Other brands for Akoya besides Mikimoto, Tasaki and Takahashi

[Alybird]

@Alybird here's my thread on decisions, etc. Last page has IRL pics of rhe strand I bought.

comparison of high luster strands. What's your favorite?

They are gorgeous on you. Congratulations!!!

www.pricescope.com

Oh my goodness, gorgeous!

Okay. Definitely on my list now. I was admiring their 95-100 point Teri strands. Thanks for giving me the confidence to reach out and also ask about their options that are not listed on the website.

I'm also similar to you in what I'm looking for. Top luster and contrast but slightly more lax with surface blemishes because this will be more of a daily strand.

Off to study your thread now, haha.

 

[Alybird]

@Alybird I also spoke to GeneralPearl some months ago (about potentially purchasing a granpearl strand) - I decided not to purchase, but I found them to be really honest, articulate, and helpful! They were very forthright about quality differences between the three strands they shortlisted for me, and they sent me quite a few comparison photos. I would definitely have been comfortable buying from them!

Only reason I decided not to purchase was to hold out for a supearl strand - I knew that if one ever shows up I'll regret having blown the budget.

I appreciate your input so much! They sound solid. I was somewhat worried because the website is in Japanese but I feel settled now to go this route.

I can't wait to see your Supearl strand when it comes around. It will be heavenly. And I totally agree with your spending philosophy. Better to be totally clear on what you want than to compromise for what is available right now.

 

[love_pearls]

Thread 'Advice picking <$500 white pearl studs with akoya options from pearl paradise'
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...ith-akoya-options-from-pearl-paradise.279400/

I just found out that when the OP asked about the choice of a pair from PP, a member here directed the OP to Takahashi, and I felt weird.

But when it comes to Takahashi's, no one would direct the OP to another company.

 

[pearlsngems]

Coincidental.
There was a time a few years back when some people thought PP was being recommended too often. Threads about PP were being deleted.
BTW I've bought a lot of stuff from PP but nothing from Takahashi.

 

[love_pearls]

Coincidental.
There was a time a few years back when some people thought PP was being recommended too often. Threads about PP were being deleted.
BTW I've bought a lot of stuff from PP but nothing from Takahashi.

I will try to discover more companies that are based in Japan and offer Akoya since many said that big brands got mark up.

I thought that by discovering more companies, it creates competition and as customers, we have more choices.

If Takahashi is what others say it is, it will stand the test of time under strong competition.

 

[yssie]

Edit: Right. At this point I’m just feeding the troll, so… Ignore list.

 

[love_pearls]

Takahashi is over a hundred years old

That's why you don't need to worry.

I see people panicking.

Ancient Rome lasted more than 100 years.

 

[NY_Resonant]

I will try to discover more companies that are based in Japan and offer Akoya since many said that big brands got mark up.

I thought that by discovering more companies, it creates competition and as customers, we have more choices.

If Takahashi is what others say it is, it will stand the test of time under strong competition.

I’ve personally posted about two other Japanese vendors that are not Takahashi.

If you can find more, buy a sample pearl or two from them and compare to other vendors to opine about their relative quality and price from your own investigations — that would be a worthwhile addition to the forum.

 

[love_pearls]

I’ve personally posted about two other Japanese vendors that are not Takahashi.

If you can find more, buy a sample pearl or two from them and compare to other vendors to opine about their relative quality and price from your own investigations — that would be a worthwhile addition to the forum.

I understand how well-loved Takahashi is in this forum and how helpful yy or Kan are but so are most of the Japanese people.

Thank you for the suggestion but please post your long well-written 'advertorials' in your own thread.

I would suggest setting up a new thread that is dedicated to the company Takahashi for the Takahashi enthusiasts.

This thread is of course for people to get to know other pearl companies other than Mikimoto, Tasaki and Takahashi.

I do not wish there's only one single brand or company dominating 80% of the thread.

Thank you for your cooperation!

