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[Yet more] akoya coming from Takahashi... I'm so excited!!

yssie

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So I said I was Done With Pearls. I mean, I've said that a few times on here. Bunch o' lies. But I started with good intentions. :twisted2:

- - - - -

First up - MINE. If I were a turkey I'd be wobblin' n' gobblin'. 9-9.5mm gemmy white akoya bracelet length. These are actually loose pearls that Takahashi sorted and drilled for me, not a partial of an existing strand... I wanted pearls that matched the quality of my mothers' earrings and Yy suggested that the earring and ring loosies would be the best way to guarantee that. It was more expensive this way but I figured hey, I'll only be doing this once. She warned me it'd take some time to find the pearls and it did in fact end up being a few months.

I asked if they could send the strand to PEPCA. But apparently PEPCA has really strict and really weird rules about what they will and won't evaluate. Akoya, South Sea, and Tahitian necklace strands, fine. South Sea and Tahitian singletons, fine. But no akoya singletons, and no pairs of any sort, and no bracelets. (I suggested that my strand be labelled a necklace for an infant; they politely declined. :lol:)

So it went to PSL, and the PSL gods smiled upon me, and it came back Ten-nyo. To be perfectly honest I'm only interested in nacre thickness. And yeah, it's nice to have some sort of official paperwork for insurance. But as for the actual Hanadama vs. Ten-nyo vs. So long, sucker designation... ::SHRUG::


So, um, I don't have them yet. Actually they haven't even shipped yet. But I'm too excited to wait to share!! Here's a couple of Takahashi's pics :love:

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The numbers are apparently "lot" numbers. 'Cause Takahashi pre-sorts loose pearls into lots by size, and vendors/retailers/designers will often just buy by the lot. For my lineup they went through four lots to find the right pearls ❤️

And with their grading card:

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HOLY GRAIL AKOYA BRACELET. Come to mummy my love :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

- - - - -

And next up - Madama strand for my MIL. Actually for my FIL for my MIL, but whatevs. She loved my blue akoya so I asked Yy for "as blue as you've got but also all the other stuff I always want too" :lol-2: We picked an 8.5-9mm strand - it's the outer/bottom in the pics with multiples :love:

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FIL has left the necklace bit entirely up to me. So I'm going to string them up into a longer rope with onyx beads - 50" or so maybe? And a yellow gold pendant (that he's already got). I'm thinking something a bit asymmetric, like this... Might drop some gold beads in too, to tie the pendant in...

This will be a stringing challenge for me. Alternating thread colour between the pale blue and the black. And using enough heavyweight thread to handle the weight. Not actually sure how I'm going to do it yet, but I bought extra thread in anticipation of needing a few redos :lol:

1675570706732.png

So... I will of course be sharing more when I've got them all here... :bigsmile:
 
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ItsMainelyYou

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Yay, for lying! :lol:
I can't wait to see them with your photography. Then I can really see them, you know? Mirror balls :love:

*Man, these particular blues did something to me this time! I'm fascinated by the tones :shock:It's almost like my brain can't decide what I'm seeing?! It's so cool.
 

yssie

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Yay, for lying! :lol:
I can't wait to see them with your photography. Then I can really see them, you know? Mirror balls :love:

*Man, these particular blues did something to me this time! I'm fascinated by the tones :shock:It's almost like my brain can't decide what I'm seeing?! It's so cool.

Nothing like friends with the right values :lol:

Yeah. At first my eyes went to the smaller blue strand actually. It looks more ball-bearing-metallic-lustrous to me. But Takahashi liked the bigger better for someone who wants "blue" first and foremost, and some of my friends felt the same way. They look really "cool" toned - like, way less green/teal, more silvery..? I'm SO curious what they look like IRL compared to my other Madamas.

The whites, OMG. Pins and needles waiting for those!!!! Doing this sort of pearl project - a bracelet from loose - has been a bucket-list #thing for years. I just assumed it'd have to be in a smaller size bracket, because it wouldn't be possible to find enough 9mm+, or that even if it was possible I'd never be able to afford it. The price ended up being shockingly reasonable honestly.

