Help with akoya decision

[MLiu]

Please help me choose. I'm new to this forum and I've been reading up trying to decipher so many nuances with pearls. I'm really torn between the three strands pictured. The teri, color, and scratch rating is a little different for all three. I'm trying to get some advice on which strand would be a better choice overall. Thank you!

 

[pearlsngems]

I like the luster, color and overall appearance of the smallest one the best against your skin.
I like the one with green undertones the least on your skin.

 

[MLiu]

I like the luster, color and overall appearance of the smallest one the best against your skin.
I like the one with green undertones the least on your skin.

Thank you for your reply. These photos are from the vendor so not on my own skin. I am wondering how they will translate onto my skin tone. Do you dislike the one with more green in general or just compared to the smaller one?

 

[pearlsngems]

I find it less interesting in general, maybe because the overtones are so matched. It might look good on someone with reddish skin tones.

 

[MLiu]

I find it less interesting in general, maybe because the overtones are so matched. It might look good on someone with reddish skin tones.

I see. Thank you so much for that. My skintone is pretty neutral not overly yellow or pink somewhat peach in tone but fair. I'm just not sure if the more pink strand will show up heavily pink against my skintone or if it will look white. I guess that's one of my concerns.

 

[pearlsngems]

I don't know if this photo will help. From left to right, a white SSP strand, a baroque akoya strand (pinked, as almost all akoyas are) and a metallic white FWP strand against my wrist. The pinked stand looks white against my skin, though not as white as the SSP.
Akoyas don't generally look pink. I suppose a particular strand could look rosier than other strands.

I'd ask the vendor if they seem more pink than other akoyas.

 

[MLiu]

I don't know if this photo will help. From left to right, a white SSP strand, a baroque akoya strand (pinked, as almost all akoyas are) and a metallic white FWP strand against my wrist. The pinked stand looks white against my skin, though not as white as the SSP.
Akoyas don't generally look pink. I suppose a particular strand could look rosier than other strands.

I'd ask the vendor if they seem more pink than other akoyas.

Of the three on the neck the bottom strand is your favorite, correct? That's the one I'm referring to worrying if it will look more pink than white on the skin. On her skin it seems to be very pink, but it's possible that that just happens to be the reflection in the photo. On pepca scale (1-6 pure white, white, off white, etc) they said the one with the most green is pure white (#1), the other two are considered white (#2) but not pure white. In the attached image the left side is the smallest and bottom strand from the neck picture and the right side is the one with the most green. The middle strand is the tennyo.

 

[pearlsngems]

It does not seem as pink in the other photos, though.
The Tennyo is also very nice, and is a bit larger. Perhaps that is the safer choice?

You are the one who will be wearing it! Which one speaks to you?

 

[MLiu]

It does not seem as pink in the other photos, though.
The Tennyo is also very nice, and is a bit larger. Perhaps that is the safer choice?

You are the one who will be wearing it! Which one speaks to you?

All three they are all pretty much the same price. But I can't get all three. I prefer smaller sizes because I'm pretty small. I love the luster of the bottom strand and it seems to have the most iridescence. I like the top strand because I don't see the green overtones like that much. But from what I've read it seems that that may be less desirable for some reason but I don't know the reason exactly. I love all three. It seems that the bottom strand would be the best option more than likely. Thank you so much for all of your help!

 

[pearlsngems]

The reason akoyas are pinked is just because the market seems to prefer that over the starker white with greenish overtones. There is no better or worse... just that more people seem to prefer the rose tones. It's what sells.

If you prefer the greener overtones, go for it! It is purely a matter of taste.

 

[NY_Resonant]

Personally, I’d remove the green necklace from contention. I’m not a fan of visibly green pearls and think it does not look flattering on many skin tones. That’s my personal taste, anyway.

The 7-7.5mm has better contrast luster than the 7.5-8mm tennyo. It’s also VERY pink. More pink than I’d want in my necklace personally.

The Tennyo appears to have a cleaner surface than the 7-7.5mm. It’s also bigger.

Out of those 3, I’d personally go with the Tennyo.

 

[Cinders]

My eye was instantly drawn to the middle strand in the neck photos. I'm not sure which one that is but I find it very pretty. HTH!

 

[MLiu]

Personally, I’d remove the green necklace from contention. I’m not a fan of visibly green pearls and think it does not look flattering on many skin tones. That’s my personal taste, anyway.

The 7-7.5mm has better contrast luster than the 7.5-8mm tennyo. It’s also VERY pink. More pink than I’d want in my necklace personally.

The Tennyo appears to have a cleaner surface than the 7-7.5mm. It’s also bigger.

