Paspaley opal lavalier

[CMN]

Due to popular demand I am creating a separate thread for my new acquisition.

Its 4.30am here - I just woke up in the middle of the night (and, yes, checked pricescope ) so I will be brief with further details as requested by @yssie to follow. I will also try and take some better photos.

Paspaley regular size, rose gold and opal Lavalier net. Paspaley pearl, 16mm. Purchased yesterday.

 

[yssie]

Due to popular demand I am creating a separate thread for my new acquisition.

Its 4.30am here - I just woke up in the middle of the night (and, yes, checked pricescope )

You say that like it’s abnormal for any of us…

so I will be brief with further details as requested by @yssie to follow. I will also try and take some better photos.

Paspaley regular size, rose gold and opal Lavalier net. Paspaley pearl, 16mm. Purchased yesterday.

16mm. Holy big ball.

How did you choose your pearl? Are you local to a store - did you choose in-person?

 

[yssie]

Hope you don’t mind @CMN - I’m just copying your photos over from the other thread!!





My net is the simplest one! But this, okay, THIS is the glamour Paspaley’s Lavalier line is known for!!!! This is red carpet ready!!

 

[elizat]

That's beautiful! I love the lavalier. In all forms- plain or embellished. The clean sleek metal. The opal is extra, in the best kind of way.

 

[Sprinkles&Stones]

omg omg omg omg omg

more pics!!!!!!
I’m dying with excitement! That’s STUNNING! What kind of pearl?! We need the deets!

 

[Crystal_Dreams]

Please do share more!! The rose gold opal lavalier is my favourite

I was in store just yesterday! My MIL is getting this made, but with a keshi at the bottom (like the WG version) and diamonds on the adjustable part, which is on my ultimate wish list.

You wear this BEAUTIFULLY!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

i love this piece
its trully magical
like its out of a fairy tale and any moment its going to turn into a horse drawn coach and a princess off to her wedding will step out of it

 

[CMN]

Thanks everyone for your enthusiasm, I must say I am finding that it adds to the joy of experiencing a new piece.

I have loved Paspaley for so long, but in particular the Lavalier for its capacity to take on a casual vibe. I do like my jeans and t-shirt but other then my whiteflash solitaire I don’t otherwise wear necklaces with such outfits as I didn’t have anything quite right and costume jewellery is not my thing.

Anyway, despite being in Sydney and working in the CBD, I had never actually been into the Paspaley flagship store - I know the prices…

I have been getting so much wear out of my solitaire pendant (which I got about January this year) that I thought I should look into getting another special piece that could be worn casually. You may or may not have seen from my posts on the Show Me The Bling page that I was interested in the Clash de Cartier necklace. @LLJsmom was so nice to post a picture of her trying on the piece in Cartier for me as Sydney was in lockdown. I loved it on her and was super keen but decided to wait until lockdown ended to be able to try on the piece. Plus, I had never actually been in the Cartier store and thought it was high time I went.

So about two months ago, straight after lockdown ended I hot footed it into Cartier. I really wanted to love the piece but I just didn’t on me.

So I was on the lookout for something but also tossing up whether to get a 5 stone band from Whiteflash. But whiteflash just hasn’t had much stock in the D, 0.3ct size and I have been feeling apprehensive about asking for a special order - I want to be able to pick each stone

Anyway when @yssie posted her Paspaley storey it reminded me of how much I had loved the Lavalier design. I thought it was high time I actually went into the Paspaley store. I was keen for some retail therapy, even if just to browse, after lockdown.

Last week I went into the flagship and tried on the rosegold and white gold standard size Lavalier. That visit was my initial reconnaissance. I loved both. I looked at the other designs but didn’t try any on as I didn’t think I was prepared to pay the higher prices.

Since that visit I looked at the Paspaley website multiple times, their instagram, google photos and @yssie’s videos. I loved the designs with opals and also blue sapphires (the Lavalier Noir Diamond Hero design which I saw in store is out of this world - with a price tag to match). I started to come around to the thought that we’ll if I am spending x I may as well get what I really want.

I wear a fair amount of blue (I love light blue sapphires) but it is so rare to find a nice piece with opals these days so I decided that was the way to go.

Yesterday I went back in and tried on the opal net. It was displayed with I think maybe a 14-15mm pearl but it looked so sad compared to the plain rose gold version that I had tried on last week. I had them check and that ended up being a 16mm pearl. I had them put in the larger circle 16mm pearl into the opal net and it looked so much better - I do love large pearls!

So I was able to choose my pearl. I knew I wanted a circle 16mm (mostly due to the cost factor). To be honest there was only one other to choose from with those parameters but I was able to compare against a round pearl which was 3x the cost. The pearl I chose was the one I had actually tried on from last week. 16mm, although measured as 16.6mm on one axis (can’t remember the other dimension). Fantastic luster, neutral white (no pink) overtone. The other circle pearl had a pink overtone, similar high luster, but was smaller (right on 16mm) when measured with the calliper and was more of a squat shape with more pronounced circle.

 

[CMN]

Please do share more!! The rose gold opal lavalier is my favourite

I was in store just yesterday! My MIL is getting this made, but with a keshi at the bottom (like the WG version) and diamonds on the adjustable part, which is on my ultimate wish list.