 

[fussykiki]

I will try to discover more companies that are based in Japan and offer Akoya since many said that big brands got mark up.

I thought that by discovering more companies, it creates competition and as customers, we have more choices.

If Takahashi is what others say it is, it will stand the test of time under strong competition.

There is a Japanese shop called Ohara Pearl that I follow at IG. Never bought from them but they seem to have good stuff. You can check that out.

 

[love_pearls]

There is a Japanese shop called Ohara Pearl that I follow at IG. Never bought from them but they seem to have good stuff. You can check that out.

Thank you so much for adding another pearl company to this thread.

I will go to the jewellery show in Hong Kong at the end of this month but I doubt that there will be a lot of akoya strands to choose from because akoya pearls are harvested in winter and it takes about 6 months to be in the market. Lots of pearls were sold out during the last jewellery show in HK.

I am trying to look for class two upper quality to make a double strand long necklace.

Next year, there will be more price increases I think.

 

[fussykiki]

Thank you so much for adding another pearl company to this thread.

I will go to the jewellery show in Hong Kong at the end of this month but I doubt that there will be a lot of akoya strands to choose from because akoya pearls are harvested in winter and it takes about 6 months to be in the market. Lots of pearls were sold out during the last jewellery show in HK.

I am trying to look for class two upper quality to make a double strand long necklace.

Next year, there will be more price increases I think.

I have ever been to the shows in Hong Kong, too crowded, may make wrong decision. There is a Hong Kong supplier that I bought from previously, they have good sources of pearls.

J Ocean Pearl Jewellery Ltd 偉利珍珠

J Ocean Pearl Jewellery Ltd 偉利珍珠， 香港. 120,690 個讚好 · 72 人正在談論這個. 偉利珍珠有限公司在香港從事珍珠批發業務, 創辦人Jackie梁生， 1995年入行至今，在珍珠業界已超過二十多年經驗. Registration No B類註冊號碼：B-B-24-01-04269

www.facebook.com

 

[love_pearls]

I have ever been to the shows in Hong Kong, too crowded, may make wrong decision. There is a Hong Kong supplier that I bought from previously, they have good sources of pearls.

J Ocean Pearl Jewellery Ltd 偉利珍珠

J Ocean Pearl Jewellery Ltd 偉利珍珠， 香港. 120,690 個讚好 · 72 人正在談論這個. 偉利珍珠有限公司在香港從事珍珠批發業務, 創辦人Jackie梁生， 1995年入行至今，在珍珠業界已超過二十多年經驗. Registration No B類註冊號碼：B-B-24-01-04269

www.facebook.com

The reason of going is that I don't need to travel around HK to visit different companies. I can do that at the same time at the show.

I would like to look at their pearls in person and compare them with Mikimoto strand and see whether they have those equal to Mikimoto premium.

I don't think I would purchase anything this time.
Maybe a pair of earrings at most.

 

[love_pearls]

I have ever been to the shows in Hong Kong, too crowded, may make wrong decision. There is a Hong Kong supplier that I bought from previously, they have good sources of pearls.

J Ocean Pearl Jewellery Ltd 偉利珍珠

J Ocean Pearl Jewellery Ltd 偉利珍珠， 香港. 120,690 個讚好 · 72 人正在談論這個. 偉利珍珠有限公司在香港從事珍珠批發業務, 創辦人Jackie梁生， 1995年入行至今，在珍珠業界已超過二十多年經驗. Registration No B類註冊號碼：B-B-24-01-04269

www.facebook.com

Just visited J Ocean Pearl's instagram.

It looks like some other active members here got their pearls from this company.

I guess I can count on them for making the long necklace. I will compare the price first.

Thanks.

 

[fussykiki]

Just visited J Ocean Pearl's instagram.

It looks like some other active members here got their pearls from this company.

I guess I can count on them for making the long necklace. I will compare the price first.

Thanks.

Oh, I didn't know other active members here purchased from the before. The shop is referred to me by a friend who is not a member here.

