Pearls of Joy vs Pearl Paradise vs Tiffany vs Mikimoto

[LRRNola]

I am writing to share my current shopping experience for Akoya pearls. I have enjoyed reading other posts, viewing photos, and learning about pearl grading on this site. I purchased a AAA bracelet from Pearl Paradise and AAA studs from Pearls of Joy. They were packaged almost exactly the same, down to the same type of jewelry box, and were very similar in quality to each other. The Pearls of Joy had a silvery undertone, while the Pearl Paradise had a more rosy undertone. The bracelet had some messy knots and even some fraying, which made the pearls change direction from one to the next somewhat. I went shopping and compared these pearls to a Signature Pearls bracelet from Tiffany and pearls from Mikimoto. The sales associates let me take photos, and these are included and labeled.

I preferred the Tiffany Signature Pearls to both of the AAA items I had bought online. The Mikimoto A+ strand just blew me away. It was almost like liquid the way it moved and shined. Every pearl looked identical, and the knots seemed to disappear. This allowed the strand to be fluid from one pearl to the next. It was far superior to both the AAA I had bought online and the Tiffany Signature Pearls. I compared the A, AA, and AAA studs from Mikimoto and they were very similar to each other, but even the A were superior to what I had purchased online. I ended up returning my online purchases and bought the A Mikimoto studs. They are in the photos too.

If anyone else is wondering what brand to buy, in my opinion, if you want to save money, go with the online stores. If you want the most beautiful pearls, buy Mikimoto.

 

[Tophat1]

Love this! I too went with Mikimoto for my Akoya station necklace and Tahitian strand. Once I saw the pearls in person, I was sold, and even though there’s a significant premium, I didn’t want to have regrets

 

[lambskin]

There is a significant price premium for Mikimoto. Mikimoto's pearls are IMHO the best of the best. But, if you want high quality pearls and pay less then PP serves that purpose. It is a matter of choice. and priorities. I have not bought pearls from either place.

 

[katbran]

I have seen, just this past week, in person the top Akoya pearls from PP , both the natural white and the pinked Hanadama . They are beautiful pearls. I did not look at any of the other Akoya as I just wanted to see what the natural and pinked Hanadamas were like in real life. I also went into Miki in Beverly Hills ( also the store in NYC) . They do not use the Hanadama grading/certificate . They use their own grading system and I can tell you that they are without doubt the most perfect Akoya that you will find. The top grade are like mirrors... absolutely amazing..they also cost a fortune. The AA and the A are beautiful, stunning really. However, there is a reason that they are so good. They only use the best of the best quality. And you pay for that. If you can afford it then that's the way to go , If you want good quality for less then PP will not disappoint. But you really can't compare an online company with Mikimoto. They are not the same sort of business. Just like you can't compare a top end lexus with a Rolls.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

I have small MM but I LOVE them! I saw two other brands--did not compare. The premium was worth it for "me".

cheers--Sharon

 

[LRRNola]

I am writing to share my current shopping experience for Akoya pearls. I have enjoyed reading other posts, viewing photos, and learning about pearl grading on this site. I purchased a AAA bracelet from Pearl Paradise and AAA studs from Pearls of Joy. They were packaged almost exactly the same, down to the same type of jewelry box, and were very similar in quality to each other. The Pearls of Joy had a silvery undertone, while the Pearl Paradise had a more rosy undertone. The bracelet had some messy knots and even some fraying, which made the pearls change direction from one to the next somewhat. I went shopping and compared these pearls to a Signature Pearls bracelet from Tiffany and pearls from Mikimoto. The sales associates let me take photos, and these are included and labeled.

I preferred the Tiffany Signature Pearls to both of the AAA items I had bought online. The Mikimoto A+ strand just blew me away. It was almost like liquid the way it moved and shined. Every pearl looked identical, and the knots seemed to disappear. This allowed the strand to be fluid from one pearl to the next. It was far superior to both the AAA I had bought online and the Tiffany Signature Pearls. I compared the A, AA, and AAA studs from Mikimoto and they were very similar to each other, but even the A were superior to what I had purchased online. I ended up returning my online purchases and bought the A Mikimoto studs. They are in the photos too.

If anyone else is wondering what brand to buy, in my opinion, if you want to save money, go with the online stores. If you want the most beautiful pearls, buy Mikimoto.

