3x GIA certified Hanadama pictures and Takahashi gem comparison

[yssie]

I think the 7.68/7.72 (the more expensive ones) are "Natural White", though the only way to discern that is to filter the listings. I don't see it indicated anywhere on the product page.

Oh, that’d do it. 10/10 sleuthing!

 

[ShinyPink]

PP had GIA natural whites during the FB event. I almost bought some, but wanted more creaminess. I think there was a $100 difference or so. Actually, the event video is still on their FB page. They offered a 20% discount then, but I still decided against keeping the earrings.

Anyhow, go take a look at the video. He chats a lot about the GIA certs.

 

[yssie]

Can’t link here but there’s also some discussion on the other forum that’s devoted to pearls - if you search “GIA” there.

 

[pearlsngems]

Can’t link here but there’s also some discussion on the other forum that’s devoted to pearls - if you search “GIA” there.

And that would be the ideal place to ask questions about them.

 

[dmz]

I forgot how difficult it is to photograph pearls. Here's a few shots, included some Tahitian and Freshadama pearls for comparison.

Pearl Paradise product shot. (8.28 and 8.36 mm)




Lightbox (natural lighting):




Direct sun:




Artificial light (LED)




Artificial light (LED) using iPhone 15 Pro:




Shaded natural light:





Shaded natural light, higher exposure:

 

[pearlsngems]

I love the cooler tone of the Hanadama studs compared to that of the Freshadamas. (I have Freshadamas too and they are similarly warmer in tone.)
How does your wife feel about the color? Would she wear the studs with her Freshadama strand or does she have another strand to wear them with?

I find my Hanadama studs go well with my Baroque akoyas from PP. They are similarly white with pink overtones.

And it's always great to see that gorgeous Tahitian strand PP made for your wife!

 

[dmz]

A few more photos, just with the iPhone this time. (No adjustments to any of the photos except for cropping.)





Light tent, with LED lighting:




Outside on a covered balcony:

 

[dmz]

@dmz, did they arrive in time for Christmas? How does she like them?
(If not arrived yet, they will be a lovely New Year's gift).

DHL delivered them 9am on Boxing Day. (And not before extracting their pound of flesh to deliver to Australia.)

How does your wife feel about the color? Would she wear the studs with her Freshadama strand or does she have another strand to wear them with?

Hasn't tried yet. She wears just studs a lot, so probably fine for now.

And it's always great to see that gorgeous Tahitian strand PP made for your wife!

It gets a lot of wear!

 

[dmz]

First of all, HOW did you take such wonderful photos?

I used an iPhone 15 pro. Maybe I shouldn't admit that.

With an iPhone 15 Pro, when you get close to the subject, the iPhone automatically switches into "macro mode". (A little flower icon shows up.) And while that can be a good thing sometimes, it uses the ultra wide camera, which has a poorer sensor than the main camera. If you tap the little flower icon, it disables macro mode. You'll have to move the phone further away for it to focus. Use the 1x or 2x camera mode, with lots of light. (The 3x/5x mode also uses a poorer sensor.)

 

[dmz]

I guess I should have included the GIA certificate, since that's what this thread is about. Of note, these list the Overtone as "Pink and Green". I'm not really sure how green presents itself, but I don't see anything as obviously green.

 

[dmz]

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So, your "favorite pair" have their overtone described as "Pink and Green". (Same as the pair that I bought.) Whereas the other two pairs are described as "Pink". Can somebody who knows more about pearls explain that to me? Because I don't see any green in your favorite pair (or in the pair I have). If anything, the other two pairs you have look like they should be "Pink and Green".

 

[NY_Resonant]

So, your "favorite pair" have their overtone described as "Pink and Green". (Same as the pair that I bought.) Whereas the other two pairs are described as "Pink". Can somebody who knows more about pearls explain that to me? Because I don't see any green in your favorite pair (or in the pair I have). If anything, the other two pairs you have look like they should be "Pink and Green".

GIA refers to overtone in that "pink and green" description.

If you zoom into your last picture posted, look at the light reflection. You see pink in the middle and green in the outside area around the light.

Your pair had a very pretty overtone with good strength from what I could see.

My "favorite pair" had a crappy green overtone IMO.