 

[love_pearls]

Oh, I didn't know other active members here purchased from the before. The shop is referred to me by a friend who is not a member here.

Probably this company kept hidden for some years now in this forum or some members are just too shy.

They seem to have wide range of pearls.

I will check out their counter at the show.

 

[LLJsmom]

I understand how well-loved Takahashi is in this forum and how helpful yy or Kan are but so are most of the Japanese people.

Thank you for the suggestion but please post your long well-written 'advertorials' in your own thread.

I would suggest setting up a new thread that is dedicated to the company Takahashi for the Takahashi enthusiasts.

This thread is of course for people to get to know other pearl companies other than Mikimoto, Tasaki and Takahashi.

I do not wish there's only one single brand or company dominating 80% of the thread.

Thank you for your cooperation!

Have you considered the possibility that there aren’t that many members of this forum that live in Japan and have visited a ton of different pearl suppliers to provide a lot of in-depth analysis of their offerings? If you feel like options are lacking and information insufficient, you should go for it and do the vetting and analysis for the pearl enthusiasts here. If you look through the past threads that discuss Takahashi, you will see tons of examples, pictures, discussions about their pearls. The more information a potential customer has about a vendor, the more they feel comfortable with buying. If you want people to be talking about and considering other brands bring on pics and analysis and discussion. I am sure the pearl enthusiasts here are willing to dig into the details.

 

[Pearlescence]

Plus a lot of the companies at trade gem shows will be...trade. Wholesalers who are not interested in exhaustive queries from retail customers wanting a single strand or pair. They sell by lot - bags of loose pearls or bunches of 20 strands.
Nevertheless a curated list of wholesalers willing to make the effort to engage with retail customers would no doubt be helpful

 

[michellechan2211]

Hopping in to say that I have purchased from Pearl Falco when they were at the SIJE, back before the pandemic (I have also purchased from a few vendors from such fairs, although I am not a return customer) and have had good experiences with them, although its important to note that my purchases from them are smaller.

I have also purchased from Takahashi, and I thought that their offerings are lovely, their pricing very fair and more importantly, that they are very honest about what is advertised. As such, I have made bigger purchases from Takahashi (which tends to be the ones I tend to post, anyway).

I think its important to note that not everyone will post about all their smaller jewellery purchases, but as an addendum to requests for info about certain vendors. As such, a request might attract customers that have purchased previously, but have not made standalone threads.

 

[love_pearls]

Plus a lot of the companies at trade gem shows will be...trade. Wholesalers who are not interested in exhaustive queries from retail customers wanting a single strand or pair. They sell by lot - bags of loose pearls or bunches of 20 strands.
Nevertheless a curated list of wholesalers willing to make the effort to engage with retail customers would no doubt be helpful

This is my speculation.
Even when wholesalers are willing to sell to retail customers, they might not have the best items for them because they have some kind of agreement with other companies who buy lots or bags of pearls from them. It's because they don't want one off customers, they want returned customers to keep their business going. If say an unknown customer approaching them, they will of course sell you some pearls but I bet they won't show you the best item that they have because the best has been reserved for their better known clients.

Therefore, pearl retail buyers keep purchasing hoping to find the best pearls with reasonable price and in the end, the price they pay for their quest for the best pearl strand could easily add up to the retail price of a strand from the best known brand out there. It's because during their quest, they keep buying because they are not satisfied with their items at hand knowing that it's not AAA or not equal to AAA of a big brand.

That's why retail buyers save a lot by going straight to big brand because once you are satisfied with what you have, you are less likely to keep wanting more and keep buying.

This is my speculation because I know something about art galleries. This is how they sell arts, they want you to buy the not so 'Wow' piece before they show you the masterpiece from the modern artist.

For pearls, I suspect it's the same.