It’s funny, I tried to post this same thread to pearlguide.com twice but both times I was banned from the site. The first time they said my email was associated with spam, so I used a different email. The second time, no reason was provided. I assume that they have a financial interest in the pearls they promote on their site. Doesn’t sound like a very honest forum.

 

[GeliL]

Just wanted to jump in and say that I agree that Mikimoto has the best of the best pearls. I was never a pearl person...UNTIL I walked into a Mikimoto store and saw their pearls. The luster and the glow they have is incomparable to any other pearls I have seen.

It does have a high premium, but to be honest, they seem to have pretty much a monopoly on those pearls they have. Maybe Tasaki would have something similar, but I haven't seen their pearls in person so.

 

[yssie]

HI:

I have small MM but I LOVE them! I saw two other brands--did not compare. The premium was worth it for "me".

cheers--Sharon

Agreed.

Also, IMO the variance from non-MM vendors is much, much larger, even within top of the line goods - from what I’ve seen MM pearls of a certain stated grade are indistinguishable in terms of quality, which is definitely not the case for at least PP or PoJ.

But my budget doesn’t stretch to MM!

 

[cmd2014]

The most beautiful pearls I have ever seen have all been Mikimoto, regardless of type (I scoped out both Akoya pearls at the Mikimoto store in NYC and Tahitian pearls in San Francisco - the Tahitians were to die for, but even at 50% off they were $30,000 USD for a 36 inch rope - that is just never going to happen in my lifetime). For Akoya, my American Pearl AAA Akoya are the closest I've seen to Mikimoto quality - they just glow. My experience with the PP Hanadama was that the luster just wasn't as high as I hoped and the colour seemed a bit off (they were quite peachy, rather than rose toned like my other Akoya pearls). As always PP is very kind and professional and make returns easy, so there's no risk in looking if you're hoping to find something at a more affordable price point than Mikimoto (as a reference, the AAA 7 - 7.5 mm strands I was looking at were priced at $11,000 - so it's hard to compare that to a strand that is priced at a 10th of that cost and expect it to be the same thing). Most of us will never be able to aspire to a Mikimoto strand unless it's pre-loved, so I know I'm grateful for the other more affordable options out there. Otherwise, I'd just never have been able to obtain the strands that I have.

Just as a FYI, the other forum that you cited is run jointly by the owners of PP, POJ, and (I think) Pure Pearls too. But they don't typically delete posts discussing competitors (they're usually pretty gracious about allowing people to talk about whatever they like without censoring), so that's weird that your posts were deleted.

 

[pammbw]

I would love to see a blind test of pearl strands to really objectively test preference. Just like wine tastings or other taste testing. I do feel like price and brand preference play a role if they are known to the tester. Only then, if Miki wins, will I feel like Miki might be earning their price.

 

[amoline]

I would love to see a blind test of pearl strands to really objectively test preference. Just like wine tastings or other taste testing. I do feel like price and brand preference play a role if they are known to the tester. Only then, if Miki wins, will I feel like Miki might be earning their price.

I would enjoy seeing this, too.

It is probably not fair on either side of the question -- it is not fair to ask/demand/expect PP/PoJ to equal or even surpass the finest Mikimoto pearls and to do it at 1/10th or less of the price. Likewise, it is also not fair to say with an entire blanket that Mikimoto "isn't worth it," because they've obviously survived this long, so they're doing something at a high quality.

The interesting thing, I think, would be to give PP maybe 1/2 of the Mikimoto equivalent price and see what they can do with that. There is still the photo floating around of the extra special white Hanadama pearls that Jeremy did for a client once - and I feel like they'd give any Mikimoto pearls a run for their money.

I've never seen a AAA Mikimoto strand, and I've never seen a AAA strand even available for purchase on their website.

EDIT: OK -- here's for comparison. I see on a jeweler's website that an 8.5-9.0mm Akoya necklace from Mikimoto in AAA grade is $54,000 -- now, I'd say if that's your budget go for it. But, if you don't have half of a house to drop on your pearls, PP aren't the worst compromise.

 

[cmd2014]

I've seen Mikimoto AAA akoya pearls in person in their store in NYC, and they are amazing. But they start in the tens of thousands of dollars for 6.5 - 7mm strands and go up exponentially from there. The Tahitian strand that I saw were $60K. They were stunning...but at $60K they'd have to be. That's just out of most people's price range.

