Pearls...where do you get them??

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Bagluvluv

Bagluvluv

ALMA HUNTER
O.G.
Aug 16, 2006
4,691
689
#1
I am a t-shirt and jeans kind of gal......and Ive been looking for something to dress it up, something other than gold......I think that pearls would be great and simple....

But I dont know much about them, although I have one set in white.
Where do you guys purchase yours from? Are the variety of colors they come in dyed or natural??

Any infos you can throw my way would be so appreciated!!!!:yes:
 
#4
i have a source i go to in the bay area. i just got a pearl necklace, mulit-colored, 11-13mm, freshwater. awesome piece. i love it. let me know if u want to see pictures. saving up for a strand of south sea!
 
#5
Most of mine are Mikimoto that I bought at a jewelery store where we always shop. I have white studs, black studs, a black and diamond ring and a black and diamond pendant necklace. The way I understand it is, the white and black are natural colors, but the golds and pinks are dyed. I may not be right about this, but that's what someone told me.

I also have a pendant with three pearls and the world's teensiest diamond chips that I bought at Bloomingdale's during one of their F&F sales so the price was fabulous. There's definitely no comparison in quality, though to the Mikimoto's.
 
#6
I wear Mikimoto's as well. I think if you are going for a simple, classic set of white, Mikimoto is the only way to go. The quality is impeccable and they retain their value. HTH!
 
#7
I have a set from Blue Nile which is quite nice.

I also have a set from a guy who sells his handiwork at Eastern Market in Washington DC, called (I kid you not): "All Beads, No Crap." He's hilarious and the craftsmanship is quite good. If you go on a day that it is raining you can get a really good deal. The quality is surprisingly good for a sidewalk vendor--I was really pleased.
 
#8
Here is some quick info about Pearls. I do a lot of pearl stringing and love working with them....as you can guess! LOL
Pearls are formed when a tiny bit of sand gets trapped inside an oyster. The oyster produces a "nacre" as a defense mechanism that coats the intruder, layer after layer. A pearl is only found naturally in 1 in every 10,000 oysters. Mother of Pearl is the thick nacre that coats the inner shell of the oyster or mollusk. The oyster secretes the nacre from the cells on the mantle tissue to protect itself from parasitic organisms.

Cultured Pearls are formed with human intervention but placing an irritant into an opened mollusk or oyster. They are more affordable and come in smaller sizes but generally don't get bigger than 13mm (except in Baroque shapes). The necklaces/earrings run in the hundreds.


South Sea & Tahitian Pearls are more expensive and come larger in size.
South Seas usually start at 8mm. The 8mm size is considered "baby South Sea" and they can go to 22mm
The necklaces & earrings will run in the many hundreds- thousands.

The colors can be natural or dyed. These are the common colors you can find in nature......

Natural South Sea colors--- White, Silver/Platinum Grayish, Gold
Natural Cultured- White, Peach, Lavender
Natural Tahitian: Black, Gray, Silver with overtones of Pistachio, Eggplant, Peacock, Red, and many more.
Black only naturally occurs in Tahitian pearls
 
#9
Japster said:
Here is some quick info about Pearls. I do a lot of pearl stringing and love working with them....as you can guess! LOL
Pearls are formed when a tiny bit of sand gets trapped inside an oyster. The oyster produces a "nacre" as a defense mechanism that coats the intruder, layer after layer. A pearl is only found naturally in 1 in every 10,000 oysters. Mother of Pearl is the thick nacre that coats the inner shell of the oyster or mollusk. The oyster secretes the nacre from the cells on the mantle tissue to protect itself from parasitic organisms.

Cultured Pearls are formed with human intervention but placing an irritant into an opened mollusk or oyster. They are more affordable and come in smaller sizes but generally don't get bigger than 13mm (except in Baroque shapes). The necklaces/earrings run in the hundreds.


South Sea & Tahitian Pearls are more expensive and come larger in size.
South Seas usually start at 8mm. The 8mm size is considered "baby South Sea" and they can go to 22mm
The necklaces & earrings will run in the many hundreds- thousands.

The colors can be natural or dyed. These are the common colors you can find in nature......

Natural South Sea colors--- White, Silver/Platinum Grayish, Gold
Natural Cultured- White, Peach, Lavender
Natural Tahitian: Black, Gray, Silver with overtones of Pistachio, Eggplant, Peacock, Red, and many more.
Black only naturally occurs in Tahitian pearls
Click to expand...

Thanks sooo much for the info!!!!!!!!!
 
#11
I have a pair of white pearl earrings from Tiffany and some black pearl earrings from the Tiny Jewel Box, a DC jewelry shop. Love them both! One thing to remember is that pearls, even white ones, have some colored undertones, so see what looks good on you. My Tiffany pearls are sort of pinkish, but I've seen yellowish ones. My black pearls are really black, but I've also seen ones with lots of brown undertones.
 
#13
My pears are not brand name, I guess. I do have a set of Majorca pearls that are really pretty. The others I have gotten from various jewelry stores. If you want to buy online, pearlsonly.com has some nice pricing, esp. if you aren't looking for a name for resale/sentimental value.
 
#14
I think Mikimoto pearls cannot be beat for the classics. I love my white necklace, bracelet, earring stud set.
However, if you are looking for some fun fashion, but nice jewelry, I would check out Honora on QVC.com. They have a very wide selection of pearls set in both silver and gold.
 
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