Heading to Greenhills in Manila in a few hours for pearls. Suggestions?

[AlumCreek3]

I asked her what type they said they were and she said they did not say they were South Seas.

 

[pattye]

So how would you describe the color? They do look quite round, likely dyed or irradiated to that get color.

 

[AlumCreek3]

They are very dark, gray almost black.

 

[AlumCreek3]

They have a decent heft to them also. I wish I has a scale handy to give an accurate weight.

 

[AlumCreek3]

Here is a tighter crop. This weekend I will see if I can get a shot of them in natural light.

 

[pearlescence]

Is the clasp a silver flower - that is a common Chinese clasp
they look like akoya to me, pretty round and uniform. very tight knotting. (akoya not my thing so I don't know a lot about them)

 

[AlumCreek3]

Next week she is going to write her contact and ask him how the shopkeeper described the pearls. I will share that with you when I find out.

Here are a few close ups I took. I took my autofocus lens off and flipped it around backwards to try and get very tight macro. After looking at these in natural light I would describe the colors as a black with gold/bronze iridescent undertones. Visually the color is very consistent from pearl to pear, the image where there seems to be a wide variety in color is not how they appear to the naked eye.

Joe

 

[AlumCreek3]

A funny note on this. I had thought she paid US$275 for this strand We are at the mall tonight having the clasp looked at and comparing to other strands for fun and it comes up she actually paid US$85 for these not $275.

 

[GemGeek]

I can't recall a strand dyed that dark where the pearls were not junk. It looks like your wife did a great job of shopping. Did she get another strand?

 

[Cathybear]

I occasionally see good quality freshwaters dyed very black, not often though

 

[Nerida]

I am thinking dyed akoya. There are a lot of chinese grown akoyas, of this quality, dyed black. Any thoughts, anyone?

 

[jshepherd]

I agree. They look like dyed akoya to me.

 

[AlumCreek3]

I can't recall a strand dyed that dark where the pearls were not junk. It looks like your wife did a great job of shopping. Did she get another strand?

Hi GemGeek. Thanks for commenting!

I wasn't sure though from you post if it looks to you like these pearls are just junk ones dyed dark?

She only bought one strand of these dark ones. Though she looked so pretty with them on last night I wished she had several rows of them. Unfortunately because of the timing she did not get my e-mail with all of the notes and tips I had gleaned from this forum before her purchase. That e-mail also included the encouragement for her to indulge a bit. So she ended up shopping even more conservativley budget wise than I expected.

We did decide to put a new clasp on and a jeweler at the mall helped us pick out a gold one that is complemtary to and has a double latch (not sure if I am using the right term there). Though I about choked when he said it would be $40 since that was half the price of the strand! . But then again I am an archaeologist by training and we tend to be pretty cheap

 

[GemGeek]

I meant that the pearls are very good for being dyed dark like that. It's great that they look super on your wife. That's really the most important thing. If she loves them, then she will wear them more often.

I hope you visit often and get ideas to build up a pearl wardrobe. You'd be surprised how many men enjoy taking part and learning more about pearls.

Best Wishes,
Blaire

 

[pattye]

AC3,

Sounds like both you and Wife are enjoying the pearls! That's what it's all about! IMHO, she did just fine shopping if she got them for under $100.

 

[AlumCreek3]

So, for Greenhills, are these pearls in general about the best one might expect to find there? My wife said that at the vendor she was at that these were the best they saw. And from my perspective if I were to go with her on a trip in the future is there any market for this grade of pearl back in the states? The only reason I ask is that if the kids and I ever do travel with her most of the expense will be out of pocket and if we could offset the cost a bit by careful purchase/resale that would be great

 

[Caitlin]

The problem is, buying pearls that were exported to the Philippines from China have an extra layer of cost before you even begin selling. There are also plenty of scammers out there. I have yet to see really fantastic pearls for the price from Greenhills. They are often good pearls, but not great. How would you sell them? To friends or setting up a business?

 

[AlumCreek3]

Caitlin - that is the big question . But the obvious factor of there already having been one (if not more) middlemen involved makes the potential of profit less and less. And from everything I have read the real SSP sources are all very tightly controlled.

 

[GemGeek]

Right. To sell to your friends and acquaintances is a fine idea, but the real pearl business is tightly packed. Just try to get a web site name with Pearl in it and you'll see what I mean!

 

[Caitlin]

Even with the middle men, you could make some profit. But you will need some sales strategies. That is how almost everyone gets started, selling to their friends, then doing a trunk show or two, doing some local craft fairs, and it grows from there.

Let us know what you decide. There is plenty of help here should you want suggestions on any aspect of the process.