Opinions, please...

[whitehotblank]

A few months ago I came across this website: http://www.pearlsfiji.com/jewelry.html that specializes in Tahitian pearls of intense colour from a single (I think? maybe 2?) farms. I tracked down their one US rep and got some photos and prices from her. I ended up not buying anything because they were very pricey - I'm not saying they werent worth it (I really wouldnt know, I'm not an expert) but there was no way of seeing them irl and the photos were not enough to go on. I also didnt know anyone in Washington State who could stop by and eyeball them for me.

Here is a photo of them all together plus individual photos of the pearls I was considering. This month's pearl budget is [robably going to go on one of these OR a necklace from Kojima pearl and I'm having trouble making the decision. Does anyone have any comments or knowledge of these pearls? Is there anything besides their colour that makes them so pricey? I AM willing to pay for a beautiful pearl, but I just feel like I lack a lot of knowledge here and that's making me nervous. Also, I don't know if the rep will want to deal with me again because I was totally annoying with my questions and then didn't even purchase. Gah.

Pics:






I have more photos but I cant figure out how to upload them - I have them on my desktop but am getting some message about Photo Viewer not recognizing the format (which is jpeg so wtf? i dont know). I'd like to upload the photo of all 7 of the pearls together. Damn my idiocy!

 

[LGK]

Hmm. They look like good quality pearls but it's so hard to tell lustre from pics and that's a big part of it. My gut says "overpriced" but you know, I tend to purchase in the mid to lower end, so I honestly don't have a lot of experience with super-duper-awesome quality pearls to know if they're reasonable. I mean, I know lustre, roundness, lack of blemishes and size all can make pearls very pricey very quickly but it 's so hard to tell from pictures if these really are totally perfect in all those categories. Maybe if they are, the prices are within reason. But, I think if I were buying for myself, I'd accept a few small blemishes and a bit of off-roundness to get a better price. I love great lustre, and awesome color, and will pay for it, but a few blemishes and not quite roundness is OK with me. What do you think?

Honestly I think maybe I'd pass- these may have to be seen in person to decide on, and they are pretty expensive to take a guess on.

 

[iLander]

I'm with LGK, they seem a bit steep. What is their return policy?

The question is, will you get thousands of dollars worth of pleasure from a single pearl? I looked at singles for a while on the internet, then tried one on in a store and didn't like the look at all. Seemed kind of uninteresting, compared to an entire strand.

Some people, though, really like to have the ultimate. But is this the ultimate? There are Mikimoto goldens and tahitians that IMHO are even nicer (search golden or tahitian on their site, or you won't see them all) than these. But they are even pricier. The plus side is that they are already set in beautiful mountings. What are you going to do with your single pearl? Will you be paying for a setting on top of the price of the pearl?

It depends on what you like. They are gorgeous, each of them amazing. They are perfectly round, the color is excellent, and they are blemish-free, all of which adds to the value of a pearl.

But worth the money? We really need HHPMom to weigh in on that.

Worth the money TO YOU? Only you know the answer to that.

Did you check with Jose at Tahitianpearl.biz? Did he have anything?

But I really did enjoy looking at them! Thanks for the eye candy!

 

[HHPmom]

Hi there,

They are Fijian pearls, Justin Hunter's site. These are not Tahitian pearls, which are grown in French Polynesia. Fiji is part of Melanesia, slightly more than half way between FP and Australia.

It is hard judging the luster from these pictures. If they actually look like what I see on my screen, that is not exactly top-notch luster, albeit they are very nice pearls. I don't think the luster is sharp enough (based on the pictures). But I want to emphasize that IRL the luster could be better, you can't tell for sure from the pix. The first two are not that much different from Tahitian pearl colors. The 3rd may be a little unusual in color, making it more unique. It would be rare to see Tahitian pearls with that color. It's like you can't get that special rainbow effect of Cortez pearls from other pearl types. The 4th is similar to gold SS. IMO, none of those colors are that much different from Tahitian pearls that you can get for less.

Can she send them to you for inspection with a hold on your credit card? If not, do check the return policy. It's tough to make a decision for that much money based on some pictures. Besides, only you can decide whether one of them is worth it taking into factors the size of your wallet, luster, color, roundness, etc.



