Advice on best color/tone for South sea pearl earrings?

[Green with Envy]

I am looking for large South sea pearl earrings around 10-11mm.

Without seeing a lot of nice pearls in person, I am unsure what specific color or tone I should request. I know I want white and not some shade of champagne, gold, or whatever.

I guess the most obvious options are rose undertone or more silver? or cream?

i have dark blond hair/ light golden brown hair (depends on the season and my hairdresser) that tends to be more warm rather than ash.

My skin color is medium with more pink rather blue undertones. In the summer when I get tan I tend to be less brown tan and more of a reddish tan.

I only know what colors of clothes look best with my complexion. Orange looks awful, but yellow looks good. Pink and peaches look good too, but i wear a lot of blues/turquoises. I probably look not so great in grays... but silver tones south sea pearls seem to be so popular. Actually the color I probably wear the most is black.. so that doesn't guide me!

i want the pearls to look bright white and not off white.

Ideas?

thanks in advance.

 

[cmd2014]

White South Sea pearls typically come with overtones of silver, silver-rose, or rose (if we rule out the more champagne coloured ones that are lighter versions of gold south sea pearls). To be honest, once they are on, it's a bit hard to see the difference as the overtones tend to be quite subtle, but if you are blond and you tan easily, I might suggest asking for silver overtone pearls. They will be the 'brightest' white (although I have rose overtones pearls as I am very fair pink toned skin with dark hair, and they look blinding white on me, particularly in comparison to my akoya and freshwater pearls).

You might want the vendor that you pick to show you a picture of silver vs rose overtoned pearls and then pick the one that calls to you the most. That's probably easier than anything else, and most online vendors are happy to do this.

 

[NacreLover]

Photo borrowed from Pure Pearls. I chose silver when I bought mine. I am a blue eyed blonde.

 

[NacreLover]

I was thinking about this post and wanted to add. Pure pearls site say the rose` overtones are the rarest and cost the most. My earrings and necklace are silver and are like shiny light bulbs against the skin. I did have Pearl Paradise select a white south sea pearl for a pendant and Hisano selected a rose` overtone. it is very apparent and very pretty. It looks nothing like my rose`overtone akoya's though.

 

[NacreLover]

The straight on glamour shot in the photo box didn't show the pink overtone, but in real life it bounces off and reflects off the rhodium plated white gold of the mounting.

 

[Pearlescence]

Fairly impossible to predict from words which will suit. You need to try lots of pearls against your skin.