PP Tahitian pearls on sale!

[4Ranch Girl]

DMZ what kind of lighting was your pictures taken in. You will get the colors of Tahitians to show best in natural north defused light. If you are in florecent light, direct sunlight or bright light it will suck the color of the pearl right out of it. Also when pearls are shipped the tend to go to sleep and it takes a while for them to wake up and show overtones. Crazy I know but they do. The pictures from PP have been taken under perfect conditions with a full spectrom light bulb in a light box. I can see similarities of the strand you recieved and the one in the picture when looking at several of the pearls. In the end PP will make sure you are happy wheter or not a mistake has been made.

Caro's pictures above is a good example of home pictures vs light box pictures.

 

[caro40]

But wouldn't you say it's a mistake because it's not the one dmz ordered? That's not a matter for interpretation because someone else ordered it as well and got the glamour shot.
Yes a few pearls here and there could be swapped in/out without it being a big deal and we could also say the colours will be muted, but the shapes and basic colour contrasts across the strand are quite different from the original photo. Unless this was longer than 18 inches I would also suggest the pearls are smaller than the size dmz ordered - the extra pearl suggests that to me but I may be wrong.

 

[dmz]

DMZ what kind of lighting was your pictures taken in. You will get the colors of Tahitians to show best in natural north defused light. If you are in florecent light, direct sunlight or bright light it will suck the color of the pearl right out of it. Also when pearls are shipped the tend to go to sleep and it takes a while for them to wake up and show overtones. Crazy I know but they do. The pictures from PP have been taken under perfect conditions with a full spectrom light bulb in a light box. I can see similarities of the strand you recieved and the one in the picture when looking at several of the pearls. In the end PP will make sure you are happy wheter or not a mistake has been made.

Caro's pictures above is a good example of home pictures vs light box pictures.

I was trying to match the lighting / exposure to makeable's glamour shot the best I could. I made a make-shift light box, camera on the tripod, bounced flash off a white ceiling. I think it's a reasonable approximation.

I think one of the things that drew me to this particular strand was the light/dark contrast between adjacent pearls -- there are some noticeably darker pearls beside some lighter pearls all the way around. I don't see that pattern on the strand I received.

I'm curious if there's a standard on blemishes. I don't mind if the surface is "mottled" (don't know what to call it) but I don't really like when I can see the white bead. About a quarter of the pearls have the white showing in varying degrees, and unfortunately, most of them are towards the front.

 

[caro40]

Yes the light/dark pattern is what I meant when I referred to contrast across the strand. I get where you are coming from.

The white patches won't be bead I am sure (definitely not bead from PP) but I again understand why you might not want them.

Let us know how you go, I assume if you've contacted PP you'll hear back soon.

 

[dmz]

Yes the light/dark pattern is what I meant when I referred to contrast across the strand. I get where you are coming from.

The white patches won't be bead I am sure (definitely not bead from PP) but I again understand why you might not want them.

Let us know how you go, I assume if you've contacted PP you'll hear back soon.

I emailed them back when I first noticed the duplicate pictures on this thread. But it was the weekend, so I haven't heard anything yet.

p.s. Glad to see your package arrived as expected. Had to battle two hurricanes to get here! Where in Australia are you? We just moved to Melbourne a bit more than a year ago.

Maybe I need some education... what am I seeing here?

 

[caro40]

I'm in Melbourne too. How are you finding it! I'd say 'cold' except you're from Canada aren't you?
I would embarrass myself if I tried to be too great an expert on what you're seeing, but I believe it's a gap in the outer layer of nacre. What you're seeing is more nacre though (or conchiolin, which is a part of nacre). Getting into rusty memory stuff so maybe someone else could weigh in.
What I do know is that Tahitians need at least 0.8mm of nacre around the bead or they can't be exported, and PP is absolutely kosher with this stuff. There is no way that PP would buy or sell Tahitians with the bead showing. But that doesn't mean you have to like blemishes, it's personal. I bought Tahitians from another reputable overseas vendor and was not thrilled to see many white patches. But I also didn't pay a great deal for them and the colours were spectacular. When I asked the vendor if I was seeing bead he was horrified!

 

[makeable]

dmz does it say on your invoice what the item number is? Does it match up to what was ordered? The pearls you received are… well, to my eye they look very dissimilar from what was on the website in quality as well as color. I'm confident PP will make it right for you but I am curious how they will handle the duty situation considering you are an international client.

