My pearl projects

[4Ranch Girl]

your beautiful pearls

 

[icy_jade]

Thanks bsomlo, Mrs Taylor, Pattye, Jenncent, 4ranch Girl! You ladies are so kind. Mine is a baby collection compared to the other ladies on this forum, but it's a start! Now back to working hard to earn and save money for more beauties. Oh, and waiting for my other lovelies to arrive.

As for dark strands, I need some baroque Tahitians!!
I wanted something like this, but it didn't pan out too well. Still on my KIV list tho.



What do you ladies think?

 

[icy_jade]

icy jade -- Those silver/blue akoyas are crazy beautiful! Can you post some neck shots?

Hope you ladies are not sick of my pics... Still really love my new pearls and wore them to work today.

I tried to take a shot when I noticed the gorgeous overtones, but on the pic the pearls still look silver-ish vs the blue/pink that's obvious in real life (a male colleague described the pearls as multi-colored...)

Btw just realised that the store that I got my pearls from is having a sale... just posting in case anyone is interested:
Link to 10mm blue baroque necklace (approx 17 inch): http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/lecollier/item/10000779/
Usual JPY129,800, now JPY109,800

 

[bsomlo]

icy jade -- I think I can speak for all of us when I say we will never get sick of pictures of you and your pearls!

Regarding the Tahitian strand -- it has more whites then I've ever seen before. Another poster bought a strand recently with one or two whites, see this thread:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pearl-oasis-baroque-tahitians.190300/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pearl-oasis-baroque-tahitians.190300/[/URL]

Another poster also bought a strand from the same vendor but unfortunately, I can't find the thread with pictures. Maybe someone else can.

I'm sorry to hear you haven't had a good customer service experience with PP. I usually "chat" with them and they are responsive (during their business hours) immediately.

 

[icy_jade]

icy jade -- I think I can speak for all of us when I say we will never get sick of pictures of you and your pearls!

Regarding the Tahitian strand -- it has more whites then I've ever seen before. Another poster bought a strand recently with one or two whites, see this thread:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pearl-oasis-baroque-tahitians.190300/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pearl-oasis-baroque-tahitians.190300/[/URL]

Another poster also bought a strand from the same vendor but unfortunately, I can't find the thread with pictures. Maybe someone else can.

I'm sorry to hear you haven't had a good customer service experience with PP. I usually "chat" with them and they are responsive (during their business hours) immediately.

Thanks bsomlo! So good to have ladies who understand how wonderfully charming the pearls can be! This is really the first strand that blew me away in real life and didn't make me think that the vendor's photography skills are just too good. None of my pics do the strand justice cos I just can't capture the lovely play of colours and lustre.

Oh it's a 2/3 tahitian and 1/3 SSP. It's sort of similar to the strand that Keira Knightley wore to the Pirates of the Caribbean red carpet way back in 2003 (yeah, my pearl urges go way back). Saw it on PP, wanted it, hesitated, was sold it someone else... so 6 months later back to PP but... well, perhaps not meant to be, sigh.



Anyway, so either a baroque strand like above or something like this TDF strand that I spotted while randomly browsing.



Will take need a good "war chest" for a TDF strand tho. At least is one motivation to work (hard).
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/akana-pearl/item/swbnm-1/?s-id=borderless_browsehist_en

 

[misskittycat]

icy jade -- I think I can speak for all of us when I say we will never get sick of pictures of you and your pearls!

Regarding the Tahitian strand -- it has more whites then I've ever seen before. Another poster bought a strand recently with one or two whites, see this thread:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pearl-oasis-baroque-tahitians.190300/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/pearl-oasis-baroque-tahitians.190300/[/URL]

Another poster also bought a strand from the same vendor but unfortunately, I can't find the thread with pictures. Maybe someone else can.

I'm sorry to hear you haven't had a good customer service experience with PP. I usually "chat" with them and they are responsive (during their business hours) immediately.

That's my strand!! I love it. It changes so much. Some days I think it's really dark, others it looks really light, depending on the weather and what I am wearing. They sure are moody and I love that about Tahitians!

 

[icy_jade]

That's my strand!! I love it. It changes so much. Some days I think it's really dark, others it looks really light, depending on the weather and what I am wearing. They sure are moody and I love that about Tahitians!

And I just saw your new tahitian drops for earrings!
Hmm... my current tahitians are not moody, so maybe I need some moody ones?
But yeah, focus on my current projects. My wallet really needs some recovery time!

Just got my vendor photos from Sarah (Kojima Pearls).

