Edison pearls and length of cultivation

[ChaiK]

I was looking at some Edison pearls and the vendor says it has been cultivated for over 6 years.

These are not perfect. They have minor growth textures on them which are not visible from 50 cm to 1 metre away.

Not sure if these are Edisons but they are being sold as such, with the tag metallic.

I got bored with the holiday eating and watching of movies and took a slight detour......

Does length of cultivation of Edisons make for thicker nacre and better lustre?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

 

[lovedogs]

I am zero help here, but I love the luster on these and how it goes from looking whiteish to looking bluish in different lights.

 

[yssie]

No help either I don’t know a thing about FWs.
But OMG those are HUGE!! How big are they!?
Talk about statement pearls!
Edisons are bead nucleated right?

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

This is such a good question. I am waiting for the pearl experts to answer it for all of us. So far at least one pearl vendor has cautioned us that Edison pearls have been know to change color and luster. I haven't noticed that in any of mine. I bought quite a few inexpensive strands from a Chinese vendor and all but one were beautiful. The one was very poor quality and I let her know this.

I smashed a few pearls along the way to check for nacre thickness and they were all thick. I bought this large white strand from her for $150 and her vendor pictures were very similar to the strand you are considering. I wouldn't pay too much for a strand like this until we know how Edison's hold up over the years.

Vendor pic:


My pic:

 

[ChaiK]

The purple Edisons fade. Although @Pearlescence has lovely purples and hers remain as purple as ever (I understood this the last time I spoke with her).

Bargained and got them anyway.

They are mostly 13 to 15.3 mm with one at 12.8mm.

Seller says they are metallic and some are mirror lustre.

The vendor is Kongspearl. I have always been happy with my purchases from her, although I don't buy a lot of pearls.

I really was not looking to buy pearls today.

I know not how this happened but it is all in good fun amidst the covid lockdown yes-no-yes-no-yes see-saw.

And I was curious about the nacre and 6 years claim.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I am sure they will be lovely and lustrous and look forward to pics when you receive it. I got a kick out of you saying "I know not how this happened..." Just about every PS member will be shaking their head "yes" when they read that.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I was looking at some Edison pearls and the vendor says it has been cultivated for over 6 years.

These are not perfect. They have minor growth textures on them which are not visible from 50 cm to 1 metre away.

Not sure if these are Edisons but they are being sold as such, with the tag metallic.

I got bored with the holiday eating and watching of movies and took a slight detour......

Does length of cultivation of Edisons make for thicker nacre and better lustre?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

I only recently learnt about Edison's
If you look at my google search history over Christmas there was a lot of Edison pearls going on
But i still don't feel i know anything about them
But i wouod love a stand like this

 

[molinePDG]

Full disclaimer that I'm not a freshwater Pearl expert. So I can only speak to a couple things.

6 years cultivation isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. - from my understanding something around 2, or 3, ish is more typical. As with all pearls, more time cultivating doesn't necessarily directly correlate with better pearls, but just that you don't want pearls that were in their growth for not enough time. That is, very short cultivation = bad, but very long cultivation does not necessarily = best. Just like if I have carrots, harvesting them in two weeks is no good, but you don't want to leave them in the ground for a decade either.

It's no secret freshwater pearls continue to offer a great value proposition for many in search of a particular look. However, I'd caution that any jewelry really, but especially freshwater pearls, should be considered within their own world of merits. - don't try to find the best "deal," but rather consider the piece of its own appearance and value, and consider if it's worth the asking price. If you like it and are comfortable paying the asked amount, then it makes sense. As you say in your post, the quality can vary significantly. So, my generic advice applies but for the Chinese freshwater market especially: make sure that if you pay X amount for this strand that THIS is the one you're getting, and they're not just using the best one they've ever had for photos and when someone buys they go and pull a random one out of the tray and ship it.

 

[Pearlescence]

Freshwater mussels make nacre far faster than salt water oysters, so these may only be one or max two years.
The problem with them is that one company in particular is getting a rep for really pushing the finishing so while the pearls are not dyed their colour or bleaching is done to the max, and all the treatments to max the lustre are also done to the max. All I can pass on is that other wholesalers suck their teeth at the mention of this company.( it's very well known, has recently changed its name, moved office again and has half the staff of a couple of years ago)

Plenty of other farms and companies offer bead nucleated freshwater pearls.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

This is such a good question. I am waiting for the pearl experts to answer it for all of us. So far at least one pearl vendor has cautioned us that Edison pearls have been know to change color and luster. I haven't noticed that in any of mine. I bought quite a few inexpensive strands from a Chinese vendor and all but one were beautiful. The one was very poor quality and I let her know this.