And okay, with this I'm really really Done With Pearls :lol:
 
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lambskin

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OMG! Incredible! Now I want these pearls! i would love a single large blue-best quality Akoya pearl for a ring or pendant. Would they sell just one?
 

yssie

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OMG! Incredible! Now I want these pearls! i would love a single large blue-best quality Akoya pearl for a ring or pendant. Would they sell just one?
They totally would!!! :bigsmile:

Edit - singletons are SO much easier. I actually don’t know if pricing and availability for blues follows whites exactly… I know that for whites, from Takahashi, 9-9.5 is about the max of what’s “generally available” in top quality for strands and studs. Even in this bracelet lineup - you can see that not every pearl matches exactly. But I know this is as good as it can ever get and that’s good enough for me. Apparently great 9.5-10 matches are basically hen’s teeth these days. Singletons are so much easier though, I should think even in the largest akoya sizes!

If you inquire please share what they say, I’m curious too!
 
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Tartansparkles

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Your bracelet lineup is simply mouth watering, as are the blues. My holy grail is to achieve a similar bracelet but with stronger pinks. I've kind of given up though. I'm finding the inconsistency in pricing disheartening, sometimes the price for a 7" bracelet comes back as more than the cost for a comparable strand. But after seeing your project I might start dipping my toes back in the water. Looking forward to seeing more pictures, especially what you do with the coloured threads.
 

yssie

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Your bracelet lineup is simply mouth watering, as are the blues. My holy grail is to achieve a similar bracelet but with stronger pinks. I've kind of given up though. I'm finding the inconsistency in pricing disheartening, sometimes the price for a 7" bracelet comes back as more than the cost for a comparable strand. But after seeing your project I might start dipping my toes back in the water. Looking forward to seeing more pictures, especially what you do with the coloured threads.

I know Takahashi had some suuuuper pink pearls at one point. Couple years ago? They were white akoya but they’d been pinked so strongly that the overtone was blazing!!

I have some screenshots saved… From Takahashi’s IG, and couple pairs lined up for Ann, and Crystal_Dreams’ pair (closest to the tips of her fingers, right beside the bubble strand). Is this what you mean by strong pink?

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Out of curiosity - were the differing quotes from the same vendor, d’you mind me asking? I could see how it could be a challenging ask, getting hold of enough well-matched super-strongly-pinked akoya to create a whole bracelet from. I’m sure Takahashi could do it. I also wonder - if the quotes are from different vendors - if one vendor is taking the request for pink very literally and pricing for a custom search for AsPinkAsPossible, and another vendor is just planning to take something from inventory that’s kinda on the pinker side..? Just thinking out loud.

I’m very boring. All my akoya asks go to Takahashi now. All my akoya recommendations go to Takahashi too :lol: Might be worth finding out what they’ve got available now, they just stocked up for the year ::)


I was thinking about the stringing. Pattye recommended her Tenara thread, on account of the weight, so I’ve got Tenara in black and clear. The pearls are drilled to 0.8mm and the onyx beads are around 1-1.2mm - there’s some variance. (I didn’t want to have the pearls drilled with huge holes because I want MIL to be able to restring into a normal bracelet or necklace one day if she wants…)

So I’ve got two problems:
1. Changing thread colour between clear and black, and
2. Adjusting the knot size to match visually despite the drill hole differential. (Or maybe just knot the pearls and not the onyx or something). I was hoping the clear Tenara thread would look black next to the onyx and white next to pearls, but it really just looks white all the time, so I can’t knot the onyx with that stuff…

…I’m rambling…
 

Tartansparkles

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I know Takahashi had some suuuuper pink pearls at one point. Couple years ago? They were white akoya but they’d been pinked so strongly that the overtone was blazing!!

I have some screenshots saved… From Takahashi’s IG, and couple pairs lined up for Ann, and Crystal_Dreams’ pair (closest to the tips of her fingers, right beside the bubble strand). Is this what you mean by strong pink?

86B511CE-159E-4145-B7A9-B185EBEFA3BB.png

C897A22C-423E-4133-B880-513D7E16A2AC.jpeg

369247DA-6604-42D5-BC0B-50A7AAB87F80.jpeg

88650EB9-63FE-4381-BF76-B5566F290AA0.jpeg

Out of curiosity - were the differing quotes from the same vendor, d’you mind me asking? I could see how it could be a challenging ask, getting hold of enough well-matched super-strongly-pinked akoya to create a whole bracelet from. I’m sure Takahashi could do it. I also wonder - if the quotes are from different vendors - if one vendor is taking the request for pink very literally and pricing for a custom search for AsPinkAsPossible, and another vendor is just planning to take something from inventory that’s kinda on the pinker side..? Just thinking out loud.

