advice needed on purchasing Tahitian pearls

[Elenayak]

I would appreciate an advice on the following issue. For over a year I was looking for specific Tahitian pearls with no success on the web and in stores. I am interested in a necklace of A grade (gem) bright and light peacock, or alternatively purple, aubergine, with orient, also not too dark, or possbly blue shade. I inquired from Pearl Paradise in the spring, and they told me that they may get some in June but nobody contacted me as of yet, so I assume they did not have any. The Pearl Source was helpful and had one very nice peacock strand at a very good price, but it was darker than I would have liked. American Pearl have some choices on their website but said that they were sold out when I contacted them directly. I have also visited Mikimoto flagship store in Manhattan, they have an amazing selection of SS pearls, but Tahitian pearls are of a more "conservative" colors, that is not very colorful. They had just one ring with a gorgeous peacock pearl, and said that this color was very unusual for them. So my question is, do such strands even exist? And if the do, how to purchase them? I assume they do exist, they are on the American Pearl website, for example, at a very reasonable prices, yet it is so hard to purchase special colors of top quality. I would appreciate to have any input on this. I do not need the pearls urgently or for any occasion, it is just something I would like to have at some point.
Thank you!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

There is a major pearl show going on right now in Hong Kong and vendors are buying pearls to sell on their websites. I suggest you try again with Pearl Paradise after they return from the show. They ought to have new stock in and may have what you want.

Failing that, you could request a custom order for one of their future buying trips.

 

[pattye]

As Karin and Pearl Dreams mentioned, checking with Pearl Paradise later this month will possibly turn up some pearls you will like. Some years there will be a prevalence of certain colors. Wanting a top grade also makes it more challenging. But this could be the season you have your dream strand!

 

[pearlescence]

There were some stunning pale green or blue body colour with pink peacock eyes in Hong Kong - is this what you mean by lighter colours? I got some pairs for earrings in these lighter shades and very pretty they are...I'll do pix when I stop flying and being jet-lagged

 

[Katbran]

http://www.tahitianpearls.biz/tahitian-pearl-necklace/peacock_tahitian_pearl_necklace_tnme.htm are these too dark?
You might check out the site, he's got quite a few necklaces. These are lighter ... http://www.tahitianpearls.biz/tahitian-pearl-necklace/light_gray_tahitian_pearl_necklace_tnmj.htm

 

[Elenayak]

Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions, I really appreciate that. Katbran, this is perfect color, the only problem is "light to moderate blemishes", I would love to have this necklace in "gem" quality, possibly round or other shape. It appears that AAA mostly clean pearls are hard to find. And Wendy, I will look forward to see pictures of light blue with rose circle pearls, sounds so beautiful!

 

[Rossweisse]

http://www.tahitianpearls.biz/tahitian-pearl-necklace/peacock_tahitian_pearl_necklace_tnme.htm are these too dark?
You might check out the site, he's got quite a few necklaces. These are lighter ... http://www.tahitianpearls.biz/tahitian-pearl-necklace/light_gray_tahitian_pearl_necklace_tnmj.htm

Oh dear, another danger zone!

Enjoy your Tahitians search, Elenayak. Best wishes for a gorgeous outcome.

 

[Elenayak]

I was looking for sometime and contacted Pearl Paradise. In Pearl Paradise I was told that they currently do not have a peacock AAA necklace and that somebody else was looking for one. Then I came across a Chinese web retailer and saw exactly what I was looking for. I did something I would not normally do - purchased this necklace from an unknown website, albeit with my AmEx card, which offered some reassurance. The necklace arrived. and I would appreciate any opinions. The pearls are real, stated country of origin is Australia, AAA, 9-11 mm. The pearls are extremely lustrous, they look almost like Christmas decorations, and peacock overtones are strong even in a very poor light. I enclose a picture made with my phone in a somewhat dark room. I could do better pictures in a daylight. I would be greatful for any expert opinions.

 

[Elenayak]

OK, here may be better pictures. I found these once particularly difficult to photograph. They seem to behave not like my other Tahitian strands. Usually my pearls seem to be more grey-ish with less light, and light brings out more colors. With these once it is almost the reverse: in a darker room the color is very distinct, almost like a soft glowing color. When there is a lot of light, they seem to reflect too much light and the color washes away, at least on the picture.

