Thoughts on these pearl studs?

[clockworkreader]

Hi everyone! Long time lurker here.

I recently got the pearl itch and am craving a very lustrous pair. I saw these in a Mikimoto boutique in Hong Kong and wanted to get the experts’ opinions.

The ones I’m looking at are the third from the left, which the sales rep and I agreed have the best lustre. They have a slight pink overtone. The price is around $4700 (~$602 USD). They don’t have an official grade (apparently they don’t go by A, AA etc grades in Mikimoto HK?), but I know they wouldn’t be the top grade.

From just this one photo (which I know is very limited information), do you think these are nice/decent? Could I do better for less, and how much work would I have to put in to find them?

Thank you all in advance!

 

[yssie]

Based on that pricing for size - and assuming Asia is more inexpensive - at most in the US they’d be A+ grade equivalent.

Which is a very very nice pair of pearls, but as you observe, not top of the line. After shape and size luster is the quality parameter that commands the highest premium.

Is the Mikimoto name worth the brand premium to you for a pair of pearls that you could quality-match elsewhere for significantly less, with a bit of legwork? Personal question that only you can answer.