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Tahitian pearls - Vendor vs. IRL pictures

mapo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 1, 2013
Messages
283
Hi all,

I thought it would be a great idea to create a reference thread for folks buying tahitian pearls. So please post pictures from the vendor and your IRL shots of your tahitian pearl purchases and whatever informatin you have about the pearls. If you don't have vendor shots, that's ok too! Just add your IRL pics and a description.

I'll start....

AA+/AAA 8-11mm baroque green tahitian necklace from PP.
Length is 18 inches.
vendor shot:
tan200-851-wm.jpg

IRL shot:
indirect light
img_5864.jpg
direct light
img_5855_0.jpg
 

mapo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 1, 2013
Messages
283
AA+/AAA 8 - 13.5mm PP Harvest Strand with strong cool overtones. 35 inches in length.

vendor shot:
08-12-14-harvest-strand.jpg

IRL indirect light shot:
img_5826.jpg
img_5887.jpg

IRL direct light shot:
window_late_morning_1.jpg
doubled.jpg
 

bsomlo

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 25, 2013
Messages
2,488
Vendor description and shots:

AAA 9.3-11.9 Multicolor

This luxurious strand features tahitian pearls with smooth drops shapes, very high luster, and clean surfaces. The pearls range in color from dark green to glowing whites (very rare for Tahitian pearls) and have shimmering overtones.

pp_glamour_shot_0.jpg

pp_glamour_shot_3.jpg

neck_shot_14.jpg

neck_shot_15.jpg
 

krissy7

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
121
Mapo - This is a great idea. Thank you for starting this thread. I am a total novice when it comes to Tahitian pearls so I am looking forward to learning how to tell how they will look in person.
 

cmd2014

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
2,541
Most of my glamour shots are in my computer at work. I will try to post tomorrow.
 

dmz

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 14, 2009
Messages
95
The difficult thing about "in real life" shots is that the pearls will pick up surrounding colours. If you're standing outside under a canopy of trees, the green from the leaves will be reflected. If you're wearing a bright pink shirt, and take a photo in a mirror, the pink will show up.

Camera settings and light source:
  • light source: sunlight is the benchmark for full spectrum. look for lighting with a similar colour temperature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature) and a high CRI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_rendering_index)
  • white balance: most cameras try to detect it automatically, but you can manually set this in your camera. Camera's aren't perfect at auto detecting.
  • exposure: auto exposure often doesn't work right when shooting pearls on a white background. the camera tries to expose for the whole frame (which is mostly the white background) and thus darkens the image overall. and this makes the pearls look dark. depending on the camera, you can manually set the aperture and shutter speed, or just increase the exposure compensation.



Pearl Paradise product shot:
You can see the square-ish reflection in each pearl from their overhead soft box. I don't believe they're using a light tent.
_21582.jpg

My light tent shot:
This is a fully closed light tent, with an opening for the camera lens. You can see the little "dot" reflected in the front of each pearl. This was taken using natural light, with the light tent beside floor to ceiling windows.
multi_box.jpg

Real Life
Outside on a foggy morning, with a grey wall on one side, and open sky on the other side:
multi_front.jpg


Light Tent
You can probably get something like this for $20 on eBay. That's all you need. Local camera stores often sell something similar for 5x the cost.
light_tent.jpg
 

ckrickett

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 26, 2008
Messages
5,346
Here is a comparison between my strands pics.

The description was dark green with strong peacock overtones and mirror like luster.

sep_01_2014_copy.jpg
Glamour Shot


photo_3_82.jpg
Shot with some pretty strong natural light

photo_4_48.jpg
close up

photo_1_121.jpg
neck shot

The one thing I noticed was how intense the luster was, they look like little mirrors that in bright light shine very much like silver with the green/peacock colors underneath, but in dimmer light they have this beautiful green color with a spectacular shine and more intense peacock coloring overtones.

Every different way with different light has something different, and that is the real beauty of pearls! I love this strand!
 

cmd2014

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
2,541
Here's the one I do have:









Edit: sorry...just wanted to edit so that you all weren't forced to look up my nose (which wasn't obvious in the photo until it posted). Had a few technical difficulties.

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_22103.jpg

_22101.jpg

_22102.jpg
 

cmd2014

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
2,541
And in my makeshift light box:

_22104.jpg
 

cmd2014

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
2,541
Here's my blue-green strand:

_22105.jpg

_22107.jpg

_22106.jpg

_22109.jpg
 

Frost Me

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
617
First Green Strand

18 inch AA+/AAA 8.4-11.7mm Drop Tahitian Pearl,
This unique strand of natural-color Tahitian drop pearls features pearls with a green body color subtle yet colorful peacock overtones. The pearls exhibit very clean surfaces and mirror-like luster.