I smashed a few pearls along the way to check for nacre thickness and they were all thick. I bought this large white strand from her for $150 and her vendor pictures were very similar to the strand you are considering. I wouldn't pay too much for a strand like this until we know how Edison's hold up over the years.

Vendor pic:


My pic:

Do you mind sharing where you got them?

I've been wanting to get a true Wilma Flintstone necklace for the longest time and before buying WSS it'd perfect to be able to try them out (falsies just don't do it for me and I'm especially curious about the weight)

Thank you

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Freshwater mussels make nacre far faster than salt water oysters, so these may only be one or max two years.
The problem with them is that one company in particular is getting a rep for really pushing the finishing so while the pearls are not dyed their colour or bleaching is done to the max, and all the treatments to max the lustre are also done to the max. All I can pass on is that other wholesalers suck their teeth at the mention of this company.( it's very well known, has recently changed its name, moved office again and has half the staff of a couple of years ago)

Plenty of other farms and companies offer bead nucleated freshwater pearls.

I know being trade you have to watch what you say, but just tp be clear are you saying that other companies make 'Edison type' pearls?

 

[ChaiK]

Full disclaimer that I'm not a freshwater Pearl expert. So I can only speak to a couple things.

6 years cultivation isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. - from my understanding something around 2, or 3, ish is more typical. As with all pearls, more time cultivating doesn't necessarily directly correlate with better pearls, but just that you don't want pearls that were in their growth for not enough time. That is, very short cultivation = bad, but very long cultivation does not necessarily = best. Just like if I have carrots, harvesting them in two weeks is no good, but you don't want to leave them in the ground for a decade either.

It's no secret freshwater pearls continue to offer a great value proposition for many in search of a particular look. However, I'd caution that any jewelry really, but especially freshwater pearls, should be considered within their own world of merits. - don't try to find the best "deal," but rather consider the piece of its own appearance and value, and consider if it's worth the asking price. If you like it and are comfortable paying the asked amount, then it makes sense. As you say in your post, the quality can vary significantly. So, my generic advice applies but for the Chinese freshwater market especially: make sure that if you pay X amount for this strand that THIS is the one you're getting, and they're not just using the best one they've ever had for photos and when someone buys they go and pull a random one out of the tray and ship it.

Thank you for your advice.

I made sure this was the only strand they had.

You are right. I have bought from one seller in particular who does this and it is annoying.

There are very good value and for fun.

I was wondering primarily about the nacre issue, which is interesting.

 

[ChaiK]

Do you mind sharing where you got them?

I've been wanting to get a true Wilma Flintstone necklace for the longest time and before buying WSS it'd perfect to be able to try them out (falsies just don't do it for me and I'm especially curious about the weight)

Thank you

I think it is Kongspearl from etsy.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I think it is Kongspearl from etsy.

I googled that earlier today
I could not see how long the strands were - am i missing something ?

 

[Pearlescence]

I know being trade you have to watch what you say, but just tp be clear are you saying that other companies make 'Edison type' pearls?

Yes, correct. Often called Ming, which is much less complicated to say than 'bead nucleated freshwater farmed pearls' Edison pearls come only from the Edison pearl company (which used to be called Grace Pearl) although lots of people use ming, edison and nucleated almost interchangeably
These pearls will have plenty of nacre, probably more than any sea pearls.

 

[ChaiK]

I googled that earlier today
I could not see how long the strands were - am i missing something ?

Oh, haha, I only go for how big the pearls are. Length is not an issue for me as long as it is a necklace.

These were 12.8 by 15.3 mm pearl size.

I like buying from Kongspearl and for Southseas, I like to buy from Cees.

I think Wriston of Asiatique in Singapore does pearls but I have never bought from him.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Oh, haha, I only go for how big the pearls are. Length is not an issue for me as long as it is a necklace.

These were 12.8 by 15.3 mm pearl size.

I like buying from Kongspearl and for Southseas, I like to buy from Cees.

I think Wriston of Asiatique in Singapore does pearls but I have never bought from him.

They are trully impressive

But i hate the feeling of too tight anything around my neck
I find 16 inch unpleasant

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Do you mind sharing where you got them?

I've been wanting to get a true Wilma Flintstone necklace for the longest time and before buying WSS it'd perfect to be able to try them out (falsies just don't do it for me and I'm especially curious about the weight)

Thank you

@kipari- this question was for me yes?


