Help me pick my first Tahitian strand :D

[Lily1895]

Hi everyone,

I'm just on the precipice of making my first Tahitian pearl purchase (online no less :S) and I was hoping to get some advice on which strand/colour to pick. The strand will be a bit of a belated wedding present from my aunt so I'm hoping to be able to wear it as much as possible - both at the office and on special occasions. I have a fair asian complexion and when I was shopping around, I found that darker/silvery strands looked best, but there really wasn't that variety in colours at the B&M stores so I don't know if that's really the best comparison.

The below photo was sent to me by the lovely people at PP and I was wondering what people thought of the four strands I've narrowed things down to. Would love to hear your advice!

 

[dk168]

Please bear in mind that colour preferences are very personal, and I naturally drawn to blues and greens, and I would choose the top strand as my first choice, followed by the second strand, as their colours appeal to me more than the bottom two strands.

Good luck.

DK

 

[Bailey1856]

Top strand for me, lots of blue green, blue pink/purple and lots of variation in overtones, the pearls look bigger and luster is great.

 

[marymm]

Personally I much prefer the 3rd strand - but for you, with your coloring and your statement that dark/silvery strands best suit you, honestly I don't think any of these 4 strands could be considered dark/silvery. If it were me, especially for a special strand like a belated wedding present, I'd ask PP to look further and/or put the request on their shopping list for their upcoming trip. Of course, you can also buy your first choice and check it out in person, and then return if it doesn't suit.

 

[ennui]

I like the fourth strand.

Strand #3 looks like it has lots of cherry tones.
The first strand does look to be a larger pearl size; is it?

 

[Fly Girl]

I love strand 3, with all the reddish pearls. But for a first strand, I like the top one. It has larger pearls, with lovely greens and peacocks. It will be beautiful.

 

[Pirard]

You really cannot go wrong with any of the strands...they all appear similar in quality. I think that it depends on how you will be wearing them. Personally, I am a fan of multicolors, and the top and bottom strands seem to exhibit more variety of color to my eye. If you are looking for a strand that will pop and be different, then I think #3 is your choice. If you are looking for one that has a classic tahitian look, then I say #4 or #2 (I would go with 4 because the pearls are larger, although less uniform in color, again to my eye.) All are wonderful! And please do post photos of the "winner"!!

Oh, and one additional note, you may want to try for a pair of coordinating earrings at the same time the necklace is selected. Sometimes they can pull two pearls from the strand to match as earrings.

 

[mynattk]

I love the top one. It looks bigger and has lots of colors, but I'm a multi-color person. Whichever you choose, I think you will be happy. Can't wait for the photos!

 

[Lily1895]

Thanks so much for the responses everyone! I actually really liked the top one as well initially but as I delve further into trying to research which colour/overtone would be best, what quality is important in Tahitians, I began to doubt myself The top strand does have some blemishing being an AA+ but the size does attract me. It also is being described as having a dark green body with cherry and peacock overtones. I am a little worried about wearing green as I've slowly defended into the comfortable canyon of black, white and navy blue in recent years . But then again - I don't ever recall looking awful in the few green things I've worn - so maybe that's a sign

 

[Fly Girl]

Yes, I've found that if you look good in a particular color of clothing, you should look good in that color of pearls as well.

Pearls are a great way to add a bit of color around your face if you are wearing a lot of neutral clothing colors.

 

[baby monster]

Ah, so you settled on pearls then

I like#2 for uniformity of overtone but #1 is larger. There's also a lot of camera reflection in the pearls. Can they photograph on a bust so it's easier to see the color and how it'll look on the neck?

 

[Pirard]

I'm wondering if the pearls in #1 are indeed larger...they appear to be strung (knotting in between each pearl) which may make them look slightly larger? Regardless, I'd go with my gut on the strand you like best. Great thing about PP is if you don't like them in person, you can always return.

 

[cmd2014]

I prefer strands 2 and 3. They are the most uniform in terms of colour matching, and the luster is slightly better imo (although that could be a camera focus issue). The blemish on the center pearl on strand 1 would bother me, and although they are larger, they are more multicoloured (so less uniformly matched). It would be a plus to some people, and a drawback to others. Strand 4's luster seems lower than the others.

Between 2 & 3 it would be a tough call for me. Those cherry overtones pop, but sometimes they can look brown IRL. If they were a true peacock purple IRL, I'd probably go with them. But the blue-green tones of strand 2 might call me....

I'd say go with the one that calls you the most though, because as you can see it's very personal who likes what best.

 

[ckrickett]

First, you can't go wrong with any because they are all gorgeous.

But I am absolutely blown away by the 3rd, the first is also very beautiful as well.

if you can try and get natural light shots, as tahitians are very good ta being chameleons

 

[Frost Me]

Lily 1895: I am a little worried about wearing green as I've slowly defended into the comfortable canyon of black, white and navy blue in recent years . But then again - I don't ever recall looking awful in the few green things I've worn - so maybe that's a sign


I love my greenbody/peacock strands, I think they are perfect with black, white, navy!

 

[4Ranch Girl]

I would ask your sales person to ask Hisano which strand looks best on her and why. I think she might have the same skin tone as you. i really like the first strand and the third which is cherry.

 

[Lovinggems]

I like the third strand.

 

[missy]

All gorgeous and as others have pointed out it depends on your coloring and personal preferences too. I like more blue/green than cherry and I also like more uniformity than random. Second one for me. I would also ask Hisano her opinion and if she might have more strands that would suit you. Good luck and have fun deciding!