As I said in my post before, I have ordered the peacock from a Chinese website. My sister also ordered the blue-ish strand. Just like I had difficulty finding the true AAA peacock color, she was looking for a long time for a blue-ish strand and approached several vendors but could not find this. When we looked at this Chinese website we saw exactly what we wanted. I do have reservations, however, that the color may not be real, it is almost too good to be true. T(he real life color is much better than on my picture.)The pearls are real, however. Because the luster is so high, could they be colored metallic freshwater? Could irradiation be used or something like that? For both of them stated country of origin is Australia.

 

[Ramona]

Some of the pearls, particularly on the left strand, look a bit potatoe-ish to me.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I am inclined to think they are dyed freshwater pearls, from the look of them-- the shape and the way the colors are.
*I'm editing to add that I am no expert in Tahitians!

Another edit-- Are there any surface flaws, and what do they look like? Compare them with the tiny pits you see in close-ups of Tahitians on PP.com (for example.)

 

[Ramona]

I don't know whether you can easily get a refund. Otherwise, if you did not pay too much, they are quite nice pearls. I do like the peacock strand.

 

[KarinK]

I'm curious about them saying they come from Australia. Do they grow Tahitians there?

- Karin

 

[pearlescence]

If you have other strands which are certainly Tahitians have a look at the flaws, which can give a clue. Tahitian and South Sea pearls tend to have minor blemishes which look like a sort of acne pit or a stone dropped into a deep soft mud pool. craters of the moon sort of thing. what are any flaws like on these strands.
Hard to tell from those photos, they are very uniformly matched which speaks for either expensive Tahitians or dyed fresh
Colourling like that is done to freshwaters with dye
Australia could be the country from which they are sold - just as I sell Tahtians from the UK. As far as I know there are no freshwater or Tahitian/black lip oyster farms in Australia (indeed would not Tahitian pearls grown in Australia be a mislabelling?)

 

[Elenayak]

I don't know whether you can easily get a refund. Otherwise, if you did not pay too much, they are quite nice pearls. I do like the peacock strand.

They apparently have 30 days warranty if pearls are damaged or not as pictured. I attached certificate that came with them and vendor's pictures. They do not seem to have many pits, although I have other strands that do not. The vendor stated that they are less than 3% in a strand. As for the price we paid about $4.5K for each strand. The blue strand is about 1 mm larger than the peackock, the peackock is 9-11mm.
I also have to say that I recognize in the vendor's picture the exact strand that we received.

 

[pearlescence]

A certificate issued by the vendor doesn't really mean very much. If the pearls are fakes then the certificate is going to be fake too isn't it?

 

[KarinK]

What does the certificate say about Australia? The image is cropped so I can't see. I would be concerned if they are supposed to be grown in Australia.

I understand if you want to give the name of the seller here, but perhaps you could PM the link to the website to some of the more knowledgeable people here and ask them to have a look and see what they think.

- Karin

 

[Elenayak]

What does the certificate say about Australia? The image is cropped so I can't see. I would be concerned if they are supposed to be grown in Australia.

I understand if you want to give the name of the seller here, but perhaps you could PM the link to the website to some of the more knowledgeable people here and ask them to have a look and see what they think.

- Karin

Yes, they supposed to be grown in Australia. The seller apparently called Dranix. They say on their website that they are very large company in China producing mostly freshwater pearls and purchasing high quality pearls as well. They also own jeweler store in Bangkok.

 

[KarinK]

They apparently have 30 days warranty if pearls are damaged or not as pictured.

Does this mean there is no return policy? If there is only the 30 days warranty and the pearls obviously are neither damaged or different from the photo, you probably don't want us to say anything other than that they are lovely. In your case I would choose to enjoy my new Tahitians that look just like I wanted them to and not discuss the matter any further.

 

[Elenayak]

No, I think it is important to find out if they are real. I am sure that I could return them if they are not what they suppose to be, particularly, I have an additional AmEx warranty on purchases. I would not pay almost 10 K for colored freshwater. ( even though they do look exactly as I wanted them).