Budget for a WSS necklace

[gemfever]

Pattye and KatbranI figured nowadays you can wear pretty much whatever makes you happy Sometimes I want to know the "rules" just so I can consciously break them though, hehe.

Karin Right? I'm kind of excited that they aren't perfectly round though... in a way it makes them feel more "real" to me. I was just recently looking for a natural amber necklace and my main concern was to make sure the beads aren't perfectly round, because that's a nearly 100% guarantee they are melted & reconstituted, at best. I realize it's not the same with pearls, but the off-round shape holds a special place in my current worldview

amti, judimcc6, Pearl Dreams thank you for your advice! I did ask Cees' opinion on the strand and he said it was one of the nicest from the smaller pearls. I see some pitting (if that's the right term) in some of the pearls, but I'll wait to see them in person and see what impression they make on me. I think my expectations of this strand are well gauged at this point (thanks to all the advice here!) but only seeing them in person will really show how I feel about them. I remember once buying a really nice strand of round Tahitians from Pearl Paradise and being so underwhelmed in person I couldn't believe it or understand what happened. I even posted on PS about it at the time, lol. Turns out that with Tahitians, I'm much more of a baroque person because I want the very bright colors and the rounds were too uniform. I tend to learn from mistakes, but hopefully this WSS strand won't be one of them!

GemGeek I'm super excited. Delivery still a few days away but when has that stopped me from refreshing FedEx tracking like a maniac, hahaha!

 

[MSC]

Kay - that is an amazing dream strand! Spectacular!

Pattye - HUGE congrats on 10k!!!

Gemfever - Cees is great and I've not had one experience that was less than stellar when buying from him. Can't wait to see your new strand neck shots! Love your IG, btw

 

[Charlotta]

Good luck with fedex gemfever. I bought a tahitian strand from Cees 4 august, he sent it promtly on monday the 6:th. It arrived in sweden 2 days later...then it hopped around sweden for 2 weeks....and then I had to drive 80 km to pick it up (it was to be delivered at my house) on august 22. I hate fedex. Called them every day. So finally they called me back and said that they where sorry about the delay and wanted to compensate me with a spaset....I really don't want a spaset, I want deliveries to work. Yesterday when I got home there was a purple note from fedex...they had tried to deliver the spaset...we will see when it arrives. I had a similar problem with them a year ago when they said they couldn't find my house (its not difficult). Mostly standard post gets here faster. Also hates taking baths so a spaset is kind of useless (there are not many things I accually hates), more of a shower kind of person.
Beautiful strand though, he sent that picture to me as well. I think it will be perfect.

 

[suchi]

Its a beautiful strand. Congratulations! Cees pearls are better than his photos.
I hate Fedex too (for international deliveries). They treated me as a corporate instead of an individual and asked all sort of paperworks (and when i wrote not applicable they didnt accept that either).

 

[Katbran]

Judi makes a good point regarding shipping. It's not cheap and you are mailing to Thailand so you need insurance... well you'd probably get insurance anywhere for those. It all adds up...it would cost me 150$ to return by FedEx . Only 50 for Express International. The lustre looks very good and if you got good price then you'd expect some little fish bites. No such thing as inexpensive perfect WSS pearls .

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I've had no trouble with Fedex. My necklace from Cees was ordered Thursday evening and arrived Monday.

 

[gemfever]

Oh guys. I'm going to be on pins and needles now. But fingers crossed and... well, now just waiting. Pretty please, FedEx, be good!

MSC Thank you! ) Plenty of neck shots will be coming, I'm already planning outfits, haha! Do you have a public IG? Maybe I already follow you?

Charlotta Yikes, that sounds awful! I'm also more of a shower person, so I doubly feel your pain there. Hope this kind of FedEx fiasco won't repeat in the future!

suchi and Katbran I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that our local FedEx office does its job. As for international returns... when buying internationally, I almost always consider it a "no-return" situation. Just too much hassle. Of course at this price point, if there was a real issue, I would return. But so far the things I've heard about Cees make me fairly confident the strand will be great. And I am fine with some fish bites ) It was at a great price point for me, so I'm going to be reasonable :-D

Pearl Dreams Good to hear! Hoping for the same.

