Pearls...where do you get them??

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#16
I hate to a nit-picker, but Japster, almost all South Sea and Tahitian pearls are cultured pearls. There are Akoya (white, black, cream, for the most part) that Mikimoto and Tiffany's are known for; freshwater for much cheaper, and Tahitian and South Sea. American Pearl's website has a lot of good (ie. correct) info under education, if anyone is interested.

Bagluvluv, where you get your pearls totally depends on what you are looking to get out of your pearls. Resale value= Mikimoto or Tiffany's Freshwater pearls are an inexpensive alternative to Akoya, and even within Akoya, Chinese Akoya are typically less expensive than Japanese.
Good luck!
 
#17
Thistle said:
I hate to a nit-picker, but Japster, almost all South Sea and Tahitian pearls are cultured pearls.
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You are absolutely right. I was typing fast and left out "freshwater" after cultured. I was meaning to refer to cultured freshwater as an inexpensive alternative to SouthSeas, not cultured pearls as a whole.
 
#19
elizabethk said:
Can you shower with a pearl? Since they are freshwater saltwater? I did a google search and didn't find anything.
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It's not a good idea because soap can be corrosive and dulling to pearls. It also adds weight and stress to the silk string.

I usually tell people to lightly wash them with a dab of water and a soft cloth.
 
#20
View attachment 374210I don't have "brand name" pearls,but they were purchased from a pearl buyer with many years experience. Pearls Katsuyama in Canada.
It was hard to photograph and capture the lustre. I don't have a good camera for close up
Mine are White ,Golden, and Grey South Sea and Black Tahitian.
The Tahitian are not the best colour,and were not purchased directly at Katsuyama.
The South Sea are high quality, very round, minor blemishes and well matched.
The larger South Sea are not as lustrous;as you must sacrifice some lustre in larger pearls;unless you are prepared to spend a fortune. It is very rare to and tremendously costly to come across very large,round, high quality,high lustre pearls.
The best overall pearls I have are the smaller white South Sea.
 

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#21
If you are looking to make a super high quality and expensive investment, then I would advise going to one of the known lines mentioned in this thread. If, however, you are not ready to spend quite that much, you can find beautiful pearls with minimal flaws for much less money. I'm a jewelry designer, and I see very nice quality pearl strands for $20 to $100. Were I in the market, I would purchase a temporarily strung strand of pearls in person (so I could examine the quality) and have someone knot them for me for me for about $20. If you have the time and resources for this, you will not find a better deal out there. Also, it could be my migraine meds blinding me, but I don't think I saw anyone mention pink pearls as one of the naturally occurring colors out there-- they're a pale pink. Good luck, and happy shopping!
 
#25
My pearl bracelet is from Tiffanys. I wanted Mikimoto and went to both Mikimoto stores in Japan and the States to look but they didn't have any bracelet styles I liked. Tiffanys however did so I ended up getting it from them
 
#26
dh recently got me japanese akoya pearls from mikimoto. i love them! southsea pearls of good quality are very reasonably priced here in the philippines. there's a store here called jewelmer that sells good quality pearl jewelry (of all kinds, shapes and sizes). good luck on your pearl hunt!
 
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