Real-life colours of edison pearls?

[CalliopeCladdagh]

Hi again,

So after looking around for multicoloured freshwaters I have turned to investigating edison pearls on etsy as a potentially budget-friendly way to achieve the colourful strand I desire.
I suspect that the colour saturation I'd see in real life is not necessarily as vibrant as that shown by vendor photos.
Does anyone have some real life photos?
My budget is very modest, especially factoring in shipping and taxes. I'm considering a strand from this batch, but how do you think it would really look?

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Sounds a great idea
what size ?

 

[CalliopeCladdagh]

Those ones are 8-9mm

 

[Brigid]

Be careful buying freshwater pearls on Etsy or anywhere really, do lots of research before you buy otherwise you’ll be wasting your money on subpar pearls.
Have a look at #druzydesign1 on Etsy.
Good luck!

 

[Spring Azure]

Honestly, I think it will be a gamble. I bought a metallic strand off Etsy years ago and it cured me of DIY on freshwaters. The luster and color was all over the place and it looked apricot in person (lovely pink in photos). The saving grace was that it was inexpensive. I should have asked for more photos in different lighting but I’m not sure that would have saved me.

SimplyAdorned4U on Etsy seems to work with Edisons but her jewelry is finished. I don’t know if she does special orders. I have a really pretty metallic Edison pendant from her and would buy from her again.

 

[Pearlescence]

I've never seen Edisons or any bead nucleated pearls which looked like the ones in that photo. Doesn't mean they don't exist of course, but I have seen a fair few in the last 12 years since they debuted the market

 

[pearlsngems]

It's a bit tricky buying either colorful FWP or colorful Tahitians from online vendors. Often the colors seen in vendor photos are overtone colors, visible when the pearl is in a light box or other special studio lighting -- and the use of studio lighting is very common. This makes it harder to know what the pearls are likely to look like under normal light.

This is true for any pearls with overtone colors, but mostly Tahitians and FWP with overtones. The colors are actually present in the pearls, but under normal / bright light conditions you won't see the overtones much, if at all. When you wear the pearls in diffuse light / shade / overcast day, you'll see the colors better. But even then they may not be as saturated as they appeared in the photos.

Ideally one should buy from a vendor who has an excellent return policy. You can also contact the vendor and request photos taken under normal light/ bright light before buying (e.g. Pearl Paradise will do this), but not all vendors will supply extra photos. Also, I wouldn't ask for extra photos during a sale, when product moves fast; by the time the vendor has time to take the photos, the item you desire may very well have been sold.

 

[Pearlescence]

Even daylight can be exceptionally deceptive about lighting. The building opposite us is painted white, but in dark overcast weather it turns a distinct green because the light is being filtered by some very murky clouds.

 

[pearlsngems]

Yes, that is true.
Even within my own house, the overtone colors of my pearls vary from room to room, and light coming in the windows affects them too.

I think anyone who buys colorful pearls has to accept the fact that they will not always look their best!

 

[Snowdrop13]

Take a look at Wen Pearls on Etsy, they often have Edisons. I bought these and strung them on elastic, the colours are beautiful and are exactly as portrayed on the website.



Totally different lighting but here’s the vendor pic,

 

[CalliopeCladdagh]

I've never seen Edisons or any bead nucleated pearls which looked like the ones in that photo. Doesn't mean they don't exist of course, but I have seen a fair few in the last 12 years since they debuted the market

How do you think these would look in real life?

 

[CalliopeCladdagh]

It's a bit tricky buying either colorful FWP or colorful Tahitians from online vendors. Often the colors seen in vendor photos are overtone colors, visible when the pearl is in a light box or other special studio lighting -- and the use of studio lighting is very common. This makes it harder to know what the pearls are likely to look like under normal light.

This is true for any pearls with overtone colors, but mostly Tahitians and FWP with overtones. The colors are actually present in the pearls, but under normal / bright light conditions you won't see the overtones much, if at all. When you wear the pearls in diffuse light / shade / overcast day, you'll see the colors better. But even then they may not be as saturated as they appeared in the photos.

Ideally one should buy from a vendor who has an excellent return policy. You can also contact the vendor and request photos taken under normal light/ bright light before buying (e.g. Pearl Paradise will do this), but not all vendors will supply extra photos. Also, I wouldn't ask for extra photos during a sale, when product moves fast; by the time the vendor has time to take the photos, the item you desire may very well have been sold.

Thank you - very helpful. So in normal light, if you don't see the overtones much, how do you tell what colour the pearl will actually appear?

 

[CalliopeCladdagh]

Take a look at Wen Pearls on Etsy, they often have Edisons. I bought these and strung them on elastic, the colours are beautiful and are exactly as portrayed on the website.

Thank you - these are beautiful! I'd be super happy with that 'vendor to real life' colour translation.

 

[yssie]

Thank you - very helpful. So in normal light, if you don't see the overtones much, how do you tell what colour the pearl will actually appear?

Have you ever worn red nailpolish, and walked from room to room, and watched your nails go from hot bright pink to dark velvety red to yellowish orange?

That's what pearls do. They change with the light - if you took photos of your nails in all those different lighting environments they'd all be honest pictures, but which picture shows you what you want? Which photo shows "what colour the pearl actually appears"? Well... They all do. And if you want dark velvety red you're going to have to "settle" for something different in all those other lighting types.

In general pearls will look their body colour - which is the colour of the pearl minus all the overtone. But just like that red nailpolish - body and overtone always changes with the lighting!

The failsafe is to buy from a vendor with a return policy. That's really the *only* way to be sure you'll be happy with what you get, because you know that you can return if you don't like what you see across enough lighting environments to satisfy.

 

[LHethrington]

Hi again,

So after looking around for multicoloured freshwaters I have turned to investigating edison pearls on etsy as a potentially budget-friendly way to achieve the colourful strand I desire.
I suspect that the colour saturation I'd see in real life is not necessarily as vibrant as that shown by vendor photos.
Does anyone have some real life photos?
My budget is very modest, especially factoring in shipping and taxes. I'm considering a strand from this batch, but how do you think it would really look?

gorgeous colour!

 

[CalliopeCladdagh]

Some things to think about, for sure.
Complicating the issue a bit, I'm after a 24-26 inch strand. With the etsy sellers I've found, this would have to be custom made - and therefore not returnable.
So I think I need to just slow down until I have enough spare money that I can take a bit of a gamble with.
They're just so pretty in the photos!!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Some things to think about, for sure.
Complicating the issue a bit, I'm after a 24-26 inch strand. With the etsy sellers I've found, this would have to be custom made - and therefore not returnable.
So I think I need to just slow down until I have enough spare money that I can take a bit of a gamble with.
They're just so pretty in the photos!!

This may not help but
There will be someone in your town who strings pearls
Its not overly expensive and she or he will probably be able to supply the findings/ catch etc if you don't
I would concentrate on bring happy with the pearls themselves