"Hawaiian Pearls"

[Pearl Dreams]

I found the thread with the photos of Paul Cross's California pearls:

What might these be?

Anyone have a guess as to what these may be and where they are from?

www.pearl-guide.com

 

[jshepherd]

Wow. That was 11 years ago! Those pearls were not very pretty, lol.

 

[Marianne]

That is what I was thinking too, Jeremy. Kinda like little pink worms...

 

[Katbran]

Well the prices are certainly extremely high given they are inexpensive freshwater pearls. Stuller sells a similar clasp in 18k for 86$ . If you said about 30$ for the pearls ....

Sadly the use of a Country / Island / name to try to mislead people is pretty common. Sellers try to add a perceived value to an item by listing a country / island / whatever that is only marginally connected to the product. I think if you are going to sell pearls you should have to list the country of ORIGIN . To do less is deceptive.

 

[Abi]

Well the prices are certainly extremely high given they are inexpensive freshwater pearls. Stuller sells a similar clasp in 18k for 86$ . If you said about 30$ for the pearls ....

Sadly the use of a Country / Island / name to try to mislead people is pretty common. Sellers try to add a perceived value to an item by listing a country / island / whatever that is only marginally connected to the product. I think if you are going to sell pearls you should have to list the country of ORIGIN . To do less is deceptive.

I agree with you Katbran, I read the letter that lilliefuzzysocks received and found it both humorous and a little embarrassing. I hope no one gets duped by her.

 

[KallistaSF]

Hi all - I am a first time pearl buyer from SF. While posting on the "first time pearl buyer thread" I saw this thread (please let me know any recommendations on where to begin searching for a strand of freshwater pink colored pearls ). I am worried I will get ripped off my purchasing online or fall for some unknown trap. I am rather unfamiliar with pearls and would probably not be able to tell a real pearl strand from shiny plastic

Etsy seems to have some cool handmade stuff, but it seems like a lot of the pieces are out of my budget:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/169975...k freshwater pearl necklace&ref=sr_gallery_21

https://www.etsy.com/listing/258760...y=freshwater pearl necklace&ref=sr_gallery_25

https://www.etsy.com/listing/521634...nk freshwater pearl necklace&ref=sr_gallery_7

Any rough guideline or rule of thumb on how to get a reasonably priced freshwater pearl strand? Pearl is my birthstone and I hope to purchase a good piece - especially in the pink/peach color range.

Also, is "baroque dragon shape" usually higher value than round shape pearls?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Wow, KallistaSF, those are crazy high prices for freshwater baroque pearls!!!

"Dragon" is not a term normally used to describe pearl shapes. In fact that is the first time I've ever seen that descriptive word in a pearl listing. The seller is using artistic license!

"Baroque" is very common -- in fact baroque is the most common shape for freshwater pearls, which should tell you that baroque shapes are the least valuable, and should be priced the lowest (generally; there are exceptions, as in souffle pearls, flameball pearls, ripple pearls.) Baroque pearls often have lovely iridescence.

Are you looking for a round/near-round strand then, or a baroque strand? Either should be easy to find. And pink/peach are naturally-occurring colors for freshwater pearls.

Freshwater pearls are commonly sold in brick & mortar jewelry stores, and department stores (and for that matter, T. .J. Maxx.) In regular department stores they will tend to be overpriced, from what I have seen.

You may also wish to check out online vendors.

I will add this: eBay is loaded with freshwater pearls from China. The prices are often very low. Buy if you wish but realize that in most cases the item in the photo is not the exact item you will receive. I would assume it is not, in fact, unless the seller states it explicitly.

 

[pearlescence]

I'm a bit embarrassed at the price quoted on the UK listings for what look like dyed potatos (about £40 tops!) unless I am missing something.

I had some pearls like the big white ones and have described them variously as big lumps of nacre and also the saucer section of the Enterprise, but not dragons

 

[GemGeek]

Those pearls are overpriced!

 

[Katbran]

Pardon me..I'd like to answer but I'm busy raising all my prices lol Holy Cow those prices are ridiculous!! I mean ... wow..
I love it when people get creative in their descriptions...dragon pearls... omg Perhaps I should call mine...Kangaroo Pearls .... Koala Pearls... ?

I would strongly suggest that you spend a bit of time looking at the major sellers for the sole purpose of understanding prices and what you get for the money. I cannot stress enough that it's worth doing a bit of research now rather than spend some money and be disappointed.

PP has some AAA 8.5-9mm ( a nice size I think) for around 400$ and some 7-8mm metallic pink AAA for around 280$ So you can see the jump depending on the size.. but they are AAA and round and pink. There's a lot of pink ones in all sizes. ( Have a look..I thought there were some on sale...?)

Do a bit of reading up on pearls - down a the bottom of the page is Pearl Education - check that out. Avoid EBAY - Druzy/Erhet is fine as we have said before. But be careful with ETSY -we could recommend some people there but it depends on what you want.

 

[JerseyPearl]

For those prices you can buy a lovely strand of really special pearls.

 

[Zoe Celeste]

What an interesting thread! It illustrates the willingness for certain types to go to great lengths and spin elaborate tales to sell their product. Even more importantly, it highlights the necessity of doing research before you buy anything on the web (or even in person). The delicate balance of pricing jewelry fairly and making sure that what is being said about the pieces is factually correct is so important, especially when considering pearls, which are largely still misunderstood by the average person.

Once again, the Pearl Guide has shown to be an invaluable resource for dependable pearl information!