If so, I don't mind sharing. The vendor is LiPearls on Etsy. In full disclosure she has sent me beautiful strands except for one. One was very poor quality. I noticed that when she comes out with new pearls other Etsy vendors like Kong's seem to also come out with very similar strands. I wonder if they get them from the same source? I am mostly a collector of pearls (jewelry hoarder) and here is my Li Pearl collection. My schnauzer was inspecting them to see if they were edible. I hope the purples don't fade. Time will tell.



Edited to add- All my Li Pearl Hoarding in a little box.

 

[stracci2000]

@kipari- this question was for me yes?


If so, I don't mind sharing. The vendor is LiPearls on Etsy. In full disclosure she has sent me beautiful strands except for one. One was very poor quality. I noticed that when she comes out with new pearls other Etsy vendors like Kong's seem to also come out with very similar strands. I wonder if they get them from the same source? I am mostly a collector of pearls (jewelry hoarder) and here is my Li Pearl collection. My schnauzer was inspecting them to see if they were edible. I hope the purples don't fade. Time will tell.

So beautiful!!!
I want to come by and put them all on at once.... what fun that would be!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

@kipari- this question was for me yes?


If so, I don't mind sharing. The vendor is LiPearls on Etsy. In full disclosure she has sent me beautiful strands except for one. One was very poor quality. I noticed that when she comes out with new pearls other Etsy vendors like Kong's seem to also come out with very similar strands. I wonder if they get them from the same source? I am mostly a collector of pearls (jewelry hoarder) and here is my Li Pearl collection. My schnauzer was inspecting them to see if they were edible. I hope the purples don't fade. Time will tell.

Found her on esty
Her prices are a little eaisser on the wallet although i did take note of molinePDG's post regarding you get what you pay for

Why so few white options?
Will she do a longer strand ?

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Found her on esty
Her prices are a little eaisser on the wallet although i did take note of molinePDG's post regarding you get what you pay for

Why so few white options?
Will she do a longer strand ?

I think in general that statement is true. When I first started buying I bought some terrible strands. As my collection grew I got better at picking strands out. In my experience (and not trying to make enemies here) I have sent back strands from higher priced vendors because they were not nicer than my inexpensive strands. If I was a one and done girl I would pick the best quality strand from a reputable vendor with a good return policy. But as a collector I have taken some risks and am not unhappy with them.

 

[ChaiK]

I think in general that statement is true. When I first started buying I bought some terrible strands. As my collection grew I got better at picking strands out. In my experience (and not trying to make enemies here) I have sent back strands from higher priced vendors because they were not nicer than my inexpensive strands. If I was a one and done girl I would pick the best quality strand from a reputable vendor with a good return policy. But as a collector I have taken some risks and am not unhappy with them.

That's the fun of the buying. The pricing is different from different vendors and the bargaining is fun. Although, yes, not nice to get an ugly strand. I don't do pearls. I just ventured out into this forum as luck would have it and now, there is that LiPearl to ogle over.

I like her shop. Uncluttered and easy on the eye. And now woe is me - more pearls? How did this even happen??????

@Daisys and Diamonds why not just message that LiPearl lady and ask her to look out for a white one for you? You can only try.

I am determined to only have the odd stray strand once in a blue moon. Won't buy more.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

@kipari- this question was for me yes?


If so, I don't mind sharing. The vendor is LiPearls on Etsy. In full disclosure she has sent me beautiful strands except for one. One was very poor quality. I noticed that when she comes out with new pearls other Etsy vendors like Kong's seem to also come out with very similar strands. I wonder if they get them from the same source? I am mostly a collector of pearls (jewelry hoarder) and here is my Li Pearl collection. My schnauzer was inspecting them to see if they were edible. I hope the purples don't fade. Time will tell.



Edited to add- All my Li Pearl Hoarding in a little box.

Thank you yes !

Beautiful collection

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Thank you @kipari.

 

[ChaiK]

@Lisa Loves Shiny

K. I honestly really not looking for pearls. So not!

But your purples, please can you post them close up? It don't matter if they fade. Just enjoy them.

Uggh! I am looking at LiPearl and her gorgeous purples now.


The purples. Do they change hues in different lighting?

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

@ChaiK - I snapped indoor and outdoor pics. The lighting isn't that good but hopefully you can see how the pearls change colors in different lighting.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Oops- forgot the close-up. Here you go. The pearls are very reflective and the white swirls and spots are just reflections.

 

[ChaiK]

Ok. Pop to the plans of not buying.

Thank you for this.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

@Lisa Loves Shiny



Uggh! I am looking at LiPearl and her gorgeous purples now.

Me too!!

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

@Lisa Loves Shiny

It's all your fault!!!!!

Those pearls are gorgeous!
I want to dive right into your massive collection. How do you get ANYTHING done , ever?