Is this a good buy? Edison Pearls

[Pearlie Sue]

ETA: I think this may have So, I'm brand new to pearls and still learning, but as soon as I learned of them my eye was caught by huge Edison pearls. I'd LOVE a strand of large South sea pearls, but, uh... not in this lifetime will that be feasible, lol! Anyway, I found the seller BeadHouseCo on etsy, and I've been communicating with them. They have a strand of 12.mm to 14.8mm white pearls, 20 inches. I plan to find a nice vintage clasp and string them myself. He's got a return policy so it's not a huge risk, but it will save me the cost of shipping if I know ahead of time whether this is a good deal. He says they have nice luster and minor blemishes, and took pictures for me. If you know anything about Edison pearls and have an opinion, I'm open to it! Thank you!




ETA: Doe anyone own both PP's freshadama pearls as well as Edison pearls? I'm in talks with PP to buy a strand of 9mm pearls from them, and I'm curious about how the two compare. Of course I do realize there's a vast range of quality in Edison pearls, but generally speaking. I'm honestly not that concerned about minor blemishes or minor off round shapes- for me it's all about the luster. Any thoughts on how the luster would compare between Edison pearls and Freshadamas? Thank you pearl friends, for sharing your knowledge! I'm really glad I found this community at the beginning of my pearl journey.

 

[pearlescence]

Hi and welcome Pearlie Sue.
I'm not going to comment on the specific pearls but will point out that Edison pearls are a freshwater pearl product from one specific pearl company. They are bead nucleated freshwater pearls, farmed in China. Other bead nucleated freshwater pearls are available - sometimes sold as Ming pearls, and sometimes just as bead nucleated freshwater pearls.

 

[Charlotta]

Those do look lovely but if you really want a south sea strand, there are strands for maybe a little bit over that price especially if you don't want them totally round or with the occasional blemish. I know Pearlescence has some on her Website. I got mine from Cees, they are dreamy and I haven't wanted another white strand since (except for my rope and as participants of my remakes that is). My strand, first with mismatched tahitian studs from Oceanscove and the second with a tahitian tassel I made. I hope that the amazing luster comes out all right on the photos.

 

[Lilpearl]

I’d agree with Charlotta! I just bought a gorgeous round South sea necklace from Cees measuring 14.20-12mm super lustrous and clean, yes, it’s a bit more money but if you dream having this type of strand, I’d suggest that you keep saving and in the meantime reach out to Cees to keep a look out for your dream necklace! I’ll post pictures of mine when it arrives!

 

[Pearlie Sue]

Thank you for the information! There's so much more complexity to pearls than I realized! I think I've talked myself off the ledge with these. I know myself, and I always want the absolute best I can afford, and if I'm willing to be patient and sacrifice a little size, I think I'll end up with a strand I'll be happier with and use longer. I think I'm pretty safe with the freshadamas, because I think they will be high quality, but buying on etsy seems a bit iffy.

 

[Pearlie Sue]

Oh, those are very beautiful! I was very gung ho about the edison pearls yesterday, but after sleeping on it I think I've changed my mind. I've bought "fashion" jewelry before, and ultimately they sit in my jewelry box unused. I'm better off saving for quality instead of buying a bunch of cheap stuff. I will definitely check perlescence out. If you don't mind me asking, how can you tell online if a strand has good luster? I'd considered baroque pearls but I was afraid they wouldn't be as lustrous as the perfect ones and I wouldn't be happy with them. I guess you just buy from a reputable dealer and go by their grading?

 

[Pearlie Sue]

Who is Cees, if you don't mind me asking? I've seen that name float around, but I didn't know where they sold pearls. I'll definitely look into baroque south sea pearls. I'm still intrigued by these large bead nucleated freshwater pearls, but they seem so hard to find- at least by reputable websites. I'm leery of buying off of etsy, truthfully, it was just the only place I could find them.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Cees is Cees (pronounced "case") Van Oije, of Amsterdam Pearls. He's on Instagram and Facebook under his own name. I bought my golden SSP from him. He has a good eye!

 

[Pearlie Sue]

Oooo, now golden SSP are the ones I really like! I'd have been looking for golden edison pearls, but there don't seem to be any.

 

[pearlescence]

There are gold Edisons (thousands of strands!) and gold Mings and gold bead nucleated freshwater pearls. I've only ever come across one strand which really looked like a south sea strand. Mostly the dye has a brown tinge which is quite distinctive. Apparently this one strand was dyed by a different company, hence the different outcome.