Out of those 3, I’d personally go with the Tennyo.

I'm a little concerned about how pink it looks as well. I'm not sure if it would be that pink IRL or not. Interestingly enough on the color scale from the vender both the tennyo and bottom strand are consider to be 2 out of 6 on the color scale which would equal white. The first strand would be considered pure white. The attached photos are the bottom necklace as well. Thank you for the feedback!

 

[MLiu]

My eye was instantly drawn to the middle strand in the neck photos. I'm not sure which one that is but I find it very pretty. HTH!

The middle strand on the neck photo is the tennyo. Thank you for the feedback!

 

[MLiu]

I would like to tag @yssie for feedback as well if possible.

 

[MLiu]

Personally, I’d remove the green necklace from contention. I’m not a fan of visibly green pearls and think it does not look flattering on many skin tones. That’s my personal taste, anyway.

The 7-7.5mm has better contrast luster than the 7.5-8mm tennyo. It’s also VERY pink. More pink than I’d want in my necklace personally.

The Tennyo appears to have a cleaner surface than the 7-7.5mm. It’s also bigger.

Out of those 3, I’d personally go with the Tennyo.

The vendor provided some additional photos. What do you think?

 

[pearlsngems]

It looks like the bottom strand is reflecting something red. The top strand is also reflecting a bit of red.
I wonder what the person taking the photos was wearing?

Does this vendor allow returns?

 

[MLiu]

It looks like the bottom strand is reflecting something red. The top strand is also reflecting a bit of red.
I wonder what the person taking the photos was wearing?

Does this vendor allow returns?

My untrained eye can't tell. The vendor is general pearl. I'm not sure if they allow returns or not but with it being overseas. I'll include some info from the email with the vendor.

 

[yssie]

Just saw this, work is getting in the way of all things fun

So, in talking to this same vendor briefly myself the past week, I've learnt that their descriptive assessments are definitely more fine-grained than their official colour and numeric teri evaluations. They showed me photos of two strands - one slightly-but-visibly more lustrous (contrasty and glossy) than the other. However, both were graded Pure White in colour and 100 in teri. So my personal inclination is to weight their descriptions more heavily.

Of the three, the 7-7.5 is the trade definition of highest quality. It's the most lustrous (in terms of both contrast and gloss), has strongest overtone, is most metallic. However, it's creamier than the tennyo - the tennyo is a cooler pink. Just my opinion - it's either the 7-7.5 or it's eternal FOMO! I couldn't buy either the tennyo or the more greenish strand knowing that they're noticeably lower in luster quality than I could have gotten. I happen to like pinked pearls so the 7-7.5 would be worth it for me, even with the creamier body, but that's me! You always have the option of not buying any of them - having them search for a less strongly pinked strand with luster like this 7-7.5. You might be waiting a while, and you might pay more than you would right now, but it would be one way to ensure that you're getting exactly what you want no compromises.

 

[yssie]

Even pearls that are super strongly pinked don't look *pink*, exactly - they still read white. Tinted white. You know how you go to the paint store and there are four dozen shades of "white"? IMO of the images they sent this one best represents the differences that your eyes would see most of the time IRL, if you had all three strands.

 

[MLiu]

Even pearls that are super strongly pinked don't look *pink*, exactly - they still read white. Tinted white. You know how you go to the paint store and there are four dozen shades of "white"? IMO of the images they sent this one best represents the differences that your eyes would see most of the time IRL, if you had all three strands.

Thank you so much! I reached out to takahashi as well per all of the great things I've seen you say about them but unfortunately they don't have anything in the size I want at the moment. I'm attaching two photos side by side of the hand shots. I'm wondering if the pearls reflecting off one another is making the tones look different. What is your opinion? Do you think the unlisted strand is good enough quality to make the purchase or if it was you would you wait? I prefer smaller sized pearls so I was leaning to the unlisted over the other in terms of size. They do have ine strand smaller but only 85 lustre on their scale, but also way cheaper. I'll include the image of that as well.

 

[yssie]

They do have ine strand smaller but only 85 lustre on their scale, but also way cheaper. I'll include the image of that as well.

Yeah. I'd rule this one out, honestly. It'll look more dull than the 7-7.5 you're considering. I'll always recommend getting the highest quality that one can afford, otherwise IMO there isn't much point in buying at all. Very different from diamonds!! Plenty of reasons to not get a D IF diamond! But with pearls... Quality is assessed visually so every incremental quality improvement is visible, which makes it meaningful to me.

You could ask for a comparison with a Granpearl strand, for another datapoint?

 

[yssie]

I'm wondering if the pearls reflecting off one another is making the tones look different.