I’m very boring. All my akoya asks go to Takahashi now. All my akoya recommendations go to Takahashi too :lol: Might be worth finding out what they’ve got available now, they just stocked up for the year ::)


I was thinking about the stringing. Pattye recommended her Tenara thread, on account of the weight, so I’ve got Tenara in black and clear. The pearls are drilled to 0.8mm and the onyx beads are around 1-1.2mm - there’s some variance. (I didn’t want to have the pearls drilled with huge holes because I want MIL to be able to restring into a normal bracelet or necklace one day if she wants…)

So I’ve got two problems:
1. Changing thread colour between clear and black, and
2. Adjusting the knot size to match visually despite the drill hole differential. (Or maybe just knot the pearls and not the onyx or something). I was hoping the clear Tenara thread would look black next to the onyx and white next to pearls, but it really just looks white all the time, so I can’t knot the onyx with that stuff…

…I’m rambling…

Yes, the pinks above would be my version of pink. The bubble strand is gorgeous.

The vendors included several of the forum's IG favourites. But my enquiries were limited to strands that they had already posted and my asking what it would be to have one of those strands reduced to a bracelet length. Maybe that does come with a premium because the vendor is left with a partial strand. I only made a few enquiries, I don't feel comfortable bothering the vendors for more info (although I get that that is a business model they are choosing).

I'd love if every vendor would go down the route of CMW pearls, pages and pages of pearl eye candy :)

Re your thread, would it be an option to find a single/contrasting colour that compliments the blue and the black and then you won't have to change? If the pendant is gold, is gold coloured thread an option?
 

canuk-gal

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HI:

It really wasn't a lie--just a fib! How could anyone be mad over a fib??? :saint:

As usual outrageously gorgeous stuff. I am sure your FIL (and your MIL) are very happy for your legwork!!

cheers--Sharon
 

empliau

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Soooo - you thought you were done with pearls, but pearls weren't done with you! Muahahah. (evil laughter sounds are harder to spell than I thought.)

Just as I was mulling a gem Akoya bracelet , you and Yy create the bracelet of bracelets! Stunning, as are you MIL's Madamas. That plan for her strand is just lovely.

Congratulations on finding such beautiful pearls! I look forward to modeling shots when they're here and strung.
 

yssie

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Yes, the pinks above would be my version of pink. The bubble strand is gorgeous.

The vendors included several of the forum's IG favourites. But my enquiries were limited to strands that they had already posted and my asking what it would be to have one of those strands reduced to a bracelet length. Maybe that does come with a premium because the vendor is left with a partial strand. I only made a few enquiries, I don't feel comfortable bothering the vendors for more info (although I get that that is a business model they are choosing).

I'd love if every vendor would go down the route of CMW pearls, pages and pages of pearl eye candy :)

Re your thread, would it be an option to find a single/contrasting colour that compliments the blue and the black and then you won't have to change? If the pendant is gold, is gold coloured thread an option?

Girl. Great minds. Gold-ey thread would make this *so* much easier. Pattye has some tan Tenara that could be close enough. But I think it’s just too #OutThere for my FIL, and so does my husband ;( FIL left everything up to me but his tastes are very very conservative. Now my MIL likes her jewellery a bit more adventurous, and she doesn’t believe in wearing less than six bright colours at a time, so I really think she’ll appreciate the blue/black/gold combo and the touch of asymmetry, but… How far do I push that, y’know? So I’ll try to figure it out with the black/clear first. I could always shove some knots under some conveniently-scattered gold beads, wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done that :lol:

Please do consider reaching out to Takahashi (again?) for your super pinks! Even if they recommend sourcing them loose - the pricing honestly wasn’t bad at all for my lineup, and it sounds like you want smaller pearls as well, which really helps… And I’m sure they’ll be more pink doing it that way than scavenging from an existing strand. And how amazing would that look next to a normal white akoya bracelet!? :love:
 

lovedogs

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Love this so much. You buying new pearls is joyous for me since I can try to live vicariously through you lol
 

Ann

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I'm speechless - stunning pearls. Dang!!! I love how you are "teaching me" though I'm sure you don't realize it. I have so much to learn. And I'm so glad you and this forum introduced me to Takahashi. I doubt I ever go elsewhere. That bracelet will be the holy Grail of bracelets. And of course now I want one.......
 