In the meantime, I'm entertaining myself with whatever pearls I can find while I wait.

 

[amti]

Charlotta, that's funny about the spa set. You're actually lucky they are giving you something to compensate for poor job. I"ve never received anything from any of the carriers in the US when they failed to do their job properly. We ship to China a lot and no longer use UPS because they make every excuse in the world why they could not deliver next day, and they refuse to refund the shipping (which is $200). Same with FedEx. We are now trying DHL and so far they have been the best and the cheapest. Their deliveries are actually happening on time.

Gemfever, I'm sure your delivery will be fine. Ours were all international express packages. They all arrived, just never on time. Can't wait to see the beautiful strand on your neck!!!

 

[Charlotta]

Maybe I was being a pain Amti, calling every day. Accually they were to deliver the spaset today...guess what...no spaset. Its rather funny though that the compensation for a late delivery is late...

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Amti, I am a DHL person. I've had so much trouble with Fedex. I won't bother everyone with the horror stories but their communication was awful, to the point where they copy-and-pasted a message when I answered with some questions (dude, if the answer was in the original message, I would have seen it - and if I hadn't, copying the original message won't help!). I have never had problems with DHL and they have always gone above and beyond when I asked for something.

Sorry, Gemfever! I don't mean to freak you out. I am sure your package will be fine. I just have horrendous luck with incoming packages (but not the ones I send, for some reason).

 

[gemfever]

FedEx is late, of course. Once again, thank you for all the words of warning. I am not too crazy about the delay because I was prepared for it. Fingers crossed for tomorrow... or by the end of the week

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Sorry to hear that. Hang in there!

 

[86Corvettegirl]

This is a gorgeous strand!! Like you, I don't mind off rounds or slight ovals as long as the look round when worn. Cees is awesome to work with, too. I have 2 strands coming from him, 1 Fiji Tahitian strand & 1 multi color Tahitian strand that he lengthened for me because I wanted 20 inches. I also want a WSS strand, along with another multi color Tahitian in a 19 inch length, so when I'm ready, I'll be reaching out to him again. Love to see what you finally decide on so please post pics when you receive them!

 

[battah]

That's such a gorgeous strand, gemfever! Can't wait to see your pics of it! And BTW if you need stringing help, just holler, I'm not too far from you. Kids and moms playdate?!

 

[gemfever]

Thanks Pearl Dream!

86Corvettegirl I'm already thinking I want more stuff from Cees, and I haven't even gotten this package yet, lol. Another strand of Tahitians is most likely going to be my next project. Maybe for the holidays

battah Kids and moms and pearls!!! That's a wonderful idea! Should I contact you on IG? Thank you for offering to help with stringing, I'll need it!

 

[battah]

gemfever yes please do! That would be so much fun I'll bring some stuff you can practice on.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I don't suppose your pearls arrived yet, gemfever?

 

[Katbran]

It's always exciting waiting for pearls...even those belonging to someone else !! Can't wait for the photos !

 

[pattye]

It's always exciting waiting for pearls...even those belonging to someone else !! Can't wait for the photos !

Lol, Katbran and Pearl Dreams, I keep checking over here also!

 

[gemfever]

Oh ladies, I wish They are stuck in FedEx customs clearance limbo. Have been in Memphis for over 48 hours now. Yesterday i called all day, started a trace through the FedEx international department, but no result at all. Three different agents have sent emails to customs but zero response. I wonder if there is anything else they can do but send emails, but so far have not figured it out. Will be seeing what google has to say about similar situations, and trying to get this package found and moving. I'm guessing I won't have it till next week, if it is ever found. Thank you for checking in about it! If anyone has any advice on dealing with FedEx customs / tracing process, I'm alllll ears.