A new pair of GSSs from pearlzaustralia ❤️

[yssie]

I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Mostly.

I saw this pair on Kathleen's IG and wrote in right away - I know I'm going to be happy when the light spot reflection is yellow rather than white!!

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That pair was in the 9-10mm bracket. A bit smaller than I normally go for. She said she had a 10mm pair she'd recommend instead, and sent me her usual several dozen photos, and honestly I only needed the first couple to commit Two collages of some of her pics:

 

[pearlsngems]

Very lovely!
On my monitor they seem to lean toward greenish overtones rather than neutral gold or rose overtones. What do they look like in person?

 

[yssie]

Kathleen mentioned that if I didn't love them with them she'd be happy to search for a gem quality pair. I asked what gem quality would improve on from this pair, and she said “stronger luster, cleaner surfaces, more overtone”.

So… Here they are compared to a PEPCA Granpearl GSS. An independent and authoritative #best. Fortuitous timing, I don’t have the Granpearl anymore - she went to her new home a few days after I took these photos




Blemishing:
The Granpearl is completely blemish-free all over. The 10mm pair do have some surface artefacts, which Kathleen took photos and videos of for me. She knew I wanted studs so she drilled to hide as many blemishes as possible in the back, and result is that they face up clean. Which was all I cared about for this particular purchase.

Luster:
The Granpearl has flawlessly smooth and glossy skin. Like glass. The skin on the 10mm pair is definitely more textured, which of course impacts precision of reflection. Contrastiness, though, the 10mm take the edge over the Granpearl - I think this might be due to slight body colour difference.

Overtone:
All three pearls err green, but the Granpearl had much stronger green overtone. I'd put the strength of pink overtone at about the same in all three pearls - a bit weaker on pink than green in the 10s.

Body colour:
The 10mm pair is more saturated. A more rich and penetrating gold. Almost like... If you dye leather, and the dye soaks in deeper, and you get a brighter colour? Of course none of these pearls are dyed. But that was my mental comparison so that's what y'all get















So which is "better"?

Open question, I think. Depends on what you’re looking for. I totally agree with Kathleen's assessment of where this pair falls short of gem quality. But I also think she didn’t give them enough credit

Like. I can totally see how Japan would value perfect skin and exceptional gloss. Those do seem like very traditional values in that market. And this Granpearl has very strong overtone, yes, but I recall that most of the other Granpearl GSSs didn't, so if PEPCA represents the Japanese appetite - then strong overtone in GSS isn't of especial value there. Clean skins and silky smooth surfaces and perfectly spherical shape. Vs. typical Australian and American preferences, which prioritize what whacks your eyes first - stronger overtones and more saturated body colour and as much contrast as possible, with more forgiveness toward blemishing and gloss and small shape variations...

Me, I'm an American who grew up in Australia and NZ Once I pass my mimum blemishing and glossiness thresholds - body colour and overtone and contrastiness take over. And with golds in particular, for me, an incrementally stronger body colour makes a significant difference in lust quotient

I've posted about this before, in roundabout fashion, I think, but a couple years ago I had another vendor source a gem quality bracelet lineup of GSS. We even had one of my personal GSSs sent out to the supplier to match as closely as possible. This supplier had sourced gem akoya that had blown me away, so I was pretty much expecting the sun. The lineup that came back... Clean skins, silky smooth surfaces, perfectly spherical shapes, but anaemic on colour and overtone. And, well, I was thoroughly disappointed back then, but 2023 Me understands perfectly - this supplier was in Japan. And what the Japanese market wants in GSS isn't what *I* want in GSS. Martket matters.

I told Kathleen I was definitely keeping these. And asked if she thought she'd be able to find a gem quality pair with this depth of body colour. She said she'd been holding this pair for four years now, and prices have gone up substantially. I read between the lines.

