Picking my Christmas present - PP studs - which one?

[RayRay]

Good morning everyone! ~4 more weeks until Christmas...so I figured I better tell DH exactly what I want for Christmas Looking at classic pearl studs from Pearl Paradise for work. I'd like for them to be white and round:

Looking at either:
1) 6.5-7.0mm White Akoya AA+ Pearl Stud Earrings: https://www.pearlparadise.com/products/65-70-mm-white-akoya-aa-pearl-stud-earrings or the
2) 6.5-7.0mm White Freshadama Freshwater Pearl Stud earrings: https://www.pearlparadise.com/products/65-70-mm-white-freshadama-freshwater-pearl-stud-earrings

If White Akoya is the better one, is it worth it to pay a little more ($40) for the AAA earrings?

Thank you!!!
RayRay

 

[Grymera]

I’ve been very happy with my Freshadamas and instead would go up a size if there was more $$ on the table. But that’s just me. I love the look for larger pearls.

 

[pearlsngems]

I'd get the best akoyas I could afford-- akoyas have sharper luster than freshwaters.

6.5-7.0mm is on the small side for studs, but if you are on the phone a lot, small studs are easier to wear. Also, I've noticed that high luster makes white pearls look larger than they are.

 

[RayRay]

Thank you @Grymera and @pearlsngems for the feedback! Good thought on the size - I'll have to cut out the size I'm thinking and see how they look on my ears. I'm on the phone some, but speaker phone so don't need to worry about it against my ear. What are the sizes of your studs?

 

[pearlsngems]

Better yet, visit a brick and mortar store and hold a few different size pearls against your ear lobe to see what size suits you. Cutting out a flat piece of paper won't be as effective, because the pearls are spherical. They protrude outward from your lobe (and the larger they are, the farther out they will protrude-- which is why really large pearl studs tend to droop unless one uses large earring backs to stabilize them.)

Consider also that the larger they are, the more space they take up on the lobe-- so if you have a second lobe piercing in which you want to be able to wear studs at the same time as the pearls, size will matter.

People have different size lobes. My lobes are large so I can get away with large studs. I own many pearl studs (different sizes and different kinds of pearls). The smallest pair I enjoy wearing are 7.5-8mm, but over the years I have come to prefer larger studs. My favorite size for studs is now 10.5-11.0mm (these are Tahitians and SSP).

Here is something you must keep in mind when choosing size: Size (i.e. volume) increases rapidly with small increases in mm (i.e. diameter).
Pearls that are 7.5-8.0mm in diameter will be about 50% larger than 6.5-7.0mm pearls. Another way of saying that is they will be about one and a half times as large. That is a significant increase in size! It is often worth going up by 1 mm to get the bigger visual impact of the larger pearl.

Here is the explanation, with a bit of math, if you are curious why this is so:
Pearls are spheres, not flat circles as they appear in vendor photos. When we talk about their size, we are actually talking about their volume.
Volume is calculated using the mathematical formula V = 4/3π(r cubed). (Radius is half of diameter.) By calculating the volume of any two pearls and dividing the larger by the smaller, you can find out how much larger any given pearl is than any other given pearl.
A 9mm pearl is 2x as large as a 7mm pearl!
A 12mm pearl is more than 3x as large as an 8mm pearl!
My current favorite Tahitian studs, about 10.5mm, are over 9x as large as the 5mm akoyas I got married in!

 

[Mcgregor]

Pearls gems, thank you for that wonderful explanation bout the size of pearls. Very helpful!!

 

[RayRay]

Thank you @pearlsngems !! I’m waiting to see what the Black Friday deals are on PP

 

[amoline]

I am a sucker for akoya pearls - I think they are the most beautiful type of pearl in that size range, and they are exemplifying of the classic perfectly round pearl studs.

I, too, would say go for akoya in the best quality you can.

 

[cmd2014]

I would pay the extra for the AAA quality if you can. There is a visible difference in luster between the grades. You might also want to comparison shop between vendors. Sometimes there is quite a range of prices for similar items. Fresh water pearls (aka, the Freshadama) will have softer luster than Akoya pearls will. Akoya are known for mirror luster, but only at the top quality range. If you can't afford the AAA or find that the size is too small, a top quality fresh water pearl (aka Freshadama) would be a better option IMO than a lower quality Akoya.

For size, that depends entirely on your physique. I am always shocked at what look like huge pearls on petite women compared to how a similar size would look on me. So you need to find what will be proportionate on you.