yssie

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HI:

It really wasn't a lie--just a fib! How could anyone be mad over a fib??? :saint:

As usual outrageously gorgeous stuff. I am sure your FIL (and your MIL) are very happy for your legwork!!

cheers--Sharon

Screenshotted and saved for future use :bigsmile:

OMG they had so better be!! I got five 15” onyx bead strands and calipers’d every dratted bead. Sorted out all the 8.4mm+ to use later. Big size variance actually (7.9 to 8.6mm in these “8mm” batches)…

I’m such a good DIL. Seriously. :praise::saint::lol-2:
 

yssie

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Soooo - you thought you were done with pearls, but pearls weren't done with you! Muahahah. (evil laughter sounds are harder to spell than I thought.)
:lol::lol:

Just as I was mulling a gem Akoya bracelet , you and Yy create the bracelet of bracelets! Stunning, as are you MIL's Madamas. That plan for her strand is just lovely.
I can’t wait to get it and compare!! It’s so hard to compare strands with studs, whenever I try that I end up picking out specific pearls in the strand to focus on.

I don’t actually have all that many white akoya bracelets! I feel like I’ve got more than I do - but I’ve rehomed a couple over the last few years. I’ve only got a 6-6.5mm from Andrew Moline (that was originally sourced from Takahashi) and two 8-8.5mm bracelets from Andrew (originally from a different supplier). I almost added a Mikimoto 7-7.5 a few months ago but got last minute cold feet… I’m still on the fence about whether or not I regret not buying it. I guess that’s my answer right there, huh?

Congratulations on finding such beautiful pearls! I look forward to modeling shots when they're here and strung.
Thank you!! Although I did no work, so I can take no credit :bigsmile: My bracelet will fill the wrist stack out on the top end, I’m really excited!! And I remember how enamoured my MIL was with the blue pearls - I quote, “I’ve never seen anything like that!” - so I think (I hope!!) she’ll be happy to have some of her own now :love:
 

yssie

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Love this so much. You buying new pearls is joyous for me since I can try to live vicariously through you lol
Yeah no joke, after this I’m dunzo or I’m gonna be living vicariously through my own poltergeist. Best enjoy the living whilst it lasts :lol:
 

icy_jade

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We are always excited to see a new thread from you too @yssie

So much eye candy goodness. Yums
 

yssie

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I'm speechless - stunning pearls. Dang!!! I love how you are "teaching me" though I'm sure you don't realize it. I have so much to learn. And I'm so glad you and this forum introduced me to Takahashi. I doubt I ever go elsewhere. That bracelet will be the holy Grail of bracelets. And of course now I want one.......
You’re always so sweet!! :love:

Sometimes I just marvel at the fact that once upon a time I used to think pearls were kinda boring. What on earth was wrong with me!? But I came to my senses, thankfully… My jewellery box would be way less interesting without my pearls!! They’re legit my favourite things to play with, by myself at 11pm ::)

Takahashi just shipped my pearls!! Eeeeeeeeeeeep!!!!!!!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
 

mellowyellowgirl

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Sooooooo pretty!!!!! Love the whites!!!!! So cool to see how they're sorted!

It's the kind of thing that would give my husband a nightmare as I interrogate him about each pearl: What do you mean sort them? They're all identical!!!

Question: Can you layer pearl bracelets weigh other things or will they scratch?
 

yssie

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Sooooooo pretty!!!!! Love the whites!!!!! So cool to see how they're sorted!

It's the kind of thing that would give my husband a nightmare as I interrogate him about each pearl: What do you mean sort them? They're all identical!!!

Question: Can you layer pearl bracelets weigh other things or will they scratch?

I would lose my mind sorting pearls full-time. I sorted a hundred something Tahitians for a bracelet two years ago and I've still got some lingering traumas :lol: But yeah... It was a show and tell of just how bottomless my nitpicking can be. Not in a good way :silenced::boohoo:

And for real, asking my other half totally just raised my blood pressure. "Um, it looks green? Dark green?" :wall::lol:
 

yssie

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Sooooooo pretty!!!!! Love the whites!!!!! So cool to see how they're sorted!

It's the kind of thing that would give my husband a nightmare as I interrogate him about each pearl: What do you mean sort them? They're all identical!!!