 

[pearlsngems]

I found the video of the PP Facebook Live event of the GIA Hanadama pearls (it's on PP's FB page). In this video Jeremy said that what GIA calls "pink and green", he calls "silver rose"-- a subtle rose with silver-- and that it tends to give a more metallic luster. That is from 58:18 to 59:34.
Also interesting, in the same video from 1:02:20 to 1:04:20, are 3 pairs all described by GIA as "pink" yet they all look different.

It seems to me that one would really want to see photos of the specific pearls one is considering buying, rather than just counting on the GIA's color description.

 

[ShinyPink]

@dmz I'm like you. I don't see green tones unless someone point them out.

@pearlsngems It was difficult to see the tones unless he put them with the natural whites but my eyes weren't having it. I struggled, and found shopping while he's talking and moving pearls around to be frustrating. The pearls were lovely though! The markup for the GIA cert just didn't make them worth it in the end. I'm glad I bought some so I could actually see them and compare to my Takahashis. I just wish they felt extra-special, as I thought the GIA Hanadama designation would make them.

 

[pearlsngems]

I hear you!
And the Takahashi pearls that folks here have posted photos of are gorgeous. If they sold within the USA, I would be a customer.

But I prefer not to buy high priced jewelry (or anything, really) internationally whenever possible. I don't like dealing with the vagaries of international shipping, payment by bank transfer, potential customs fees etc. My only big jewelry purchase from outside the US was when I bought my GSS from Cees Van Oije 8 years ago.

A no-returns policy is less of a problem for me than it may be for some, as I don't return pearls. I don't mean on principle-- people should absolutely return pearls they don't love. I just have literally never returned any pearls. Never felt the need to! Maybe I'm more easily satisfied? Or maybe I just have a good sense of whether any given pearls would suit me. I also do my own restringing and can modify a necklace so that it suits me better. And if, over time, I find myself not wearing any given pearls, I pass them along.
Edited to add: I've also never been sent an incorrect order. If that happened, I'd return them, of course.

Isn't it great that we pearl lovers have so many options!

 

[dmz]

If you zoom into your last picture posted, look at the light reflection. You see pink in the middle and green in the outside area around the light.

Thanks for that. I wonder if I’ll be able to get a better photo of the effect. iPhone is easier to handle, but the photos are noisier. I am noticing that akoyas really like the bright/direct light, while Tahitians really like diffuse light.

 

[dmz]

Here's a mix of iPhone 15 Pro "macro mode" (using the ultra wide camera), 2x mode (using the main/wide camera) and an SLR. The two darker pictures are using the SLR. Nothing has been retouched. What I've noticed is that the iPhone does a lot of high dynamic range magic to get the exposures right. With the SLR, it's very easy to get completely over-exposed pearls in these lighting conditions.

What I think I've found is that the green overtone is often overexposed in photographs, and all the colour information lost. I think I've got some examples of it here, but I'm far from an expert.

 

[dmz]

I'm like you. I don't see green tones unless someone point them out.

Now that I know what I'm looking for, it's easier for me to see. But really only in sunlight. In the PP product shot, I don't see it. And in my indoor and/or lightbox shots, I don't see it.

A no-returns policy is less of a problem for me than it may be for some, as I don't return pearls.

Being in Australia, I'd lose a lot on shipping, taxes and fees with a return. That said, I likely wouldn't return these anyway. Takahashi was on my radar, but I simply ran out of time to pursue that option.

 

[yssie]

Does anyone know what GIA’s overtone colour labels are? Only pink and pink+green? Or are there others?

If pink/green are the only options - this nomenclature could be a case of lumping everything that’s not “just pink only” into “add the green label too”.

Edit - I have PSL reports (Japanese, for akoya) where the only overtone colour options, according to Google Translate, are “pink”, “pink green”, and “green pink”. All my pearls are “pink green”.

 

[pearlsngems]

I just noticed the link I posted earlier to the CPAA ThisIsPearl digital magazine is now dead-- here is a link to read it (Volume III has the article about pearl prices rising):
CPAA THISISPEARL magazine

And subscriptions are free. There is a link to sign up to the Shells newsletter.

 

[dmz]

so I imagine they will be back in inventory soon.

Looks like they showed up today on the website.

 

[dmz]

Does anyone know what GIA’s overtone colour labels are? Only pink and pink+green? Or are there others?

No, but it's a question I had too. If I find out, I'll report back.

All my pearls are “pink green”.

