J
JulieN
Guest
I went last week with my roommate, and we had an amazing time. We were helped by Mia, who is very friendly. Mentally, before I had seen the goods, I was undecided between the 7mm akoya, 7mm Freshadama, or 8mm freshwater.
I was presented with two trays, one of akoyas and one of freshwaters. The first thing I decided on was size. Since 7.5mm akoyas would have put me out of my price range, I then concentrated on the tray with freshwaters. The first necklace I put aside was an AA+, for low luster. The second that I put aside was freshadama that did not speak to me. The rest on the tray, freshadamas and others, looked about the same. At this point, I hadn't seen enough to make a decision, so Mia brought out boxes of hanks for me to go through, I believe they were AA+ and AAA. There was one AA+ necklace that she pulled out which was very eye-catching. Do I agree with the grade? Yes; it is moderately blemished, but the lower luster and near roundness can only be seen by me when compared to the AAA fw earrings which I later picked out.
We then moved to fluorescent lighting, where I went through many more AA+ hanks. About half of the ones I saw were not interesting, and the other half I looked at twice, but out of 20-40 (?), I only picked up one hank for serious consideration. The body of the AA+ grade is composed of well-matched, very slightly off-round pearls with a generally clean surface, but somewhat lacking in luster. These are not the low quality Chinese freshwaters of yesteryear!
Then we went back out to the main room, which was spotlighted, where I compared Freshadama to the AA+ in indirect light. What I noticed was that the Freshadamas were better matched, rounder, and less blemished. From my viewing distance at that time and in that lighting environment, they did not seem to be significantly more lustrous, and their other, better qualities did not seem to justify the price difference of $185. So I was mostly down to the AA+ necklace and hank, although I was wearing an akoya necklace for comparison. At this point in time, Kirsten came out of her office and recommended the akoya necklace. While I would have loved to get the akoya, I wasn't willing to get the smaller size to be in budget. Between the two AA+ choices, the hank was more lustrous, but there were a few pearls that were an unappealing green. While they could have easily been pulled out, the difference in luster was not very obvious. In the end, I chose the less lustrous necklace over the hank that had some green in it. This took about an hour.
Thoughts:
Between two strands of nearly equal luster: The difference in luster was exaggerated when I stepped into direct spotlight, but no difference could be seen when I was in reflected light. Also, when they were in the tray, viewed horizontally in the usual fashion, I could not detect much of a difference. However, when the tray was turned perpendicular to me, and I could see the pearls in a row going away from me, the difference was much more obvious.
size vs. quality: once at the level of high quality, jewelry-grade pearls (AA+ for akoya, AAA for freshwater,) then size won out for me.
akoya vs. freshwater: I own both, so I knew the differences beforehand. During my visit, it was obvious that I, as a buyer, would never mixup an akoya and freshwater. They are shinier, rounder, smoother, and perfectly matched. However, worn on the neck, in social viewing conditions, the differences are less pronounced. If I had the funds for a 7.5mm akoya, I would probably have walked out with that.
AAA vs freshadama: I would choose an regular AAA strand before loosing size. also, I found that it was very difficult to see orient in white bodycolor. Akoya owners, who are very used to overtone, I think will not be able to see the difference between overtone and orient in white pearls.
I was presented with two trays, one of akoyas and one of freshwaters. The first thing I decided on was size. Since 7.5mm akoyas would have put me out of my price range, I then concentrated on the tray with freshwaters. The first necklace I put aside was an AA+, for low luster. The second that I put aside was freshadama that did not speak to me. The rest on the tray, freshadamas and others, looked about the same. At this point, I hadn't seen enough to make a decision, so Mia brought out boxes of hanks for me to go through, I believe they were AA+ and AAA. There was one AA+ necklace that she pulled out which was very eye-catching. Do I agree with the grade? Yes; it is moderately blemished, but the lower luster and near roundness can only be seen by me when compared to the AAA fw earrings which I later picked out.
We then moved to fluorescent lighting, where I went through many more AA+ hanks. About half of the ones I saw were not interesting, and the other half I looked at twice, but out of 20-40 (?), I only picked up one hank for serious consideration. The body of the AA+ grade is composed of well-matched, very slightly off-round pearls with a generally clean surface, but somewhat lacking in luster. These are not the low quality Chinese freshwaters of yesteryear!
Then we went back out to the main room, which was spotlighted, where I compared Freshadama to the AA+ in indirect light. What I noticed was that the Freshadamas were better matched, rounder, and less blemished. From my viewing distance at that time and in that lighting environment, they did not seem to be significantly more lustrous, and their other, better qualities did not seem to justify the price difference of $185. So I was mostly down to the AA+ necklace and hank, although I was wearing an akoya necklace for comparison. At this point in time, Kirsten came out of her office and recommended the akoya necklace. While I would have loved to get the akoya, I wasn't willing to get the smaller size to be in budget. Between the two AA+ choices, the hank was more lustrous, but there were a few pearls that were an unappealing green. While they could have easily been pulled out, the difference in luster was not very obvious. In the end, I chose the less lustrous necklace over the hank that had some green in it. This took about an hour.
Thoughts:
Between two strands of nearly equal luster: The difference in luster was exaggerated when I stepped into direct spotlight, but no difference could be seen when I was in reflected light. Also, when they were in the tray, viewed horizontally in the usual fashion, I could not detect much of a difference. However, when the tray was turned perpendicular to me, and I could see the pearls in a row going away from me, the difference was much more obvious.
size vs. quality: once at the level of high quality, jewelry-grade pearls (AA+ for akoya, AAA for freshwater,) then size won out for me.
akoya vs. freshwater: I own both, so I knew the differences beforehand. During my visit, it was obvious that I, as a buyer, would never mixup an akoya and freshwater. They are shinier, rounder, smoother, and perfectly matched. However, worn on the neck, in social viewing conditions, the differences are less pronounced. If I had the funds for a 7.5mm akoya, I would probably have walked out with that.
AAA vs freshadama: I would choose an regular AAA strand before loosing size. also, I found that it was very difficult to see orient in white bodycolor. Akoya owners, who are very used to overtone, I think will not be able to see the difference between overtone and orient in white pearls.
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