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Help an old lady find my first (and last) "WOW" Akoya necklace?

R

Rici

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 7, 2024
Messages
8
Hello lovely People of the Pearl.

My sweet husband, knowing I've yearned all my life (and I'm 69) for a truly fine Akoya strand necklace, wants to get me one for our upcoming tenth anniversary(love CAN happen again at our age, yay). Our budget is $10,000 USD, although being on a fixed income, we'd like to stay well under that if possible.

I've read and learned so much here. If y'all can help me by 1. recommending some vendors with good communication skills and return policies, and 2. making sure I've got my criteria/terminology lined up, I'd be so grateful. Here's what I know:

I'm seeking 7.5-8.5 mm (ideally slightly graduated, but definitely not required), 20 inches/50 cm long, and a matching pair of stud earrings.
Pearl color: My skin is light with golden-to-neutral undertones, green eyes, reddish brown hair. I prefer white pearls, but I know one shouldn't wear a white lighter than one's teeth, and my teeth are pretty stained. So maybe a creamy white? Slightly brownish white? What are your suggestions?
Lustre: as much wow as we can get.
Overtones: see pearl color above. I'm relying on y'all here. My best colors are the warm "autumn" tones, especially dark teal, dark turquoise, moss greens, golden browns, russets.
Brand: I've never cared a whit about brands or designers; I value something for its intrinsic qualities only. Let's save some money here.
Location: I live in the US, but not near a major city, so online is my preference. However, we plan to be in England and Europe most of the summer (in case that helps with import duties).

Dumb question: Is graduated more expensive due to the trouble of finding matching pearls of exactly the right size, or did I just dream that?

I can't think of any more criteria, but you probably can! Any help with recommended vendors so appreciated.

Many thanks for any advice! So glad I found this group.
 
Good luck @Rici
i shell be following on in great interest and excitment
i have no doubt our pearl princesses will be along shorty to help you out
and congradulations on your anniversary
 
What a truly exciting purchase! Based on your vendor criteria, I’d reach out to Andrew Moline. He is super patient and communicative and has a discerning eye. I’m pretty confident that if you let him know exactly what your priorities are, he’d be able to get you what you want. He also has a good return and upgrade policy. Pearl paradise is also a recommended vendor here but I’ve never worked with them before.
 
I have bought many pearls from Pearl Paradise and can recommend them. They will work with you to meet your needs and have an excellent return policy. You can have a Zoom visit with them to select your pearls. They have a literal vault full of pearls (PP's building used to be a bank!)
 
Can I ask if you’re looking for a return policy because you aren’t sure about length/size, or if you simply don’t want to end up stuck with a dud strand?

I ask because if the former - I also recommend Pearl Paradise or Andrew Moline. But if the latter, I would recommend Takahashi - top quality for the lowest pricetag (because you’d be buying direct from Japan), no return policy but they’re a trusted vendor.
 
yssie said:
Can I ask if you’re looking for a return policy because you aren’t sure about length/size, or if you simply don’t want to end up stuck with a dud strand?

I ask because if the former - I also recommend Pearl Paradise or Andrew Moline. But if the latter, I would recommend Takahashi - top quality for the lowest pricetag (because you’d be buying direct from Japan), no return policy but they’re a trusted vendor.
Click to expand...

Good question Yssie. I'm sure of the length and size. My concerns are whether the color will flatter my skin tone, and getting something inferior for the price.
 
Rici said:
Good question Yssie. I'm sure of the length and size. My concerns are whether the color will flatter my skin tone, and getting something inferior for the price.
Click to expand...

Just seeing this now - it’s been a manic week I’m afraid!

What did you decide @Rici?

If you’re still thinking - d’you have any children or young women in the family to buy gifts for? If yes, I might suggest buying a couple of pearls - just singletons, in a small size, half-drill both, shouldn’t run you more than a couple hundred for both even in top quality. One “natural white” akoya and one “pinked” akoya (ask for a strongly pinked specimen). You’ll know right away if you have a preference, or somewhere in the middle ::)

And they’ll make beautiful pendants if you have no other use for them!
 
Good suggestion, @yssie. Sadly I'm the last of the female descendants. No I've not made a move yet. I'm leaning toward PP based on their return policy. But being a newbie, I'm not yet feeling sure I know enough to ask the right questions. Any advice welcome!
 