Myself, I don't think I'd pay $2 or $3K for one pearl. Their production is small too, a factor of higher prices compared to other pearls. I think Fiji pearls tend to have those coral, orange, yellow family colors due to the mantle they use or something like that, from the other forum. I can't recall exactly whether it's the mantle or the oyster type that gave those colors. I think the info could be on pearlsfiji's site too.

But sometimes seeing pearls in person makes a big difference compared to purchasing on the internet. You know the right one when it winks at you.
When I was on Oahu, I took some pictures of Margo's pearls. I forgot the exact prices for these and my husband can't remember either. But I know one of them is approx $1200, and one other is over $2K, but they were huge, 13mm+.

 

[whitehotblank]

Thanks for the comments. The general opinion here seems to be: too pricey without a personal viewing, and I reluctantly but sensibly agree. Lustre and colour are more important to me than perfect roundness, so I would definitely be willing to go for a not-round pearl if the colour/lustre was right. These pearls struck me because, especially on the website, some of them seem very unique in colour - unlike any I've seen before. There were some very crazy orange coloured pearls that were beautiful. I do appreciate the comments, again, I can be an impulse-then-regret-it buyer, and definitely need to be talked down at times. It would be silly to purchase such expensive pearls without seeing them in person.

I am moving through my jewelry and pearl obsession (the pearl obsession is relatively new - about a year) and have moved from making many small purchases to thinking more along the lines of fewer, but pricier/finer purchases. I love pearls as objects. A very colourful and shiny pearl just makes me happy, in a way I can't really put into words (I'm sure you all know the feeling well). I want to have a piece made, probably a necklace, using some of the unique single pearls I have collected. I like the idea of a necklace featuring 5-6 spectacular single pearls, possibly in a cascade down one side (asymmetrical) or a vertical multiple drop at the end (sorry, I don't know the correct words here, I hope you understand what I mean). I've been thinking that maybe I will put my monthly pearl budget towards collecting these single beauties and then, at the end of a year (ish), have something beautiful and special made, also hopefully including one or more of my gemstones. I love that idea. Depending on how many pearls I have, and what kinds, I would also like to have earrings and a bracelet made, not necessarily matching. Part of me is interested in the idea of throwing a ton of different types together, too. A Pelosi strand on steroids and acid.

HHPMom - oops, you are right re: Fijian pearls. I think someone else has told me that and my brain just went back into "from the South Pacific? Saltwater? Not South Sea? = Tahitian!" mode. I appreciate the comment on pricing probably also being at least somewhat related to the fact that this is a small operation with limited supplies. Who is Margo? You are all on a first name basis with these people and I'm not! Love the pearls you posted. You are a Tahitian freak IIRC, right? Even if you are not, the pearls you have posted on this board, that I have seen, are very stunning - I envy your collection in a borderline painful way. Never allow me to find out where you live.

OK...aaaand... some more delicious eye candies for you all! Here are the Sea of Cortez pearls from PP, photos sent today. I don't yet have prices or sizes from them, but should tomorrow. My favourites are first, third and last two:




Thoughts? Poetry?

 

[HHPmom]

Who is Margo? You are all on a first name basis with these people and I'm not!

OK...aaaand... some more delicious eye candies for you all! Here are the Sea of Cortez pearls from PP, photos sent today. I don't yet have prices or sizes from them, but should tomorrow. My favourites are first, third and last two:




Thoughts? Poetry?

In a hurry! Margo Tahitian Pearls, sister company of Tahiti Pearl Market (operation on Bora Bora and Tahiti)
http://margotahitianpearl.com/

Cortez pearls: ooh la la, so hard to pick one. I like the last 4 on the right side. Having a hard time choosing? I am sure Jeremy can send them to you to drool IRL.

Thanks for your compliments! Gotta go now.

 

[HHPmom]

Sorry, it was too early in the morning and too late last night. I should have said "Margo Tahitian Pearls" instead of "Margo's pearls" last night. Tahiti Pearl Market has stores in Bora Bora and Tahiti. They have about 7 farms. I know there is one in Fakarava. You can google TPM and find what I have written and pictures I posted.