You wear this BEAUTIFULLY!

I was in the store yesterday too! They were so busy at around lunch time.

 

[yssie]

The net is SO distracting, honestly, I'm not paying a whit of attention to what's inside. I sort of backed into my net, if I was buying a "Lavalier pendant" I would 100% buy the cheapest pearl I could get in the size I needed! You can't even really see the pearl let alone focus on it! I fgure anything Paspaley sells is going to be beautiful right?

The opals are little changelings. Even between your photos with a different coloured shirt. I see that with my light opals, too - they adapt to whatever colours I'm wearing. It's an odd way to be neutral but it works!

Thank you for the extra photos! It's beautiful. And how crazy - you and @Crystal_Dreams might have overlapped!!

 

[Cinders]

This is so beautiful!! Congratulations on finding such a wonderful piece of meaningful jewelry!

(Oh how I'd LOVE to walk around with an undrilled 16mm pearl---that's my kind of fidget spinner.)

 

[CMN]

Despite it being summer - Sydney is experiencing the La Niña effect. It is so cold and overcast

 

[SparklieBug]

Despite it being summer - Sydney is experiencing the La Niña effect. It is so cold and overcast

Look at the GLOW on those beautiful opals! And the pearl...is dreamy!

I officially have proximity-to-Paspaley envy. Seriously.

ETA: Huge congrats on this gorgeous pearl and it's "net" (like capturing a mermaid!), and I can see this with jeans or a tiara and gown. Great choice!

 

[SparklieBug]

And how crazy - you and @Crystal_Dreams might have overlapped!!

This would make it double proximity-to-Paspaley envy.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Despite it being summer - Sydney is experiencing the La Niña effect. It is so cold and overcast

that looks so lovelly
but dang the La Nina
with all the covid on the news i didnt know we were due that

 

[Ann]

That is an incredible piece! I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes off that - or my hands!!

 

[Bron357]

Thud.

And I’m not even a Pearl lover!
that is absolutely stunning and 1,000 better than the Cartier piece (in my humble opinion).
Im in Sydney, best I do not investigate further the address of that premises or ..l.l.l.l.l.

 

[ittypea]

(Oh how I'd LOVE to walk around with an undrilled 16mm pearl---that's my kind of fidget spinner.)

Haha, I can identify with that so much!!!

 

[Crystal_Dreams]

I was in the store yesterday too! They were so busy at around lunch time.

We were probably there at the same time!! I was there around lunch too to view the keshi they had picked for us!! They were super busy then
I really love the rose gold lavalier on you- it can be dressed up or down so easily

 

[Crystal_Dreams]

Forgot to say that the sapphire one is just luscious!! That’s the other one that my eye gets drawn to, but it is $$$ and definitely a less casual piece!

 

[Snowdrop13]

The design of this is just so beautiful! I love the wee tinge of blue from the opals. Gorgeous!

 

[Rhd3]

I love it! The lavalier collection is really special and your necklace is sublime. A perfect piece that truly goes from day to evening with ease.

 

[Snowdrop13]

@CMN @Crystal_Dreams I’ve been looking at these online. Having seen the pearls in person, would you say they’re all of the same quality? I wonder if it would be safe to buy one from overseas and get a great pearl?

 

[CMN]

@Snowdrop13 I think that they are within a reasonable range but the difficulty is that each pearl is unique in terms of its attributes. Rather than just selecting a eg 13mm or 15mm option from their website, I think your best bet would be to email the boutique and ask them to send you some photos and brief description of the options.

The other 16mm circle they had which I viewed had the same high luster, but the shape was less uniform and less appealing to me (than what I chose) but it did have a pink overtone which seems to be more highly valued. The pearl I chose was neutral white, possibly with a very slight silver overtone.

The round which I looked at which was smaller and more than 3x the price had a poorer luster to my eye.

 

[Snowdrop13]

@Snowdrop13 I think that they are within a reasonable range but the difficulty is that each pearl is unique in terms of its attributes. Rather than just selecting a eg 13mm or 15mm option from their website, I think your best bet would be to email the boutique and ask them to send you some photos and brief description of the options.

The other 16mm circle they had which I viewed had the same high luster, but the shape was less uniform and less appealing to me (than what I chose) but it did have a pink overtone which seems to be more highly valued. The pearl I chose was neutral white, possibly with a very slight silver overtone.

The round which I looked at which was smaller and more than 3x the price had a poorer luster to my eye.

That’s great advice, thank you, it would be nice to have a bit of choice!

 

[BrownGinger]

I can’t get over how amazingly gorgeous this is! Very happy for you, enjoy it!

 

[yssie]

@Snowdrop13 Okay I don't want to hijack @CMN's thread but I have to ask - are you considering the same opal net as @CMN!?

 

[Cerulean]

Oh my gosh. It looks like mermaid treasure!

Absolutely stunning piece. From the pearl to the net itself...what a delightful and decadent necklace.

 

[Snowdrop13]

@Snowdrop13 Okay I don't want to hijack @CMN's thread but I have to ask - are you considering the same opal net as @CMN!?

Oh no, if I do go for it it will be the lovely YG petite plain one!

 

[MrsBlue]

Omg that pearl is YUGE!!!