 

[Indylady]

+1 for Mikimoto. I have a single pendant and even that is incredible. In person their strands are stunning. I have Pearl Paradise AAA’s, and have bought the studs several times as gifts and for myself, and I’d agree that Mikimoto is better. However, for the price PP is great but one day I’d like another Mikimoto piece.

 

[Arthur Kennedy]

Great thread! I'm only just now learning a little bit about pearls, and from everything I've been able to find online it seems like pearl Paradise is a good place to find nice quality pearls at an affordable price (miki is WAAAYYYY out of my price range ).

I was hoping I could pick the brains of some of you knowledgeable pearl peeps here. here are a few quick questions:

1) is 6.5-7.0mm too small for an 18 inch pearl necklace? It seems like the price point is quite a bit better for that size range (especially for Akoya), but I don't want the necklace to look puny.

2) Will a AAA (or even AA+ ) Akoya pearl necklace retain most of its shine/luster for at least 20 years if you are sure to care for it properly? Or does it lose the flow and whiteness much sooner than that?

3) with all quality factors/grades the same, is it true that high quality AAA freshwater pearls are more durable and retain their color, etc longer than AAA Akoya pearls?

 

[dk168]

3) with all quality factors/grades the same, is it true that high quality AAA freshwater pearls are more durable and retain their color, etc longer than AAA Akoya pearls?

CFWP is all nacre whereas Akoyas have nacre around a bead usually made of mother of pearl.

Therefore, CFWP is more hard wearing as the nacre layer is a lot thicker than Akoyas.

Here is a pic of my CFWP charm that I made for my key ring, and it had been knocking about in my pocket for years against keys and other charms that were made of metal. I wire-wrapped the pearl in late 1990s, and decided it was time to make a new one about 3 years ago.

The bottom of the wire wrap was tight against the pearl which was very round about 8-9mm to start off with. Don't think an Akoya would last that long.

Personally, I cannot justify spending a lot of money on top grade Akoyas, and am very happy with my gem quality CFWPs purchases from 3 vendors: The Pearl Outlet, Pearl of Joy and Pearl Paradise.

DK

 

[Pearlescence]

To answer each of your questions
1 How long is a piece of string? The answer is partly to look at what else the intended wearer wears. If they already wear tiny neat necklaces then that size is fine, but if their choice is for chunky huge dramatic pieces..well..probably not. But tastes also change.
2 I see lots of older akoya necklaces when people ask me for help with them. If worn a lot over 20 years, yes, there is a risk that nacre will wear away. I've encountered necklaces where the pearls at the back by the clasp are almost completely down to the bead, or at least button shaped. Some people's skin seems to be more abrasive to pearls than others and of course some nacre is thicker than others. Seeing much loved pearls as they come in and not being able to help is saddening. I even talked with a couple of pearl farmers about using the worn pearls as nucleuses to re-grow nacre but the logistics were absurd and unreliable.
3 Freshwater pearls are certainly more durable in that any wear will not expose the nucleus if they are all-nacre. (Increasingly hard to find all nacre as farmers move to more assured quality outcomes of bead nucleated) Even bead nucleated freshwater will be more durable because the nacre layer will be much thicker. However...there is concern within the trade that some farmers and wholesalers are pushing the envelope of whiteness and lustre treatments beyond what is durable in the long term.
You are buying an organic product. It's tricky!

 

[Arthur Kennedy]

Great thread! I'm only just now learning a little bit about pearls, and from everything I've been able to find online it seems like pearl Paradise is a good place to find nice quality pearls at an affordable price (miki is WAAAYYYY out of my price range ).

I was hoping I could pick the brains of some of you knowledgeable pearl peeps. here are a few quick questions:

1) is 6.5-7.0mm too small for an 18 inch pearl necklace? It seems like the price point is quite a bit better for that size range (especially for Akoya), but I don't want the necklace to look puny.

2) Will a AAA (or even AA+ ) Akoya pearl necklace retain most of its shine/luster for at least 20 years if you are sure to care for it properly? Or does it lose the flow and whiteness much sooner than that?

3) with all quality factors/grades the same, is it true that high quality AAA freshwater pearls are more durable and retain their color, etc longer than AAA Akoya pearls?

CFWP is all nacre whereas Akoyas have nacre around a bead usually made of mother of pearl.

Therefore, CFWP is more hard wearing as the nacre layer is a lot thicker than Akoyas.

