White stones for "pearl" necklace

[MidModMin]

Hi, everyone! I know this forum is a font of wisdom, so I wanted to run an idea past you and see what you think.

For a little while, I've been wishing I had a pearl necklace. However, a nice strand of pearls just isn't in the cards for me, financially speaking, at least not at the moment.

This leaves the usual options: fake pearls (I hate wearing plastic) or cheap cultured pearls (the thought of their paper-thin nacre chipping away makes me shudder). As you can tell, I'm not a fan of either of these options.

The thought occurred to me that maybe I could get a necklace made with some sort of white stone (gem, semiprecious, etc) beads, maybe something of a modest size...obviously, I'm hoping for something cheaper than pearls, so the stones should be moderately priced.

Of course, there's no way that it would approximate the luster of real pearls, but maybe there's a stone with its own unique properties that could make for an elegant pearl-style necklace, and would be something non-synthetic I could wear while saving up for the real deal.

Do you have any thoughts on any stones that might work or that could look good in a necklace like this?
If you think this would look terrible or too hippy-dippy, I'd love to hear your thoughts, too.

 

[Crystal_Dreams]

I'm curious about what your budget would be, as there are places you can purchase a decent strand of pearls from which are not too expensive. I feel like a strand of stones may actually be of comparable price to some of these. If you take a look on the pearl part of the forum, they can probably give you some more guidance there

 

[MidModMin]

I'm curious about what your budget would be, as there are places you can purchase a decent strand of pearls from which are not too expensive. I feel like a strand of stones may actually be of comparable price to some of these. If you take a look on the pearl part of the forum, they can probably give you some more guidance there

Good question...I'm still in the exploring stage, so I don't have a budget in mind, yet. A few hundred dollars? Up to $500? I thought I might be able to get something at that price, whereas I don't know if I'd trust $300-400 pearls to be of decent quality...

I'll head over the Pearl forum, though, scan through there, and see if I need to calibrate my expectations.

 

[gingercurls]

I highly recommend pearlparadise.com for high quality pearls. They do not sell anything that has nacre that will flake off and they have many options in your price range.

 

[Crystal_Dreams]

I second the recommendation for pearls paradise
You can surely get something in that price range for some nice real pearls. The vast majority of pearls that are sold nowadays are cultured (including the super high end brands like paspaley and mikimoto).
In that price range, you can pick up a nice strand of freshwater pearls (the nacre won't flake off as freshies are essentially solid nacre, unlike akoyas though the lustre is a quite different).

In this case, I would strongly suggest getting some nice real pearls, which I believe you may be pleasantly surprised to find you can get!

P.S. it helps that PP's clearance sale is still on right now- go check it out!

 

[mochiko42]

You can definitely get a good-quality freshwater pearl necklace from Pearl Paradise for $500!!


In terms of gems/beaded necklace, this vendor was recommended on another thread about amazonite beads but she also has some moonstone, quartz and other necklaces which may be of interest.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6mm-Natural...tal-Round-Beads-Strand-DIY-AAAA-/322041707372
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Natural-Whi...-Round-Beads-Bracelet-AAAA-14mm-/322635567444
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-mm-Genuine-Natural-Tridacna-Round-Loose-Beads-Strand-DIY-/222417009110

 

[Seaglow]

There are tissue-nucleated freshwater pearls for your budget. That would get you a nice luster strand. And you don't need to worry of them chipping because they don't have a bead - they're pure nacre.

 

[MidModMin]

Well, well, well...I knew I came to the right place.

I'm looking at Pearl Paradise right now and am pleasantly surprised, especially with all of your recommendations about it being a trustworthy vendor. I received a $375 pearl necklace 10 years ago (purchased from a brick and mortar store) which was the worst rip-off ever (it was just...awful) and left me suspicious of any pearl necklaces under a grand, but I hadn't thought to look online, since.

Mochiko's link to the ebay store is also good...there's some pretty stuff there. That phantom quartz is lovely in its own right and not something I'd seen before! It also occurred to me that with the right beads, a moonstone "pearl" necklace could also be very pretty.

Haha...now there are 2 necklaces I'm planning for. Thanks for the help, everyone!

 

[mochiko42]

http://www.pearlsofjoy.com/ is also a very good vendor. I would recommend both PP and POJ without hesitation. I've bought from both before, kept some and returned other items. Their refund policies are great, too, even for non-US customers.

Freshwater pearls have improved so much in recent years, I would definitely check them out!!

 

[goldie_locks]

Another vote for pearl paradise. I purchased 7-8mm pearls for my wedding last year (necklace and earrings), and they are lovely. I actually ordered two lengths of shank with invisible clasps so that I could wear multiple lengths and styles, but this would be the same size in an 18 inch necklace: https://www.pearlparadise.com/colle...m-18-inch-aaa-white-freshwater-pearl-necklace. For $253, it's a real steal!

My string on one of the strands actually broke after less than a year of having them and pearl paradise restrung it for free.

 

[GliderPoss]

Another vote for Pearl Paradise, I just bought a lovely freshwater strand on sale for $100!!!!

 

[dkata]

I also can recommend Pearl Paradise. I have bought a few items from them, although I'm overseas, and returning is no option for me.
If I were you, I would order the biggest and best quality what the budget allows! You won't regret it!