Rici said:
Good suggestion, @yssie. Sadly I'm the last of the female descendants. No I've not made a move yet. I'm leaning toward PP based on their return policy. But being a newbie, I'm not yet feeling sure I know enough to ask the right questions. Any advice welcome!
Click to expand...

I know you said you aren't in a major city, but do you live at all near a Tiffany or Mikimoto or anywhere where you can go look at pearls to get a sense of the color on you, or are you really stuck with online or on your trip this summer? If you aren't near a store, I wonder about calling PP or Moline to tell them your concerns, ordering strands or studs to you in different overtones and body colors, and saying that you plan to keep just one set.

I am not an expert and have not purchased from PP and have only purchased one pair of earring pearls from Moline, but he was very very helpful and made my purchase feel important even though it was so small. Based on that experience, if I had your budget and desires I would go straight to him.
 
newtojewels said:
I know you said you aren't in a major city, but do you live at all near a Tiffany or Mikimoto or anywhere where you can go look at pearls to get a sense of the color on you, or are you really stuck with online or on your trip this summer? If you aren't near a store, I wonder about calling PP or Moline to tell them your concerns, ordering strands or studs to you in different overtones and body colors, and saying that you plan to keep just one set.

I am not an expert and have not purchased from PP and have only purchased one pair of earring pearls from Moline, but he was very very helpful and made my purchase feel important even though it was so small. Based on that experience, if I had your budget and desires I would go straight to him.
Click to expand...

Hi @newtojewels! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Yes I would very much prefer to see strands in person. I scoured the interwebs for pearl vendors all over the state of Arizona with no results. Guess we're too informal a state LOL. But I'll be visiting San Antonio, Portland OR, Philadelphia, and Washington DC this spring so I'll check for high-end pearl companies there. Then we're headed to London, Bordeaux, and San Sebastian over the summer, maybe Mikimoto has a store in one of those places. Lots of travel this year!
 
1000%. If you aren’t in a hurry - definitely visit some pearls in-person when you’re able. I know the Saks in McLean VA - just a skip over from DC - stocks Mikimoto. Just be sure to call ahead to guarantee time with an associate ::)

That’s the absolute best way to learn about your personal preferences, just seeing them with your own eyes on your own skin.
 
THE PROMISED UPDATE: Hi all. It's been ages (I was gone all summer) but I finally have initiated my search based on y'all's many recommendations.

About a week ago I reached out to Andrew Moline, PP, and Takahashi. Only Andrew has gotten back to me (I received only generic responses from the other two) and boy what an outstanding vendor! Communicative, warm, kind, cheerful, and full of info.

He found an amazing strand literally overnight. See pic--it's the color I asked for (ivory) and a bit bigger (8.5-9mm) than I wanted (7.5-8mm) but THAT GLEAM! The price ($9780) is very close to the top of our budget, but this quote from Andrew seems to justify:

"It is a very, very clean strand with extremely high luster -- one tiny step off of being gem quality. (If AAA would be 9/10 and gem is 10/10, this one is 9.5/10)."​

What are your thoughts? Fair price? Do you love them? Other advice?

I'm excited!

Hugs to all,

Rici
 
I wish I had information for you - I know nothing of the pricing of strands. I also have found Andrew an absolute delight to work with, and to my admittedly inexpert eyes the pearls look lovely. Will you be happier with larger pearls if they are in every other respect right?

I ask because an 8 mm pearl is significantly larger than a 7 mm. That said, many people here are very happy with larger pearls and indeed I have read threads where members have returned strands in exchange for larger ones.
 
Andrew's grading is real - he doesn't mess around with inflated grades.

Agree that this is a significant size bump over what you were initially considering, and that size increase will have significant impact on pricing, but... I think many pearl buyers in the west end up with some degree of pearl shrinkage syndrome so buying bigger up-front isn't the worst idea!

The other consideration is - if you're looking for a specific colour, and that specific colour is your priority over a specific size, high-luster akoya aren't plentiful these days. They never were but now it's worse than before - availability genuinely is limited. You could be waiting a while for an exact combination of luster+size+colour to show up and of course if it's months from now prices may well go up further.

All that to say - I'd definitely recommend at least asking what your options are for seeing this strand in-person, if you're hesitant to hit Buy right this moment. This strand is definitely worth considering, IMO.
 
Any updates, @Rici? Would love to know how the search is going!
 
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