ISO silver/grey FW pearl necklace

[Kay]

I am looking for a strand of round, silvery grey FW pearls to wear both alone and mixed with my Akoyas, which are 7x7.5 mm. I love the grey strand Skippy bought for her mom; they looked so great paired with the white pearls in her neck shot.

I am not finding much in the way of round grey FW pearls. I would love opinions on the 2 options I found, as well as any other recomendations.

Option 1: The Pearl Outlet, Gray Freshwater Pearl Necklace, 8-8.5mm AAA 18" for $290. (Or 9.5-10.5 mm for $450.) This strand is color treated, which concerns me.

 

[Kay]

Option 2: American Pearl, 10 to 11.5mm Silver Choker, AAA, round FW, natural color, 16" for $585. I would probably pay for 2" more. I have purchased Akoyas and Tahitians from AP and been very pleased. I wish these looked a little more silvery, but it is so hard to tell online.

 

[cushioncutnut]

I am drawn to both of them for different reasons. The color seems off on the AP strand but I love the size of the pearls. Can they send you pics of it in other lighting conditions? I do like the color of the strand from TPO, however, I am like you... I like pearls in as much as there natural state as possible... so I would prefer not dyed.

 

[tag singer]

Hi Kay,

Do you mind if I ask a question or two about the strand from American Pearl?

1. Is this the necklace that you would receive? If so,

2. Is "AAA" American Pearl''s highest grade (as it is with the majority of reputable online pearl vendors) or do they sell AAAA, AAAAA, etc? If you look closely, many of these pearls are not round, and the strand is nowhere near the round, AAA grade sold by vendors like TPO, PP, FF, Premium, etc.

3. By "natural color" is American Pearl asserting that these grey freshwater pearls have not been dyed or color treated in any way? Interesting, indeed.

Not trying to rain on your parade - just want to make sure you make an educated purchase, and, most importantly, receive a strand that lives up to its billing.

 

[Kay]

Date: 5/7/2010 5:00:59 PM
Author: tag singer
Hi Kay,

Do you mind if I ask a question or two about the strand from American Pearl?

1. Is this the necklace that you would receive? If so,

2. Is ''AAA'' American Pearl''s highest grade (as it is with the majority of reputable online pearl vendors) or do they sell AAAA, AAAAA, etc? If you look closely, many of these pearls are not round, and the strand is nowhere near the round, AAA grade sold by vendors like TPO, PP, FF, Premium, etc.

3. By ''natural color'' is American Pearl asserting that these grey freshwater pearls have not been dyed or color treated in any way? Interesting, indeed.

Not trying to rain on your parade - just want to make sure you make an educated purchase, and, most importantly, receive a strand that lives up to its billing.

I don''t mind questions at all. I''ll answer to the best of my ability.

1. I''m not sure. I think they use stock photos.

2. AAA is their highest letter grade for Akoyas. I assume it is for FWs too. I have AAA Akoyas from AP that are perfectly round, clean and very lustrous. I noticed that the grey FW are not perfectly round. I am not that familiar with FW pearls and thought maybe perfectly round is not avaialble or very rare in FW. I guessed the AAA for FW referred to the lack of blemishes and high luster more so than shape, but I could be wrong.

3. AP''s website actually does not say anything about color treatment for these grey pearls. Other colors (chocolate and cranberry) are clearly marked as color treated, so I believe it is their policies to disclose any treatment.

http://www.americanpearl.com/10to11sich.html

 

[HHPmom]

I am sure some posters here receive good service and nice merchandise from AP. I have not purchased anything from them. Based on my knowledge, there is no natural color gray FW. I have not seen one in person nor any online places selling gray which are not enhanced. FW comes in mostly pastel shades such as peach, pink, lavender, green, white, cream, pondslime shade; adding metallic and intensity to the listed colors which make them darker or lighter.

AP uses stock photo for tahitians. The tahitian necklaces'' photos seem very generic. There was an incident a few years back that was posted on the other forum. Poster lives in Asia and bought a peacock drop strand. The necklace she received is hardly peacock at all. Colors were very pale and luster was not as gorgeous in real life as photo. She posted pictures of what she received. Actual product was not the one pictured. She never came back to post whether she returned or kept it.

Good luck to you whatever you decide.

 

[Indylady]

The Pearl Outlet''s strand definitely seems to be rounder.

 

[Kay]

Date: 5/7/2010 6:57:13 PM
Author: HHPmom
I am sure some posters here receive good service and nice merchandise from AP. I have not purchased anything from them. Based on my knowledge, there is no natural color gray FW. I have not seen one in person nor any online places selling gray which are not enhanced. FW comes in mostly pastel shades such as peach, pink, lavender, green, white, cream, pondslime shade; adding metallic and intensity to the listed colors which make them darker or lighter.

