Are poppy seed pearls expensive?

[Yiling Q]

Hi, I am checking out on poppy seed pearls online and came up with a lot of keshi pearls instead. Saw 2 sales on eBay though, but the price was exorbitant, $2000+ for 43 strands. Am I seeing it right or is the eBay seller overcharging? I understand that popper seed pearls are rare, but are they worth this price? Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Yiling Q]

Hi, I have attached the thread to eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-6-MM-40-S...799&pid=100015&prg=1085&rk=1&sd=230922840587&
I'll not be buying them, but would love to hear your views. Thanks

 

[Caitlin]

40 stranders are usually pretty pricey, but not sure what the parameters are.

 

[Yiling Q]

Thanks! I do not know too! Granted Chinese grinds and use them for beauty and health purposes. Anyway, this is off the track....

 

[pattye]

I'd say it's probably a fair retail price. The strands are 20 inches long, generally strands are 15-16 inches. To get that many matched strands would not be easy, and it adds value to the lot. I put up a link to Akoya keshi pearls by the single strand offered by Ehret Design Gallery on ebay on another thread where you asked about these kind of pearls. I think her price was $44 per strand for 18.5 inch strand.

Of course if a famous New York Designer (or a company like Tiffany) purchased the 40+ strands for a fab necklace, the retail selling price most likely would be at least $10,000 with a fancy clasp.

 

[jshepherd]

It also really depends on the size and quality of the keshi. You can spend a lot more than $50 per strand for fine akoya keshi. Just like any other type of pearl, the same quality attributes determine the value. There is one company out of Japan that specializes in akoya keshi, Pearl Exporting Company, which they have hand-drilled in India. They made Hisano's torsade and I believe the size and quality we chose for it was more than $100 per strand. And that is wholesale, of course.

 

[pearlescence]

Please do not ask me to knot them!


exit..screaming quietly at even the notion

 

[KarinK]

Please do not ask me to knot them!


exit..screaming quietly at even the notion

I've made a three stranded bracelet with akoya keshi - and had to restring it. It was very hard to keep quiet...

- Karin

 

[pattye]

Stringing that size would be a nightmare, much less drilling them! Thanks for the info Jeremy! Any chance of a close-up photo of Hisano's keshi necklace?

 

[jshepherd]

Stringing that size would be a nightmare, much less drilling them! Thanks for the info Jeremy! Any chance of a close-up photo of Hisano's keshi necklace?

She definitely didn't string them. The stringing had to be done in Japan. The pearls were so tiny!

I'm sure she is going to post a photo on her part of the new blog soon. I don't think we have a good shot of it yet.

Off to Tucson!

 

[Yiling Q]

Hi all, I didn't read this thread till today when I wanted to post. Reading it got me excited cause I found these today!

Approx 0.2mm by 0.4mm
What do you think?

 

[Yiling Q]

In retrospect, I think I should go out there and get them all, but unfortunately not as I'll be heading home for a week or so. Guess they'll have to wait till I get back!

 

[pearlescence]

do you really mean 0.2mm?
(2mm I reckon)

 

[Yiling Q]

Yap sorry, in my excitement ..... Yes, it is 2 mm by 4 mm. I stand corrected.

 

[pearlescence]

nothing to get very excited about unless of superb quality - couple of $ a strand or so

 

[Yiling Q]

Hmmmmm, dreams deflated like a balloon.... Nonetheless, the quest is exciting.
Next Question:what is considered superb quality?

 

[pearlescence]

AAA grade.
Yilling Q, it takes time to learn how to buy pearls successsfully. I don't think there is any realistic chance of a get rich quick find. You are more likely to be duped by a good salesman. You would do better to spend a few hours looking at pearl selling websites and learning about pearls and how to grade and tell the difference between freshwater and sea water of various kinds.
If you want to buy pearls, that's fine, but stick to proven sources and know what you are buying.
As I have said for years (often of myself and my own activities) ' any fool can buy pearls..it's selling them again which is the tricky bit'

 

[Caitlin]

We looked a tiny keshi making up a 40 strand or so torsade at the gem show yesterday. The Seller told us, it took someone in India 4 years to hand drill all the keshi in the torsade. These were 1mm or a little less. I will post a photo later in the gem show thread.

 

[Yiling Q]

Thanks Caitlin for sharing and making the effort to show a newbie and most of all not making any assumptions about me and my intentions on pearls. Really appreciate that. Will look out for the photo/s.
Yiling Q

 

[Daddys Little Pearl]

Yiling, in reference to the two photos of the group of tiny pearls, there is no need to grab up all they had, these are very common and inexpensive to buy at bead shows and also on the internet. No one is selling any "rare" pearls by huge hanks in large quantities, rare pearls are sold either individually or in very small groups.

Daddys Little Pearl