 

[that_someone_special]

ok just want to say that I agree.. insane prices... but those PP ones are get all of them

 

[HHPmom]

These pearls struck me because, especially on the website, some of them seem very unique in colour - unlike any I've seen before. There were some very crazy orange coloured pearls that were beautiful. I do appreciate the comments, again, I can be an impulse-then-regret-it buyer, and definitely need to be talked down at times. It would be silly to purchase such expensive pearls without seeing them in person.

Like I said previously but I want to emphasize again, none of the pearls you showed have that crazy orange. That's why I mentioned they don't seem to be different from Tahitian pearls, at least the ones she showed you. Your last picture looks like gold to me, not orange. Granted some of the picture he has on his website or posted in another forum have orange, coral shades.

 

[iLander]

OOOOH, love those Sea of Cortez from PP

I never get the feeling the can do all this custom stuff from their website, they should make that more clear.

Please let us know how much they are when they tell you the prices.

 

[whitehotblank]

I will post prices when I get them, probably early this evening.

HHPmom, I want to explain soemthing. I have been waxing drooly about the orange pearls in this thread, but when I asked for the photos I asked that any pearls that were orange-brown be left out - this was months ago and at the time I thought the orange ones would have too much brown in them. I don't know if I'm correct but I've gotten bolder in my pearl tastes since then and decided the orange ones were the most unique. Duh, me.

I clicked the link to Margo's pearl site - it's under construction but there are some photos there that just aren't fair. Am I totally naive to assume people don't colour enhace pearls on their websites? I wondered if the J.Hunter site had done that. I hope they (all of them) don't, because that just leaves me coveting things that don't actually exist. Margo's site also seems to idnicate that you can construct strands by choosing the individual pearls to make it up. I've always wanted to do that. I suspect it isn't cheap tho. Sigh.

 

[HHPmom]

I will post prices when I get them, probably early this evening.

HHPmom, I want to explain soemthing. I have been waxing drooly about the orange pearls in this thread, but when I asked for the photos I asked that any pearls that were orange-brown be left out - this was months ago and at the time I thought the orange ones would have too much brown in them. I don't know if I'm correct but I've gotten bolder in my pearl tastes since then and decided the orange ones were the most unique. Duh, me.

I clicked the link to Margo's pearl site - it's under construction but there are some photos there that just aren't fair. Am I totally naive to assume people don't colour enhace pearls on their websites? I wondered if the J.Hunter site had done that. I hope they (all of them) don't, because that just leaves me coveting things that don't actually exist. Margo's site also seems to idnicate that you can construct strands by choosing the individual pearls to make it up. I've always wanted to do that. I suspect it isn't cheap tho. Sigh.

blackpearlcompany is TPM's storeFront.The colors there are more accurate. Prices seem higher there than the actual B&M store. They also have a wholesale store in Los Angeles in the jewelry district. I don't have a license so I couldn't visit.

Margo's site has been under construction for a few months now. tahitipearlmarket.com is only about the pearls, farms, news, locations, etc. , no e-commerce.

I know that you can call Margo or TPM's Hawaii phone #. They can take request and send pix to you. Both stores on Oahu share the same phone number. They have lots of strands at the TPM location when I was there in June. I've read on tahiti-explorer and tripadvisor that they have lots of loose pearls in the store. There are boxes of loose pearls in both stores in Hawaii (the island of Oahu). If you are in any of their stores in FP or Hawaii, you can pick loose pearls to make pendants, earrings, necklaces, etc. or purchase ready-made items.

 

[HHPmom]

They have what I would call average luster pearls that are comparable to the luster of online vendors' AAA (similar to the luster of the Fiji pearl's pictures). Drop shape pearls 9-10mm with that luster is $37 each. But the extremely, mirror sharp ones (any shapes), they charge a higher price, more like a gem grade.

 

[whitehotblank]

OK, I got the pricing from PP. I'll repost the photos here:




Pearl #1 9.6x11.0mm $200

Pearl #3 10.0x11.9mm $340 (slight single blemish on one side mentioned by PP but I cant see it in the photos)

Pearl #5 10.5x11.7mm $340

Pearl #6 10.4x11.6mm $410 Gem+

I've decided to go with #3 and #6. What do you all think? I am also considering #4 as a match for #3 in case I want to do earrings or something (do you think #1 would be OK? i like the colours of #1 better than #4). #6 I just love and must have. The green band on #3 did for that one.

Thoughts? Are these prices reasonable? Any ideas on what to do with that beauty #6?

