Mother's Day Sale 2015 - PICS!

[Pirard]

ennui, me too!

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks everyone for posting pics. This helps me set expectations for these pearls.

 

[blingbunny10]

Thanks everyone for posting pics. This helps me set expectations for these pearls.

Ooh, which pair did you get pregcurious? Have you gotten shipping notification yet?
I will add that the pearls are more attractive than my pics could capture. They look brown/coppery in some of these dim light pics, but to the eye they glow a beautiful green-gold in this light... almost chartreuse!

 

[Tucs]

Beautiful pearls everyone! The colours (and their variation) look so interesting.

Sea urchin, I love that purple-ish pair on you.

 

[BWise]

Am I the only one distracted by yingh's diamond?

ennui, me too!

ennui and Pirard, you are too funny! So what do you think of the earrings?

My 36" blue akoya tin cup from POJ arrived today. Kevin calls them near round, they appear almost round to me. I will call these AA+. surface has some wrinkle or dent upon close inspection, but still high luster. They have a nice sheen that reminds me of moonstones. Some has a hint of pink overtone.

BTW, I am surprised how small they appear to me at 8.5 - 9.0 - guess my PSS is getting really bad...

 

[BWise]

Here are some iPhone pictures

 

[ckrickett]

I really adore that Tin cup. I love the look of Blue akoyas and rose gold! It;s very unique while still being super classy! Just beautiful

 

[arkieb1]

Am I the only one distracted by yingh's diamond?

ennui, me too!

ennui and Pirard, you are too funny! So what do you think of the earrings?

My 36" blue akoya tin cup from POJ arrived today. Kevin calls them near round, they appear almost round to me. I will call these AA+. surface has some wrinkle or dent upon close inspection, but still high luster. They have a nice sheen that reminds me of moonstones. Some has a hint of pink overtone.

BTW, I am surprised how small they appear to me at 8.5 - 9.0 - guess my PSS is getting really bad...

I am so glad you said that I was starting to think that I was neurotic - I have a strand of them plus part of the strand the first tin cup was made out of (to add extra length) and there is no way I think they are AAA either, I'd guess AA+ or AA at best because of the what everyone has told me they call a hammered or textured/wrinkled finish. The pearls are supposed to also be 95% blemish free, I don't fine this to be true either. On the flip side they have a really lovely lustre. They seemed way smaller than 9.00 to 8.50 to me too when I got them. I was disappointed in the size and thought about sending them back, based upon the size and the weird texture of the pearls - but the colour is magnificent, the bluest I have ever seen!!!!

 

[katbran]

They all look lovely. I know that it's always a surprise when they don't look like the photos and sadly that is often the case with 'colourful ' pearls. Photos always make the colours deeper and more interesting. That's why I like white lol

I always feel that if I am still wondering if I like something after a couple of days ... then I don't really love it. Whether or not I keep it depends on how much I paid for it

 

[BWise]

I am so glad you said that I was starting to think that I was neurotic - I have a strand of them plus part of the strand the first tin cup was made out of (to add extra length) and there is no way I think they are AAA either, I'd guess AA+ or AA at best because of the what everyone has told me they call a hammered or textured/wrinkled finish. The pearls are supposed to also be 95% blemish free, I don't fine this to be true either. On the flip side they have a really lovely lustre. They seemed way smaller than 9.00 to 8.50 to me too when I got them. I was disappointed in the size and thought about sending them back, based upon the size and the weird texture of the pearls - but the colour is magnificent, the bluest I have ever seen!!!!

I have no doubt on the size - I know its all psychological and these days anything under 11mm appear small to me.

On the grade, I said AA+ without even thinking the POJ grade and after reading your post, I had to visit POJ site to confirm that they were listed as AAA.

So I checked the strand again. It has 16 pearls, beautiful color, high (but not mirror like) lustre. Out of 16, only 2 pearls are without any dent or bumps and I am ignoring all wrinkles.

I will get in touch with Kevin and get his thoughts.

 

[icy_jade]

Yingh: do you like the color of the drops and earrings that you got?

 

[icy_jade]

I have no doubt on the size - I know its all psychological and these days anything under 11mm appear small to me.

I think I see ssps in your future...

 

[blingbunny10]

I have no doubt on the size - I know its all psychological and these days anything under 11mm appear small to me.

I think I see ssps in your future...

Lol!

yingh, the blue akoya + rose gold combo is lovely. Hope the AA+ vs AAA question gets sorted out soon. I've been in email contact with Kevin for the past couple days about my studs, and the customer service has been really excellent. I hesitated at first because I'm not really the type who returns and exchanges items (once I buy, I'm committed!), but with pearls it's been quite an education so far.

 

[pregcurious]

Thanks everyone for posting pics. This helps me set expectations for these pearls.

Ooh, which pair did you get pregcurious? Have you gotten shipping notification yet?
I will add that the pearls are more attractive than my pics could capture. They look brown/coppery in some of these dim light pics, but to the eye they glow a beautiful green-gold in this light... almost chartreuse!

I didn't order them. If I do in the future, I know what to expect between the vendor pics and what I will receive. With my previous colored pearl purchases, I can make them look the way they do in vendor shots by putting them in diffused light.

Do pearls look smaller in a tin cup than in a strand of the same size pearls?

 

[ennui]

In my experience, the blue baroque Akoyas do have more ripples and bumps, but that is what I like about them. I just love those natural blue / pink / green tones. I think the price of the POJ tin cup reflects the cost of gold more than anything else. I really liked that tin cup, and I wish it was in my budget.

 

[BWise]

Yingh: do you like the color of the drops and earrings that you got?