AP uses stock photo for tahitians. The tahitian necklaces'' photos seem very generic. There was an incident a few years back that was posted on the other forum. Poster lives in Asia and bought a peacock drop strand. The necklace she received is hardly peacock at all. Colors were very pale and luster was not as gorgeous in real life as photo. She posted pictures of what she received. Actual product was not the one pictured. She never came back to post whether she returned or kept it.

Good luck to you whatever you decide.

I didn''t know there aren''t natural gray FW. I guess I thought that color was more "natural" than pink or lavender. I love silvery Tahitians, but can''t afford them right now. I''m just learning about FW pearls.

Hmmm, if they are all color enhanced, I guess I might as well try the ones from Pearl Outlet. I don''t care for the 12% restocking fee though. The ones Skippy got were beautiful, but I remember another poster being unhappy with gray pearls from PO.

 

[that_someone_special]

Hi Kay!

I want to offer some slightly different advice. I also was looking at those same gray ones a few months back. I never ordered a strand, but one of my first strands was a black enhanced FW strand from TPO. While I really like them, I can definitely say enhanced pearls do not shine like natural colored ones do. In the natural colors you just get a different vibe in them... and honestly I feel better when I am wearing them!

Now, I''m not sure how set on true gray you are, or if you are only wanting round, but something you could consider are the natural color akoyas in silver blue. They (TPO and PP) are pretty much out of the true obvious blues so I am sure you might be able to grab a more silvery strand. If this is something that sounds interesting to you, I''ll provide some links for you.

Now if you don''t want to spend as much they have baroque strands that are also gorgeous PP offers them for $360 and $460 depending on the size. LINK They have 14% off until sunday or monday morning.

TPO also has a strand LINK It''s $465

If these options don''t seem very appealing to you, honestly, TPO has their gray strands up at LEAST every other month and if you save the direct link to the sale page you will still be able to buy them if they change the monthly deals.

PP also had a $1600 round strand (seen in the first link) but they are out of it right now. They might get more in.. not sure.. People buy and return things all of the time.

Anyway, I just wanted to help if I could, I hope I wasn''t out of line. If I think of anything else I will let you know.

 

[that_someone_special]

OH and ps. again I don''t know how you feel about baroque pearls but I have a tahitian silvery strand that is just GORGEOUS that was about $300 with discount.

Here is a link to a $640 strand through FF (but she also gives a PS discount of twenty-five percent usually) Which would make it $480 before shippng (usually about $12)

LINK

Here is another medium gray that has overtones of a bit more color $322 after discount LINK


A bunch more to look at: LINK

 

[Kaori Oku]

I really like freshwater pearl too but don''t like the ones with the fake color. Both the pearl outlet and american pearl necklaces are dyed colors. That color is not a natural freshwater pearl.

For the grading, when I look at american pearl, every one of the freshwater pieces all say AAA but they are never round and look like a low quality. I don''t think they grade their pearls like PP, TPO or MWP. I think they just say it is AAA. Even on the Tahitian pieces I was looking at before I chose my strand from someone else. The grade always says flawless but I can see some spots.

From the two necklace, my favorite is the TPO because it looks like such a better quality but I also agree with Swedish Bean that the natural color like Tahitian is so much better. I think the color and luster must be better.

This one from PP is like the freshwater but natural color.

 

[cushioncutnut]

Everyone has such great points! I am going to add to it if you don''t mind. I am one who is on a budget and would love to splurge on a more expensive strand of tahitians so we are in the same boat. That said, I would skip Freshwaters all together... (they seem rather expensive for dyed freshies) and get yourself a lovely baroque strand of the akoya silver/blue pearls or the silvery baroque tahitians. Just like Swedishbean and many others..... I have both and I absolutely love them. They are in the pricepoint that you want to stay in and they are more of what I consider upscale from Freshwater. Just love how exotic they look along with the natural colors/overtones. I would talk to Elana at FF or someone at PP and have them find a lovely strand for you in your budget. They both did that for me and they hand selected a few strands and took pictures for me to view based on what I told them I wanted. That way you don''t have to worry about buying and sending them back if it is not what you are looking for. With the discount Elana gives, she is really quick to respond to emails... she may even have something in stock that is not on the website............. so I would check her out first. Also, did you see the silver blue akoya baroques that is in the last link that Swedish posted?? Gorgeous!!

 

[LGK]

Yeah, that American Pearl one has *got* to be dyed and FW pearls can definitely be much, much rounder than that (see: Freshadamas sold by Pearl Paradise- they''re very, very, very round).

I''ve never seen a natural grey FW strand. The closest I''ve run across is greyish lavender. Which is fairly grey IRL, but definitely has a purple tinge.

I''m not a huge fan of dyed FWs unless they''re really cheap and basically just costume... about $30 is the most I''d pay for dyed, just because I don''t find them to be nearly as neat as natural colors... it''s something about the dye that kills the variation in the pearls and they just look a bit off somehow. I''d prefer to get a silver baroque Tahitian strand for that kind of $$. Or if you don''t mind some blemishes and want to spend a bit more, a round strand. Future Fashionista tends to have some pretty affordable (and gorgeous) Tahitian strands in silvery colors.

