My first GSS

Parrot Lady

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Dec 24, 2017
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I took advantage of Pearl Paradise's GSS sale and ordered a necklace. I was a little surprised by how light colored they are, but on the plus side, they match my $69 GSS studs from Wen Pearls quite nicely. I'm not so sure the Goldens look great against my pale complexion and crepey neck, but who cares!
 

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Pretty set Parrot Lady. What color did they say they would be? Did they give them a gold name like 10K, 14K 18K?
 
All of their sale strands were described as 22kg. These really lean more toward champagne. My surprise may be due to the fact that I've never seen GSS in person, only the photographs on Pearl-guide. After standing in my closet with the strand in hand, I'm learning that it really matters what you pair them with and I need to start shopping!
 
I bought 22K from PP a few years ago. They were darker than the strand and loose pearl I had purchased in the past. I am a blue eyed blonde and my strand and hair kind of match. I like the 22k next to my skin tone better than the much lighter ones. I hope you find yourself reaching for them often. Photo on would be very nice.
 
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I agree. They really popped against deep, bright blues and hunter green. I had thought theynwould be nice with olive, but no.
 
They are quite beautiful Parrot lady! I too ordered a strand from PP during their sale. . They looked just too beautiful to pass up. Mine are scheduled for delivery on Thursday. Can't wait.

It's hard to tell from the photo. What size are your pearls?
 
They look lovely. My GSS strand is a lighter gold. I decided to get a lighter one first & a darker gold later on. I would love to find a mixed white & golden SS necklace with a variety of the golden shades.
 
They are lovely! You will figure out which colors they look best with. :)
I particularly like wearing mine with a cool blue top, but also with black and with red.
 

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I had the same experience, strand looking lighter than I had expected considering the comparison to the gold karat. That being said, I still love mine, though I don't wear it so much right now.

I almost only wear black and feel like Audrey Hepburn when I wear the goldens with black :) So sophisticated and subtly elegant.

- Karin
 
Katbran, what a beautiful drop! :)

I think we have to take all posted photos with a grain of salt. Our cameras are all different, our monitors, our lighting, and it seems to me that the camera sometimes intensifies colors or overtones-- or sometimes it washes them out (especially colored FWP).

I personally prefer light-medium-dark as descriptors for GSS rather than 14k, 18k etc. just because of the expectations that creates. The pearls are not metal and can't be expected to match the color of any given karat of gold. Also, there aren't actually only 4 discrete colors of gold pearls, any more than there are only 4 colors of green, or blue, or any other color in nature. All natural colors exist along a continuum. Vendors' color descriptors can only serve as a general guideline.
 
PDs, you make an important point: variation of color, scale, tone, etc. is only as good as the monitor you are view it from as well as the camera it was taken with. And that's even before our own eye sees something...everyone perceives color differently. What I call taupe, someone else might call beige or grey. I think Katbran's example of her drop looking like 18k gold is a good one. But it looks like that particular alloy of gold, which may be quite different from other 18k gold. BTW, Kathleen, that drop is GORGEOUS.

To the original poster, I suggest that you contact the vendor and see if they might exchange for a darker strand more to your expectation.
 
I think, for me, the GSS are going to be worn more often in the winter as they don't seem to look as good with my summer colors. I go most often to my blue/green Tahitians for every day. Wore them to my mammogram today!
 
I too find GSS exceedingly tricky. I tried on strand after strand, finding nothing suited my coloring very well, until I tried a mixed GSS & WSS strand and fell in love. Finally Walter took the issue out of my hands with the Harvest strand lol. I still find that mix works best for me, though I pine for the darkest golds. For Christmas Walter got me the strand below, from Pearl Paradise. We chose it online, together, with the help of countless photos of strands, from the amazingly patient Erin :) We settled on this one for the overtones and orient, although it was slightly lighter ... somewhere between 14 - 18k on the metals scale. I don't think the karat descriptions are very accurate either, but now that it is set in wirewrapped 14K gold links, I'd say it's pretty close! (Wire wrapped and set to perfection by our own JerseyPearl with my THANKS!). These change color in every light and every photo, but this photo by JP is to what my eye sees most of the time:

WirewrappedGSSSmallFile.jpg
 
congratulations on your purchase, they look lovely! and they sure are a good match to your earrings as well! hope you post some neck shots!

i hope you won't be limited by the season on when to wear gold pearls. remember, gssps come from the tropics, yours probably came from the Philippines. it's forever summer over there! :p
 
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