Budget for a WSS necklace

[KaySD]

After seeing the photos, I had to go pull the strand out of the drawer and look at them more closely. When I look at the strand by itself, I can tell the pearls are oval because they are just a bit elongated. When I put them on, they look very close to round. I love this strand -- WSS pearls go with so many outfits.


PD, thanks for finding that photo -- I thought I would have to do a bathroom selfie, lol.

 

[KaySD]

PD, you rock! I absolutely cannot find squat with the search feature here ~ absolutely drives me nuts!!

Just noticed I have over 10,000 posts, hope I make it to 20,000! With that, I'm going to bed, good night, all!

Wow, over 10,000, that's quite a feat. Congrats, Pattye!

 

[amti]

Welcome!

I agree with KaySD.... the off rounds and ovals really do appear larger (I guess they are since they are longer) than the rounds.

Kay, lucky you! You have such a nice collection!!!

Pattye, Congrats on the 10k!

 

[gemfever]

Guys,

I reached out to Cees, he was wonderfully responsive. Here is an oval strand that I'm going to check out. Could I get your thoughts on it? The pics aren't super glamour shots, so hard to compare to other strands I can see on bigger sites. It feels a little weird not having "data" like all the pearl quality grades, luster grades... I might still ask him for those details, maybe on Monday

 

[BWeaves]

The middle picture is to die for. Cees pearls are always top notch. Plus the middle pic gives a very good idea of the shape of the pearls.

The older I get, the more I like the slightly baroque, off round pearls. It tells me they are real and not mass produced spheres. It took me a long time to do that shift though. I still love perfectly round pearls.

 

[morella]

My experiences with buying from Cees were always amazing and I'd certainly trust him on this. The strand looks fantastic!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I like them too!!

 

[pattye]

Thanks, Pearly Friends, for letting me hang out with you all these years!

Gemfever, that is a beautiful strand for sure! Just note that it is slightly smaller than Kay's necklace. Pearls are measured perpendicular to the drill hole, in other words, how wide they are at a 90 degree angle. (You all probably knew this already.) White pearls look larger than dark pearls of the same size; it's an optical illusion!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Pattye is right-- the strand may be a bit more than half the size of Kay's strand. But you did say you wanted smaller pearls.

A 10mm round pearl is about twice the size of an 8mm round pearl. For explanation of the relationship between the millimeter measurements of pearls and the actual size (volume, weight) of the pearls, see explanation here:

Comparative pearl sizes-- how much difference does 1mm larger really make?

 

[gemfever]

Thank you so much for your input and insight, BWeaves, morella, Pearl Dreams, and pattye! Cees was an absolute pleasure to communicate with, I don't think I've ever received such prompt and thorough responses from a vendor. Can't wait to check out the pearls!

Pattye and Pearl Dreams, thank you to alerting me to the size. I do want a smaller strand, but it's good to be prepared just how much smaller it will be. Just looked up the receipt from PP from when I bought my Tahitians... they are 8.9-10.9, so the Tahitians will be slightly larger than the WSS. Considering that I want to wear this necklace often and very casually, i think it will be a good size. Plus, it was only half my budget, so I think I'll be a happy camper

Pattye, I'm going to message you on Etsy for some Beaders Secret, since i'll need to string and knot these and such. I have very limited experience

 

[Katbran]

That strand is gorgeous and I love the smaller sized WSS ! Have him find you earrings to match !

 

[gemfever]

That strand is gorgeous and I love the smaller sized WSS ! Have him find you earrings to match !

Thank you! I was kinda hoping to just wear it with my existing earrings, lol. I do realize they might not match in style... will have to play around with it. Is there a rule of thumb on whether the earrings are supposed to be larger than the necklace, or the other way around? If it's a pendant & earrings than I imagine the pendant should be larger. But if it's a necklace & earrings... different rules?

I might just wear non-pearl earrings to simplify life for the time being

 

[pattye]

Gemfever, You have many mentors here to help you master stringing! Just takes a little practice and patience, lol.

Really, there are no rules about size of earrings with pendants and necklaces, just peruse Baby Nurse modeling her extensive collection of amazing pearls, and you will be able to see for yourself how versatile and lovely various sizes are together.

 

[Katbran]

Larger , smaller, in-between... it all works !

 

[KarinK]

My immidiate reaction was “ are they not round??”

- Karin

 

[amti]

That looks like a beautiful strand! It is a bit smaller than I would prefer for ssps (i want my ssps to be very different than my akoyas), but the luster is great. Are you able to zoom in on the pearls to see their flaws? I have seen a few marks on some strands that weren't very visible in the photos. You could only see them by enlarging them. And ask for both sides of the pearls so you can see everything. Buying online gives you more options but you don't get to feel them and see them in person, so pictures are all you have to deal with. And buying internationally, you really don't want to mess with returns, so it is best to be 100% sure.

 

[judimcc6]

Cees might send you the strand “on memo”, meaning that you have a chance to see the strand before you jump in. He would require a cc for insurance, but that would be the way to make sure these pearls are what you want in size and luster and checking for any blemishes. It’s not a small investment. That is one of the treasures of being on this forum. There are so many qualified pearl addicts. You get very good information.

 

[judimcc6]

By the way, I love the antique baroque Tahitian ring in that setting.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

When I bought my GSS from Cees it was with PayPal but they were returnable if I did not like them. The original FedEx shipping is not refundable, and the buyer would have to pay the return shipping if returning the pearls. This is not an insignificant expense, so it's a good idea to be pretty sure. Ask for more photos.

 

[GemGeek]

You can't go wrong with Cees for special strands.