Help me choose, please

[poppins]

Hello,
so after spending far too many hours on the diamond boards these past years I am now smitten with the pearl bug...I want to buy a pair of nice studs as a starter everyday piece (and to celebrate a new job! ) I have a picture of three pairs with silver overtones and now cannot decide, however much I stare at this picture. I would love some input from you pearlconnaisseurs - which pair would you choose and why? I think ultimately that I am mostly interested in the metallic AAA or the Freshadamas. Metallic Freshadama quality not available right now, and I wonder if it really matters since it is not a strand where many pearls will be seen cloesly together.

 

[pearlsngems]

I like the top pair best-- the metallic AAA. They seem to be very well matched as to tone. (But they also seem to have a slightly warmer and pinker overtone, if that matters to you.)

I have 3 prs of white metallic studs; the 7.5-8mm pair is Freshadama grade and the 9.0-9.5mm and 9.5 to 10.0mm pairs are both AAA.
I love all 3 of them. One of the AAA metallic pairs looks as lustrous as the Freshadama metallic pair. The other is just slightly less lustrous but just as round.

I also own Freshadama dangles, but I like the metallics more. The luster is better.

 

[ckrickett]

I Like the top best, mostly because of the sharp luster, second I like the freshdama, and third the akoya. But honestly, they are all beautiful and you can't go wrong with any of them.

 

[cmd2014]

I like the metallic ones too. They have the best luster and the faint rose overtone to them gives them a bit more life.

I'm guessing those aren't top quality Akoya? Usually akoya will have the most metallic luster even compared to metallic freshwater pearls. But the price reflects it too.

 

[NacreLover]

I would select the AAA metallics. They do appear to have a slight rose' overtone , but high quality freshwater metallics have orient that other freshwater pearls do not. ( high quality Akoya's have orient) They are very hard to photograph so the rose' may not be apparent when you see them in person.

 

[poppins]

Many thanks pearlsngems, ckrickett, cmd2014 and Nacrelover!! Your input is much appreciated!
An unanimous vote there, I must say.
I passed a chain B&M today and just checked on their displayed pearls. They were nice not so impressive, the larger freshwater strands had many big clearly visible blemishes as well as being visibly off-round. I actually don't think I have ever seen really good quality pearls IRL, at least not freshwater ones. I asked a local independent jeweller considered to be high-end where I live about their strands and all they said was that the quality was very good, not being able to explain differences in pricing between strands. Since they were cheaper than even the AAA strands of the recommended pearl vendors on PS my (easy) conclusion is that they weren't top-notch.

As for the displayed Akoyas I forgot (!) to specify quality, so probably a lower grade, yes.

And I am Asian with normal Asian skin tone, when I choose foundation I end up with shades of beige without pink or orange, which is why I asked for silver overtones rather than pink or cream, and these were the most silvery pairs right now.Having said that I really do like the colour of the metallic ones.

 

[pearlsngems]

You could order both the metallic and the Freshadama so that you can judge the color in person, then return the pair that suits you less.

 

[marymm]

Gosh, based on the one photo, the AAA Metallic seem to have a lot of rose and no silver - if I were looking for silver overtones, I wouldn't have considered the Metallics at all.

And the two other pairs, the FW and the Akoya, both seem to have cream overtones, not silver.

Perhaps this is just an artifact of the photo as viewed on my laptop.

 

[NacreLover]

You may want the compare the metallics with the store pearls and you'll be amazed at what you were able to get on the Internet.
Congratulations!

 

[poppins]

Well, I was prepared for the difficulties of looking only at photos, but it was worth a try and definitely better than just ordering blindly on-line. I am in Europe, so return is not a viable option given the shipping costs and import tax+duties. Unfortunately. And I don't want to buy two pairs of studs the same size.

Maybe someone with Asian skintone might chime in about the colour - are the metallic ones too pink?

Yes, I will be super curious to compare in person when I get them, whichever pair, with what I can find locally!

 

[pearlsngems]

I do not have Asian skintone but maybe this will help you judge how rose the rose tone is?

These photos show:
a.) The card from which I chose my 9-9.5 and 9.5-10mm studs. I chose the top ones (9.5-10mm) and the 4th pair down from the top, whihc are rosier (9-9.5mm).
b.) The 2 pairs on my ears. You can see how much rosier the smaller of the two pairs actually is. Note that one pearl is rosier than the other in the same pair. The close up ear shot shows the rosier pearl.

 

[ennui]

Akoya.

I have a few pairs of white studs, but I reach for my Akoyas most often.

 

[poppins]

pearlsngems, lovely earrings! And very helpful, the pictures really show the colour as well as the lustre very clearly.

I won't be getting bigger studs than 7.5-8 mm because that was the biggest metallic white there was right now. Maybe I am overthinking this - I thinkthat I care most about lustre, so maybe I should just jump ahead and order those metallics...

 

[EAB]

I agree that none of the pearls look silver, at least on my screen. I too always try for silver overtones. I have neutral coloring with yellow in my skin, and cool colors are best on me.
I also have several pair of white studs, including AAA akoya, white metallic, south sea, and natural white hanadamas. The natural white hanadamas have the best luster by far. If I compare the metallic to the hanadamas when not being worn, the luster looks quite similar. But when I put on one of each the difference is quite noticeable, and hanadamas win hands down.
The white south sea of course have a different luster than akoya, but they are very white with a bit of blue overtones, which makes them really stand out.
So for my particular coloring, I always reach for the hanadamas or white south sea. My metallics are very nice, but I rarely wear them.
I would ask if there are a few more pairs to compare in your size range. And ask the opinion of the person who selected the pairs. Often they can notice things that don't show up in pictures

 

[poppins]

Thank you for contributing with input and information, ennui and EAB!

Well, I finally ordered the metallic pearls. I was able to ask for an Asian person at the vendor's office to give her opinion on which pair was most complimentary for her skintone and she didn't hesitate to pick the metallic ones. And since I was specific from the very beginning about the silver, I suppose that the very silver metallic were not in store.

If I get bigger studs and a bigger budget, I shall consider Hanadamas!

Many thank yous again to all of you, PSers do provide a wealth of knowledge in the most generous way. I will post pictures once I get them, I promise!

 

[baby nurse]

Good choice, poppins. Looking forward to seeing your pictures when you get them.

 

[lambskin]

Would have chosen the same...