4061_1__0.jpg
Glamor Shot

img_4763.jpg
Indirect Light Indoor

img_4743.jpg
Direct Light, Covered Deck, West Side Exposure Morning Light

img_4738.jpg
Direct Light Outdoor, Late Evening Light
 

Frost Me

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
617
Second Strand Dark Green

18" AA+/AAA 8.2 to 11.3 mm Drop Tahitian Pearl,
This unique strand of natural-color Tahitian drop pearls features pearls with a dark green body color with colorful peacock overtones. The pearls exhibit very clean surfaces and mirror-like luster.

4062_1_.jpg
Glamor Photo

unnamed_16.jpg
unnamed_20.jpg
Photos from PP


unnamed_23.jpg
Camera Phone Photo from PP
 

mapo

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 1, 2013
Messages
283
9-11.7mm AAA baroque green tahitians with peacock overtone from PP
17 inches

indirect light (top strand)
img_5865.jpg

direct light
img_5679.jpg img_5554.jpg

night time
img_5405.jpg
 

thecat

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
1,483
Love this thread. Thanks for the effort in educating pearl lovers, ladies. :)) Can this thread be made a sticky?
 

cmd2014

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
2,541
Here's my new strand:

_22128.jpg

_22129.jpg
 

cmd2014

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
2,541
New pendant. The colour is very much what I was expecting (finally! I'm getting better at this!)

_22130.jpg

_22131.jpg

_22132.jpg

_22133.jpg
 

cmd2014

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
2,541
I really appreciate the direct light shots! It helps me have realistic expectations, rather than fantasy mental images which often leave me disappointed when I see my own strands in person for the first time.
 

Bailey1856

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
266
good idea! Here's mine. Will be posting more tomorrow as soon as my camera batteries are charged.
vendor pic
icm_fullxfull_28.jpg
indoor
imgp4425.jpg
outdoor
imgp4428.jpg
 

icy_jade

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 1, 2009
Messages
6,131
Bailey: Those are gorgeous! Which vendor are they from?

====

Can I also suggest that we mention the vendor? Different vendors do have different styles of photo taking/shopping after all.
 

Bailey1856

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
266
icy_jade|1410240054|3747570 said:
Bailey: Those are gorgeous! Which vendor are they from?

====

Can I also suggest that we mention the vendor? Different vendors do have different styles of photo taking/shopping after all.

Icy, good point! Mine is from THEPEARLEXCHANGE on Etsy.
 

cmd2014

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
2,541
Mine are all from the recent Pearl Paradise sale.
 

pkinnew

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 22, 2013
Messages
1,428
I love this post! So many gorgeous pearls and it's great seeing how they react to different light. I will have to find the glamour shots for my recent purchases and join the club!
 

cyndayco

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 4, 2014
Messages
72
Hello, everyone.

First, my opera-length strand from Ross-Simons:

screen_shot_2014-09-10_at_1.png

dsc_175.jpg

img_5500.jpg
 

cyndayco

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 4, 2014
Messages
72
Second, here's my multicolor 12mm strand, from the local pearl market.





Third, my Wilma Flintstones necklace, in various stages of experimentation.

dsc_176.jpg

img_5501.jpg

dsc_177.jpg

dsc_3604.jpg
 

Frost Me

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
617
cyndayco|1410285492|3747803 said:
Second, here's my multicolor 12mm strand, from the local pearl market.



Lovely pearls cyndayco Tell me about your local pearl market? I can't even imagine!
 

NacreLover

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 10, 2011
Messages
1,941
Two strands of 8-11mm Cherry Tahitians from Pearl Paradise. Glamour shot from their light box, then outside on my covered porch today.

_22165.jpg

_22166.jpg

_22167.jpg
 

cyndayco

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 4, 2014
Messages
72
Well, Frost Me, what if I told you there are two pearl markets?

I live in Metro Manila, which is the national capitol region of the Philippines. This is the base of Jewelmer, which specializes in deep golden South Sea pearls, and a loose-knit network of small pearl merchants selling out of two bazaars, Greenhills and Market Market.

Greenhills market is a huge bazaar. At the center is a section of 120 kiosks that sell pearls year round. The shop owners used to source their pearls from Davao and Palawan, when we had more independent pearl farmers. Now, the merchants get them mostly from Hong Kong, just like PP and POJ. Their price points are much lower than PP and POJ, because they have lower overhead and because they buy lower quality pearls. Every now and then, though, especially if you've nurtured a good relationship with a shopkeeper, you can find very nice pearls and gems for a steal.

Now, I have to say Greenhills can be chaotic and overwhelming, especially on the weekends; some merchants are less scrupulous than others. But if you have good contacts, it's a great place to start a pearl addiction.


The other, Market Market, is a satellite of Greenhills, about half the size of its big sister and much quieter. The pearls are not as nice, but I've snagged a few bargains there. Plus, this is where I found the best and cheapest pearl-stringing service ever--about $2.50 a strand!

img_0660.jpg
 

cyndayco

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 4, 2014
Messages
72
NacreLover, those cherries are luscious--under any kind of light.
 

baby monster

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
3,631
PP silver body tahitians with blue overtones. AA+/AAA. 10-12mm.
PP vendor shot

Neck shot. Outdoors, indirect sunlight

_22169.jpg
 

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