Akoya Pearl Necklace

I'd love to ignore them, but it's not easy to do. Also, with freshadama, would I still be able to get rose overtones (my wife has fair skin)?
 
Mine have silver-ros? overtones. I asked for that specifically.

Your analogy (perfect lab created sapphire vs. imperfect natural sapphire) doesn't apply as both freshwater pearls and akoyas are formed of real nacre and both involve human intervention-- the placing of a nucleus into the mussel or oyster. To be analogous to a natural sapphire, the pearl would have to be natural -- not cultured-- and there are very few of those natural pearls around!

In the case of the FW pearl, only a bit of mantle tissue is placed into the mantle of the mussel to stimulate the deposition of nacre, so the resulting pearl is nacre all the way through!
In the case of akoya, a sizeable shell bead is placed into the gonad of the oyster, and nacre is laid down over that, so there is relatively little nacre.

If anything, the FW pearl is closest to a natural pearl.

That said, if her heart is set on akoyas, then so be it....we all want what we want.
 
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That's true, but I meant mainly for perception (which isn't correct, but exists nevertheless).
 
Then you will need to choose between catering to your own (and your wife's) perception, or that of others...

However, to get stunning akoyas you will have to spend much more than you would have to spend to get stunning freshwaters.
So maybe the choice is between mediocre akoyas or stunning freshwaters?

If I had thousands of $$ lying around I would probably buy a strand of natural colored Hanadama akoyas. But I don't! :p

And with that, my husband and I are taking a drive to UPS to pick up my strand of metallic white FWP. Stay tuned, I'll post photos later today on a separate thread.
 
Why not say they are akoya and dare them to be able to tell the difference? :) Anyway, the freshwater pearls will still look great, when their akoyas have been worn down to the bead and ready to be thrown out.

- Karin (who just bought naturally blue akoya, and you might want to look into them as well on PP's site. I have fair skin too, and all white pearls don't suit me.)
 
I'm joining the bigger is better crowd. 6mm-6.5mm is really small...Karin is right..you need to go to a store at the mall and look at the sizes! They will be much smaller than you imagine. I remember looking at a tape measure and thinking...oooo that's an ok size...when they showed up they looked so tiny..and that was 7mm . I think you should go for high quality freshwater pearls..check out the people from these forums..you'll get a much better deal.
 
Dwight, hey, not a thing wrong with akoyas! Maybe you could order both of the strands you have it narrowed down to and then send one of them back after you see them in person.
 
Thanks for your input everyone! At this point I think I am set on getting the Akoyas. I'm now split between getting
A. 7.0-7.5mm AA+
B. 6.5-7.0mm AAA
C. Some kind of graduated necklace (maybe 6.0mm - 8.5 mm) AA+

Any opinions on these?
 
Personally I don't prefer graduated strands. Somehow they always twist around on my neck while I'm wearing them and the largest pearl ends up off-center.

I'd go for one of the others. Size vs. quality is a matter of taste. Which factor do you think will matter more to the lady?

You could ask for photos of some actual strands in both sizes and choose the one that pleases you most.
 
That's a good point with the graduated strands. My wife's necklaces always end up with the clasp going towards the front, so I'd imagine the big pearl would as well.
 
If I had to pick just from those descriptions, I'd go for the 7.0-7.5 AA+. To me, the graduated sizes on a short strand seems a bit too old fashioned. And 6.5mm seems too small. Just one person's opinion, naturally. :)
 
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That seems to be the consensus and was my initial impression as well. I think I'll be going for the 7.0-7.5mm AA+ from Pearl Paradise! Thanks Pearl Dreams and Sea Urchin! A special Connecticut-thanks to Pearl Dreams from Hartford!
 
So Mr. Indecisive here is conflicted again. Although I was trying to keep my Christmas gift under $400, the little devil on my shoulder is telling me just to go for the 7.0-7.5mm AAA akoyas anyways. Can anyone send me pictures they might have of AA+ vs. AAA akoyas? I'm curious how different the blemishes and luster really is.
 
I don't have any but if you use the chat function on the PP site, they can show you the different strands side by side by email.
 
It's not a little devil, it's a little angel! :)

It may cost a bit more now (okay, quite a bit more), but a larger AAA strand won't be seen by your wife as "the one to upgrade later." I say, do it right the first time, even if it costs more, provided you can afford it.

Put it this way-- would you rather tell her you are giving her a AAA, or a AA+? Which will make her feel better about the gift, do you think?
A woman may buy a AA+ strand for herself, but a gift for your wife...well, I think it ought to be the best you can afford.

When she grades the gift in her mind, privately, would you rather she give it a AA+ grade, or a AAA?
Just saying....
 
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The funny thing is, I don't think she'd ever think of it as "the one to upgrade". She's notorious (in my mind) for wearing "trendy" plastic jewelry...so each birthday/Christmas I've been working on building up classic jewelry that will last instead of plastic. So either way, she'd give it me an AAA grade, even if the pearls are AA+. But, alas, I'm a perfectionist and it's probably going to bug me if I don't get the AAA ones.
 
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I hear you! But there is quite a jump from AA+ to AAA, so I can see why the hesitation, too.

I think you should please your own eyes, then, since you will actually be looking at them more than she will (a 16-18" strand won't be visible to her unless she's looking in a mirror!)

So what Sea Urchin suggested-- contact PP and ask for photos of several actual strands they have in stock, from which you will select one-- say, 2 or 3 AA+ strands and 2 or 3 AAA strands. Then go by what pleases you.
 
Well the order is placed and my decision finalized: 7.0-7.5mm AAA! Thanks everyone for your help!
 
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