china pearls

[Cehrabehra]

Okay - I could read all of the threads and become an expert... or... taking the plea from RT I could just start my own thread hehe

I see pearls all over the place - tons and tons and tons of them... all colors - blue, pink, peach, grey, steel, green, white, off white, yellow... most of them are not perfectly round but they're pretty cheap. They're just strands, most of the jewelry has what I would consider inferior findings.

So when you see strands like this do you just turn your nose? Are they too inferior to love? When it comes to pearls is it really about the one in a million or is there intrensic value in a particular color?

My experience looking at jade here is that it's hard to get a deal - they want to overcharge for crap, but when you find something really good - they know it. Same with pearls I'm sure...

 

[iLander]

WELCOME! THANK YOU for stopping by!

Okay, I'm new to pearls too and ready for someone to correct me, but here is what I think are a list of pearls from most common to least common, and the value usually corresponds. There are some I don't understand yet, like hakadama (?) and keshi (?) but these are all I know about;

Freshwater (they're everywhere, all shapes, colors, some are dyed, etc., there are tons of farms in China)
Akoyas (Mikkimoto's big sellers-most are white)
Black Tahitian (undyed are prized)
White South Seas-Jumbo and usually HUGE
Golden South Seas-my personal favs
Kasumi (a lumpy naturally rainbow colored pearl out of one single lake in Japan)-I aspire to own just one single pearl of these

SO MANY Pearls today are just plain fake, made of plastic. To check if they're real, rub them across the flat surface of your teeth. If they are smooth, they're fake. If they're real, it feels slightly sandy.

All of the pearls come in different quality levels depending on
Shape-some like perfectly round, some like unique baroque pearls, lots of shapes in between
Color-natural, not dyed,is what you want
Luster-can be quite stunning
Size-bigger is more $$$
Surface Markings-less is more
Overtone-I think this is the word and all the ladies really get into this: a pearl can be white with a pink tint, or black with a green tint, etc., See Pic of Tahitian "blacks".

I have only used one pearl vendor so far, but if you look at the up close photos on their site, you'll see some that are really pretty:
http://www.tahitianpearls.biz/index.htm

Pearls are a subtle thing. So that's all I know.

I would be interested in reading a post from you (in Colored Stones) on jade, it's not something we know a lot about over there, I'm particularly interested in a definition of the phrase "apple jade'.

 

[that_someone_special]

OK, just talking about freshwater here:

I have bought quite a few inferior strands... for beadings and just for making things as a hobby. I also needed some cheaper strands to practice knotting

The thing about freshwaters- ok they do come in an array of colors but the basic colors are white, peach/ pink, and purple. You normally will get variations of these and then combined with crazy orient (green, blue) they can look AMAZING. The only place I have seen ones like that are pearl paradise though (the metallic strands). A lot of freshwaters are dyed. They seem very fake to me.. I don't know... they are lacking something that the regular, natural colored ones have- almost like a certain amount of personality.

My opinion is (when talking only about freshwaters) is that in general- most people are not pearl educated and wouldn't know a good freshwater from a "lower" freshwater. I recently went to the mall and going into the mall we walked through JC Penneys to get to another store, and I saw like 30 strands of freshwater pearls. I stopped because I saw a HUGE tag on these 2mm-3mm pearls that said $120 what the heck? Not only were they dyed, but they were tiny.. and some people actually pay that amount?!?! I wouldn't take them for $10! Actually, I wouldn't even wear them if they were free But how on earth can they still sell these and people buy them? It's because people think that when they have a 10% of coupon or whatever that it's actually a deal.. blah. I'm not saying all dyed ones are bad. It's just the natural colored ones are better

 

[Cehrabehra]

Thanks guys! The pearls I see most abundantly are about the size of my little fingernail, maybe a little bigger. The shapes are kinda oval and with character. Most are in the white to pink range and yellow/gold, but the blues are slate ble and the greens are kinda grey too, are dyed ones vibrant? Or greyish?

 

[that_someone_special]

The blue and green are definitely dyed.

Dyed pearls come in any color. They can be bright, dark, muted... The best way to see if something is natural is first to look at what kind of pearls you are looking at. If someone is trying to sell you a natural green freshwater, it's dyed. Black akoyas are dyed. Chocolate freshwaters and tahitians are dyed (though, I've seen some pictures of some copper color ones.. I would say it's safe to say you probably won't run across those). Most gray pearls are dyed... exception would be tahitians (silver) and sometimes akoyas (white silver or blue silver). However, I think I've seen bleached and dyed gray tahitians. It's always good to go with your gut instinct.

 

[slg47]

cehra thanks for starting this thread! I have lots of inexpensive pearls and I love them (they look great to me!) but I don't know ANYTHING about pearls-except I think they are beautiful, classic, and elegant I would love to learn more!

 

[iLander]

Pearls are extremely subtle! That's what makes them classic and elegant, but also makes it difficult to appreciate them except on a connoisseur level. But, if you wander around some pearl websites, and check out the highest priced pieces, it helps you see the difference. A REALLY good pearl, or pearl strand, will make all the others fade away in comparison.

Check out this strand and compare it to other pearls you've seen. See the little rainbowy swirls? See all the color tones, even among the "black" pearls? That's what makes a pearl lover's heart beat faster. . .