That's why for people who want grand pearls or surpearls, be prepared to spend a lot on the less fulfilling pearls before they show you the 'wow' pearls. And in the end, tell me how much in total you have paid in order to get that grand pearls or Surpearls. And add that all up, does it equal to the same amount of a strand in a big brand?
Yes, you have a few more strands you can argue but you have a few strands that you might not be happy with. That's what I am saying.

 

[Pearlescence]

Yes. Speculation. And completely incorrect.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Haha I do own a supearl, and all my pearls combined from that vendor (all of which make me happy given the diversity in colors, sizes, and styles) still cost less than a miki AAA strand in anything over 8mm. Not to mention I wouldn’t be happy with one white strand. It’s not how I enjoy jewelry, I’m an options and novelty person.

I also own other pearls, mostly colorful Tahitians from CMW pearls that I love wearing. And I can’t imagine any of us are associated or work for any of these companies, it’s just a small forum so referrals get popular. It’s not different than David Klass’ popularity or CvB in the jewelry forums.

I have no issues if folks prefer branded pieces. I personally do not, and so it leaves more wholesale options for me. Win win. I don’t view my jewelry as investments to resell, and if nobody figures out how to sell my pearls once I’m gone for what they’re worth (which is fine, my jewelry is not at all a significant portion of my estate, my family will inherit plenty lol) then I like to think some sweet pearl lovers who might not otherwise afford them will find them at the thrift shops for a steal and treasure them. I’m good with that. I’ll be dead,I’m not worried about resale value

 

[NY_Resonant]

This is my speculation.
Even when wholesalers are willing to sell to retail customers, they might not have the best items for them because they have some kind of agreement with other companies who buy lots or bags of pearls from them. It's because they don't want one off customers, they want returned customers to keep their business going. If say an unknown customer approaching them, they will of course sell you some pearls but I bet they won't show you the best item that they have because the best has been reserved for their better known clients.

Therefore, pearl retail buyers keep purchasing hoping to find the best pearls with reasonable price and in the end, the price they pay for their quest for the best pearl strand could easily add up to the retail price of a strand from the best known brand out there. It's because during their quest, they keep buying because they are not satisfied with their items at hand knowing that it's not AAA or not equal to AAA of a big brand.

That's why retail buyers save a lot by going straight to big brand because once you are satisfied with what you have, you are less likely to keep wanting more and keep buying.

This is my speculation because I know something about art galleries. This is how they sell arts, they want you to buy the not so 'Wow' piece before they show you the masterpiece from the modern artist.

For pearls, I suspect it's the same.

That's why for people who want grand pearls or surpearls, be prepared to spend a lot on the less fulfilling pearls before they show you the 'wow' pearls. And in the end, tell me how much in total you have paid in order to get that grand pearls or Surpearls. And add that all up, does it equal to the same amount of a strand in a big brand?
Yes, you have a few more strands you can argue but you have a few strands that you might not be happy with. That's what I am saying.

Why speculate so much? Talk to some vendors directly and share actual facts versus going on random fantasy discussions.

A few minutes reaching out to vendors like General Pearl and Takahashi would show you they are willing to sell you a GranPearl for X dollars right now.

They aren’t Hermes, forcing you to buy Y dollars before they will even show you a handbag.

In fact, General Pearl shows a deposit form on its website where you can even pre-order a Granpearl if they don’t have one in stock (I believe they may currently according to another member’s recent post).

 

[love_pearls]

Why speculate so much? Talk to some vendors directly and share actual facts versus going on random fantasy discussions.

A few minutes reaching out to vendors like General Pearl and Takahashi would show you they are willing to sell you a GranPearl for X dollars right now.

They aren’t Hermes, forcing you to buy Y dollars before they will even show you a handbag.

In fact, General Pearl shows a deposit form on its website where you can even pre-order a Granpearl if they don’t have one in stock (I believe they may currently according to another member’s recent post).

Maybe I haven't stalked the posts in this forum.

I haven't seen someone's full strand of grandpearls or surpearls and compare theirs side by side with a miki strand.

I have only come across a singleton grandpearl in WSS I think.