 

[tag singer]

Date: 5/7/2010 6:03:51 PM
Author: Kay

Date: 5/7/2010 5:00:59 PM
Author: tag singer
Hi Kay,

Do you mind if I ask a question or two about the strand from American Pearl?

1. Is this the necklace that you would receive? If so,

2. Is ''AAA'' American Pearl''s highest grade (as it is with the majority of reputable online pearl vendors) or do they sell AAAA, AAAAA, etc? If you look closely, many of these pearls are not round, and the strand is nowhere near the round, AAA grade sold by vendors like TPO, PP, FF, Premium, etc.

3. By ''natural color'' is American Pearl asserting that these grey freshwater pearls have not been dyed or color treated in any way? Interesting, indeed.

Not trying to rain on your parade - just want to make sure you make an educated purchase, and, most importantly, receive a strand that lives up to its billing.

I don''t mind questions at all. I''ll answer to the best of my ability.

1. I''m not sure. I think they use stock photos.

2. AAA is their highest letter grade for Akoyas. I assume it is for FWs too. I have AAA Akoyas from AP that are perfectly round, clean and very lustrous. I noticed that the grey FW are not perfectly round. I am not that familiar with FW pearls and thought maybe perfectly round is not avaialble or very rare in FW. I guessed the AAA for FW referred to the lack of blemishes and high luster more so than shape, but I could be wrong.

3. AP''s website actually does not say anything about color treatment for these grey pearls. Other colors (chocolate and cranberry) are clearly marked as color treated, so I believe it is their policies to disclose any treatment.

http://www.americanpearl.com/10to11sich.html

1. American Pearl does indeed use stock photos, and does not disclose this fact on its website. If you choose to purchase from AP, be sure to ask for detailed photos of the specific strand that you will receive.

2. Freshwater pearls are held to the same grading standard as Akoyas with regard to shape, blemishing, and lustre. The "AAA" strand pictured above clearly is not AAA. Not even close. An oversight?

3. The description of your necklace is silent on the color treatment issue, but the grey 10 X 11mm double strand pictured next to it makes the claim of "natural colored." An absolute falsehood. And an *effective* falsehood, given your understandable apprehension about dyed pearls and automatic assumption that AP''s were somehow more "natural" than TPO''s.

Again, I don''t want to be a Debbie Downer, but AP has a reputation for deceptive pracrtices for a reason. Doesn''t mean you can''t get a decent strand from them, but you''re wise to arm yourself with a good pearl education.

 

[collectingmore]

Date: 5/7/2010 4:11:27 PM
Author:Kay
I am looking for a strand of round, silvery grey FW pearls to wear both alone and mixed with my Akoyas, which are 7x7.5 mm. I love the grey strand Skippy bought for her mom; they looked so great paired with the white pearls in her neck shot.


I am not finding much in the way of round grey FW pearls. I would love opinions on the 2 options I found, as well as any other recomendations.


Option 1: The Pearl Outlet, Gray Freshwater Pearl Necklace, 8-8.5mm AAA 18' for $290. (Or 9.5-10.5 mm for $450.) This strand is color treated, which concerns me.

I have purchased from AP and WOULD NOT recommend them at all. the strand I got looked nothing like the photos.

I had ordered a gray freshwater strand from PTO for my mom. They are very nice. I sent them back because she decided she wanted white instead.

I second the idea of the PP silvery-blue baroque akoyas. I have two strands of them and they are lovely.

Re gray freshwater pearls, everyone is right that they are all dyed. It is not a natural color (although you do see some random gray metallic ones popping up here and there).

The color treatments on freshwater pearls, if done right, are permanent and should last forever. Dyed pearls (if done right) can have fabulous luster and don't look flat.

Attached is a pic comparing my dyed freshwater pearls to my gray south sea and gray tahitians. the luster is mirror on all three.

 

[Kaori Oku]

I found a gray freshwater that is probably like the quality of the American Pearl necklace but it''s a lot more cheaper. I never buy from this one because I always think that the price is high especially for the lower quality freshwater pearls it''s like buy from eBay. But this one I think is cheap.

this one

 

[elle_chris]

If you''re ok with dyed, I''d get them both and decide which one I wanted, then return the other.

 

[that_someone_special]

Kay did you ever decide on one?

 

[gardengloves]

Kay, what did you decide?

I have to say my first major pearl purchase were south seas AAA from AP and they are gorgeous, everything they said and more. I ordered online but since I work near AP I went over, met Eddie, saw my strand and was thrilled with the whole thing. While there I saw tons of Tahitian strands, but out of my price range, but gorgeous.

I got my silvery greys from FF, and get tons of compliments and love them them- they are silvery and grey and smooth and just beautiful. The silver greys are very special= I hope all works out for you.