The fact that nature made such a beautiful thing, and no dyes or chemicals were involved, that's what makes it cool.

 

[Phoenix]

Okay - I could read all of the threads and become an expert... or... taking the plea from RT I could just start my own thread hehe

I see pearls all over the place - tons and tons and tons of them... all colors - blue, pink, peach, grey, steel, green, white, off white, yellow... most of them are not perfectly round but they're pretty cheap. They're just strands, most of the jewelry has what I would consider inferior findings.

So when you see strands like this do you just turn your nose? Are they too inferior to love? When it comes to pearls is it really about the one in a million or is there intrensic value in a particular color?

My experience looking at jade here is that it's hard to get a deal - they want to overcharge for crap, but when you find something really good - they know it. Same with pearls I'm sure...

Hi Sara,

I know what you mean about the cheap or "inferior" China pearls. A lot of them are "natural" but freshwater and most are not perfectly round. You can basically get a strand for approx USD10 or thereabout. But at least, they're not fake in the sense that they come from oysters (or at least that's what I understand). Then, there're the fake ones, which are basically made from mother-of-pearls (I think that's what it's called), ground up and re-made into perfectly round balls which are dyed to give them a very intense colour. These fake ones have very sharp (kind of plasticky - sp?-) lustre and most honest vendors will tell you that's what they are, right off the bat.

Mostly, from my experience, the ones that are pink, green, white, off-white, peach etc. are freshwater whereas the fake ones are all kinds of different shades and you can almost straightaway tell that the colours are definitely dyed.

With regard to the "one in a million", well, not quite "million" but the rarer variety comes in very large sizes, anywhere from 17mm to 20-ish mm. They're also very heavy/ hefty. You'd just need to put one in your hand and feel the weight. WRT the "intrinsic" value or colours, I've come across silver-ish white/ soft satiny white and golden pearls, though the "intrinsic" values mostly come from the sheer (large) sizes of the pearls. Also, I understand that "emerald green" tahitians (particularly when you get an entire strand of this same colour) is pretty rare. You'd also need to look out for blemishes (or rather lack of in rarer/ more expensive pearls - the most expensive ones I've seen are almost completely blemish-free), orient (kind of like the rainbow you see in a soap bubble), and lustre (the best ones have mirror-like surface, where you can practically see your own reflection when you hold them up).

Well, that's all I know. Have fun shopping.

(don't know anything abt jade, but i've been told to look out for intense green and again incredible lustre).

ETA: the more valuable pearls and jade will have prices to match, even in China, running from at least USD5-6k per a single pearl to several hundreds of thousands of US dollars and upwards for a strand.

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Hi All! I spend most of my time in colored gemstones, but thought I'd stop by to say hi. I have a nice pair of Mikimoto Akoya pearl studs (about 7mm if I remember correctly). I love them and they are my "go to" earrings.

Last summer, my husband and I went on a Caribbean cruise and I got a Chinese freshwater pearl necklace and bracelet set in St. Maarten. The pearls are not perfectly round, but they are certified natural. They are 10 mm each. We paid $150 for the set. The necklace is 18" and the bracelet is 7". I thought that was reasonable considering that they are natural and of a substantial size. I'm not knowledgeable about pearls but these look really lovely and I wondered what you all thought of the price. Of course, I have no photos right now.

 

[iLander]

Are you saying "natural" as in "not cultured"? Not cultured, truly natural pearls (which occur by accident when a grain of sand sneaks into an oyster) are a king's ransom, tens of thousands.

I'm assuming you mean natural cultured. I'm thinking for that size you got a good deal, but it's hard to tell without seeing blemishes, roundness, luster, etc.

But now you have to start a new thread. . . with pics . . .

 

[Tanzigrrl]

Natural cultured, yes. My pearl vocabulary is just not where it should be. Sorry about that. The luster is really great. That's what attracted me to them in the first place. The blemishes are minor, there are a couple of pearls that have some slight blemishes but those are the ones in the back toward the 14kt YG clasp. They are round, but not perfectly round, but really a nice bracelet and necklace set. I figured I probably couldn't go wrong for $150 for such nice looking pearls. I did get a natural cultured freshwater Chinese pearls certificate with my purchase. I'll post photos once I take some.

 

[Streeter1]

Are you saying "natural" as in "not cultured"? Not cultured, truly natural pearls (which occur by accident when a grain of sand sneaks into an oyster) are a king's ransom, tens of thousands.

Grain of sand?!?!?! Don't say that. The myth is already so perpetuated!

 

[iLander]

Are you saying "natural" as in "not cultured"? Not cultured, truly natural pearls (which occur by accident when a grain of sand sneaks into an oyster) are a king's ransom, tens of thousands.

Grain of sand?!?!?! Don't say that. The myth is already so perpetuated!

So . . . set us straight! What is in there?

 

[Streeter1]

A parasite or damage to the mantle. A grain of sand is never the reason for a natural pearl.

 

[iLander]

A parasite or damage to the mantle. A grain of sand is never the reason for a natural pearl.

What causes the damage to the mantle?

 

[Streeter1]

Damage to the shell can cause bits of mantle to become damaged and break off.

 

[iLander]

Here's another question for you (total threadjack): Those tiny seed pearls in Victorian jewelry, are those cultured pearls?

 

[Streeter1]

Not in the true antiques (1827 - 1901) but most always in the classical reproductions.