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Pearls for new earring project: a Pearl Society purchase

misskittycat

misskittycat

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Dec 8, 2012
Messages
1,068
For our fifth wedding anniversary in early March I decided I wanted a new pair of earrings. Inspired by many others on the pricescope forums I have decided to go with a pair of diamond jackets and some coloured centre stones but I am also having some south sea pearl pendants made to drop from the diamond stud.

I was inspired by these earrings that Princess Mary wears:

http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Princess+Mary/Danish+Royal+Family+Celebrates+Queen+Margrethe/m-BFj7YDhQ_

Obviously mine aren't going to be anywhere nearly as large as hers but the general look is what I am going for.

In an effort to try and keep the price to a moderate level (given the diamonds have blown out of all proportion and I won't be wearing the drops all that frequently) I decided to buy the pearls from Pearl Society on eBay. I was blown away by the pearls that arrived yesterday - both the quality and the speed with which they arrived.

Here are a few photos. The colours are just ever so slightly mismatched in real life - one has slightly pinker lustre - but when held up to my ears they look identical. I also like the ever so slight drop shape. My jeweller (who usually does decent prices on raw materials for me) quoted me three times the price for similar pearls and almost ordered me to buy the pearl society ones.

I will be sure to post back with the finished result, but for the moment, here are the pearls.

pearls.png

pearls2.png

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Ooohh they look so pretty and well matched! How big are they? They seem to be in good size, and I love the shape too :love:
 
they are lovely! :appl:
i, too, have purchased from Pearl Society.
once you learn to read their descriptions and order accordingly, well, i find their prices hard to beat.
love your project and can't wait to see pictures of them finished.
 
Gorgeous!

Can't wait to see the finished earrings :wavey:
 
Where are you getting your findings for your project?
 
quinnox, they are 14.5 x 13.2mm and 14.2 x 13.2mm. So they are fairly large - they certainly look substantial when held up to my ear. There is only one tiny nacre blemish on the back of one of the pearls that I can see.

NacreLover, My jeweller is drilling the pearls and then making and inserting the findings as part of the job making the rest of the earrings. Because they need to be fitted to the jackets exactly I didn't want to risk someone else doing it. He's not cheap, but he does excellent work and I am very pleased with all of the custom jobs he has done for me over the years. I am dropping off the pearls to him today!
 
Lovely pearls. I, too, have purchased from Pearl Society and have been very pleased with my pearls. I won a South Sea drop pair in auction for $56 two years ago (I just rechecked the price), and they were perfect for me. Lovely color and nice soft luster, well matched with a couple of dimples in the back that make them affordable.

They are not perfect pearls on every side, but they look great from the front. As often as I wear them, I am pleased to not have a great deal tied up in them.

Your project sounds wonderful. Looking forward to seeing your final results.
 
I have that exact same picture saved to have those exact earrings made!!! So obviously I love your taste! I was planning to have the pearls be removable. Are you doing the same or will they be permanently attached to the jacket?

I'm so excited to see the finished product!!!
 
Rosebloom, the pearls will be removable. I think having the pearl drop on the earring makes them too formal for everyday and the point of having jackets is that they are flexible. My jeweller is using a wire finding (apparently) and they will sit flush with the earring. No swing but I would rather they were flush than being able to see metal.

Fly Girl, that's a steal! These certainly weren't that kind of price but I made an offer which they accepted and I was happy with the price I paid when I compared it to what I would have to pay here in Australia. I think they are perfect for what I need!

I was talking to my diamond wholesaler this morning and she said the bottom has really fallen out of the wholesale pearl market over the past few years, but it really hasn't translated to the retail market. She showed me a couple of examples - a strand of unbelievable baroque silver south sea pearls - easily 25-30mm each (seriously almost golf ball sized) with a pave diamond ball clasp that were purchased for $40K about 4 years ago. The same strand is now selling for half that price. If only I could convince Mr K that pearls are a good investment...
 
Should be a really pretty project. Congrats on those beauties.
 
Such pretty pearls! Please post pictures when your drops are completed.
 
Will do!

I saw my jeweller and diamond dealer on Thursday afternoon.

I know this isn't the forum for gems and diamonds but I thought you might like to see the tops of the earrings:



In your mind rotate it about 45 degrees. The rounds should be at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock with the pears on the corners. The centre stone is a 5mm ceylonese sapphire.

I can't wait for this project to be done!!

earringlayout.jpg
 
Sorry for the dreadful photo but they were behind tape and that was the best we could do with the iphone... We just kept getting reflections bouncing off the tape! So some of the rounds look a little off round and the sapphire looks like it has a huge window in it, which it actually doesn't...
 
Holy cannoli! Those are going to be magnificent!
 
Beautiful gems. Those are going to be gorgeous earrings.
 
Thanks Rosebloom and Fly Girl. I am very excited. I also have a pair of hot candy pink tourmalines I want to have set and get some matching pink pearl metallic drops made...

And after watching the Pearl Paradise visit video, I think Mr K is going to be fairly broke when we visit next year. I am also planning some Tahitian drops too... And some 5mm akoyas for centres...
 
Those are going to look spectacular! I love the shape.
 
Your earrings are going to be divine. :appl:
 
The stone pattern is so pretty. Can't wait to see the finished project...hopefully with ear shots.. :naughty:
 
yes, ear shots would also be nice :appl:
 
I just spoke to my jeweller and he said that he hopes the earrings will be finished by the end of this week. Hopefully I will be able to make it into town Tuesday or Wednesday of next week!
 
Misskittycat, How exciting. We can't wait to see the finished project. :love: :appl: :love: :appl: :love: :appl:
 
Absolutely spectacular!!! I'm actually sitting here with a raised pulse and all excited!
 
MKC I cannot wait to see these beauties seriously gorgeous , any update?

Nina
 
Nina, I picked them up late last week and they are DIVINE!! The only drama is that we left to go on holidays two days later and Mr K's laptop has stopped working so I can't download photos from our camera :(

I can try and download pics from my iPhone though??







I still need to get photos with the drops. Will try and get some ear shots of those too!!

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misskittycat -- they are beautiful! I am looking forward to seeing them with the pearls. Wear them in health!
 
Thanks bsomlo!!

I got Mr K to take a photo of it on my ear- my selfies were dreadful :D





I love them. So gorgeous. The sapphires are incredibly moody - sometimes they are a deep royal blue, others they are a light lavender. And of all the elements I am most thrilled with the pearl drops. They were so inexpensive compared to the rest of the earrings and yet they were so successful! I truly think they compete the earrings and make them truly versatile.

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missykittycat! Wow!!! When I saw those perky pearls, the word that popped into my mind was "nubile". Crazy. I don't know if that word has ever been used to describe a pearl -- but their shape is so seductive! Gorgeous earrings, and I agree -- the pearls really add to the set. There's something about an organic, never-to-be-repeated pearl that is so charming. Your lucky husband gets to view them from all angles!
 
Simply beautiful MissKitty bravo :appl: :appl: :appl: :appl:
 
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