Thank you for your kind words. Like all popular designer items, Mikimoto pearls are faked just like VCA Alhambra & Cartier Love jewelry are faked. Mikimoto has their own website to purchase from as well as his own boutiques & some very high end jewelry store are authorized to sell the brand. With vintage Mikimoto, they should have paperwork to come with them & Mikimoto have their own way of determining if a strand of pearls are in fact one of theirs. They will not do repairs on strands if it is not one of theirs. With Ebay, you have to do your research, ask questions & make educated purchases when it comes to any jewelry.
Pearl Paradise is a reputable seller of fine pearls. I buy my pearls from local reputable jewelers or from Gem Shopping Network located here in Ga. GSN sells online from their website & on cable/satellite & stands behind what they sell & have an excellent return policy. They sell some remarkable pearls. In fact, they just got finished with doing some shows with David who one of the people who buys the pearls, South Sea, Tahitian, & Akoya, directly from the pearl farmers. He's Australian & will be back for more shows in June, the Pearl Month. I bought a pair of Tahitian drop earrings from him & they are glorious. I can see my reflection in these pearls.
Pearls can be dressed up & dressed down. I wear pearls all the time & have worn pearls with jeans long before Princess Di made it popular to do so.
When buying pearls online, you have to make sure the seller has a good return policy in case you decide you don't like them when you receive them. You would also like to check out the site's reputation & reviews.
I think your MOP pieces would make a lovely unique piece of jewelry with sentimental value! Maybe you could have them strung interspersed with pearls into a necklace, perhaps.
Thank you for all the great info! I'll check out Gem Network. I took a look at the Mikimoto web site--holy cow! Gorgeous pieces! I want that $38K pearl and diamond tiara.
I saw that Nordstrom.com carries Mikimoto pearls, but in the online reviews buyers complain that Nordstrom doesn't send them a Mikimoto box or papers with their purchase.
I loooove pearls and also wear them whenever I can. The only strand of cultured pearls I have is a $50 strand I got from Kohl's years ago. It seems like over the years the color has gone a bit off. It's now nearly indistinguishable from my $10 strands of fake pearls from Kohl's. In fact I'm going to have to label it so my heirs don't toss it in with the bad-looking fake pearls in my jewelry box. And needless to say none of these pearl strands look nearly as nice as the strands of heavy glass fake pearls I bought years ago.