I'm really not looking to spend a house on golds. I mean, I'll climb mountains for white akoya. I'll hike up tall hills for WSS. But cost for value matters a whoooole lot more for golds, for me, and I think I've hit my personal jackpot with this pair. Cannot recommend Katbran enough, she's super generous with photos, and her time, and is able to understand exactly what you're looking for and recommend accordingly

 

[yssie]

My two GSS pairs Both 10-11mm, smallers from katbran and bigger lighter pair from Pearl Paradise. Both pairs are spotlight matched in body colour, overtone colour, and strength of overtone

The lighter pair has lighter body, less saturated body colour, and slightly stronger green overtone:













And just for fun - some actual gold comps, with 14k and 24k bands My 14k and 24k GSS










What’s kind of funny about all of this is that deep golds aren’t the most flattering colour on me. Just, objectively!! This is mostly me doing me and Finishing The Collection. I went back and forth on haloing these - on the one hand I do love the look, on the other they’d be humungous... Landed on earring jackets. Removable. Sako’s got a lineup of baby OMCs waiting for me

 

[yssie]

Very lovely!
On my monitor they seem to lean toward greenish overtones rather than neutral gold or rose overtones. What do they look like in person?

They do err green, in-person as well! That's my personal preference in golds though. I prefer my Tahitians and akoya to err pink, my WSS to err teal, and my golds to err green

Katbran said she remembered that about me and that that was one of the reasons she recommended this pair over the IG pair

 

[lovedogs]

Loooooooove! The deep gold is glorious.

 

[yssie]

Oh! Meant to add and forgot! @Ann - that beautiful champagne in the middle of this pic is from the exact same lot that your bracelet came from!

 

[yssie]

Loooooooove! The deep gold is glorious.

It really is. Actual 24k coloured. Crystal_Dreams has a GSS in this colour, I got to see hers in-person before it shipped out to her and it’s been my holy grail GSS for years. Now I’ve got some too!

Buying from Katbran was so easy, too. Tons of photos from different angles in different lighting. And I really appreciated how honest she was when describing them - even highlighted each spot with a black marker for me before drilling.

I asked about some other pearls, for a friend, but my friend decided against anything for the moment. I told Katbran - and she responded that she hadn’t been happy with any of the matches so she’d have refused to sell them anyway

 

[lovedogs]

It really is. Actual 24k coloured. Crystal_Dreams has a GSS in this colour, I got to see hers in-person before it shipped out to her and it’s been my holy grail GSS for years. Now I’ve got some too!

Buying from Katbran was so easy, too. Tons of photos from different angles in different lighting. And I really appreciated how honest she was when describing them - even highlighted each spot with a black marker for me before drilling.

I asked about some other pearls, for a friend, but my friend decided against anything for the moment. I told Katbran - and she responded that she hadn’t been happy with any of the matches so she’d have refused to sell them anyway

She is the best, seriously. Never been anything other than thrilled w purchases from her

 

[rcjtraveler]

My two GSS pairs Both 10-11mm, smallers from katbran and bigger lighter pair from Pearl Paradise. Both pairs are spotlight matched in body colour, overtone colour, and strength of overtone

The lighter pair has lighter body, less saturated body colour, and slightly stronger green overtone:













And just for fun - some actual gold comps, with 14k and 24k bands My 14k and 24k GSS










What’s kind of funny about all of this is that deep golds aren’t the most flattering colour on me. Just, objectively!! This is mostly me doing me and Finishing The Collection. I went back and forth on haloing these - on the one hand I do love the look, on the other they’d be humungous... Landed on earring jackets. Removable. Sako’s got a lineup of baby OMCs waiting for me

Gorgeous. Love the color on both. You have the most spectacular pearls and jewelry!

 

[Catmom]

What glorious color!

 

[katbran]

Yssie and LoveDogs Thank you for your kind remarks And Yssie I think you have outdone me in the photo department lol I'm so pleased that you love your new pearls ! It's been a pleasure ! xxk

 

[dk168]

Stunning pearls, thanks for sharing!

I can't wear yellow/champagne colours, however, I am stalking @katbran on Etsy and IG in the hope to find some goodies one day!

DK

 

[yssie]

Stunning pearls, thanks for sharing!