 

[KarinK]

Thank you for the information! There's so much more complexity to pearls than I realized! I think I've talked myself off the ledge with these. I know myself, and I always want the absolute best I can afford, and if I'm willing to be patient and sacrifice a little size, I think I'll end up with a strand I'll be happier with and use longer. I think I'm pretty safe with the freshadamas, because I think they will be high quality, but buying on etsy seems a bit iffy.

You just might be able to avoid the pit fall most of us fell into at first - buying too soon. Most of us have spent money on something we didn't truly want. Either because we didn't know yet what we really wanted and thus spent our money on something that wasn't quite right which kept us from getting The Strand because we had already spent the money. Or because we bought what we could afford because we were impatient and then ended up also buying what we really wanted, never to wear the first strand again.

I've seen a few with the discipline to get it right from the start. I envy them

As for baroque pearls they often have more luster than perfect round ones. Perfect round ones with great luster are waaaay more expensive than baroque. It is true you can see low quality baroque pearls with low luster. The price should reflect that. If you buy from any of the dealers that also post here, you should be fine. There are also recommendations around for some Etsy sellers, Cees who is on Instagram and a few other.

Btw, one way to check for luster in a photograph is to look at the reflection in the pearl. In some you can see both the camera and the person holding it.

- Karin

 

[Pearlie Sue]

Well, I do have some experience with the buying frenzy that tends to begin most collections, ha ha. I've been collecting fine antique jewellery since I was 22 and got my first "serious" job! And I freely admit, in the beginning I bought a bunch of junk that is no longer in my jewelry box, simply because I wanted to fill it up with the most that I could afford, so I've been through that phase. Having always purchased jewelry from the estate market, however, I was never that impressed with pearls. Mostly I saw seed pearls and the full strands I saw were usually not very lustrous- I guess from being worn for over 100 years! And the few that were large and nice were crazy expensive, and not knowing much about pearls I couldn't justify spending the cash on them when I could be buying diamonds. Then I saw some really good pearls in person, and that was that, I had to have some! I don't even know what kind they were, I didn't ask the lady, but they were big and shiny! I don't think they were fakes because I do not believe they were perfectly round, but I didn't get to examine them for long.

I'd actually love to share pictures of my estate jewelry collection, but most of it doesn't have pearls (yet). I don't know if anyone would want to see it though, or if it would be okay with the administrators. I know that I definitely want to combine and layer my current collection with the pearls I plan to add, so it's kinda relevant?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

You could create an album on your profile with those photos.

 

[Pearlie Sue]

Very good idea, thank you!

 

[2thdktr]

Welcome Pearlie Sue! It sounds like you have the collector's bug! I also collected antique jewelry before becoming a pearl fanatic and would love to see your collection in an album on your profile. Please let us know when you have it up. And yes, we all have some early purchases that we loved at the time and have outgrown as our sophistication and knowledge increase as we collect more. Looking forward to seeing your collection.

 

[2thdktr]

The only problem you're going to have now is you will want to probably buy all different colors of pearls once you see them on this forum. I went from a white pearl collection to Tahitian pearls to South Sea. I very rarely wear my akoyas now--occasionally go back, depending on my clothes, mood and situation. Easy to get addicted!!

 

[Pearlie Sue]

I fear you are right! My intention when I began this journey was just to buy one nice stand of white pearls, and now I know I want a strand of golden SSPs and Tahitian pearls in ALL the colors! And yeah, I thought I could be happy with freshwater pearls, but now I feel like I need akoyas- and AAA grades akoyas, at that! A fool and her money will soon be parted, I'm afraid.

 

[Pearlie Sue]

I will! I've never photographed my whole collection, so this will be a good opportunity. Now I just need to figure out how to take decent pictures!

 

[KarinK]

I fear you are right! My intention when I began this journey was just to buy one nice stand of white pearls, and now I know I want a strand of golden SSPs and Tahitian pearls in ALL the colors! And yeah, I thought I could be happy with freshwater pearls, but now I feel like I need akoyas- and AAA grades akoyas, at that! A fool and her money will soon be parted, I'm afraid.

That sounds SO much like the mess I got into

 

[lisa c]

That sounds SO much like the mess I got into

Same here! I just thank God for the folks who re-homed their pearl babies, (Cough, cough, you know who you are) and for Sales!
Still, I’m not repentant. I’d be heading for pearls, no matter where I started in life.