Japanese Kasumi vs. Chinese "Look-a-likes"

[Nerida]

Thanks Caitlin - just having major laptop issues and my machine froze... here it is again:

Some kasumi-esque pearls of mine - photos, whilst copyright to me are by Tim Robinson, occasional contributor to this forum and pearl photographer extraordinaire (Paspaley catalogues, the Dubai Pearl Tender documents, just to name a few...)


Whites, 12 - 13.5mm, super lustrous! Also did these with sterling silver hammered beads..




Pondslimes, similar size, natural lavender




Pink golds.... set with handmade (to match the pearls!) 9ct hammered gold 'pearl'

 

[Katbran]

Well....Wow...I think that says it all! Just gorgeous Nerida! I like that silver clasp .. very cool.

 

[KarinK]

Wow, Nerida! Those bracelets are amazing and unusual.

- Karin

 

[Adeline Leigh]

I had to comment: Nerida, adore your lavender pondslimes! So similar to Bodecia's, and that colour is so hard to score. Has given me new vigour for my search for them in Hong Kong later this month.

 

[pearlescence]

Hi Adeline
Just to clarify - Nerida's pearls are not pondslimes, they are Chinese Kasumi-ish pearls - very different

 

[Caitlin]

Nice to remember Tim's great photography with some fresh examples. Thanks for adding so much glamor to this thread. I just rated this thread excellent. I hope others do too. What an education!!!

 

[Nerida]

Thankyou everyone... the bracelets are all sold now, and not really sure where I will go with the kasumi-ish pearls. They are much more readily available than they were last year, and quite a lot cheaper. That means that they don't really hold their value as artisan pieces, but aren't a regular enough part of the market to earn their place as a mainstream product. Kind of betwixt and between.... My guess would be that we will see less of them as more producers master the techniques to produce perfectly round, smooth skinned nucleated freshwaters. Whilst these pearls are beautiful, they are NOT what the growers are aiming to produce.

Adeline, you will find plenty on offer - pm me if you would like a starting point to look in HK (I think you have your own contacts though)

Wendy - I think of pondslime as a color rather than as a pearl type, so I would describe them as pondslime kasumi type pearls... Your thoughts?

Caitlin - even Tim's fabulous photography doesn't capture the gold overtones in the pink-golds quite enough. Honestly though, his photography is sensational - I don't use him for all my work but certainly have used his images for lots of printed material and banners - it is in a class of its own! Having had some of my images used (stolen) for someone else's alibaba.com website (and they could not care less), I am a little reluctant to post too many pics, sorry!

 

[kojimapearl]

GORGEOUS bracelets Nerida! Very classy!

 

[la_corsetiere]

I agree - Nerida, those bracelets are lovely! The hammered metal beads are a very elegant touch.

 

[Nerida]

Thank you Sarah and Sheri - I am kind of the queen of triple strand bracelets. I think they are just lush and delicious to wear and so many pearls right where you can see them and play with them! I figure if pearls are worth wearing, they are worthy of a triple strand bracelet. The hammered 9 ct gold (and sterling silver in another piece) was just to take the pieces to a new level - I did it as a suite with a necklace, single strand bracelet (with invisible clasps) and the triple strand.
Thanks again ladies! You both know I am a huge fan of each of you as well!

 

[kojimapearl]

Sorry this took so long to get up on this post.. Here are a few photos of some of the "Chinese Kasumi" strands we found in Hong Kong on our last trip. The pearls are all natural color and range from 11-13mm. I loved these colorful ones and we even found some beautiful silver white ones with lovely rainbow overtones. We usually don't buy much in the way of white pearls so that was a treat. The last photo is of some really gnarly ones with great colors. Hope you enjoy these and Happy Thanksgiving to you ALL!
Cheers, Sarah

 

[mausketeer]

totally digging the gnarly ones!!!

 

[Caitlin]

Thanks for the sublime eye candy- no HighFructoseCornSyrup hidden in those, either!

 

[AMc]

Eye Candy indeed! Those whites came out beautifully Sarah, and I am just Soooooo loving those triple strand bracelets. Sublime.

 

[Nerida]

Sarah I LOVE the whites and am in love with the clasp you have used... very cool/elegant! Thanks for the pics!

 

[LouiseH]

...not really sure where I will go with the kasumi-ish pearls. They are much more readily available than they were last year, and quite a lot cheaper.

I agree with this. I've been wanting a strand of these for months and have noticed that they are getting less expensive all the time. If you love the look (and I do!) that's good news.

I saw a 17 inch necklace of 10-12mm pearls with silver clasp for US$60 today on eBay. That particular vendor doesn't use the word "Kasumi" in his/her listing, which is odd, since that seems to be how most folks are describing these pearls. I stumbled on the listing using the search term "furrow pearl," which I saw another vendor use in addition to "Chinese Kasumi."

I have no idea what these go for wholesale, but that's about the cheapest retail price I've seen. Of course, it is just a plain, knotted necklace with no design interest at all.

-Louise

 

[pearlescence]

As they have got more plentiful the quality hasn't stayed constant - there were a lot of not so good ones around - I picked ten strands out of a huge sackful in Sept in HK

 

[Cees]

my biggest problem with these 'Kasumi' pearls is how to upheld a good imagine for these pearls when you see the price they are offered for and what they really cost in Hong Kong.

 

[Marianne]

I think that the quality and the price of these new beauties varies widely. That being said, the price for the very nicest has come down in a year's time, but they seem to be offering more of the lower quality pearls as well. (just my experience)

 

[mausketeer]

i'm not crazy about the ones i got now...... good thing christmas is coming up! lol someone's going to get some big honking chinese freshwater's as a gift - not sure who yet.......

- jodie -