It can 100% make a difference, when the differences you're judging are super nuanced. But in this case the differences in colour and luster are "bigger" than what the slight shadowing caused by strand orientation relative to light source can impact, if that makes any sense? That's actually part of why I lean so strongly toward either 7-7.5 or nothing, because orientation of strands relative to light source isn't making a big visual difference across the pics you've shared. But if you're concerned about the pink (which is a fair concern don't get me wrong) maybe buy a pair of studs with similar colour first, see if you like them?

Edit: Check the the photos out on a big screen with high resolution, if you can, not just the phone. Tablet, laptop, external monitor, maybe even your TV!

 

[MLiu]

Yeah. I'd rule this one out, honestly. It'll look more dull than the 7-7.5 you're considering. I'll always recommend getting the highest quality that one can afford, otherwise IMO there isn't much point in buying at all. Very different from diamonds!! Plenty of reasons to not get a D IF diamond! But with pearls... Quality is assessed visually so every incremental quality improvement is visible, which makes it meaningful to me.

You could ask for a comparison with a Granpearl strand, for another datapoint?

I have asked them for so many photos at this point I'm ashamed to continue asking for more . I have looked around and compared neck shots from their other pieces and or seems a lot of the higher lustre strands either have that same pink effect or super silvery. I guess the difference to me is one is very metallic (whiter bodies) and those with more pink look very glowy or ethereal. Both super reflective but in different ways. I think both are beautiful and I want to make sure I'm as educated as I can be in a short time because there seems to be a strong bias towards pink in Japan and I don't want general preference of one versus the other to affect my decision. I know at the end of the day everything is up to preference but I would like to start objectively first and then go to preference to make the final decision. Maybe because I haven't seen strands like this in person I'm more cautious and just want to know as much as I can before committing. I do have a hanadama from pearl paradise and I love it but I also want something a little different so maybe the pinker strand would be the answer to my need for variety.

I also want to be practical though because I'm purchasing for use over time not just quality-as in if it doesn't look good on me I wouldn't wear it and I don't want that to happen. For example I think golden south sea pearls are beautiful but I also know they don't look good against my skin tone (at least not alone) whereas tahitians would look better. So if this were a pendant or something with a design it would be a different story but since it's a solid strand with no other gems or accessories to balance the color if it doesn't look good I want to be a little picky because I want to get use out of it and feel comfortable wearing it.

It's impossible to compare with different grading standards and even if the standards were the same humans unintentionally almost always add personal preferences into the mix. Which is why I wanted to tag you because I've noticed in a lot of your posts you discuss quality first.

I don't want to be convinced or swayed but I do want to be lead in the right direction and I thank you so much for your responses.

I will definitely try to compare the images on a larger screen and see if it changes my mind.

Thank you so much again for all of your help and sorry for the long post I'm just really excited and a little anxious.

 

[Cinders]

The vendor provided some additional photos. What do you think?

Which strands are pictured here?

 

[MLiu]

Which strands are pictured here?

The unlisted 7 to 7.5 mm strand

 

[MLiu]

Yeah. I'd rule this one out, honestly. It'll look more dull than the 7-7.5 you're considering. I'll always recommend getting the highest quality that one can afford, otherwise IMO there isn't much point in buying at all. Very different from diamonds!! Plenty of reasons to not get a D IF diamond! But with pearls... Quality is assessed visually so every incremental quality improvement is visible, which makes it meaningful to me.

You could ask for a comparison with a Granpearl strand, for another datapoint?

I went back and asked them if it would be a possibility to compare I'll let you know what they say.

 

[yssie]

I understand. Pearl grading is so subjective. Especially at the top of the quality range. I was looking at granpearl akoya strands. Even within the granpearl designation - there are visible quality differences. Just like tennyo, how some tennyo are visibly nicer than others... But for some reason I expect visibly-significant quality variance with PSL, much less with PEPCA...

I'm sure they don't mind taking some extra photos for you. They're a retail operation so they're used to dealing with end-consumers, and they'll want their international customers to be happy

 

[Cinders]

The unlisted 7 to 7.5 mm strand

There is one strand in a circle in the middle being compared to one that is more stretched out. Are they both unlisted?

@yssie Do you think the 7-7.5 strand is such a good one that it would be hard to find something similar again? And which strand do you see as being the most pink?

 

[MLiu]

There is one strand in a circle in the middle being compared to one that is more stretched out. Are they both unlisted?

@yssie Do you think the 7-7.5 strand is such a good one that it would be hard to find something similar again? And which strand do you see as being the most pink?

If you're referring to this image the one on top is a 50% lustre just for comparison purposes with the unlisted 7 to 7.5mm