I should get my strand later this afternoon. I will post photos when I get it. Please keep us updated as well.

 

[pinkjewel]

Well, that does not look like the same strand you ordered at all- nor does the quality of the pearls look the same. I'm sure PP will work to make it right, but I'm assuming it will be more difficult with you not being in the US. I talked with Jeremy on Friday and believe he said he will be out of town and not in the office until tomorrow, but you may want to talk with him directly.

 

[cmd2014]

Oh that's disappointing. I would be very unhappy with what Dmz received. To my eye what is weird is that the right side of the strand seems to match the picture, but the left side does not match at all. It's not just the colours, but it's also the irregular shapes (that were not in the picture) and the poor job of graduation (with small pearls put between obviously larger ones towards the front). The level of blemishing is also surprisingly high. I have an Aa/Aa+ strand that looks nothing like the level of inclusions on that strand. Hopefully they can fix this for you ASAP. I have to admit that I'm a little surprised that this is what they would ship out. It looks like a very low quality strand to me. I would be very curious to see what the other strand looks like for comparison, and about how this gets resolved.

Edit: nope on 2nd look it really does not match up in any way. I think that was me just trying to hard.

 

[mintea]

Hi all - longtime lurker deciding to come out of the woodwork. I bought a strand from this sale too - once it arrives, which will be early this week, I'll try to get a good photo or three so I can post a comparison of stock photo, glamour shot, and amateur pics.

Caro, your new necklace is beautiful and really suits your skin tone! The shapes and surface quality are phenomenal. I was considering that exact strand, but due to budget constraints jumped for an AA+/AAA strand instead. When I chatted with EJ at PP he took what is now your strand and mine out in natural sunlight and confirmed that the two were very similar coloristically. Since your pearls are so pretty, it makes me very hopeful about mine!

Dmz, keep us posted about what happens with your strand. I know that I would be very disappointed to recieve a random strand of pearls, especially one that appears to be lower quality than the strand pictured. I hope that PP finds a way to make it right.

 

[thecat]

Caro, your new strand complements your skin perfectly.

dmz, I'm sure PP will resolve this to your satisfaction.

 

[mapo]

dmz, the strand you received definitely not the strand from the first picture. i am sure pp will take care of the situation to your satisfaction.

 

[dmz]

dmz does it say on your invoice what the item number is? Does it match up to what was ordered? The pearls you received are… well, to my eye they look very dissimilar from what was on the website in quality as well as color. I'm confident PP will make it right for you but I am curious how they will handle the duty situation considering you are an international client.

I should get my strand later this afternoon. I will post photos when I get it. Please keep us updated as well.

The invoice matches the product page that I ordered from TAN200-835-WP. Interestingly, the appraisal photo (small as it is, and in black and white), looks a lot like the product shot in that it's 39 pearls (what I received is 40) and the dark/light patterning.



I'll be very interested to see what you get. This whole thing is stressing me out. Even if I can return it at no cost to me, I'm still back to square one with nothing to show for my trouble.

 

[Fly Girl]

dmz - I've been following this thread with interest. Please don't be stressed out. One reason to go with a reliable vendor is that they will work hard to make this right. So, please trust that this will happen.

A related story. With two other pearl vendors, Josh at Kamoka and Sarah at Kojima, I've had similar mix-ups where the pearls I originally ordered ended up being sold to someone else. In both cases, I ended up with much more beautiful pearls. At the ruckus, bsomlo heard my stories and saw my pearls, and said, well, they're guilt strands. That explains why they are so nice. It remains to be seen, of course, but my guess is that this is your lucky day, and you will end up with a gorgeous "guilt" strand.

 

[dmz]

dmz - I've been following this thread with interest. Please don't be stressed out. One reason to go with a reliable vendor is that they will work hard to make this right. So, please trust that this will happen.

I've had good experiences with them in the past, so I'm keeping optimistic. The waiting is the hardest part.

In the meantime, practising my photography. 7.5-8.0mm Freshadama and 8.0-9.0mm Tahitian studs. (Both from PP.) My wife wears them all the time.

 

[bsomlo]

Fly Girl -- you hit the nail on the head! Excellent pearl vendors will do what it takes to make things right. If your wife ends up with a "guilt strand" she will be lucky indeed. Fly Girl is one happy camper with exquisite pearls at the end of the day. I wish you weren't stressed out, though. I know there will be a happy ending. I would bet anything on that.