Here is a pic of my CFWP charm that I made for my key ring, and it had been knocking about in my pocket for years against keys and other charms that were made of metal. I wire-wrapped the pearl in late 1990s, and decided it was time to make a new one about 3 years ago.

The bottom of the wire wrap was tight against the pearl which was very round about 8-9mm to start off with. Don't think an Akoya would last that long.

Personally, I cannot justify spending a lot of money on top grade Akoyas, and am very happy with my gem quality CFWPs purchases from 3 vendors: The Pearl Outlet, Pearl of Joy and Pearl Paradise.

DK

I think your example is probably above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to durability. But thanks for sharing!

As for the pearl itself, it is very pretty. But I guess I'm a lot more fond of perfectly round pearls. From what I understand, while freshwater pearls are far more abundant than akoyas, most of 'em are not round (although within a few years apparently perfectly around the freshwater pearls are going to be a lot more common due to new techniques within the culturing/harvesting process, etc).

 

[Arthur Kennedy]

To answer each of your questions
1 How long is a piece of string? The answer is partly to look at what else the intended wearer wears. If they already wear tiny neat necklaces then that size is fine, but if their choice is for chunky huge dramatic pieces..well..probably not. But tastes also change.
2 I see lots of older akoya necklaces when people ask me for help with them. If worn a lot over 20 years, yes, there is a risk that nacre will wear away. I've encountered necklaces where the pearls at the back by the clasp are almost completely down to the bead, or at least button shaped. Some people's skin seems to be more abrasive to pearls than others and of course some nacre is thicker than others. Seeing much loved pearls as they come in and not being able to help is saddening. I even talked with a couple of pearl farmers about using the worn pearls as nucleuses to re-grow nacre but the logistics were absurd and unreliable.
3 Freshwater pearls are certainly more durable in that any wear will not expose the nucleus if they are all-nacre. (Increasingly hard to find all nacre as farmers move to more assured quality outcomes of bead nucleated) Even bead nucleated freshwater will be more durable because the nacre layer will be much thicker. However...there is concern within the trade that some farmers and wholesalers are pushing the envelope of whiteness and lustre treatments beyond what is durable in the long term.
You are buying an organic product. It's tricky!

Thanks so much for your reply! Can you elaborate a bit more about cultured pearl treatments? Are most akoya and freshwater pearls subjected to a significant amount of treatments? And what do those treatments consist of? Are many AAA grade cultured freshwater and akoya pearls dyed, for instance? ‍‍

 

[Pearlescence]

All pearls will be buffed (maeshori) some companies do more to treat pearls. Bleaching and pinking (dyeing a very pale pink blush) of akoya pearls is pretty standard. But some FW pearl companies bleach and optically brighten white pearls and since this is a new practice we simply don't know how long it will last or if there is inherent damage. I'm chary of the pearls from one big company because of their fondness for processing but I see plenty of their pearls all over the market.

 

[Arthur Kennedy]

Which company? Damn, I didn't

All pearls will be buffed (maeshori) some companies do more to treat pearls. Bleaching and pinking (dyeing a very pale pink blush) of akoya pearls is pretty standard. But some FW pearl companies bleach and optically brighten white pearls and since this is a new practice we simply don't know how long it will last or if there is inherent damage. I'm chary of the pearls from one big company because of their fondness for processing but I see plenty of their pearls all over the market.

Which company?? That sounds worrisome, all reet!

To your knowledge, does Pearl Paradise use minimal treatments? I've heard great things about their "freshadama" (spelling?) freshwater cultured pearls.

 

[love_pearls]

All akoya pearls go through bleaching and pinking --- I know there is something called the natural white akoya which they state as not pinked but still they are bleached. Bleaching and pinking are the industry techniques. They cleaned the dirt and bring out the brightness of pearls but if the quality of pearls is not up to standard, those techniques are not gonna help. Therefore, the bleaching and pinking do not aim at changing the fundamental quality of pearls.

I have plastic pearls that are more than 20 years old. Fresh water and akoya that are less than one year old. I like akoya the most. When there's no comparison, freshwater will do but nothing can beat salt water pearls.

Most of retail companies got their akoya from Japanese wholesale companies so I don't think there is such untreated or lightly treated akoya.

