Moline versus Takahashi versus other Akoyas comparison

[newtojewels]

While working on my recent blue and white Akoya ring from Andrew Moline, we were talking about other potential upcoming pearl projects. I don't have anywhere good near me to try pearls on so he was nice enough to include a 'sample pack' so I could see and compare some other pieces. What I had for Akoyas to compare between his sample pack and what I already own are:

[EDIT: I wanted to clarify what I own and what was from Moline's samples]

• Three 7-7.5mm studs from Moline, graded A+, AA+, and Gem -- sample
• 8-8.5 stud pair from Takahashi during the first livestream with Pearl Paradise, graded "Gem". Hisano described these as being silvery
• 7-7.5mm bracelet from Takahashi, also purchased during the same Pearl Paradise livestream, graded "Gem luster with light kizu [spotting]", also silver
• 7.5-8mm strand from Moline, graded "Gem" -- sample
• 6-6.5mm inexpensive strand from a local wholesaler, selected from ~10 strands to have the highest luster and contrast at the expense of darker body color, poor matching, and blemishes
• 3.5mm band from Mikimoto
• and my new ring from Moline/Sean Gilson

The fun thing for me about this comparison is that these all cross some kind of threshold into "nice pearls". Sure the 6-6.5mm strand is blemished with a darker body color, but they aren't a disaster. Obviously the Takahashi pearls are beautiful. Hisano said on the livestream that they had selected which specific pieces would be available, so I do not know how well these represent what you would get if you ordered directly from Takahashi. But there are still differences between them and I thought this might be helpful to others. Of course I am by no means an expert, so I'm just reporting the differences that I see. I do not know how the pricing compares either.

The quick summary is that I think the differences in luster, contrast, blemishing, and smoothness speak for themselves. The Moline samples are all pinker than my other pearls. The differences between A+, AA+, and Gem are present but subtle, seeing the A+ in isolation would still be a beautiful pearl.

For matching, I have a silly story. A couple of years ago I got a non-cosmetic septum surgery because apparently you're supposed to be able to breathe through your nose. Who knew? I had always thought my nose was straight, but it was so so straight after the surgery that it made me realize that it wasn't actually totally straight before. That's kind of how I felt with the matching of the Takahashi bracelet versus the Moline gem strand. I had never though that my bracelet pearls didn't match perfectly, but seeing the strand made me realize that an Akoya strand could actually match more than my bracelet does.

Unfortunately I do not have a Mikimoto near me to do comparisons with them. Also unfortunately I have been putting off restringing the bracelet. I had tried a new knotting strategy and it was not a good one for me. So ignore the bad knots!

Anyways, onto the photos! All of these were taken with my Google Pixel and otherwise unedited, hence the cat hairs and fuzzies throughout.

First, the strands:

Takahashi on the inside, Moline on the outside.

Indirect lighting near a window:


Direct sunlight:


And now adding in the local strand. From left to right I have the local strand, the Takahashi bracelet, and the Moline strand:

Indirect lighting:






Direct sun:

 

[newtojewels]

Now for the studs. Please excuse the dry skin, I didn't want to put lotion on and then potentially damage these pearls that sadly aren't all mine to keep!

From left to right these are Moline's A+, AA+, and Gem:




Next to the Takahashi gem pair, which as a reminder are 8-8.5mm versus the Moline 7-7.5mm. The Takahashis are in a hoop and I did my best to get everything right next to each other. To me and to my partner both, in real life the Takahashi pair looks like it slots between the A+ and AA+:







Obviously stud pearls can't fairly be compared to strand pearls, but here's the Moline A+ stud pair next to the Takahashi bracelet:


And now including some rings, the blues here are 8mm:


With my Mikimoto band. The studs on the right are A+, then AA+, then Gem going from bottom to top:

 

[newtojewels]

In conclusion, these are all lovely pearls. I'm not trying to say that any particular vendor is better or worse than any other vendor. I just want to reiterate what has been said here many times before: grading is much more a within-vendor process than a between-vendor process. I just thought these photos might be helpful to others since I know that similar posts have always been helpful to me!

 

[empliau]

Thank you for this and the wonderful photos. It goes without saying that I applaud your collection unreservedly - or it did till I just said it. It seems to me you have spectacularly top stuff here!

 

[newtojewels]

Thank you for this and the wonderful photos. It goes without saying that I applaud your collection unreservedly - or it did till I just said it. It seems to me you have spectacularly top stuff here!

I only have the new Moline ring, the Mikimoto band, the Takahashi bracelet, the Takahashi studs, and the dark/small strand! Everything else was his samples. I just want to make sure that's clear! I wish his strand were mine

 

[empliau]

I only have the new Moline ring, the Mikimoto band, the Takahashi bracelet, the Takahashi studs, and the dark/small strand! Everything else was his samples. I just want to make sure that's clear! I wish his strand were mine

Oooh, Andrew's samples for comparison! I remember seeing them on Instagram.

 

[Calla-lilies]

Thank you for this - so thorough! And beautiful beautiful pearls!

 

[empliau]

@newtojewels - Apologies, your text made the situation clear. I jumped straight to the photos, eager to see the comparisons. Gorgeous pearls!

 

[maryjane04]

Oh gosh.. I can't believe how impressive the luster is! I think I need pearls in my near future. Thank you for reviewing them and the comparison between the grading of the two vendors. It's really helpful!

 

[newtojewels]

I do have one more comparison -- the Tahitians! These are a 12-12.5mm Mikimoto ring that I own, an 11mm gem drop shape (here: https://www.molinepdg.com/product-page/11mm-special-gem-quality-blue-violet-tahitian-drop), and a 9-10mm round aubergine pair. This is where I'm more tempted at the moment, these will be hard to send back.

The Mikimoto is smooth, I remember Yssie saying that they seemed to prize that over everything else, but Moline's are smooth and have color and more luster. Of course the Miki is older and I purchased it secondhand.

 

[uwodahikamama]

Absolutely gorgeous!! I will always love that ring! The picture comparisons are gold too, and that’s exactly the sort of thing I was looking for when I started looking at pearls!

 

[newtojewels]

Thank you for this - so thorough! And beautiful beautiful pearls!

I'm glad it was helpful!

@newtojewels - Apologies, your text made the situation clear. I jumped straight to the photos, eager to see the comparisons. Gorgeous pearls!

You're like me -- straight to photos, then (maybe) read the words later!

Oh gosh.. I can't believe how impressive the luster is! I think I need pearls in my near future. Thank you for reviewing them and the comparison between the grading of the two vendors. It's really helpful!

You deeeefinitely need pearls. I know a lot of people who just aren't into them until they see really nice ones. I almost wish I had a typical retail strand to throw into the mix because it's kind of unfair to only have good to world-class pearls pitted against each other!

Absolutely gorgeous!! I will always love that ring! The picture comparisons are gold too, and that’s exactly the sort of thing I was looking for when I started looking at pearls!

Thank you so much! Again, I always found these kinds of posts to be so helpful so I'm glad to play my part in it too

 

[empliau]

That blue-violet drop is everything. (mike drop)

 

[newtojewels]

That blue-violet drop is everything. (mike drop)

ISN'T IT?

 

[katbran]

To my eye there’s a clear winner in the Gem competition. But again, like all the ‘Hanadama ‘ ‘ gem’ etc classifications there are still quality differences. And , with the quality difference comes a price difference. Large companies have to keep to the ‘saleable price range . But as you say , there’s nothing wrong with the local strand , it’s still pretty , just not little mirror balls . And that’s fine .

The green Tahitian are stunning.