Does anyone have real Japanese Kazumi pearls?

[Arkteia]

I want to see a photo. Internet is full of everything, starting with pond slime and ending with Kazumi from China, but I am not sure it is easy to find real Japanese Kazumi pearls. If anyone has them, can he/she post a photo? And - also - where does one buy real Japanese ones?

Thank you

 

[NacreLover]

Sarah at Kojima pearls sells them. She is a authorized vendor and you can see her often shopping at Lake Kasumi Ga Ura. This photo was taken last weekend in Los Angeles at the pearl guide ruckus.

 

[NacreLover]

She also sells the non rippled Lake Kasumi freshwaters. I have one.

 

[NacreLover]

14k Pink Tourmaline Lake Kasumi earrings from Kojima pearls . I took this also last weekend.

 

[NacreLover]

They are still on Sarah's website for sale.

 

[marymm]

I have a golden purple Japanese Kasumi pearl I bought loose from Sarah at Kojima Pearls a couple years ago - it is really beautiful - I haven't done anything with it as I have quite a backlog of setting projects for my CS collection... but everytime I pull it out I so appreciate its lustre and colors!

 

[Arkteia]

14k Pink Tourmaline Lake Kasumi earrings from Kojima pearls . I took this also last weekend.

Love the idea. Tourmaline is not my favorite stone. Maybe she will have something without the tourmalines, too (I appreciate the setting, beautiful!)

 

[Arkteia]

I have a golden purple Japanese Kasumi pearl I bought loose from Sarah at Kojima Pearls a couple years ago - it is really beautiful - I haven't done anything with it as I have quite a backlog of setting projects for my CS collection... but everytime I pull it out I so appreciate its lustre and colors!

Beautiful!

 

[WhitePeonia]

Hi Arkteia!
Here below you can find my Japanese Kasumi pearl studs, purchased from Kojima Pearls.
I love them.

 

[Suchi]

Here is my pair of simple Japan Kasumi dangles from kojima, purchased in this year's mother's day sale

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I bought mine from Kojima, also. There is a photo of my earrings in the following thread.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/kojima-thank-you-sale.182765/#post-3329751

cheers--Sharon

 

[mochiko42]

I have a pair of Kasumi pearls that I got from Kojima too. They're beautiful!

 

[BWeaves]

14k Pink Tourmaline Lake Kasumi earrings from Kojima pearls . I took this also last weekend.

Wheeee! Those Kasumi earrings are mine! The necklace is Chinese ripples, for comparison. I bought them at the same time, and they look great together. Kojima also had some Kasumi necklaces, but I liked this Chinese ripple necklace better. Each pearl, either Kasumi or Chinese ripples are unique, so you can't always say that one is better than the other.

 

[NacreLover]

YAY! I am so glad you bought them. They were so pretty on you.

 

[NacreLover]

That necklace and earrings were so pretty. I am so glad you got them.

 

[BWeaves]

I just got the earrings back from Kojima. Sarah swapped out the fish hook for a more secure horseshoe setting.

Horrible kitchen lighting, but you get the idea.

 

[bright ice]

That necklace and earrings were so pretty. I am so glad you got them.

Are those the strand of Chinese ripples she has on her website?

 

[Arkteia]

Hi Arkteia!
Here below you can find my Japanese Kasumi pearl studs, purchased from Kojima Pearls.
I love them.

Fantastic colors! They have something similar but from China now. Still, beautiful colors.

 

[BWeaves]

Are those the strand of Chinese ripples she has on her website?

Nope! I bought these 2 weeks ago. Kojima has several different Chinese ripples on her website. She'll send you photos if you want to see them all side by side to see the difference. She could even put the Kasumi strand in there for comparison. Every strand is unique and looks different.

 

[LtypeI]

Another vote for Sarah at Kojima if you want genuine Kasumi pearls. Chinese freshwater ripples are also beautiful, but Kojima is one of the few vendors that has the real deal Kasumi pearls. And Sarah has a great eye for picking outstanding pearls.