 

[makeable]

According to the UPS website the shipment arrived into my city last night but no delivery yet and no "Out for delivery" status. Ack!

dmz try not to feel stressed. I am confident PP will have a fabulous (guilt ) strand for you. But if PP doesn't have a suitable alternative ready in time for your anniversary my offer still stands. That is if I receive the correct pearls

I will post photos as soon as I get the pearl strand in my hands.

 

[dmz]

Update!

I've received word from PearlParadise. They've offered to work with me to make a replacement strand, and to handle all the shipping costs.

It seems that both strands were somehow tagged with the same product number, and that's why the error wasn't caught. (So makeable, you should be getting what was in the photo.)

I'm not sure how long this will take, but I'll definitely report back with the conclusion. Thanks everyone for the words of support.

 

[makeable]

Yippie, fantastic news dmz!!!

 

[cmd2014]

That's good news! Looking forward to seeing the finished strand, and yours too Makeable!

 

[makeable]

It arrived and it seems that this is the same strand photographed by PP. Whew! And the pearls are lovely.

Sorry for the poor quality but I wanted to get a few quick photos before the sun completely sets...

 

[HHPmom]

Dmz,

It is good news that PP is working on your strand. I look forward to seeing pictures soon.

Makeable,

Wear your beautiful strand in good health! And neck shots soon please.

 

[4Ranch Girl]

Dmz I am sure the repacement strand will be beautiful. Unfortunately mistakes sometimes happen the high standards and integrity of a company will show in how they deal with rectifying the problem. The new pictures of the earrings are really good ones. Pearls are very hard to photograph as I am sure you are finding out. Keep us posted and share photos please. I am glad it is going to workout for you.

Makeable that is one beautiful strand. Enjoy your new beauties. Especially after all of the worry this weekend.

 

[dmz]

It arrived and it seems that this is the same strand photographed by PP. Whew! And the pearls are lovely.

Very nice! I bet you're glad I didn't take you up on your offer!

 

[cmd2014]

Wow! Beautiful strand Makeable! At that price point, I think that was the find of the sale so far!

Edit: and at least DMZ you know that yours was a terrible mistake...can you imagine receiving yours thinking that it was the "right" strand? You'd have to think it was a total bait and switch scam!!!

Now let's hope they can make my situation right too (I posted a bit of it on the harvest strand thread). I will be calling them tomorrow.

 

[dmz]

I'm in Melbourne too. How are you finding it! I'd say 'cold' except you're from Canada aren't you?

Melbourne -- so far so good. I think the weather is great! We were laughing about the news a few weeks ago about the coldest two days in a row in a number of years. I think it got down to around 2ºC (35ºF) at night. Honestly, I think the short daylight hours are the worst part about winter. I miss the snow a little bit.

Random question... you wouldn't happen to know anywhere reputable in the city that restrings pearls? (And/or cost.) I was just looking at my wife's Freshadama strand, and it looks like it needs it.

 

[caro40]

I got some things restrung not long ago. It's quite expensive, can't remember prices but I found a cheaper place in the city, I think it was this place -
http://www.royalpearlandgemcompany.com/#!contact-us/c1049..
I was getting heaps of stuff done though.

Collins street has a number of pearl places and they are more expensive but they deal in higher end pearls so it's possible the quality is better, but I have no complaints with Royal Pearl and Gem Company.

I also meant to write well done on getting some progress with PP. It's a huge disappointment that you didn't get what you expected but I am completely confident they'll make it up to you.

By the way I got my most special pearls from a store in Clifton Hill, called Imogene. Yes it's a bricks and mortar store and has a smaller range than places like PP but Kathryn has some beautiful things. You could take your wife there!
http://www.imogene.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56&Itemid=30

 

[pkinnew]

makeable - Your strand is stunning! The luster is amazing and the colors are fantastic! I know you'll wear this a lot!

 

[pkinnew]

I received my rope today and I'm in love! They're a medium green with cherry overtones (not really blue-ish like the glamour shot)! I tried to take a few pictures but was unsuccessful at capturing them so I'll try later today. I hope everyone is as pleased as I am with their new treasures!

 

[makeable]

Thank you pkinnew, cmd2014, dmz, 4RanchGirl and HHPmom. dmz I'm sure your strand will equal if not surpass mine and I can't wait to see what beauty you end up with.

A quick neck shot with my iPhone of my new pearl strand. I'm so pleased with the quality