Help shopping?

[Rianne]

Hello everyone !
I want to buy a strand tahitian for myself to knot a necklace.
My first tahitians.

But the biggest problem, it must be for a small budget.
I seen a lot of strands with the prices $100 and higher.

My budget should be under $50, and i know i'm not reciving the best and nicest pearls.
My dayjob at taking care of elderly doesn't provide more to send right now.

Thanks for reading and tips!

 

[Marianne]

I would suggest putting aside some money each month until you have enough to purchase a decent quality strand of Tahitian pearls. Don't fall for cheep Tahitians on eBay. Pearl Guide has some very reputable vendors among our members. Best of luck holding out!

 

[Cees]

Rianne, or buy some loose cheap Tahitiatians and make a tin-cup strand yourself

 

[BWeaves]

You're not going to get one Tahitian pearl you'd want to wear for less than $50.

Have you considered Freshwater pearls? The colors would be different from Tahitians, but at least you're getting nice wearable pearls.

 

[Rianne]

Thanks for the advices! A tin cup necklace is a prettig idea! @Cees do you have some? You're Cees from Amsterdam pearls right?

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Budget is always a problem... Alas, for infinite play money.

For your budget, I would go for a nice pendant. Or you can save a bit more for some circled Tahitians (personally, I love them, as they are so interesting) and knot them yourself. Wen Pearls on Etsy usually has some lower priced strands. But it is always going to be a trade off. Low priced smoother Tahitians are going to be dull and blemished.

Alternatively, as BWeaves mentioned, you can get some nice freshwater pearls in your budget. There was a photo of a nice strand of dyed freshwater posted recently.

 

[Cees]

Rianne, I have bags full of Tahitians, starting from US $ 8 per pearl

 

[Audrie013]

perhaps save for some time and start with a pair of earrings or a pendant, that way you can enjoy them and work up to your dream strand or purchase?

 

[eolian pearls]

I agree with others to save up and not buy the cheapest pearls you can find - these will put you off tahitians forever!

Tin cup with circled pearls is a great option, if you really want to knot you can get a half-strand at Wen’s and make yourself a bracelet, she does have some colorful (of course not perfect) half-strands that are only a bit over your budget...

If I had to decide how to spend 50$ on Tahitians I would buy a single AAA pearl from Jac of Pearl House (alas for us Europeans he is based in the US so the shipping and tax make his prices higher for us) and a pendant finding...That way I would be sure to have a beautiful lustrous pearl to stare at...

You can get a pendant or earrings (studs) at Wens for your budget too, just choose her AAAs to be happy with your first purchase...

 

[KarinK]

I'd absolutely check in with Cees who just answered.

One thing to be aware of - a place where most of us started - at first you don't want to spend much so you buy something cheap. Then you buy something else cheap and maybe a few more items at which point you start wishing you hadn't because now you really want something higher quality. If you had not bought the first cheap items, you would have been able to afford the quality you would like sooner.

 

[SydK]

^ I agree with KarinK. Pearls are addictive, and it’s easy to end up spending lots on cheap items and then wish you hadn’t. The advice I would give my past self (and sometimes even now that I know better ) is to be patient and save for something nicer.

 

[eolian pearls]

Yes, the first tahitian pearl purchases are very tricky, I have a ( pretty) dyed freshwater tincup that I got from ebay to attest to that...Luckily very soon after I found this forum, took the Pearl as One course ( it is again available for free and I can’t recommend it highly enough!) and have been one happy pearl obessessionista ( and shopper) ever since...

Cees is definitely recommended, you would be so lucky to have your first pearls come from him!!!

 

[Rianne]

Thank you all for the advices!
Save up is the best i can do.
What is the most common price for a thaitian tempore strand?
I know ho to knot, i've been doining it for 13 years now always with gemstones and fresh water pearls.
It's just an extra wish to make the necklace myself.
.thank you!

 

[KarinK]

"What is the most common price for a thaitian tempore strand?"

It absolutely depends on what you are after. You can get circled in good quality, poor quality, near round, big, small... As with pearls in general, it depends on what you want. I have a temporary strand that cost $1500 when I got it and that was more than reasonable. My first temporary strand of Tahitians was $250. I would not say I regret it, have used them for several projects through the years, but they are very anonymous.

Wen Pearls on Etsy has had many customers from here. They have very fair prices but I recommend looking at a lot of pearls online and note what makes your heart skip a beat. Even if you aren't buying but just browsing. Looking through the posts here should give you a lot of places to browse. Especially when your budget it limited, it would be a pity to buy something you don't love but just settle for.

 

[jesskat]

I will add another voice here for both Wen for inexpensive pearls, and Cees' quality is beyond compare; working with him is lovely!

 

[dkan 168]

I have bought inexpensive pearls from Wen Pearls on Etsy too, including Tahitians.

DK