GrandPearl Akoya necklace 7-7.5 - finally!

[GeliL]

This thread is long overdue. I have bought this necklace in the January 2020 and never had the chance to physically see it in person - until now! Now looking at the pearl prices I am so glad I bit the bullet on them because I probably would not have another chance now lol.

Basically, my mother's long time trusted jadeite vendor (back when jadeite was not so ridiculously priced) invited a pearl vendor to their show, where the vendor was doing a live stream on Taobao. At the time, the vendor was mainly selling freshwater pearls, but put out a strand of GrandPearl necklace for comparison. My mother was telling me about how pretty the strand was, without much knowledge about pearls, and upon hearing this I immediately jumped up and said "Hold on, did you say GrandPearl? Is it for sale?"

After some negotiation with that vendor we got it shipped to China and bought it from her. Then cue the lockdown where I was physically unable to go back to retrieve it until this year. 4 years is a long wait, but it's finally here.

I only have some pictures of it in indoor light, but I will try to grab some pics in natural light as well. It's so hard to photograph them in indoor lighting, they don't look nearly as good since my light is so warm . I also got a new phone recently and i feel like the camera settings need to be played with more to capture it.

The color on the pearls does not match to an identical extent, but it doesn't really bother me honestly.

 

[GeliL]

Excuse the dust and stuff, I need to give them a good clean lol.

They also don't seem to be completely *flawless*. I wonder if supearls would be even better?

 

[yssie]

Omg!!!!

You. Have. My. Attention. OMG.

 

[yssie]

Freshwater compared with Granpearl!? What the heck!? But wow yes did you ever make a good life choice with that discovery!!

 

[yssie]

Can you share the pepca report as well?

How do they compare with your Takahashi?

Do the pearls seem well matched in luster?

 

[lovedogs]

A million more pics please!!!

 

[GeliL]

The PEPCA report isn't super detailed, just that it's certified as GrandPearl. The tag was attached to the necklace but I removed it since I wore it out once!

 

[GeliL]

Freshwater compared with Granpearl!? What the heck!? But wow yes did you ever make a good life choice with that discovery!!

Yeah in retrospect it was kind of ridiculous that she was comparing the luster of the two and being like "see! they are similar but this is so much cheaper!" lol. They were so obviously different but her didn't make a strong case.

 

[GeliL]

Can you share the pepca report as well?

How do they compare with your Takahashi?

Do the pearls seem well matched in luster?

I would say the luster is pretty well matched, but you can still clearly tell the difference between the single pearl with the most luster and the least luster within the strand.

Here I have an example, I marked a few adjacent pearls with an approximate luster grade, I think you can tell the difference between the lusters there.

To be totally honest, I think I was building up too high of an expectation in my head for the 4 years that I was a bit thrown off, since I thought it would be "perfection" but it is not. But regardless, it is still a very beautiful strand, and the price was suuuper reasonable at the time (low thousands USD). Not only is it pink, in some lighting it has an ethereal pink-green sheen that is so hard to capture in camera!

Will try to dig out the Takahashi and do some comparison shots tomorrow during the day! The perks of being able to work from home

 

[pearlsngems]

Beautiful!
If you can photograph it against a white background (a paper towel will do) the luster will show up even better! Black backgrounds just swallow up luster.
A few tiny pits are no big deal in a strand. They look tiny even in that photo where the pearls are hugely enlarged, so I can only imagine how small the pits look IRL. Likely no one will notice them, being blinded by the luster.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

We need soooo many more photos! And neckshots!

 

[Catmom]

Oh my dream.....

 

[GeliL]

Pics in indirect lighting!






Comparison with Takahashi! I think Takahashi has overall a bit more luster.

 

[GeliL]

Comparison shots with Takahashi bracelet, Takahashi earrings(the bigger pair) as well as a pair of Mikis (the smaller pair).

This just made me double confirm my faith in Takahashi!

 

[GeliL]

And just for funsies, I have added freshwater pearls to the mix! Two big purplish ones and a strand of baby pearls. Now you have seen my entire pearl repertoire

 

[lovedogs]

I might be insane, but i like your T bracelet better? Am I seeing things??? I feel like the bracelet has sharper contrast

 

[GeliL]

I might be insane, but i like your T bracelet better? Am I seeing things??? I feel like the bracelet has sharper contrast

Def not seeing things, you are right! The majority of them do have a sharper contrast! The G stand is better matched for luster, but they are not super sharp sharp sharp!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

what a stunning collection
four years is a long time, i hope you wear them often now you finally have them
they are beautiful

 

[pearlsngems]

Lovely pearls, great photos!

 

[lovedogs]

Def not seeing things, you are right! The majority of them do have a sharper contrast! The G stand is better matched for luster, but they are not super sharp sharp sharp!

That's crazy. So surprised! What was the grading on the T bracelet? Did they call it gem quality or tennyo, etc?

 

[GeliL]

That's crazy. So surprised! What was the grading on the T bracelet? Did they call it gem quality or tennyo, etc?

They were originally the ones @yssie picked out, so gem probably?

 

[GeliL]

The single pearl with the sharpest luster out of the bunch is actually from the T

Here is a comparison between the sharpest pearls.

 

[GeliL]

Some shots next to the window. Gotta say, they are both very impressive

 

[GeliL]

And in low light setting

 

[lovedogs]

Definitely don't mean to disparage the granpearl! It's an amazing strand. But my guess is that the T bracelet is much cheaper overall, so I'm pleasanrly surprised!

 

[GeliL]

Definitely don't mean to disparage the granpearl! It's an amazing strand. But my guess is that the T bracelet is much cheaper overall, so I'm pleasanrly surprised!

Oh no, they are actually pretty similar in price! (It was a steal for the G, since it was not as well known back then, and sold at wholesale lol). And no I completely get what you mean, I am also trying to say to buy with confidence from T!

 

[lovedogs]

Oh no, they are actually pretty similar in price! (It was a steal for the G, since it was not as well known back then, and sold at wholesale lol). And no I completely get what you mean, I am also trying to say to buy with confidence from T!

Omg jealous of what a good deal you got! Pearl prices have gotten INSANE

 

[Crystal_Dreams]

The necklace is lovely and you sure bought it at a good time!! This really reinforces to me what Takahashi have been quite upfront with all along though.
The certified pearls are beautiful, but not all beautiful and high quality pearls are certified. There are some of comparable or higher quality which don’t come with the fancy paperwork!

 

[jeweln]

Fantastic luster on those pearls
May I know what does Grand pearl mean ?

 

[Summerpeacerose]

Omg jealous of what a good deal you got! Pearl prices have gotten INSANE

This is my first post. A year ago I decided I wanted to buy a strand of pearls. I started researching pearls. I discovered I like the white color of south sea pearls. I like 10 mm - 11 mm size. I love the pearls where you can see your reflection clearly. This equals a high cost due to what I love in quality and low or zero blemishes. The least expensive I saw was 5,000 to 8,000 dollars on a couple of websites. Which brings me to my point. Last week I saw a strand of 10 -11 mm south sea pearls on a resale site. They had a black round tag on them that read Granpearl. The seller said they are new, and come in a green box. Not sure if really new, but unworn. I bought them after researching what Granpearl means. The pearls are white, round, very high luster with a sharp image reflecting back of the camera, no blemishes in sight on any of the dozen posted photos. After researching on this site here, I think the person may not have understood what they had. The pearls are in transit to me as I type this. I will have the pearls appraised as soon as I receive them. Are there jewelry appraisers who specialize in pearls? I live in usa.