else quite measures up! That's my problem with a lot of colored gemstones, and now it's a problem for me with Tahitian pearls! :lol:

I couldn't be happier for you!!!!:appl::appl::appl:
 

Begonia

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Whoooeee @yssie! Girl, you don't mess around when it comes to picking the best with our lad @molinePDG.

Ya know, you could likely turn this epicurean talent into a side gig. If I ever win some cash, maybe just maybe you'll curate my small wish list? Please say yes, cuz the odds are nil I'll win anything anyway.
 

yssie

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Wow thanks. Never thought of myself that way as there were so many on PS with such vast collections when I first got started in pearls.

Your pics made me want to dig my Tahitians out to play!

Curious what you will be getting next... SSPs?

Feel free to share a photo or five from playtime... :bigsmile:my hard drive has plenty more space for pics :halo:

Yes!! South seas!! :mrgreen: I asked Andrew to look for a set of nice goldens for another bracelet - preferably with minimal size graduation. I actually have a golden south sea bracelet already, and I wanted the new one to have a specific colour, so Andrew sent my bracelet out to his supplier in Japan so that we'd have something known to both parties to compare with.

I think golds would look lovely next to these bright greens actually - I could see myself wearing that duo a lot :sun:

And then... I think... The only other pearls on my "must have" list is a pair of Tahitian drops for earrings, like your Golays. The colour on these is hypnotic in photos - you can't just look, you kind of have to stop and stare. I can imagine what they must look like in-person :appl:

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Saw this pair on IG several weeks ago - I was really tempted, but I'm going to wait for a more rounded shape ::)

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yssie

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Phew
im so glad you got where i was seeing it from
(Sometimes over the internet its easy to misinterpret)

Apart from the oil slick i have no point of reference to judge the ultimate beauty of your pearl(s)

They have set an unattainable benchmark :mrgreen2:

I really hope you are 110% overjoyed with them in every way

Daisy you're one of the sweetest, kindest, most supportive PSers I know ❤️ I don't think it's even possible for anyone who knows you to read ill-intent into anything you say!!
Well - with the exception of someone who dares speak ill of Bruce, maybe :bigsmile: But obviously that'd be a case of irredeemably poor taste :lol:

Thank you for being part of PS. Don't ever leave ::) :love:
 
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