Akoya or Freshadama?

[Tricky]

Hello

It's my mothers 60th birthday next month and for the first time in her life she has indicated a specific gift she would love to receive, a pearl necklace.
She wishes it to be 18 inches in length, pearls around 7-7.5mm in diameter and as white as possible with a white gold clasp, I found all of this out during a trip through the high street jewellers at Christmas time, I have a budget of ?500
She has also indicated that she would like a sea based pearl (Akoya) rather than a freshwater one but I feel this is more a romantic notion of deep sea divers collecting pearls rather than the real life farming methods.
My dilemma is what to buy. I would prefer to purchase them in the UK but would have to do this online as the quality of pearls I saw for ?500 in the high street looked very poor to me. I was looking at a company called Dawn Rose Pearls which have Akoya necklaces in my price range but I can't find out much information about the company.
The other option is to buy from the well recommended Pearl Paradise who are obviously not UK based so import charges would occur. In this case I'd go for the Freshadama pearls which look good to me.
I just don't know what to do, I'm well out of my comfort zone and could really do with some help.
Sorry for the rambling post.

Tricky

 

[Sea Urchin]

I have found much better pearl deals online than in person. I don't know about import charges, but it looks like Pearl Paradise has exactly what she wants and it's within your budget. If you use the chat function on the site, you'll get assistance right away and they can also email you photos of some different ones to choose from. I've also put Wendy's link (Pearlescence) below. She's in the UK and well known on here. If it's not on her site, I'd ask anyway. Maybe someone else will have more suggestions.

My thought is, since your mother has specifically requested akoya pearls, I would take her at her word that akoyas are indeed what she wants and get her those. To many people, those are THE pearls to have. They also have a sharper luster than the freshwaters, so there are differences. Haven't we all been disappointed when someone kind of reinterprets our wish and we end up with something that is close, but just not the coveted item? So, that's my two cents. Good luck with it!

http://www.pearlparadise.com/7075-mm-White-Akoya-Pearl-Necklace85.aspx
http://www.pearlescence.co.uk/

 

[Caitlin]

Those are both great selections. However, when I read this, I immediately thought of a metallic white freshwater from PP. They are the most beautiful white pearls of all, IMO and within the budget.

But I just checked and didn't see one. They may have some not listed. But short of that, the akoya is the way to go. Good Luck!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Since she specified wanting Akoyas, I would go with that, within the bounds of your budget.

 

[Tricky]

My thought is, since your mother has specifically requested akoya pearls, I would take her at her word that akoyas are indeed what she wants and get her those. To many people, those are THE pearls to have. They also have a sharper luster than the freshwaters, so there are differences. Haven't we all been disappointed when someone kind of reinterprets our wish and we end up with something that is close, but just not the coveted item? So, that's my two cents.

Thank you spelling it out to me so simply, sometimes it's easy to forget you are buying for someone else and not yourself.
Thanks to everyone for your replies, I just now need to find a decent place to buy them from.

 

[lisa c]

You mention pounds, so where are you located?

 

[Tricky]

You mention pounds, so where are you located?

Hi Lisa

I'm in Hampshire, England.

Thanks

 

[LitGeek]

Thank you spelling it out to me so simply, sometimes it's easy to forget you are buying for someone else and not yourself.
Thanks to everyone for your replies, I just now need to find a decent place to buy them from.

I love akoya pearls and I say if her heart is set on akoyas then I would definitely not get CFWP! I actually just ordered a long akoya strand with a pair of large akoya studs from PP Their customer service is exceptional!