I can't wear yellow/champagne colours, however, I am stalking @katbran on Etsy and IG in the hope to find some goodies one day!

DK

To be honest I don't wear deep golds well either Champagnes, I like on me though. I'm haloing these because I really do want to actually wear them, not just look at them, so the halos will add some buffer between pearl and skin

 

[Cinders]

To be honest I don't wear deep golds well either Champagnes, I like on me though. I'm haloing these because I really do want to actually wear them, not just look at them, so the halos will add some buffer between pearl and skin

I was just admiring how lovely the golds looked on you---I'm surprised you don't feel it's flattering. (Gold pearls of any sort are not even on my list because they just do not work with my coloring at all.) Congratulations on finding such an excellent pair from Katbran!!

 

[MMtwo]

The gold is so blessed rich! Fabulous gold.

 

[yssie]

A quickie mount update - I’ve committed to halo jackets with Sako!!

He assembled a suite of 3mm OMC babies that I briefly considered using for a ring halo, but… They were bought for earring jackets, earring jackets they shall be




A friend has a pair of antique collet component earrings that I have loved forever And was happy for me to send them to Sako for mount inspiration





And he suggested adding omega clips to help with weight. Would never have thought of that but why the heck not? Brilliant.

 

[Catmom]

Oh I can't wait to see these!

 

[rcjtraveler]

Looking forward to seeing them!!!

 

[MMtwo]

Be still my heart, those OMC will be charming

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Amazing!!! Can’t wait to see these when they’re done.

 

[dhimer]

A quickie mount update - I’ve committed to halo jackets with Sako!!

He assembled a suite of 3mm OMC babies that I briefly considered using for a ring halo, but… They were bought for earring jackets, earring jackets they shall be




A friend has a pair of antique collet component earrings that I have loved forever And was happy for me to send them to Sako for mount inspiration





And he suggested adding omega clips to help with weight. Would never have thought of that but why the heck not? Brilliant.

Can’t wait to see these ! I’m picturing something like this in the end. You have amazing taste

 

[yssie]

Can’t wait to see these ! I’m picturing something like this in the end. You have amazing taste

Those are gorgeous!

I think my proportions will be a little different - my diamonds will be smaller relative to the pearls than these. #Budget always getting in the way

 

[katbran]

Ooooooh I can't wait to see the final design!!! so exciting !

 

[NY_Resonant]

It really is. Actual 24k coloured. Crystal_Dreams has a GSS in this colour, I got to see hers in-person before it shipped out to her and it’s been my holy grail GSS for years. Now I’ve got some too!

Buying from Katbran was so easy, too. Tons of photos from different angles in different lighting. And I really appreciated how honest she was when describing them - even highlighted each spot with a black marker for me before drilling.

I asked about some other pearls, for a friend, but my friend decided against anything for the moment. I told Katbran - and she responded that she hadn’t been happy with any of the matches so she’d have refused to sell them anyway

You inspired and tempted me with these photos to get a 24k deep gold GSS pair myself. Can I blame @yssie? Hehe.

Now the hard part is choosing top or middle pair!

 

[pearlsngems]

The middle pair have sharper luster. Look at the reflections!

 

[yssie]

CADs are in







From working with Sako before - always seems his CADs are more for visualization than for finally-final structure. He casts in multiple parts and assembles by hand, and the holes on the undersides of the collets will be enlarged by hand, and the clip mechanism will be made by hand.

Earring jackets with a french clip!! Like, okay, that's a real #thing now!! Custom design is seriously the best thing since sliced gemstones

 

[NY_Resonant]

CADs are in







From working with Sako before - always seems his CADs are more for visualization than for finally-final structure. He casts in multiple parts and assembles by hand, and the holes on the undersides of the collets will be enlarged by hand, and the clip mechanism will be made by hand.

Earring jackets with a french clip!! Like, okay, that's a real #thing now!! Custom design is seriously the best thing since sliced gemstones

This is going to be so gorgeous!!! Can’t wait for ear shots

 

[Catmom]

Can't wait to see them IRL!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I had to take bisoprolol. @yssie threads might not be good for my health!