 

[ennui]

I am a little worried about wearing green as I've slowly defended into the comfortable canyon of black, white and navy blue in recent years . But then again - I don't ever recall looking awful in the few green things I've worn - so maybe that's a sign

I wouldn't worry about green ... Tahitians are the color of the ocean, with tones of blues and silvers and pinks, too. They aren't like emeralds or peridot.

 

[NacreLover]

I'd pick 3, but I collect cherry. What size are they?

 

[Tucs]

I like 3 the best, because I love those colours. I don't know about how it would suit your skin colour, though, have you tried cherry overtones on you?

 

[Lily1895]

Hey everyone,

Thank you so much for all the advice. I think i'm suffering from analysis paralysis - seeing everyone else's amazing strands has made me realise I should probably try more strands in person. The simple fact is that the city i'm posted to at the moment doesn't really have anything too exciting. I'm actually going to Japan in May for a holiday and after doing some digging around I found out that there's actually a Golay shopfront in Osaka. I'll be there for a few days primarily to stuff my face with alllll the amazing food but I think a break is in order to figure out exactly what colour/overtone/shades look best. If anyone else has any advice on places to visit in Japan for pearls i'm all ears

Meanwhile the WSS studs and baroque pendants on PP are looking pretty enticing....

 

[Jamiegems]

Lily

The person who said color preference is personal, that's true. However Tahitian pearls generally show dark gray under rainbows of color.
I would pick one of the top two because they are more classic Tahitian color. But... that red one is very different and lots of fun to see.
very unique. Hard choice but the top three are all very nice.

I have to applaud you on your taste. They are very round which is the most important thing in pearls along with lustre and the size seems to be consistent throughout the strands as well.

jamiegems G. G.

 

[pregcurious]

I had a similar issue and went to Intergem and tried on some Tahitians. I am also visiting PP in person to pick a strand now that I know better what overtones look best. I am Asian, and I found that all green does not look very good, and I need some pink/purple to bring out the warmth in my skin tone. Too much green made me look sickly.

 

[ennui]

They are very round which is the most important thing in pearls along with lustre

Hmm. How do we feel about coin pearls?

 

[Lily1895]

Actually, I found a local store that stocked a large range of tahitian strands and tried on a few of the more 'extreme' overtones and body colours they had. It turns out I love every colour - unfortunately The other half prefers the standard grey strands but I actually fell in love with the ones with cherry and aubergine overtones. The greens didn't look too bad either. The other thing I noticed while trawling through the tahitian pearl posts is that not all baroque pearls are created equal. So even though rounds are more valuable, I think for my first strand - especially online - I might go with something off-round/oval with as good a lustre and surface as I can go.

 

[cmd2014]

They are very round which is the most important thing in pearls along with lustre and the size seems to be consistent throughout the strands as well.

jamiegems G. G.

It is true that round pearls will be more expensive than off round, drop shaped, or baroque pearls, as price is primarily determined by the size, shape, luster, level of blemishing, and colour of any given pearl (with peacock tones commanding the highest prices, 'fancy' tones such as blue, green, aubergine, etc., falling slightly below, and charcoal grey/black with little obvious overtone commanding the lowest price, all other things being equal). Larger pearls are more expensive, as are those with thicker nacre, higher luster, and fewer blemishes. Matched strands also command a higher price than graduated or multi-coloured strands.

However, what an individual may actually like or prefer may not be dictated by what is most expensive.

Many people here actually prefer drop or baroque shaped pearls, even though traditional round pearls may command a higher commodity price. This is because baroque pearls (especially Tahitians) tend to have more metallic luster and stronger overtones. These types of strands are more easily worn with casual clothing and are more unique. Many people also prefer pastel shades, even though dark toned Tahitian pearls command higher prices on the open market, and graduated and/or multi-coloured strands even though matched strands command higher prices. Smaller pearls also often have better luster than larger ones and more orient, so some people prefer them even though larger sizes will dramatically dictate a higher price.

So while price is easily determined by market forces, personal preference will not be.

 

[Pearlescence]

Trying on is vital to see which colour suits you. It may well not be the colour which you like to look at. I was just in Hong Kong and bought a strand of the new purple freshwater natural colour pearls for myself. There were six strands all slightly different colours and mixes of colour, Five looked pretty good against my skin while the sixth exploded with fabulousness.
Since you want a go-to strand then you need to find just that colour or combination of colours which is totally fabulous on you.
Now one way to do that is to find a low end strand of drops which will not cost much (go for colour mix and lustre over perfect surface to keep the costs down even more) and wear that and see which colour or colours really attract you and look great on you. Get a real sampler strand.

 

[katbran]

All of those strands are beautiful but I think the top one that appears to be more multi-coloured might be the more versatile as far as the colours go...
As you said you might want ovals ( drops / drips are nice as well) You might ask them to find you a similar strand in colour but with the shape you prefer. Ovals/ drop and drips are all nice as they can be casual as well as dressy.

 

[Lily1895]

Hi everyone,

I've picked a strand! In a journey that can only be best described like this:


I finally picked a large baroque silver bodied strand with green overtones. I loved the size, the colours and I'm hoping the imperfections won't bother me too much and my initial gut feeling of 'wow' was enough of a guidance . I now just need to find a matching pair of earrings and I was hoping to impinge again on the good advice and taste of everyone on the forum

Because the of the colour variation in the strand, they've picked out three options. What does everyone think? I'm partial to what looks like a cherry in the middle and the peacock at the bottom but I'm thinking the green at the top has the best lustre and is the best match?