Finally!! My akoya necklace is here!

[clockworkreader]

My akoya necklace (which I thought was 6.5-7 but is actually 6-6.5mm) is knotted and ready! The luster absolutely blew me away again, just like the first time I saw it. More comments coming later, but I just had to post some pictures first because I was too excited. I apologise in advance for the photo spam, and for my hairy fingers

I mentioned in my other thread that the strand actually beats my Mikimoto Q2 (AA) studs in luster. The difference is noticeable in person, but perhaps not in pictures. (The studs are slightly mismatched in person, but less so than the photos suggest.)

I also photographed my new akoya babies next to my freshwater double strand, which has very sharp luster in its own right.

Thanks for letting me share!

 

[lovedogs]

Loooove!!

 

[Civnhasy]

Absolutely beautiful!! What a glow. Congrats!

 

[NY_Resonant]

Lovely!!!

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

Gorgeous!!!!!

 

[Austina]

Wow, it’s lovely

 

[Calla-lilies]

So beautiful! Enjoy!

 

[MMtwo]

What a fantastic necklace. Very beautiful!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

My akoya necklace (which I thought was 6.5-7 but is actually 6-6.5mm) is knotted and ready! The luster absolutely blew me away again, just like the first time I saw it. More comments coming later, but I just had to post some pictures first because I was too excited. I apologise in advance for the photo spam, and for my hairy fingers

I mentioned in my other thread that the strand actually beats my Mikimoto Q2 (AA) studs in luster. The difference is noticeable in person, but perhaps not in pictures. (The studs are slightly mismatched in person, but less so than the photos suggest.)

I also photographed my new akoya babies next to my freshwater double strand, which has very sharp luster in its own right.

Thanks for letting me share!

absolutly beautiful
i hope you ahave worn them already

 

[clockworkreader]

Thank you for your kind words, @MMtwo @Calla-lilies @Austina @mellowyellowgirl @NY_Resonant @Civnhasy @lovedogs

@Daisys and Diamonds I have worn them everyday since I picked them up, which is two days so far (Edit: three days if we count pick-up day, since I put them on the second I got my grubby little hands on them)

 

[concun]

Oh wow. It is glowing! Love it.

 

[clockworkreader]

So it looks like my necklace wasn’t strung with a gimp (please correct me if I’m wrong). The thread is nylon, not silk, so maybe the gimp is optional? Should I still restring with a gimp? And if yes, do I need to do this urgently (like do I risk damaging the necklace by wearing it gimp free now)?

 

[pearlsngems]

Gimp protects the thread from wear and tear where it meets the clasp, but nylon is very strong.

If it were silk instead, I'd say keep an eye on it and restring with gimp within a year of average frequency wearing, but as it's nylon, the only reason to restring would be if you prefer the appearance of gimp. Gimp can tarnish, so you may be better off without it.

 

[katbran]

Very pretty ! Good advice re: gimp from pearlsngems

 

[clockworkreader]

Gimp protects the thread from wear and tear where it meets the clasp, but nylon is very strong.

If it were silk instead, I'd say keep an eye on it and restring with gimp within a year of average frequency wearing, but as it's nylon, the only reason to restring would be if you prefer the appearance of gimp. Gimp can tarnish, so you may be better off without it.

Thank you! I want to try my hand at pearl stringing soon so this is very helpful. I hope you don’t mind another question: should I use gimp with Serafil thread? And is Serafil worth the price difference over basic nylon thread (from WenPearls)?

 

[clockworkreader]

A few more pictures because I don’t have any pearl friends to share with in real life!

This is a terrible (and messy) photo of my jewellery box, but hopefully it shows the difference in luster between my new darling strand and my other pearls. New strand indicated by arrow, Mikimoto studs circled.

 

[empliau]

They are stunning. Wear them in good health - and often. They become you wonderfully.

 

[pearlsngems]

Thank you! I want to try my hand at pearl stringing soon so this is very helpful. I hope you don’t mind another question: should I use gimp with Serafil thread? And is Serafil worth the price difference over basic nylon thread (from WenPearls)?

I use gimp with Serafil, yes. It does protect the thread, and gimp gives a necklace a professional looking finish.

Serafil (generic name for this thread) is really inexpensive. I'm in the US so my most economical source for this thread is PatriciaSaabDesigns on Etsy. Pattye sells gimp and other basic beading supplies as well. https://www.etsy.com/shop/PatriciaSaabDesigns

If it is more economical for you to order from Australia, then I recommend Bernadette's shop where it is sold under her trademarked name: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeadersSecret. I see she also sells needles and gimp etc.

 

[Mcgregor]

A beautiful necklace, indeed! Such luster! Wear it frequently and in good health!

 

[stracci2000]

I came back to stare at this strand again.
Simply fabulous!!!!

 

[yssie]

My akoya necklace (which I thought was 6.5-7 but is actually 6-6.5mm) is knotted and ready! The luster absolutely blew me away again, just like the first time I saw it. More comments coming later, but I just had to post some pictures first because I was too excited. I apologise in advance for the photo spam, and for my hairy fingers

I mentioned in my other thread that the strand actually beats my Mikimoto Q2 (AA) studs in luster. The difference is noticeable in person, but perhaps not in pictures. (The studs are slightly mismatched in person, but less so than the photos suggest.)

I also photographed my new akoya babies next to my freshwater double strand, which has very sharp luster in its own right.

Thanks for letting me share!

