philstersf
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2012
- Messages
- 1
Hi Everyone - This is my first post, I have been spending the past few hours reading up on pearls and stumbled upon this forum. Thanks to everyone in advanced for their experience and input.
I am in the market for some pearls - My initial thought was to buy Mikimotos but after reading many many articles it seems that is not the right way to go since I'll be paying for the brand more than the pearls. I would like to get something that is basically top of food chain in terms of quality and she can hand down to our daughters in the future. I set a budget of 5K but there is some flexibility with this number.
My current thinking:
- Type of Pearl: Akoya (This seems to be the classic pearl, with the best chance of getting a heirloom strand to hand down, luster is the highest, i also like the pinkish overtones) or South Sea (I love the color of these as well but have not read as much on them as the Akoya).
- Quality - Highest quality (is that AAA?) - is there something like GIA for pearls? the price ranges seem so wide between dealers
- Shape: perfectly round
- Length - 18 inches
- Size: For the Akoya it seems like 7.5mm is a sweet spot but for the South Sea pearls it looks like 10mm
After i hone in on what I'm looking for, I need to find a place to buy them from:
Who are reputable dealers - Seems to recommend Pearl Paradise as a reputable dealer? Others?
Last thing, on the quality front - regarding the Hanadama certification lab in japan I read some other forums that mentioned this type of certification is not reliable.
Thanks again for your help.
I am in the market for some pearls - My initial thought was to buy Mikimotos but after reading many many articles it seems that is not the right way to go since I'll be paying for the brand more than the pearls. I would like to get something that is basically top of food chain in terms of quality and she can hand down to our daughters in the future. I set a budget of 5K but there is some flexibility with this number.
My current thinking:
- Type of Pearl: Akoya (This seems to be the classic pearl, with the best chance of getting a heirloom strand to hand down, luster is the highest, i also like the pinkish overtones) or South Sea (I love the color of these as well but have not read as much on them as the Akoya).
- Quality - Highest quality (is that AAA?) - is there something like GIA for pearls? the price ranges seem so wide between dealers
- Shape: perfectly round
- Length - 18 inches
- Size: For the Akoya it seems like 7.5mm is a sweet spot but for the South Sea pearls it looks like 10mm
After i hone in on what I'm looking for, I need to find a place to buy them from:
Who are reputable dealers - Seems to recommend Pearl Paradise as a reputable dealer? Others?
Last thing, on the quality front - regarding the Hanadama certification lab in japan I read some other forums that mentioned this type of certification is not reliable.
Thanks again for your help.