Help me chose my first real strand of pearls

[Indylady]

So I already have quite a few strands of cheap freshwaters, but I''d really like to invest in a versatile strand that I will be able to use for interviews, parties, etc. I''d really like a strand that sticks out a little, and is unique enough to leave an impression. I''ve done a lot of interviews, and seen nearly every young woman come in with a strand of white 6mm pearls. On a rare occasion, someone will come to an interview without a strand of pearls...and sometimes they will wear other jewelry that is comparable or equally classy, but usually they are the ones that look less polished than the rest of the applicants.

I''m about 5''4'''' and 130 lbs. I am considering between a double strand that will be about 6-7mm, one large 8mm strand, or a colored strand (for some reason though, I feel as if colored strands are more likely to be ''dressed down'' and considered casual). I also love graduated strands, but they are hard to find. I am debating between akoyas, Freshadamas, or any other "gem" or "presidential" grade of freshwaters.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 5/9/2009 2:08:09 AM
Author:szh07
So I already have quite a few strands of cheap freshwaters, but I''d really like to invest in a versatile strand that I will be able to use for interviews, parties, etc. I''d really like a strand that sticks out a little, and is unique enough to leave an impression. I''ve done a lot of interviews, and seen nearly every young woman come in with a strand of white 6mm pearls. On a rare occasion, someone will come to an interview without a strand of pearls...and sometimes they will wear other jewelry that is comparable or equally classy, but usually they are the ones that look less polished than the rest of the applicants.

I''m about 5''4'' and 130 lbs. I am considering between a double strand that will be about 6-7mm, one large 8mm strand, or a colored strand (for some reason though, I feel as if colored strands are more likely to be ''dressed down'' and considered casual). I also love graduated strands, but they are hard to find. I am debating between akoyas, Freshadamas, or any other ''gem'' or ''presidential'' grade of freshwaters.

Hi there; that is great you get to see so many beautiful pearls during interviews. Here is a strand from a company I purchased from before http://www.pearlparadise.com/18-inch-Graduated-70-90-mm-Akoya-Pearl-Necklace2787.aspx

 

[Pandora II]

I have always worn pearls for interviews, so I'm totally with you on the impression they give.

Mine are 16" (princess length I believe) graduated and the largest pearl is 7mm (pics are in the early pages of Show me your Pearls thread). I'm 36, 5ft 10" and WAS around 140lbs (before getting pregnant!) and don't feel that they are too small - I would go up to an 8mm or 9mm as I get older, but I think 7mm is a perfect size for younger women.

I LOVE graduated - they just sit so well on the neck, but stringing can be important here - mine are not knotted between every pearl (Western style), but only at the ends which helps them to lie very flat. It is a bit more risky, but as long as you don't get the silk wet and you check them regularly and restring as soon as they need it, with a shorter length it shouldn't be a major problem (oh, and insured!) - If I was wearing a much longer strand then I would want them knotted between each pearl.

Colour is a personal taste issue - personally I like slightly cream, silvery whites and slightly rosy whites best.

If you like graduated it is worth looking out for Mikimotos on auction sites. I bought both of my strands there and paid less than a tenth of what they were appraised for by Mikimoto themselves when I took them for re-stringing. The older Miki's were also left in the sea for more years than they are now and so the nacre is often thicker.

The colour of pearls that are considered premium has also changed over the years. The SA at Mikimoto in London was very interested in the history of pearls and so spent a lot of time dating mine by the clasps and explaining the changes over the years - they don't really do graduated anymore whereas once they were extremely popular. The colour of mine (a slightly rosy white) would have been the most sought after when they were originally bought (1947), but nowadays a whiter colour is the most prized.

For formal wear - ie important work meetings/interviews etc, I think that anything in the subtle white shades is good - I would be less inclined to go for distinct golds, peaches, blacks etc - all of which I love, but not for occasions where you want to look 'professional' over 'stylish'.