It literally glows Just stunning. Delicate and airy - it looks like it's floating over your collar

@clockworkreader congratulations!! I have to ask though - are you totally okay with the smaller size grade? Not in terms of "what's better", just to make sure you got what you paid for!

Pearls n gems has you covered on stringing supplies! Please do post tons more photos, you wear your pearls so beautifully and comfortably

 

[clockworkreader]

They are stunning. Wear them in good health - and often. They become you wonderfully.

That’s so kind of you to say, thank you so much

 

[clockworkreader]

I use gimp with Serafil, yes. It does protect the thread, and gimp gives a necklace a professional looking finish.

Serafil (generic name for this thread) is really inexpensive. I'm in the US so my most economical source for this thread is PatriciaSaabDesigns on Etsy. Pattye sells gimp and other basic beading supplies as well. https://www.etsy.com/shop/PatriciaSaabDesigns

If it is more economical for you to order from Australia, then I recommend Bernadette's shop where it is sold under her trademarked name: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeadersSecret. I see she also sells needles and gimp etc.

Thank you once again for the advice! I’m in Hong Kong so it’s most economical for me to order from China or Asia, but I think I might order from Pattye anyway to get her beginners stringing kit. I just don’t want to order the materials separately and then find out that I’ve missed something.

 

[clockworkreader]

A beautiful necklace, indeed! Such luster! Wear it frequently and in good health!

Thank you! May we all wear our shinies in good health for many years to come

 

[clockworkreader]

I came back to stare at this strand again.
Simply fabulous!!!!

I’m so flattered! I’ve “stalked” many other PS threads just to stare at the gorgeous bling as well

 

[clockworkreader]

It literally glows Just stunning. Delicate and airy - it looks like it's floating over your collar

@clockworkreader congratulations!! I have to ask though - are you totally okay with the smaller size grade? Not in terms of "what's better", just to make sure you got what you paid for!

Pearls n gems has you covered on stringing supplies! Please do post tons more photos, you wear your pearls so beautifully and comfortably

Yssie you are so kind! That really means a lot coming from you

And yes, I’m okay with the size of the strand. When I purchased my strand, it had just arrived to the store and it didn’t even have a tag yet (which would have stated the size). The SA told me the strand was 6.5mm and I misunderstood that to mean 6.5-7. But it’s all good because I actually measured the center pearls in the strand prior to purchasing and I knew they were 6.5mm. I just thought the entire strand measured 6.5mm (hence why I thought it fell within 6.5-7 )

The luster of my necklace more than makes up for the size to me! It has so much presence. I’ve compared it to a Tasaki A grade strand and mine won on luster though the Tasaki strand won on cleanliness and uniformity. I want to take it to Mikimoto to compare it to an AAA strand — and from the AAA necklaces I’ve seen, I think mine will match their luster — but I’m also scared of the off-chance that mine won’t match up.

 

[NY_Resonant]

Yssie you are so kind! That really means a lot coming from you

And yes, I’m okay with the size of the strand. When I purchased my strand, it had just arrived to the store and it didn’t even have a tag yet (which would have stated the size). The SA told me the strand was 6.5mm and I misunderstood that to mean 6.5-7. But it’s all good because I actually measured the center pearls in the strand prior to purchasing and I knew they were 6.5mm. I just thought the entire strand measured 6.5mm (hence why I thought it fell within 6.5-7 )

The luster of my necklace more than makes up for the size to me! It has so much presence. I’ve compared it to a Tasaki A grade strand and mine won on luster though the Tasaki strand won on cleanliness and uniformity. I want to take it to Mikimoto to compare it to an AAA strand — and from the AAA necklaces I’ve seen, I think mine will match their luster — but I’m also scared of the off-chance that mine won’t match up.

Some Tasaki branches also have special AA grade Akoya strands — The Kyoto branch had one when I visited in 2023, easily beat the AA equivalent Mikimoto strand I saw 5 minutes later. It was gorgeous, I almost bought it for about 10k on the spot.

 

[clockworkreader]

Some Tasaki branches also have special AA grade Akoya strands — The Kyoto branch had one when I visited in 2023, easily beat the AA equivalent Mikimoto strand I saw 5 minutes later. It was gorgeous, I almost bought it for about 10k on the spot.

I asked after the AA necklaces at Tasaki, but they unfortunately didn’t have any. I believe it’s either not available in Hong Kong, or something you’d have to special order.

In your opinion, how did Tasaki’s AA compare to Mikimoto’s AAA?

 

[NY_Resonant]

I asked after the AA necklaces at Tasaki, but they unfortunately didn’t have any. I believe it’s either not available in Hong Kong, or something you’d have to special order.

In your opinion, how did Tasaki’s AA compare to Mikimoto’s AAA?

Since it beat the Mikimoto AA, I imagine it’s similar to Mikimoto AAA. The specific Tasaki AA strand I saw wow’d me more than some AAA mikimoto strands I’ve seen anyway but to this date the best pearls I’ve seen were a specific 8.5-9mm pair of AAA mikimoto earrings at the NYC office — it was clearly nicer than another AAA pair I saw next to it at the store.

It’s all a range after all and you can probably find rare AA that beats or ties “weak” AAA.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

A few more pictures because I don’t have any pearl friends to share with in real life!

This is a terrible (and messy) photo of my jewellery box, but hopefully it shows the difference in luster between my new darling strand and my other pearls. New strand indicated by arrow, Mikimoto studs circled.

we are always here for you when you want to show and tell
they are just beautiful