Help with buying pearls?

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#17
Hi surfergirljen, glad you are making a decision. I love pearls and know them very well. I also know a bit about this biz. No, $1100 for a strand of freshwater pearls is absolutely ridiculous. We can hand down anything really, but will have very little value, although a large sentimental value. You will do better making a little trip to your local jewelry store and view them/compare prices and quality. Online-ebay, I have been super happy with purchases from Empire26, Cris98 and Mycollectioninc. They are very reputable online sellers, with good return policies. Check them out. After all these options and still find nothing, then get a strand of freshwater. Do what makes you happy:)
 
#18
The ones Ashley is wearing are at the very least 13 mm and South Seas but they may be as large as 15 so if you are getting 10s they will be much smaller than the ones she is wearing but Freshadams are stunning for sure and I think you would make a great choice by buying them just know that the 10s will be nowhere near these for size but great decision if you get them!
 
#19
I beg to differ; freshadams are most definitely worth it because they have very thick nacr, hence they will last longer and will have gorgeous lustre, high quality freshwater is less expensive than saltwater but they will often look even more beautiful. There is a huge difference in quality between low grade blemished or off shape freshwater and the top grade. And I do not even own freshwater so this is not why Iam saying this.
 
#20
Ive bought freshadamas and AAA freshwater from PP. From what i learned from their CS, Freshadama is their own classification, and merely refers to pearls that were bought undrilled and they are usually used for earrings (so they are more perfectly matched). IN essence, they are still AAA pearls IMO.

Putting my AAA and Freshadamas next to each other, there is hardly a diff (but there is a diff in price). Luster and orient, shape and cleanliness of the surface are both pretty much the same...

Some people prefer akoya pearls for their metallic sheen, but i personally prefer freshwater because its pure nacre and IMO is a bit more durable, especially with something you want to wear daily.

For daily wear, i recommend smaller than what Ahsley is wearing :) Perhaps anywhere from 7.5-10mm. You'd be hard pressed to find beautiful SS pearls of the size you want for under $600...If you are going for the size, i would suggest costume jewelry pearls, since you prolly wont wear it daily....

GL deciding on which pearls to get!!
 
#21
surfergirljen said:
So sorry about the pics! They show up fine for me! So strange...

Anyway, yeah, you all confirmed what I pretty much guessed... way out of my league! I'll search freshwater and all of the other suggestions here, thanks a ton... OR I'll start out with a nice set of Kate Spade costume ones and go from there! :) I don't usually like pearls that much but gasped when I saw these! :) Somehow they MAKE the outfit!!
Click to expand...


When I was 20 I was a huge pearl fan but couldn't afford jack. I got a few nice strands of Majorica pearls (costume pearls made from fish scales, so they have decent lustre). They didn't fool anyone, myself included, but gave me the look I wanted for a price I could afford.

I've been upgrading my pearls ever since and have quite a variety of them now. I passed my Majorica pieces on to a 15-year-old niece who was thrilled to have them.

I still haven't gone for South Sea pearls, because the ones I want -- perfectly round, perfectly matched, at least 14mm -- would cost in the 100k + range.

Not to get political on the thread, but Hilary ******* and Nancy ****** both have really outstanding South Sea strands. Nancy has a golden strand that's :drool:

So, OP, I say go with some costume pieces and see if you love them enough to upgrade when you can afford it.
 
#22
Very true paroparo, yes the thickness of the nacre makes freshwater pearls very durable.

You also made some great points doreenjoy, although I guess nice freshwater strands are not superexpensive if one can afford them, I am unsure how much Majoricas are these days but I thought they were not cheap either? If the difference in price is not that big I would definitely go for real freshwater pearls.

Let us know what you decide OP.
 
#23
#24
BEBEPURSE said:
Sorry but her pearls do not look real. Not only do they not appear to be knotted in between the pearls ( as expensive pearls would be) but they are not spaced evenly either. If these were real this, size and evenness would be expensive.

( scroll over the necklace to get a close up shot).

http://www.stylebistro.com/lookbook/Cultured+Pearls/HRVG0sNWyeb


Here are some 11mm ones. Check out the model wearing them for size comparison.

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/...g-18-Potato-Cultured-FreshwaterPearl-Necklace
Click to expand...

I agree with you, I thought these looked faux as well (not that I am any kind of expert at all, definitely not). They certainly are beautiful, regardless though. I own many faux pearl strands (and real) and love them all, you really can't go wrong with pearls of any kind. :smile1:
 
#27
Thanks so much everyone for all the feedback!!

Still thinking this through... the one I'm thinking of is this one:

http://www.pearlparadise.com/9095-mm-White-Freshadama-Freshwater-Pearl-Necklace756.aspx What do you all think?

I do think they are smaller than Ashley's but that might be okay for me as I've never worn them and hers are a big jump! I love how often she wears hers out... if you google "Ashley Judd pearls" and then hit "pictures" you'll see she wears them everywhere!

As for whether or not hers are real... I would think that she's really really really well off. She could certainly afford to buy herself a $10,000 set if she wanted, or they could have been a gift from her racecar husband or mega-wealthy mother and sister! I seriously doubt she'd parade all over the world in faux pearls... it would be like J Lo wearing a simulated diamond! LOL...

I bought a big set (looks to be as big as Ashley's) with the 25% off coupon at Kate Spade the other day so I might test drive those for a while to make sure I'm a pear girl before committing $1,000... but pleast do let me know what you think!

I did look on ebay but found the "AAA" ones looked pretty sketchy and i'm really not comfortable buying something like this off ebay when I'm not sure what I'm doing, KWIM? I've bought Tiffany there before but I really know my stuff and am comfortable having it checked at Tiffany's so don't worry too much!

TIA!!
 
#28
surfergirljen said:
As for whether or not hers are real... I would think that she's really really really well off. She could certainly afford to buy herself a $10,000 set if she wanted, or they could have been a gift from her racecar husband or mega-wealthy mother and sister! I seriously doubt she'd parade all over the world in faux pearls... it would be like J Lo wearing a simulated diamond! LOL...
Click to expand...

There are quite a few famous ladies who wear faux/costume jewelry. :smile1: Some of our more fashionable first ladies have done it quite publicly, for example.

As for the strand you posted, it's lovely, but I have serious problems with paying that much money for freshwater pearls, even ones as nice as these. That's a personal issue though. :smile1: Have you gone into a jewelry store to try on 9.0-9.5mm pearls to make sure you'll be happy with the size? They will be considerably smaller than the ones Ashley wears and I would hate for you to be unhappy or surprised after spending so much.
 
#29
The Freshadamas are nice, to be honest, BUT on your neck, AAA from Pearl Paradise are almost the same. I would suggest getting AAA strand for your necklace and Freshadamas for your earrings (if youre getting them).

OR, ask them to send you a loose pearl one of each (i think they do that) so you can compare and see for yourself the difference (or lack therof) of their AAA and Freshadamas. Remember, Freshadama is their own "rating" and it really just means the pearls in that specific necklace were all bought undrilled and matched very well (bec usually those quality of pearls are used for earrings).

Like i mentioned above, i have both from PP, several pairs of Freshie earrings and AAA necklace and the difference really is very very very minute...
 
#30
If Ashley's pearls are real, they are in the $100,000 + range. they're huge, perfectly round, appear unblemished, and they match each other.

Not saying either way, just stating the price point IMO.
 
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