 

[Arkteia]

Wheeee! Those Kasumi earrings are mine! The necklace is Chinese ripples, for comparison. I bought them at the same time, and they look great together. Kojima also had some Kasumi necklaces, but I liked this Chinese ripple necklace better. Each pearl, either Kasumi or Chinese ripples are unique, so you can't always say that one is better than the other.

Congratulations! On Nacre Lover, they remind me of a sea at sunset - a bright sunlit way throwing rays of rainbow in all directions. And the necklace is gorgeous.

 

[BWeaves]

That necklace and earrings were so pretty. I am so glad you got them.

Wow, NacreLover, you really captured the colors and luster of my necklace and earrings. Thanks for the great photo!

 

[NacreLover]

Yay! for camera phone.

 

[katbran]

Another place you can check is Ehret Design Gallery on Ebay and ETSY - They often have Kasumi pearls as well as Robert Wan Tahitians and Sea of Cortez pearls.

 

[Arkteia]

Bought several Sea of Cortez from them for own project, also bought one from the initial producers of these pearls, and got to understand what exactly I need (to be honest, the one i really crave is on Columbia House site, but expensive).

All Kazumis I bought so far from different vendors are not impressive, maybe I need someone with perfect eye for them.

Three vendors I am buying from on eBay, including Ehret, Augustus and Pearl Society, I consider trusted.

 

[Mukti]

I have a pair of genuine Kasumi pearl earrings. I purchased them from Kojima. The colors are just wonderful. So far, I'd only buy from Kojima for genuine Kasumi pearls.
Honestly, it's not easy for me to distinguish real Kasumi from Chinese ripple pearls.

 

[Arkteia]

I have a pair of genuine Kasumi pearl earrings. I purchased them from Kojima. The colors are just wonderful. So far, I'd only buy from Kojima for genuine Kasumi pearls.
Honestly, it's not easy for me to distinguish real Kasumi from Chinese ripple pearls.

Does it even matter then, lol? If the pearls look the same, who cares if they are from China, or from Japan? Or does it matter?

On a side note - about five years ago, I asked a Nordstrom salesman, "Why is this Gucci handbag so expensive? It does not even look pretty". Made in France, the salesman said, adding, "in ten years, all Gucci bags will be already made in China".

Five years later, probably 1/2 of designer bags are made in China. Probably the same is happening to pearls, and as long as the vendors are not selling colored freshwater pearls for seawater ones (because this is misrepresentation - I have big question about many "Tahitians"), where the pearls grow probably matters less than we think. Or am i wrong?

 

[Mukti]

For some people it does matter for them that they get real Kasumi pearls. Maybe just like some people want to get real champagne from France instead of just any bubbly wine sold as champagne.
Another thing to consider is that real Kasumi pearls are rare. Since the lake Kasumi was once polluted the number of pearl farmers has dropped significantly.
If it's the colors that you look for, and don't care much about the origin, I'd personally choose Chinese ripple pearls for a fraction of the price of real Kasumi pearls :roll.

 

[Arkteia]

For some people it does matter for them that they get real Kasumi pearls. Maybe just like some people want to get real champagne from France instead of just any bubbly wine sold as champagne.
Another thing to consider is that real Kasumi pearls are rare. Since the lake Kasumi was once polluted the number of pearl farmers has dropped significantly.
If it's the colors that you look for, and don't care much about the origin, I'd personally choose Chinese ripple pearls for a fraction of the price of real Kasumi pearls :roll.

I am one of these despicable who thinks all champagnes are "bubbly sour wines", lol, but I hope i could tell a Jack Daniel's from a Glenlivet

How are the original Kazumi pearls different from the rest? Visually?

 

[Mukti]

I have a pair of genuine Kasumi pearls from Kojima. So, yes I have seen them. The only difference I feel is the weight. It seems to me, my genuine Kasumi pearls are lighter than Chinese ripple pearls of the same size and shape
. I don't know if it has something to do with the nucleus. Real Kasumis are nucleated with freshwater mussel shell beads - that's what I read. While the nucleus of the Chinese ones are a subject of scrutiny. I think there's a thread about it here on PS if you are interested .