I've to confess that I did some simple (auto) photoshop. The colors were really dull on my screen and I'm not sure if it's my screen or the photos but anyways, just a caveat that it may not look like that in real life. Sarah did say that she thinks that I'll like them better in real life.



The drops look so darling right? And for my colourful strand (and earrings)...



Eagerly awaiting delivery!

 

[LitGeek]

Oh my! I am loving your new Kojima pearls!!! Especially that multicolor strand and earrings

 

[icy_jade]

Thanks. I definitely will post neck/ear shots.

Sorry you have had a slow start. Try calling CS or use their chat feature. I imagine they get inundated with emails. I have always received wonderful CS, but if you are looking for a custom item it does take time. They have to look for the pearls, take and edit photos, get them priced, etc. Their pearls are definitely worth waiting for though Hoping you get your strand ordered soon!

Well... no news for a month. Am in Asia so the time zone makes it hard to call or instant message... Am guessing that the request has been lost in the pile of emails, and am just not in the mood to send yet another chaser. Is ok, was just wondering if mine is a typical experience re: their CS.

Back to your beauties, when are you expecting to receive them?

I sent an email to Jeremy with a link to this thread. He is in Europe right now and won't be back for a few more days. But he has sent it on to the office so they could track down what happened to your email. Hope this will help. PP is great but sometimes accidents happen and emails get lost. Hope you hear from them soon.

As for dark strands, I need some baroque Tahitians!!
I wanted something like this, but it didn't pan out too well. Still on my KIV list tho.



What do you ladies think?

Wow, I got an email from Hisano Shepherd - she mentioned that SSP drops are out of stock so I guess no luck on the mixed SSP/tahitian strand that I wanted to customise. She did mention reaching out to some supplier so if I hear back from PP you ladies will be the 1st to know!

Thanks again to 4Ranch Girl!

 

[icy_jade]

Oh my! I am loving your new Kojima pearls!!! Especially that multicolor strand and earrings

Thanks LitGeek! Right now I am looking fwd to the drops a little more, but who knows when I see them in real life? Just feels like the drops are a little more daily wearable if you know what I mean. But heck guess if I like them I'll wear them regardless. E.g. I am finding every/any excuse to wear my blue akoyas. Another colleague just complimented them today! She said that she almost couldn't take her eyes off them while talking to me the other day.

On a side note, I may be having trips to Hong Kong/Bangkok AND Philippines this month. Anyone has recommendations on where to go to shop for pearls and how much to pay?

Appreciate specific stall/expected pricing recommendations for Greenhills if that is one of the recommendations for Philippines. Just a tad worried re: bargaining and how much to pay.
If I have no plans to get golden SSP should I bother going to Jewelmer?

 

[LitGeek]

I would definitely go to Jewelmer just too look at and drool over their pearls and designs! Of course I would need to pick up a souvenir while I was there I still would love some golden SS pearls!

I hope you get lucky and Hisano finds you some SS drops so you can get your custom strand!

 

[4Ranch Girl]

Thanks. I definitely will post neck/ear shots.

Sorry you have had a slow start. Try calling CS or use their chat feature. I imagine they get inundated with emails. I have always received wonderful CS, but if you are looking for a custom item it does take time. They have to look for the pearls, take and edit photos, get them priced, etc. Their pearls are definitely worth waiting for though Hoping you get your strand ordered soon!

Well... no news for a month. Am in Asia so the time zone makes it hard to call or instant message... Am guessing that the request has been lost in the pile of emails, and am just not in the mood to send yet another chaser. Is ok, was just wondering if mine is a typical experience re: their CS.

Back to your beauties, when are you expecting to receive them?

I sent an email to Jeremy with a link to this thread. He is in Europe right now and won't be back for a few more days. But he has sent it on to the office so they could track down what happened to your email. Hope this will help. PP is great but sometimes accidents happen and emails get lost. Hope you hear from them soon.

As for dark strands, I need some baroque Tahitians!!
I wanted something like this, but it didn't pan out too well. Still on my KIV list tho.



What do you ladies think?

Wow, I got an email from Hisano Shepherd - she mentioned that SSP drops are out of stock so I guess no luck on the mixed SSP/tahitian strand that I wanted to customise. She did mention reaching out to some supplier so if I hear back from PP you ladies will be the 1st to know!

Thanks again to 4Ranch Girl!

Your welcome. I do know that it might take them awhile but with patience they will be able to make your dream necklace.

