@yssie thank you for a such a thoughtful response! I decided I want to invest in a fine quality set of classic pearls: an 18" necklace and a pair of studs. I know I am not willing to go "sky's the limit" on the budget to chase absolute perfection. Mikimoto Reserve is not an option. But at the same time, I value high quality and want to buy a gorgeous enough set to minimize any "what if's" or a later desire to upgrade. I am at the stage in my life where I am only purchasing classic and very fine quality pieces of jewelry that I will leave to my children. I'd also rather spend my budget getting more quality than having a branded piece of jewelry.Hello!
I saw your post last night - wasn’t able to respond at the time, but I did see the original pricing. No worries, I’ll answer without explicit reference to them.
So my first recommendation would be to decide what “superior” means to you, and how far you’re willing to go to chase “superiority”. Assuming a round pearl shape - how do you personally rank these quality factors?
- Luster (sharpness of reflection, and I’ll bundle contrastiness in here as well)
- Strength of overtone (how bright is the iridescence)
- Pearl size
- Skin smoothness and lack of blemishing
And then... How much are you willing to spend to achieve excellence? To get tippy top marks in all categories, zero compromises, you’d have to go to Mikimoto and buy a Reserve strand. It’ll cost a leg, but IMO noone else can get enough zero-compromise pearls in the right sizes to make offerings at that sort of quality feasible. So you’re going to be compromising somewhat with every other vendor who’s accessible to us here in the US.
The Japanese market prizes luster as the top quality factor (after shape and colour are established). That means that very lustrous strands cost a lot more, even if you’re willing to accept some blemishing and some shark skinned pearls. In general, a definition of “gem quality” is going to be synonymous with “excellent luster”, and in general “pre-certified” Hanadama strands aren’t going to show gem quality luster. However, all my gem luster strands have more blemishing and less smooth skins than my pre-certified Hanadama and Ten-nyo.
It’s always easiest if you can judge in-person!! My first question: Are you near a Mikimoto boutique? If so it’s definitely worth a trip. They’ll be able to show you different grades of pearls, and you could find out what your eyes do and don’t appreciate quite definitively! Otherwise, would it be possible to buy both the Andrew strand and Pearl Paradise’s best of current stock (call in and tell them your priorities, and ask for the best strand they’ve got, don’t just buy off the site) and do your own comparisons, and return the one you don’t care for? Quality within Hanadama can vary significantly, and the “nonspecified vendor Hanadama” in that picture may not be representative of the nicest Hanadama that Pearl Paradise has available right now. If buying both is not an option I would choose Andrew’s as a safer bet for higher quality, and I’d definitely choose higher quality over larger - I don’t think 7mm is too small for any woman
Edit - Are you specifically looking for a natural white strand? Strands with a more pink overtone are preferred in Japan and in my opinion flatter more skin tones than natural whites. Pinking is a permanent treatment that doesn’t influence pearl value - natural whites are more rare but they aren’t worth more just because they’re not pinked. Different vendors define “natural white” differently, too - all vendors mean “no pinking”, but some vendors also mean “no bleaching” and other vendors mean “bleached but not pinked”. Bleaching is a standard akoya treatment - again, no impact on value.
@yssie thank you for a such a thoughtful response! I decided I want to invest in a fine quality set of classic pearls: an 18" necklace and a pair of studs. I know I am not willing to go "sky's the limit" on the budget to chase absolute perfection. Mikimoto Reserve is not an option. But at the same time, I value high quality and want to buy a gorgeous enough set to minimize any "what if's" or a later desire to upgrade. I am at the stage in my life where I am only purchasing classic and very fine quality pieces of jewelry that I will leave to my children. I'd also rather spend my budget getting more quality than having a branded piece of jewelry.
My first priority is luster, without a doubt. I lust after sharp, metallic luster that's well matched across the pearls. Then overtone- particularly, silver. Then smoothness/blemishing (has to be fairly eye clean) and finally size of the pearls.
I don't dislike the rosy overtone but I just loooove how the white pearls with silver overtone "pop" against my quite tan Asian skin. I know they are not more valuable but harder to get.
I've decided I'm going to have Andrew send me the necklace I posted above. I suspect based on your experience with his gem quality akoyas having exceptional luster that I will totally fall in love. I think the only potential issues are whether the pearls are large enough and whether the blemishes bother me. I got photos back from Pearl Paradise and they have a really nice looking 7.5-8mm AAA 18" strand that has been pinked but in the photos looks quite white (left necklace in photo). The 8.0-8.5mm strand on the right is rosier. Any feedback on the PP strands? I didn't ask them about their Hanadamas but probably should.
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