Help! Surely someone makes/can make this pendant for less than $920

[discobanana]

Hi everyone!

I'm hoping that some of you can send some of your pearl magic my way in my quest to find a pendant similar to one that Mikimoto makes (photo attached). It's an 8mm A+ akoya pearl with a sleeve/tube/rivet inserted in the hole of the pearl, and the 1.5mm (-ish) 18kt gold chain slides freely through it. I saw it last year and again this year at the Japan pavilion in Epcot at Walt Disney World, and I'm just obsessed with it. What I'm not obsessed with is the $920 price tag, the A+ grade of the pearl, and the obvious price premium for a brand name that I don't particularly place a lot of importance on.

Last year I reached out to both Pearl Paradise and Pearls of Joy asking them if they could make me a pendant like this and both of them flat out said no, absolutely not. I was told it could be done with a SSP, but not an akoya pearl. Well, I don't want a SSP--I want a super lustrous akoya pearl. I know that there are styles available with a freshwater or tahitian pearl that has a chain strung right through the pearl, but there's no tube inside the pearl itself (I feel like this makes the entire thing look cleaner and sleeker) and again, it's not the kind of pearl I want. Is this really such an impossible job? I'm not averse to spending a good chunk of money on this if I can get the look that I want, but surely I could at least get an AAA pearl in that size range for the same price.

Please let me know of any vendors that might be able to help me with this. I so appreciate your time and thoughts!

 

[baby monster]

Did PP give you a reason why they couldn't do it with akoya? Is it because the hole needs to be much bigger than for strands?

 

[Siameseroo]

Perhaps there is a durability issue with akoya given that the nacre is super thin.

I'm sure if you purchased the pearl drilled (with a wide enough hole) a good jeweller could custom make that necklace for you.

 

[NacreLover]

I haven't seen this style on small pearls before. It must have something to do with the nacre thickness and perhaps the rate of failure creating this with a akoya

 

[ennui]

I think the problem is the tube. Otherwise, it's similar to the "add a pearl" necklaces.
I've seen golden South Sea pearls that were nicely finished.

 

[pearlsngems]

Perhaps there are copyright issues as well.

 

[discobanana]

Hey, everyone! Thank you so much for your replies. When I had reached out to PP and PoJ I wasn't given a reason as to why they could not make this style of pendant. Perhaps it is due to issues with the smaller size of the pearl and/or nacre thickness. I can't imagine that copyright would be an issue as this is a relatively common style of necklace using other types of pearls (I've seen SSP and tahitians in this same style), but maybe there's something tricky there as well.

Any suggestions on where I could purchase a single high quality akoya pearl with a larger drill hole? I may try the custom route.

Thanks again for your thoughts!

 

[kalmen22]

For OP, saw this on loupetroop. You might be interested.
https://loupetroop.com/listings/necklaces-and-pendants/golden-south-sea-pearl-necklace

 

[ennui]

Ross Simons flash sale:
http://www.ross-simons.com/products/848332.html

 

[pregcurious]

Great suggestions Kalmen and Ennui!

 

[PearlMajor]

Are you still looking for this style of necklace? I can help!! I have one exactly like this, 18k white gold chain through a round pearl with plate on both sides. I'll take a better picture tomorrow to show more details.

 

[PearlMajor]

By the way, you asked some pearl selling companies, they said they can't make it and did not give a clear answer, I think it's because this is difficult to make, it requires a lot of skill, more complicated than usual styles.

 

[katbran]

It's not hard to make with regular pearls. I'm sure the issue must be, as Nacrelover suggested, the thin nacre on the Acoya pearl. You need to drill out a large hole .. say 1.2 and you insert, and glue, in each end a little bit of 2mm long tube( an example as you can buy these in all different sizes) with one end slightly flattened. Bit like a grommet. The nacre might be prone to chipping on an Akoya when a larger hold is drilled. idk as I've only ever done this with Tahitians and SS and Edison.

 

[PearlMajor]

Katbran, what you said is reasonable, the Akoya pearl has a very very thin nacre, after enlarge the both sides holes, not much nacre left. Remember a big core is implanted to the Akoya oyster when people make the cultured Akoya pearl. I have freshwater pearl in this style, perfectly round good lust, AAA grade, with decent 18k gold in white very shiny chain, and with certificate!

 

[PearlMajor]

 

[kacias]

Hi everyone!

I'm hoping that some of you can send some of your pearl magic my way in my quest to find a pendant similar to one that Mikimoto makes (photo attached). It's an 8mm A+ akoya pearl with a sleeve/tube/rivet inserted in the hole of the pearl, and the 1.5mm (-ish) 18kt gold chain slides freely through it. I saw it last year and again this year at the Japan pavilion in Epcot at Walt Disney World, and I'm just obsessed with it. What I'm not obsessed with is the $920 price tag, the A+ grade of the pearl, and the obvious price premium for a brand name that I don't particularly place a lot of importance on.

Last year I reached out to both Pearl Paradise and Pearls of Joy asking them if they could make me a pendant like this and both of them flat out said no, absolutely not. I was told it could be done with a SSP, but not an akoya pearl. Well, I don't want a SSP--I want a super lustrous akoya pearl. I know that there are styles available with a freshwater or tahitian pearl that has a chain strung right through the pearl, but there's no tube inside the pearl itself (I feel like this makes the entire thing look cleaner and sleeker) and again, it's not the kind of pearl I want. Is this really such an impossible job? I'm not averse to spending a good chunk of money on this if I can get the look that I want, but surely I could at least get an AAA pearl in that size range for the same price.

Please let me know of any vendors that might be able to help me with this. I so appreciate your time and thoughts!

I just saw this style at the instagram.
love.pearlnstone
Or type #akoya for search!