Looking for the very best Akoya pearls I can purchase online, practically once in a lifetime type of pearls...

[Mayacamus]

Hello,

I wish to purchase a double strand of the gemmie gem gem akoya strand, 9.5mm-10mm. I dont live near a Mikimoto. I have purchased from Pearl Paradise Madama pearls, and they are really nice, but I am looking for once in a lifetime, practically royal, type pearls...but online.

Could the PS'ers provide some help and experience?

Thank you,
Halee

 

[yssie]

Hello,

I wish to purchase a double strand of the gemmie gem gem akoya strand, 9.5mm-10mm. I dont live near a Mikimoto. I have purchased from Pearl Paradise Madama pearls, and they are really nice, but I am looking for once in a lifetime, practically royal, type pearls...but online.

Could the PS'ers provide some help and experience?

Thank you,
Halee

Madama are grey. Are you looking for grey/blue akoya or white?

If you want white pearls - noone but Mikimoto could get the quantity of the quality you seem to be asking after. You don't need to buy in-person from Mikimoto, you can call any boutique and they will ship to you. A Reserve 9.5-10 double strand would need to be made to order, anyway, and would take some time. It's (most likely) not something the boutiques would have readily available.

This venture will run you multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars. You can use JR Dunn to check Mikimoto retail pricing for things Mikimoto doesn't list online - they're good about updating their site. A single 18" strand of this size and quality is $121600 USD before tax.

 

[Mayacamus]

HI,
I am looking for a white strand.

Are there any other options?

Thank you
Halee

 

[athenaworth]

Oh this will be fun to shop vicariously!

 

[Crystal_Dreams]

If you are wanting gemmy gem gem/once in a lifetime akoya, your best bet is mikimoto reserve as Yssie has suggested. Others MIGHT be able to supply beautiful akoya, but the kind of matching and size you’re after would be near impossible to find elsewhere… so if you’re after the absolute best of the best hands down, you have your answer!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Some of us recently also acquired PEPCA pearls and I believe there are akoya strands graded by them. I feel like an akoya pepca supearl strand would hold its own against miki reserve and certainly be once in a lifetime

 

[Mayacamus]

What is PEPCA? I am unfamiliar...

Thank you so much!

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Pearls Jewellery on Instagram: "9-9.5mm Supearl akoya pearl necklace #supearl #granpearl #akoya #akoyapearl #necklace #necklaceshop #southseapearls #gem #gemstonejewelry"

6 likes, 0 comments - takaramonobrMarch 5, 2022 on : "9-9.5mm Supearl akoya pearl necklace #supearl #granpearl #akoya #akoyapearl #necklace #necklaceshop #southseapearls #gem #gemstonejewelry"

www.instagram.com

If that strand is still available I think it’d be amazing. Not a double strand but still

 

[yssie]

What characteristics are/aren't you comfortable compromising on?
- What's your budget?
- Would you be okay with a single strand rather than a double? Double strand is more difficult than simply putting two single strands side-by-side - they've got to match body and overtone.
- What's the minimum size requirement?

 

[Mayacamus]

Great questions:
$20,000 per strand ($40-50K total)
Yes, I could do one EXCEPTIONAL strand
Minimum size would be 9mm

 

[MakingTheGrade]

What is PEPCA? I am unfamiliar...

Thank you so much!

I posted some info on this thread.
I bought a single WSS supearl from Takahashi which was the only one they had this year that made the cut. And it is magical.

Takahashi south sea pearl board!

Have you guys seen Takahashi’s second IG page where they recently posted their South Sea pearl board? Most are WSS, but there’s a few gorgeous GSS pearls too. They said that these SS pearls are some of their finest and I am just DROOLING….. I hope someone from PS gets some and post them! I’m...

www.pricescope.com

 

[yssie]

Great questions:
$20,000 per strand ($40-50K total)
Yes, I could do one EXCEPTIONAL strand
Minimum size would be 9mm

Price (of individual pearls and match premium) increases exponentially with size. Example - look what dropping from 9.5mm to 9mm does for cost:


But I’ll be honest, I don’t think it’s possible to get a superbly-matched double strand of top quality akoya for 50k USD, even at 9mm.

The way Mikimoto works is… They don’t have their own farms. They have contracts with a huge number of suppliers. Like Takahashi. Mikimoto doesn’t reveal who those suppliers are, of course, and the suppliers themselves are limited in what they can say. The point here is that Mikimoto gets first pick of the best of the best from all of those suppliers - the odds of someone else having enough top quality pearls left to make two large-size matched strands are low. And if they do have enough the match premium will be substantial.

One Supearl strand is likely your best bet. I haven’t seen Supearl akoya so I personally can’t judge how they compare against Mikimoto’s. I haven’t seen a Supearl WSS strand either, but I can say that individual Supearl WSS like MakingTheGrade’s are world class. So extrapolating from that.


Edit: For clarity - please note that I’m *not* saying Takahashi supplies Mikimoto. Just that Mikimoto contracts with suppliers like Takahashi. I would assume they probably do but I’ve never asked that question, I know it would be very rude and they probably couldn’t answer anyway!

 

[Mayacamus]

Thank you all!
The information is invaluable and helps me to craft my expectations.
Sounds like 8.5 -9mm, single strand, and Supearl is the way to go.

Be well,
Maya

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Thank you all!
The information is invaluable and helps me to craft my expectations.
Sounds like 8.5 -9mm, single strand, and Supearl is the way to go.

Be well,
Maya

If you find and buy one I hope you’ll come back and post photos and let us know what you think!

 

[Mayacamus]

Will do!

 

[yssie]

At 8.5mm a double strand should definitely be doable in budget if you’re willing to wait. And don’t want a branded piece. 8.5mm pearls are much less rare than 9mm+.

Edit: If resale value is important at all - terms like Hanadama and Supearl are recognized only by a tiny community of pearl aficionados - they have no #RealWorld pull outside maybe East Asia. Definitely not in the US or Western Europe. Mikimoto, on the other hand, is a world-renown brand. Definitely worth doing some pricing comparisons and weighing initial outlay against any future resale considerations, even if brand isn’t important to you at this time. My *guess* is the difference in price between Supearl and Mikimoto swings in favour of the former, especially if you want just the single strand.

 

[Mayacamus]

Ok. I think I will need to do some field study to figure out exactly what I want. I go to Las Vegas in June and I can visit a few places there.
Thank you again

 

[Mayacamus]

Is there anyone who has seen both a Supearl akoya strand and a Mikimoto Reserve strand and can describe the comparison?
Thank you