 

[Indylady]

Skippy: thank you for the link! I have seen your 8mm strand and it is just perfect! I just placed an order for a 9-10mm half-drilled AAA freshwater from Pearl Paradise because I wanted to check out a AAA freshwater. If I like it, I might order one of the pendant findings from their site.

Pandora: I adore your Mikimoto strands! They are gorgeous and I love the graduated look. Do you have any tips for hunting for estate Mikis? I''ve been scoping out ebay and sites like Trocadero and Ruby Lane, but I am a little afraid of making a serious purchase on any of those sites, because they all have independent vendors placing their ad''s. Also, have you ever heard of the Ginza pearl company? I had bid on a strand of estate "Ginza" company pearls (which I did not win)...only to find the strand "relisted" a few days later. I don''t quite understand..if its an antique/estate piece, how would they have another to relist?

And it is so funny to hear that yours are only knotted at the ends! I have a strand of akoyas, and mine are the same! Only the last 4 pearls or so leading up to the clasp are knotted! I had always kind of wondered why.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 5/9/2009 11:16:46 PM
Author: szh07
Skippy: thank you for the link! I have seen your 8mm strand and it is just perfect! I just placed an order for a 9-10mm half-drilled AAA freshwater from Pearl Paradise because I wanted to check out a AAA freshwater. If I like it, I might order one of the pendant findings from their site.

Pandora: I adore your Mikimoto strands! They are gorgeous and I love the graduated look. Do you have any tips for hunting for estate Mikis? I''ve been scoping out ebay and sites like Trocadero and Ruby Lane, but I am a little afraid of making a serious purchase on any of those sites, because they all have independent vendors placing their ad''s. Also, have you ever heard of the Ginza pearl company? I had bid on a strand of estate ''Ginza'' company pearls (which I did not win)...only to find the strand ''relisted'' a few days later. I don''t quite understand..if its an antique/estate piece, how would they have another to relist?

And it is so funny to hear that yours are only knotted at the ends! I have a strand of akoyas, and mine are the same! Only the last 4 pearls or so leading up to the clasp are knotted! I had always kind of wondered why.

I''ve always used the UK ebay site, and normally buy from individuals rather than companies - I think there are more companies selling on the US ebay sites. Miki''s do come up quite often (I''ve bought quite a few Miki pieces for DH - cufflinks, tiepins etc so I keep an eye out). I always pay with Paypal so I''m protected and for expensive items I will pay extra for tracked postage. In 400+ purchase on ebay I''ve only had one bad experience and I got my money back via Paypal so more of a hassle than anything.

When the pearls arrived I had a good look with a loupe which reassured me that the surface quality was what it should be, I ''candled'' them to check the nacre thickness, the hallmarks were all as they should be and neither strand had been restrung in years so it was obvious that no-one had done a switch of putting a Miki clasp on a set of poor quality pearls.

I haven''t heard of the Ginza Pearl Co, but Ginza is a district in Tokyo where there are a lot of pearl dealers. With the auction, it could well be that the vendor had set a reserve price, the reserve wasn''t reached and so they relisted the item as it hadn''t sold the first time (I''ve done that sometimes 3 times with an item before the bids have reached the reserve price I''ve set).

I was worried about the knotting until the SA in Mikimoto explained to me that knotting only the last 4 pearls on each side was how they are done in Japan - the knotting between each pearl is a Western thing. It helps the pearls to lie better on the neck apparently. I would think that it could damage pearls that don''t have sufficiently thick nacre as they will rub together more, but none of the ones I have are showing signs of wear and I wear them several times a week (and they''re pretty old to start with!). Where yours graduated - I think it''s more common to find them knotted that way. I was very glad I had taken them to Mikimoto for restringing as I''m pretty sure that many jewellers would have advised me to have them individually knotted - it cost me £25 a strand for the restringing and I also got given soft fabric jewellery bags for them (I''m still trying to buy some old Mikimoto boxes as mine came without...)