 

[icy_jade]

Your welcome. I do know that it might take them awhile but with patience they will be able to make your dream necklace.

Fingers crossed! I know this is probably an unfortunately side effect of my job but I can't help thinking that perhaps PP can implement some customer service management system, for easy tracking of inquiries, customer records, customer statistics/service metrics, etc. Realised that they do not provide a unique identifier for each inquiry unlike some other more established online stores/services, so I am guessing that there isn't a structured system in place... anyways, I'm glad to hear back from them.

I'll probably be in Hong Kong for a few days and was doing some research on where to buy. These two stores came up. Any of you ladies have tried either? Or do you have another store that you will highly recommend to visit?

1. Rio Pearl
http://www.riopearl.com.hk

2. Om International
http://www.ompearls.com/index.htm

Anyway I plan to pop by the local jewellery expo (Singapore International Jewelry Expo) tomorrow for a looksee so I'd better sleep soon!

 

[Dizzie]

icy jade -- Those silver/blue akoyas are crazy beautiful!
Have fun with the site. Let me know if you are looking for anything in particular. I've a long list of bookmarked pearls/vendors from Rakuten.

First of all - you have got an enchanting collection of pearls, icy_jade!

As for the Rakuten sellers, do you have any experience with Akana pearl or Ariel Pearl? Those sellers have a couple of items I was interested in, but I just don't dare to try out.
Compared to European prices, the price level is extremely attractive, but I am shy to order overseas, considering the shipping and customs clearan costs.

 

[icy_jade]

First of all - you have got an enchanting collection of pearls, icy_jade!

As for the Rakuten sellers, do you have any experience with Akana pearl or Ariel Pearl? Those sellers have a couple of items I was interested in, but I just don't dare to try out.
Compared to European prices, the price level is extremely attractive, but I am shy to order overseas, considering the shipping and customs clearan costs.

Thanks Dizzie!
Re: the Rakuten sellers, think I have them both bookmarked but have not purchased from them. Depending on how much you like the items, perhaps you can send them an inquiry/for more pics? I have tried that before as it gives me better assurance re: the pearls. Otherwise my latest learning is to attend your local/regional jewellery shows where you can see the jewellery in real life. There aren't that many good local stores in my country so attending such shows look to be the next best option. I have to say it's so much better when you can try on the stuff before you buy. e.g. some strands that I thought were lovely looked bleh on me, and vice versa.

 

[icy_jade]

Nearly 2 months after I started this thread, here's the conclusion!
(Thankfully, my postman/postal system is much faster than bsomlo's)



Stunning colours right? Love the overtones on some of the more outstanding pearls.
Coincidentally, I was wearing a purple-maroonish top that really matched the strand so off went my new tahitians and on came my new strand.



As feared, the strand plus earrings were a tad 'over' for office, but I love their colours.



Only low point is the bit of string sticking out near the clasp - but with my clumsy fingers I dun dare to try any neatening operation...

 

[icy_jade]

As for the drops, they look gorgeous. I really like their shape and size.

 

[bsomlo]

icy jade -- you are killing me with these incredible beauties!!! I don't know which I love more! They are all exquisite.

(Tee hee, you'd think I lived on the moon regarding waiting for my package from Australia.)

I'd love to see pictures of the drops on you. I don't quite get how the earrings work...

PS -- I'd wear all of them to work, no matter where you work (unless you're a boxing instructor, that is).

 

[icy_jade]

icy jade -- you are killing me with these incredible beauties!!! I don't know which I love more! They are all exquisite.

(Tee hee, you'd think I lived on the moon regarding waiting for my package from Australia.)

I'd love to see pictures of the drops on you. I don't quite get how the earrings work...

PS -- I'd wear all of them to work, no matter where you work (unless you're a boxing instructor, that is).

Haha, we are all fellow 'poisoners' aka pearl enablers. Don't think I would have gotten so many without this forum and all those gorgeous strands/pearls from all the ladies (including now inactive ones) who have shared their beauties with us...

Poor thing re: your CC strand.

As for drop earrings, I'll try pics over the weekend. Can't get decent shots at night and the pearls are too big for work - or correction, I just don't have the right (bold) features to carry them off, sigh.

They are threaders... Maybe some pics from google?
https://www.google.com/search?q=pea...a=X&ei=0OPaUZTnFIr3rQfGloGYDQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ

 

[icy_jade]

As promised, some pics of the drops:

Drop pendant/enhancer on WG box chain:



Drop pendant and earrings:



Earrings:
[apologies but I couldn't get any clear shots!]

