Otherworldy Akoya

[amoline]

So, I'm partaking as a photographer in a very cool photo project that involves pearls.

I unfortunately don't think I'll be able to share final photos for some time due to a contractual obligation, but I am more than allowed to share the truly special Akoya pearls that will be used...

I'll take more and better photos with my actual camera for some comparisons with other pearls just to show how truly out of this world they are. But in the meantime... I wanted to share some otherworldly pearls with PriceScope friends.

The strand is 8.0-8.5mm and the pearls that will end up as earrings are 8.5-9.0mm. I'm finding difficulty taking photos that do them justice.

The pictures have not been altered/photoshopped other than color correction.

I hope you all enjoy the pearl eye candy.

(Oh, and just to clarify, I'm not making any money off the jewelry part of these photos, so that's why I can share before the photos happen and wanted to make sure I stay clear of the "trade" line)






And, check out the unbelievable luster close up. I always do the "How many fingers" test - where I see if I can tell how many fingers I'm holding up in the reflective luster of the pearl. If I can tell, I know it's a great pearl. I've never been able to tell this well before, though... Wow. The orient is in another universe, too. They truly look like small, floating, glowing soap bubbles.

 

[MMtwo]

There are no words. Those are exquisite! Thank you for sharing the pictures.

 

[missy]

With pearls like these I could be a pearl girl.



Thanks for sharing @amoline !

 

[AV_]

I could never get the reflective/translucent look of nacre into a picture without a little transmitted light, but my samples were quite different - small & without nuclei. It is obvious that these are fantastic with no such tricks.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Simply beautiful. Are these called metallic?. My akoyas don't look like that.

Annette

 

[amoline]

Hi,

Simply beautiful. Are these called metallic?. My akoyas don't look like that.

Annette

I think you might be thinking of metallic freshwater pearls which are very pretty, but these are "regular" Akoya - just at the very top gem grade quality, not many of them around.

 

[AV_]

P. radiata
Nacre is subtly different for each type of pearl, true enough.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

holy molly
those pearls

ps enjoy your project

 

[GeliL]

Those pearls are amazing! Love how it looks kind of pink!

 

[sarahb]

Simply stunning, thank you for sharing!

 

[MrsBlue]

Remarkable. Is it safe for them to be sitting on the bare granite like that? I don't know anything about pearls but seeing them like that makes me a bit nervous.

 

[amoline]

It was just very quickly for the photo! Pearls are soft relatively, but they are still pretty tough. They get shaken, sorted through holes, polished and tumbled, etc. before they all get to any of us!

 

[MrsBlue]

It was just very quickly for the photo! Pearls are soft relatively, but they are still pretty tough. They get shaken, sorted through holes, polished and tumbled, etc. before they all get to any of us!

Interesting! Thank you for the education and the lovely photos.

 

[Bron357]

Yep, I now LOVE pearls.
That luster is simply astonishing.

 

[GliderPoss]

HOLY MOLY these are probably the most beautiful pearls I've EVER seen...!!!

@BlingObsession check these out baby. #lifegoals

 

[RunningwithScissors]

Swoon! Those are gorgeous!

 

[Mcgregor]

OMG! The luster on these pearls is incredible! I love them!

 

[hypermom]

I’d love to own those pearls!

 

[kikoko]

OMG!!!! Really gorgeous luster...

 

[mochiko42]

wow, that lustre!! Are those hanadama grade?

 

[amoline]

wow, that lustre!! Are those hanadama grade?

These would be considered "top gem," probably. They would certainly qualify as Hanadama, but would be at the very top end of Hanadama (since Hanadama is, indeed, a range) - more expensive and difficult to find normally I'd imagine.

 

[AV_]

I do not think there is a formal name for such quality, you would have to be stubborn & willing to pay. It takes a narrow range of nacre platelet thickness to have this look & not the one typical for the shell.

________________
rambling: I had a scoop of 1-2 mm radiata pearls (among many others; the size was useful for some work) - several hundred of essentially perfect pearls (at that size, the usual oarameters if shape & skin are the usual), with only one golden pearl looking this bright.

 

[amoline]

I do not think there is a formal name for such quality, you would have to be stubborn & willing to pay. It takes a narrow range of nacre platelet thickness to have this look & not the one typical for the shell.

________________
rambling: I had a scoop of 1-2 mm radiata pearls (among many others; the size was useful for some work) - several hundred of essentially perfect pearls (at that size, the usual oarameters if shape & skin are the usual), with only one golden pearl looking this bright.

You are most certainly correct - thanks for explaining this

I have some Hanadama pearls around - I can probably post a quick comparison photo if I get the chance.

 

[amoline]

I am a little hesitant to post this because I don't want it construed as me saying Hanadama pearls are "bad" -- they aren't.

However, for educational purposes, I'll put some photos here. Here is a comparison with the strand from the first post and a strand of 8.5-9.0mm (the original strand is slightly smaller at 8.0-8.5mm) Hanadama pearls from a trusted vendor. I won't name the vendor because this isn't really a "versus" comparison, but rather just to give people a reference.

Make no mistake - the Hanadama pearls are still very rare and beautiful, but with these comparison photos it does go to show that the pearls I had the pleasure to share in my OP are without a doubt something special. - Similar to what @AV_ says, I can't imagine that a huge amount of these above and beyond type strands exist.

The Hanadama pearls are significantly whiter as opposed to a slightly pink tone of the other pearls, so don't pay so much attention to the color as just the luster and skin.

 

[cmd2014]

This is close to the difference I noticed too between a Hanadama strand I purchased from a well known vendor and my AAA strand from American Pearl (who claims to match the Mikimoto grading scale).

 

[AV_]

Neither is 'chalk' - although both are...

 

[meely]

They are absolutely amazing, they look like polished metal not pearls. Just so beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

 

[amoline]

Perhaps even more telling, just for reference here is a comparison next to a Mikimoto AAA earring pearl -- and as we all know earring pearls are generally a higher grade than can be found in strands. Crazy stuff

 

[yssie]

These are absolutely spectacular

Why not get them papered by PSL?
Surely they’d merit the coveted “ten nyo” grade, if submitted for that report?
I’d personally be very curious about both nacre depth and aurora viewer profile.

 

[yssie]

The hanadama strand in that comparison looks to me to be on the lower end of the hanadama quality scale. Would you say this is true @amoline? My hanadama earrings and two strands - whilst not as otherworldly as these akoyas! - both photograph with much more life.