Pearl Paradise''s August Monthly special is posted!

[cushioncutnut]

Very pretty! I will let it remain a mystery and let you all go to the site and check it out!

 

[jmtomaui]

Now THAT could cure a girl''s chocolate craving!!

Love it!

 

[brightlight]

I really like the setting, but I just have this bias against dyed pearls.

 

[Indylady]

I like it, but I''m kind of wishing I had gotten their July special. Are all brown Tahitians dyed? I guess so because they put chocolate in quotes.

 

[cushioncutnut]

I like chocolate too.... but not "dyed" chocolate..............

 

[jmtomaui]

I tend to agree! It is almost like "sugar free" chocolate?????

 

[ckrickett]

yeah no fan of dyed pearls either, pity

 

[y2kitty]

I bought the July special for a friend. I was lovely.

 

[cushioncutnut]

I bet she loved it! What a kind friend you are!

 

[Rhapsody]

The "chocolate" tahitians are bleached and then dyed. I assume the pearl couldn''t have been high quality to start with, because who would bleach a perfectly good tahitian?

 

[Indylady]

Date: 8/5/2009 12:30:58 PM
Author: Rhapsody
The ''chocolate'' tahitians are bleached and then dyed. I assume the pearl couldn''t have been high quality to start with, because who would bleach a perfectly good tahitian?

Good point!

 

[brightlight]

Date: 8/5/2009 12:30:58 PM
Author: Rhapsody
The ''chocolate'' tahitians are bleached and then dyed. I assume the pearl couldn''t have been high quality to start with, because who would bleach a perfectly good tahitian?

I feel like dyeing it takes away from the whole point of buying a tahitian, which is all those gorgeous natural colors. Why would I buy a dyed tahitian when I can buy a much less expensive dyed freshwater?

 

[brightlight]

Date: 8/4/2009 10:16:08 PM
Author: szh07
I like it, but I'm kind of wishing I had gotten their July special. Are all brown Tahitians dyed? I guess so because they put chocolate in quotes.

They're pretty much all dyed. Unless it specifically says it's not treated, it's dyed. Natural color chocolate (not copper) pearls are exceptionally rare. I have a really dark natural chocolate pearl that I'll try to post a picture of. I'm trying to figure out whether to turn it into a pendant or a ring.

 

[Rhapsody]

Date: 8/5/2009 2:28:32 PM
Author: brightlight

I feel like dyeing it takes away from the whole point of buying a tahitian, which is all those gorgeous natural colors. Why would I buy a dyed tahitian when I can buy a much less expensive dyed freshwater?

It definitely makes me sad to think someone would bleach a natural coloured pearl. But logistically they would only do this if the pearl pretty much couldn''t be sold as is. I wonder how much the "chocolate" treatment increased the sale price of that pearl, was the thing only worth 10 bucks before this?

 

[Streeter1]

I''ve never been much of a fan of the chocolates, but the assertion that a low grade of pearl is used is false. There was a big article in Gems and Gemology last year about the process used to create chocolate Tahitians. Only pearls of a very specific color can be used to create chocolates. It is a processed developed by Emiko Pearl of Kobe. The pearls used are usually very fine and the finished pearls are a lot more expensive than natural color Tahitians (at least at the tradeshows I''ve been to). Erica Courtney uses them pretty extensively and her strands are in the $40k range.

 

[Rhapsody]

Date: 8/5/2009 5:18:30 PM
Author: Streeter1
I''ve never been much of a fan of the chocolates, but the assertion that a low grade of pearl is used is false. There was a big article in Gems and Gemology last year about the process used to create chocolate Tahitians. Only pearls of a very specific color can be used to create chocolates. It is a processed developed by Emiko Pearl of Kobe. The pearls used are usually very fine and the finished pearls are a lot more expensive than natural color Tahitians (at least at the tradeshows I''ve been to). Erica Courtney uses them pretty extensively and her strands are in the $40k range.

I wonder how much of that "only a small number of pearls can be treated to reach this color" is marketing hype to make highly adulterated pearls seem more rare, the same way they try and sell irradiated diamonds. I dont care how high tech a treatment is, its still artificial and I would never pay more for a treated pearl/stone than I would for an untreated one.

The necklace we''re talking about is only about 60% the price of an untreated tahitian of the same quality and size on the website, so theres no mark up here.

I''m sure the designer "chocolate" strand is largely high priced because of the name. Any designer who''s website focuses more on the celebrities that wear her pieces than the jewelery itself tells me where their priorities lie.

 

[Streeter1]

Gems and Gemology is a scientific journal free of all marketing hype. The reason it stated only a certain sort could be used is related to the color. The pearls are bleached and different colors bleach in a different way, so the selection is very specific.

Erica Courtney pieces do have a high price tag in part due to her brand, but she gets her pearls from Ballerina Pearl, and I have seen them in Tucson. Their chocolates are very expensive.

 

[cushioncutnut]

I think "chocolate" pearls are a trend. I personally don''t like to buy something because it is a trend--- I would rather buy it because I love it and I know I will wear it often. I prefer to spend my $ on something timeless and classic and not because of some celebrity wore it or some branded marketing hype. The pendant is lovely but after learning of the treatment and the dyeing process, I will pass. Thanks everyone for sharing all this "chocolate pearl knowledge".