If I'd never seen the vendor picture then I'd say that I like the color very much. Mind you, the color changes dramatically in different lighting. But it is hard to get over with my expectation that was set by the vendor picture, as I was waiting for something quite different.

I would definitely keep the studs had the shape been better. The size/shape difference between the two pearls (see my picture) really bothers me, as well as that band.

I am still undecided on the studs. The drop earrings are showing "delivered" and I am waiting for our admin to retrieve it from the mail room.

 

[ckrickett]

ripples came from PP, not quite what I expected in terms of color (very pinky peachy coppery) But I do love them, and the color fits with my skin tone well so I am very happy!

 

[Pirard]

Very pretty colors on your ripples!

 

[ennui]

Pretty ripples! Are those the 9-11mm? They look bigger!

 

[blingbunny10]

They look nice on you! And they seem consistent with the PP pic from what I recall. I think the length works very well, too!

 

[Frost Me]

Those look pretty for spring and summer, they do go well with your skin, glad you are pleased!

 

[Tucs]

Those ripples look gorgeous on you, ckrickett!

 

[arkieb1]

I am so glad you said that I was starting to think that I was neurotic - I have a strand of them plus part of the strand the first tin cup was made out of (to add extra length) and there is no way I think they are AAA either, I'd guess AA+ or AA at best because of the what everyone has told me they call a hammered or textured/wrinkled finish. The pearls are supposed to also be 95% blemish free, I don't fine this to be true either. On the flip side they have a really lovely lustre. They seemed way smaller than 9.00 to 8.50 to me too when I got them. I was disappointed in the size and thought about sending them back, based upon the size and the weird texture of the pearls - but the colour is magnificent, the bluest I have ever seen!!!!

I have no doubt on the size - I know its all psychological and these days anything under 11mm appear small to me.

On the grade, I said AA+ without even thinking the POJ grade and after reading your post, I had to visit POJ site to confirm that they were listed as AAA.

So I checked the strand again. It has 16 pearls, beautiful color, high (but not mirror like) lustre. Out of 16, only 2 pearls are without any dent or bumps and I am ignoring all wrinkles.

I will get in touch with Kevin and get his thoughts.

I agree with you on the size - I have the same problem when you wear larger pearls it makes everything smaller seem too small. Out of curiosity are they the bluest you have seen or found? I emailed Kevin too when I got them and said no way are they as clean as the certificate states.....

 

[pearlsngems]

I tend to think there must be a different grading system for baroques than for smooth round or oval pearls. Clearly, being baroque, they are going to have different surface characteristics.

Perhaps the vendors reading this could blog about it.

 

[ennui]

I agree with you on the size - I have the same problem when you wear larger pearls it makes everything smaller seem too small. Out of curiosity are they the bluest you have seen or found? I emailed Kevin too when I got them and said no way are they as clean as the certificate states.....

Surface cleanliness refers to chips, cracks, scratches and abrasions, so I'm a little confused because I thought you didn't like the baroque shapes.

 

[arkieb1]

I agree with you on the size - I have the same problem when you wear larger pearls it makes everything smaller seem too small. Out of curiosity are they the bluest you have seen or found? I emailed Kevin too when I got them and said no way are they as clean as the certificate states.....

Surface cleanliness refers to chips, cracks, scratches and abrasions, so I'm a little confused because I thought you didn't like the baroque shapes.

Where did I say I didn't like the baroque shapes? I bought the near round pearls they are a lovely near round shape, the shape is not the sticking point.... The certificate states these pearls have a "surface" that is supposed to be less than 95% blemish free - by stating they are not clean I mean that are not less than 95% clean of blemishes or marks, and I am the second person to observe that they have an unexpected, weird hammered/rippled texture that also I believe means each pearl cannot be strictly defined as AAA quality. Each individual pearl has more blemishes than less than 95% and the certificate states they are AAA, when really I associate both less blemishes in each pearl overall and a smoother surface with AAA pearls.

When we are taking about surface lustre I actually assumed that round pearls have a grading system that goes AAA+, AAA, AA+, AA and so on and near round pearls has the same system for describing surface lustre and that baroque pearls also have a grading system of AAA+, AAA, AA+, AA and so on all the way down.

But I have had 3 people now tell me it doesn't work that way because they are classified as "baroque pearls" (being sold as near round pearls). Apparently it is acceptable that baroques that are classed as AAAs can have the non smooth rippled and pitted textured surface, this is what respected pearl people have said, and I accept that. We have a much more complex system for grading South Seas in Australia this has probably added to my confusion.

I want to add Kevin has been wonderful as a vendor - always kind and helpful, the pearls are just not exactly what I was expecting and there are now two people stating they are also not 100% as described on the certificate. After getting over the initial shock of the surface of the pearls being not as expected I also reiterate the colour is very pretty, the shape is lovely the size is what it is. Overall are they worth keeping. I guess it would be up to the individual to decide.

 

[Circe]

I love all of these, but I'm an ignoramus when it comes to the good pearl sites ... who is POJ?

 

[arkieb1]

http://www.pearlsofjoy.com/

 

[BWise]

ckrickett, I like how the ripples look on you, perfect length too! How do they look in day light?

 

[BWise]

Out of curiosity are they the bluest you have seen or found?

I don't have any other blue pearls so I have nothing to compare to, and I have not seen many blues either. Some pearls I have seen/bought have a hint of blue, but that's a different story. Yes I think the POJ tin cup is really blue, and I like them a lot! Definitely a keeper.

I did not make it clear in my earlier post - I was not complaining about the pearl quality, they are very pretty, I was merely confused by how they are graded.