 

[love_pearls]

Haha I do own a supearl, and all my pearls combined from that vendor (all of which make me happy given the diversity in colors, sizes, and styles) still cost less than a miki AAA strand in anything over 8mm. Not to mention I wouldn’t be happy with one white strand. It’s not how I enjoy jewelry, I’m an options and novelty person.

I also own other pearls, mostly colorful Tahitians from CMW pearls that I love wearing. And I can’t imagine any of us are associated or work for any of these companies, it’s just a small forum so referrals get popular. It’s not different than David Klass’ popularity or CvB in the jewelry forums.

I have no issues if folks prefer branded pieces. I personally do not, and so it leaves more wholesale options for me. Win win. I don’t view my jewelry as investments to resell, and if nobody figures out how to sell my pearls once I’m gone for what they’re worth (which is fine, my jewelry is not at all a significant portion of my estate, my family will inherit plenty lol) then I like to think some sweet pearl lovers who might not otherwise afford them will find them at the thrift shops for a steal and treasure them. I’m good with that. I’ll be dead,I’m not worried about resale value

I have come across a forum that's more balanced and full of topics about vintage pearls as well as modern pearls.

Pearls are never good investment because with time, they become different than when you first bought them. However, there are still plenty of people out there asking about whether their strand is from so and so brand. Unfortunately, the information is not always available to solve their doubts because very little information is shared in the old days about jewellery because of the lack of social media.

I am curious to know more about the information because there are lots of talks about how people come across a strand in non branded vendors that surpass or as good as a strand in a branded company. However, people never show their strands.

 

[Pearlescence]

Best not to engage

 

[yssie]

Best not to engage

Yup. Logic and fact do not move the needle in discussions like this. Wish PS had more emoji responses to posts though!

 

[Pearlescence]

Wholesalers and retailers are not going to hang on to top quality in some convoluted secret society way. That's silly. There's a lot of money they have tied up. They want them sold .
But in case you didn't catch them on my insta, two gran pearl tahitian strands and a 20mm perfectly round, flawless and pistachio silver which has a great luster (can you see the colour of my phone case and my hands hold it (trying not to shake). Wowsers
The point is that these were owned by wholesalers, who shared them freely with we retailers (and other tahitian wholesalers and farmers) because they wanted them sold.
What they didn't want was to have to ship these pearls around the world at vast expense (they would be over £200k retail) only for someone to return them. That is not what wholesalers do.
The whole pearl market is small. We all know each other and who to go to get what.

 

[LHethrington]

Here is my round akoya necklace: 6.2-9.0mm, white gold clasp with diamonds. I got them for a song from a local consignment shop. They were needing a bath and restringing, hence the very low cost. The luster is dreamy. Look at the nacre thickness! Older akoyas often had thicker nacre than modern akoyas.
It requires a bit of serendipity, but one can sometimes do well at such shops. Being able to do one's own stringing is very helpful.

Personally I would have a hard time spending a lot of money on pricey round akoyas; even with the better ones, nacre is so thin compared to that of Tahitians and SSP.
I got my baroque akoyas from Pearl Paradise. Baroques cost much less than round pearls and have such wonderful iridescence!

they are lovely!!

 

[LHethrington]

Wholesalers and retailers are not going to hang on to top quality in some convoluted secret society way. That's silly. There's a lot of money they have tied up. They want them sold .
But in case you didn't catch them on my insta, two gran pearl tahitian strands and a 20mm perfectly round, flawless and pistachio silver which has a great luster (can you see the colour of my phone case and my hands hold it (trying not to shake). Wowsers
The point is that these were owned by wholesalers, who shared them freely with we retailers (and other tahitian wholesalers and farmers) because they wanted them sold.
What they didn't want was to have to ship these pearls around the world at vast expense (they would be over £200k retail) only for someone to return them. That is not what wholesalers do.
The whole pearl market is small. We all know each other and who to go to get what.

beautiful pearls - WOW!