 

[Arthur Kennedy]

All akoya pearls go through bleaching and pinking --- I know there is something called the natural white akoya which they state as not pinked but still they are bleached. Bleaching and pinking are the industry techniques. They cleaned the dirt and bring out the brightness of pearls but if the quality of pearls is not up to standard, those techniques are not gonna help. Therefore, the bleaching and pinking do not aim at changing the fundamental quality of pearls.

I have plastic pearls that are more than 20 years old. Fresh water and akoya that are less than one year old. I like akoya the most. When there's no comparison, freshwater will do but nothing can beat salt water pearls.

Most of retail companies got their akoya from Japanese wholesale companies so I don't think there is such untreated or lightly treated akoya.

 

[Arthur Kennedy]

Thanks for the info! All three of those Pearl bracelets are stunning. Which one is plastic--- the golden one?

 

[Pearlescence]

Natural white akoya are not bleached. The clue is in the description.

 

[love_pearls]

Thanks for the info! All three of those Pearl bracelets are stunning. Which one is plastic--- the golden one?

The yellow one. The one that's closest to my palm.

I am 5'3' and I think 7mm-7.5mm akoya is the smallest I can accept and it's only good for summer. For winter time, because of the thick clothes, the clothes make a 7mm-7.5mm strand looks tiny.

As for the maintenance of the pearls, every time after use, I wipe them with dry cloth that's use for glasses. Sometimes I wipe them with wet cloth with distilled water. Pearls are the last thing that I put on before going out. If I wear my strand, perfume is sprayed on wrists instead of my neck.

I wear all my jewellery pieces instead of letting them sit in the box. Cost per wear is important to me. If I think I won't wear a piece or dare not wear a piece because of the price, I will not purchase it. If something brings you joy, you should wear it. I don't think too much of the damage or wear and tear, I just like wearing them in rotation.

 

[love_pearls]

I suggest reading the educational blogs that are written by a Japanese who has connections to akoya farms to learn about akoyas.

Education - Flower Jem

Pearl Bless You

flower-jem.com

 

[Arthur Kennedy]

Natural white akoya are not bleached. The clue is in the description.

Can you elaborate further? So are you saying that plenty of AAA quality natural akoyas are NOT bleached or pinked? But I'm guessing those would come at a really high price point?

 

[Arthur Kennedy]

The yellow one. The one that's closest to my palm.

I am 5'3' and I think 7mm-7.5mm akoya is the smallest I can accept and it's only good for summer. For winter time, because of the thick clothes, the clothes make a 7mm-7.5mm strand looks tiny.

As for the maintenance of the pearls, every time after use, I wipe them with dry cloth that's use for glasses. Sometimes I wipe them with wet cloth with distilled water. Pearls are the last thing that I put on before going out. If I wear my strand, perfume is sprayed on wrists instead of my neck.

I wear all my jewellery pieces instead of letting them sit in the box. Cost per wear is important to me. If I think I won't wear a piece or dare not wear a piece because of the price, I will not purchase it. If something brings you joy, you should wear it. I don't think too much of the damage or wear and tear, I just like wearing them in rotation.

That makes perfect sense!

 

[pearlsngems]

Here is another great book I like to recommend-- lots of info, great photos, and this edition (6th) is the most recent.

Pearl Buying Guide: How to Identify and Evaluate Pearls by Renee Newman

Also there is a great CPAA course called PearlsAsOne which will teach you all you need to know about pearls, and it's free with a code that you can get if you request it from Pearl Paradise.

 

[Arthur Kennedy]

**edited by moderator to comply with forum policies**

Re: book: very cool! But to be honest, my eyes are starting to glaze over. And I'm feeling more overwhelmed than I did when I first started dabbling in colored gemstones a few years ago ‍‍(I'm an ideal cut RBC guy--- I have a knack at finding very nice quality diamonds at great prices, in large part because I focus on stones under a carat with eye-clean SI1 clarity and j color). but against the odds--- and even though I have nowhere near the aptitude with colored stones as I do with diamonds--- I wound up finding some nice little high quality precious colored gemstones after much trial and error. But here I am now starting down another confusing (and expensive) jewelry path. Yeesh. I don't know why I opened this Pandora's box to begin with. I don't have the damn budget for it, and I'm the kind of person who will be mildly haunted about turning my back on higher quality cultured akoya pearls in favor of the far more affordable (but significantly less visually stunning) freshwater cultured pearls.

But no matter what, I appreciate your input. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. You clearly know your stuff!