EDIT: Damnit! #5 is calling me, too! Please help me decide.

 

[Fly Girl]

I don't know if these earrings are still available, but they are in the silver blue baroque that might be a nice match to the pearl on the far right (Pearl #6).

http://vintage-sparkleantiquejewelry.com/products/product_details.php?ProdID=233

 

[Fly Girl]

OK, I got the pricing from PP. I'll repost the photos here:




Pearl #1 9.6x11.0mm $200

Pearl #3 10.0x11.9mm $340 (slight single blemish on one side mentioned by PP but I cant see it in the photos)

Pearl #5 10.5x11.7mm $340

Pearl #6 10.4x11.6mm $410 Gem+

I've decided to go with #3 and #6. What do you all think? I am also considering #4 as a match for #3 in case I want to do earrings or something (do you think #1 would be OK? i like the colours of #1 better than #4). #6 I just love and must have. The green band on #3 did for that one.

Thoughts? Are these prices reasonable? Any ideas on what to do with that beauty #6?

EDIT: Damnit! #5 is calling me, too! Please help me decide.

Of the PP Sea of Cortez pearls, I like #3 best (but I love the funky circles and the pear shape), and I'm wondering with the right caps if #1 and #4 might not make a nice pair.

 

[HHPmom]

OK, I got the pricing from PP. I'll repost the photos here:




Pearl #1 9.6x11.0mm $200

Pearl #3 10.0x11.9mm $340 (slight single blemish on one side mentioned by PP but I cant see it in the photos)

Pearl #5 10.5x11.7mm $340

Pearl #6 10.4x11.6mm $410 Gem+

I've decided to go with #3 and #6. What do you all think? I am also considering #4 as a match for #3 in case I want to do earrings or something (do you think #1 would be OK? i like the colours of #1 better than #4). #6 I just love and must have. The green band on #3 did for that one.

Thoughts? Are these prices reasonable? Any ideas on what to do with that beauty #6?

EDIT: Damnit! #5 is calling me, too! Please help me decide.

I like 3, 5 and 6 the best. # 3 for shape, color and smooth surface/skin, #5 for the crazy rainbow effect, # 6 for rare blue color.

The earring pair from vintagesparkle may go with #6. Although I prefer white gold with cooler colored pearls.

I don't think any of them can be paired for earrings. Although I know for baroque shape pearls you cannot achieve matching like round pearls, they must be close in size and shape. #1 is too rounded at the top to pair with #4 (more pointy). Besides the ring from #1 is too deep compared to #4. Just my $.02.

 

[iLander]

My FAVE is the blue #6. I think HHPmom is right, white gold would be TDF with that one!

I think 3 and 5 would be okay as earrings, not great, but okay. I'm not a big things must match person, so that's my opinion. If they were earrings, it would certainly point out that they have unique personalities.

If budget is an issue, or you want to put together a unique strand over a long period of time, I'd go for 6. I don't know how rare the colors/shapes of 3 and 5 are in Cortez land, though.

 

[HHPmom]

Well, which one did you pick?

 

[whitehotblank]

I picked #3 and #6. #3 has a blemish the photos don't show, and PP sent me a photo, and they wouldn't budge on price so I just paid the price listed above. I'm not unhappy about this - I love both pearls. Now, what to do with them? Add them to my collection of loose pearls that I stare at a lot but have yet to, you know, actually MAKE SOMETHING WEARABLE out of?

Btw, did anyone else here contact PP about these pearls? Apparently they had someone who wanted all 6. So I snapped up my 2 quickly. That gorgeous #5 is still available. I might get it next month if they still have it.

 

[Fly Girl]

Gorgeous choices, WHB. Those two are my favorites. I took my Sea of Cortez into my jeweler to make a pendant, but it will be interesting to see what you decide to do with these two beauties.

May I make a suggestion? Maybe you can post pictures of your pearl collection, and we can help with jewelry ideas. More pearl eye-candy and the chance to tell other people what to do...what could be better?

 

[whitehotblank]

Flygirl, I am going to do that. First of all I need to get a camera (any tips on inexpensive cameras that could take decent jewelry photos gratefully accepted) but I do plan on starting that thread. You guys have much better ideas than me. In fact I have an idea for a pendant necklace right now that I may make a thread about...