Is that something you sought out specifically, or just happened to be what you liked? Do you have a photo that you feel demonstrates the overtone? (Your photography is great, btw.)

 

[yssie]

@dmz Thank you for the kind words!

No good photography today though, I'm afraid. Sunlight is hard to come by right now! All three bracelets are pink-green per their PSLs... IRL the largest is most pink, lightest-bodied, and coolest-toned, and has the smoothest skin; the middle is darkest-bodied and most contrasty (and also has most surface texture); the smallest is least pink. The smallest looks warmer-toned than the other two but I don't think the body is actually creamier than the middle - I think it's just a side-effect of the lack of pink.

The pink-green appelation - not by demand. Just what they all happened to be called by PSL.










PSL for the largest:



PSL for the middle:



PSLs for the smallest:

 

[yssie]

Additionally - all three of these are also pink-green per their PSLs... Turns out I've never owned any PSL certed pearls that are not pink-green...




#1:



#2:



#3:

 

[yssie]

Ah. Here we go. @dmz @NY_Resonant y'all might find this interesting.



And Google Translate:



PSL grading explanation attached - Japanese (PDF). And an interesting writeup here, doesn't map 1:1 with the characters on the report but... I feel like I can see what they're getting at -

真珠のピンクとは？ | 花珠真珠店

真珠のピンクとは？ここで説明していること・ピンクは個性。品質とは無関係です。・地色のピンクと干渉色のピンクを分けて考えましょう。ご興味をお持ちいただけましたら、以下へ読み進めてください。

hanadama.shop

 

[NY_Resonant]

Ah. Here we go. @dmz @NY_Resonant y'all might find this interesting.



And Google Translate:



PSL grading explanation attached - Japanese (PDF). And an interesting writeup here, doesn't map 1:1 with the characters on the report but... I feel like I can see what they're getting at -

真珠のピンクとは？ | 花珠真珠店

真珠のピンクとは？ここで説明していること・ピンクは個性。品質とは無関係です。・地色のピンクと干渉色のピンクを分けて考えましょう。ご興味をお持ちいただけましたら、以下へ読み進めてください。

hanadama.shop

I keep *wanting* to like Green Pink… I tell myself if I find one that’s very contrasty AND not super green, I’ll like it…

Stopped by NYC mikimoto to peek, didn’t see any Green Pink that attracted me…sigh. I was actually not impressed by my visit this time which surprised me since last time I saw some really gorgeous pearls.

So yea, all my pearls are Pink Green also…

 

[yssie]

I keep *wanting* to like Green Pink… I tell myself if I find one that’s very contrasty AND not super green, I’ll like it…

Stopped by NYC mikimoto to peek, didn’t see any Green Pink that attracted me…sigh. I was actually not impressed by my visit this time which surprised me since last time I saw some really gorgeous pearls.

So yea, all my pearls are Pink Green also…

Y’know, I haven’t been able to find a single image of a PSL cert with green-pink labelled yet, English or Japanese It’s beginning to feel like a myth

 

[dmz]

Ah. Here we go. @dmz @NY_Resonant y'all might find this interesting.

Thank you for digging all of that up! (Sorry for my delayed response.)

It's interesting that you ended up with pink and green without specifically aiming for it. It seems PP is pricing "pink" higher than "pink and green". Not sure if that is universal. To my eyes, in the video comparisons PP showed, I liked the pink and green ones better. But when the prices are the reverse of what I prefer, my first question is "what am I missing?"

I'm still blown away at how difficult it is to photograph pearls. Here's a thought experiment for you: If you had to assess a pearl based on a single photograph, but you could specify how that photograph was taken (camera, lighting, etc), what would you want to see?

 

[pearlsngems]

@dmz, I prefer diffuse light/ natural light photos. I want to see what pearls look like in real life, since that is how I will be wearing them and seeing them.

 

[yssie]

The lighting in these pics is my preference. In the shade on a sunny day - bright ambient light that’s a touch diffused. Best way to judge body and overtone, IMO.

Fruition: 9.5-10mm "top quality" white akoya from Takahashi

Folks here might recall that for a year and change I've been low-key sort-of-searching for a pair of 9.5-10mm gem akoya. I wanted a really spectacular pair, and it was a passive search because I fully expected that the only way I'd ever get it would be to buy from Mikimoto. I decided to get my...

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