Question: Can you layer pearl bracelets weigh other things or will they scratch?

Oops! I forgot the question. I do layer them - I don’t worry about pearl on pearl action. :bigsmile: And I use metal ball clasps with no sharp edges… So I figure I’ve minimized the need to worrywart as much as I can.

This is only one year of regular stacking, but it also is one full year of regular stacking…
 

Ann

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You’re always so sweet!! :love:

Sometimes I just marvel at the fact that once upon a time I used to think pearls were kinda boring. What on earth was wrong with me!? But I came to my senses, thankfully… My jewellery box would be way less interesting without my pearls!! They’re legit my favourite things to play with, by myself at 11pm ::)

Takahashi just shipped my pearls!! Eeeeeeeeeeeep!!!!!!!! :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Many years, actually decades ago, I thought pearls were what old ladies wore. Ya know, they wore them to church and funerals. And carried their alligator handbags matching their kitten heel pumps. I suppose I was impressed back then but grew to think that was old-fashion. I'd kill for all that now, haha!! Bring on the pearls. But first I need to learn and that's why I love all the incredible education here.
 

katbran

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Beautiful Akoya !
As for the thread change...I was going to suggest hiding the knotted join with gold beads if you were going to scatter a few throughout the necklace anyway. Another possibility is to use a connection piece between the two strands - gimp will disguise the colour where it attaches to to connector. Connectors come is all shapes and sizes and can be a good design feature. I'll attach a photo of a Devino strand that uses a discontinued connector. tempImagehmezjA.jpg a photo
 

Catmom

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Gah I love these so much. You are so bad for my do I really need pearls thoughts. I love the blues but holy cow that bracelet will be stunning. I love you falling off the wagon.
 

yssie

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Many years, actually decades ago, I thought pearls were what old ladies wore. Ya know, they wore them to church and funerals. And carried their alligator handbags matching their kitten heel pumps. I suppose I was impressed back then but grew to think that was old-fashion. I'd kill for all that now, haha!! Bring on the pearls. But first I need to learn and that's why I love all the incredible education here.

Fashion is just *so* fickle. Some things I love now, I hated just ten years ago… Let’s not talk about how I feel about some of what I thought was flattering ten years ago… :lol:

But yeah. Pearls. Pearls were for ladies with fussy hats and white gloves. Like in all the storybooks. The funny thing for me is that the pearls I like best - plain white akoya - they’re just about the most stuffy of the lot, aren’t they? :bigsmile:

The thread in hangout is making me want to see if chatgpt could answer some questions about pearls, but that conversation could devolve pretty quick :twisted2:
 
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yssie

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Beautiful Akoya !
As for the thread change...I was going to suggest hiding the knotted join with gold beads if you were going to scatter a few throughout the necklace anyway. Another possibility is to use a connection piece between the two strands - gimp will disguise the colour where it attaches to to connector. Connectors come is all shapes and sizes and can be a good design feature. I'll attach a photo of a Devino strand that uses a discontinued connector. tempImagehmezjA.jpg a photo

I like the connectors idea! :bigsmile: That’s a great way to handle a rope especially, if you don’t necessarily want to knot between all the pearls but you also don’t want to have unevenly-distributed knots…

So either gold beads or connector pieces of some sort. I’ll have to find out what the FIL likes better.

❤️ Thank you for the idea!
 

yssie

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Gah I love these so much. You are so bad for my do I really need pearls thoughts. I love the blues but holy cow that bracelet will be stunning. I love you falling off the wagon.

Would you believe that my other half has had my package for four days? I haven’t had a chance to drive home yet :???:

He’s had THIS package for FOUR days!! And has expressed zero interest in seeing the pearls. How is that possible? If I was keeping this package for someone else I’d be absolutely itching to open it. Like, seriously, what sort of person did I marry!? :shock:
 

Catmom

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Would you believe that my other half has had my package for four days? I haven’t had a chance to drive home yet :???:

He’s had THIS package for FOUR days!! And has expressed zero interest in seeing the pearls. How is that possible? If I was keeping this package for someone else I’d be absolutely itching to open it. Like, seriously, what sort of person did I marry!? :shock:

Gasp, how could he lack such interest?!! Just who are you with?!! :lol: I would have been ripping into that package right away. Would you drive home already, please!
 
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