Tried both long and short dangles...





The drops are really nice IRL. For those who are interested, Sarah has just added a new drop threader on her site:
http://kojimapearl.myshopify.com/products/white-gold-threader-earrings

 

[icy_jade]

And for the multi-coloured ripple earrings, just wanted to share a real life shot:



They look really good... two of my colleagues couldn't resist asking me about them the morning when I came into office.

If anyone else liked my necklace or the earrings, Sarah just added a few more strands in her store:
http://kojimapearl.myshopify.com/collections/strands

 

[icy_jade]

Your welcome. I do know that it might take them awhile but with patience they will be able to make your dream necklace.

Ok, just one last update before I 'wrap-up' on this thread...

Hisano wrote back to say that she got the SSP drops. Unfortunately as some of you ladies who read my other thread [https://www.pricescope.com/communit...ng-baroque-tahitians-from-andy-müller.190979/] may know, I'm kinda 'wiped out' by the multi-coloured tahitian strand that I unexpectedly bought earlier this month...

So I am going to KIV the mixed SSP/tahitian strand that I'd originally asked PP about back in May.
(So unfortunate that my appetite for new pearls far outstrips my wallet's support ability!)

But still on my 'lust list' tho, so look out for updates when my wallet recovers from their recent damage!

For all the ladies who followed my long-winded thread, thanks and until next time!

 

[jeweln]

icy jade
I love your pearl collection ,especially the blue akoys & the kojima colored set .
are kojima's earrings heavy to wear ? what about the Rakuten baroque white earrings , are they comfortable to wear ? I am thinking of getting the same earrings & pendant from them like yours .

 

[icy_jade]

icy jade
I love your pearl collection ,especially the blue akoys & the kojima colored set .
are kojima's earrings heavy to wear ? what about the Rakuten baroque white earrings , are they comfortable to wear ? I am thinking of getting the same earrings & pendant from them like yours .

@Jeweln:
- Re: Kojima ripple earrings: Not as heavy as I thought. Still felt ok after a full day of wearing. I can feel them, but it wasn't horrible for my ears. Am ok to wear them to work.
- Re: baroque white earrings from Rakuten... those are heavy. You are referring to the big dangles ya? Yep, very heavy. For short term wear only.

 

[jeweln]

icy jade
yes I meant the baroque ones . so I will not be getting them ,since my ear lobes are small and I can't wear heavy earnings . that is why I like freshwater vs bead nucleated, they are lighter . Thanks for your feedback ! but I may get the pendant ,your pics of it are so pretty

 

[bsomlo]

icy jade -- thanks for the links. I am considering the metallic strand.

http://kojimapearl.myshopify.com/products/metallic-ranbow-ripple-pearls

I've emailed Sarah some questions. Can you share the process of choosing clasps and findings? Were there a lot of choices and price ranges? I'm going to want matching earrings, hopefully the loose strand is long enough to pull out a couple of pearls for earrings. Anyway, I'd love any information you'd like to share since I have no experience with this vendor. Catherine is superb at immediate responses via email and has the patience of a saint. Very unfortunate about my bizarre delivery fiasco. (No, no news at all...the package is in The Bermuda Triangle I didn't know existed 3 miles from my home...).

 

[jeweln]

bsolomo
I had my eyes on that strand !!! but I am still looking for ripples at catherine cardellini's . in fact I emailed her , because it seemed to me the prettier ones are gone fast . hopefully she will string more soon .

 

[bsomlo]

Jeweln-- I am in pause mode thinking through my options. Please buy that strand if you like it! There are always more (and more and more...!).

 

[jeweln]

bsomlo
Thanks but I am waiting for catherine to string more ripples .

 

[icy_jade]

icy jade
yes I meant the baroque ones . so I will not be getting them ,since my ear lobes are small and I can't wear heavy earnings . that is why I like freshwater vs bead nucleated, they are lighter . Thanks for your feedback ! but I may get the pendant ,your pics of it are so pretty

The pearls are pretty. My iPhone pics can only do so much for them, haha. Re: the pearls, am guessing that you have already seen the selection?

The pendant: http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/lecollier/item/10001214/

The earrings: http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/lecollier/item/10001253/
(Hey, new stocks again, they must be popular...)

And new earrings with diamond setting: http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/lecollier/item/10001055/

Oh and this new 14 - 17.8 mm strand looks amazing. Any takers?
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/lecollier/item/10001333/



Some of the most interesting colours/pearls turn up on Rakuten, so I'm a little addicted to browsing the site!