Alex
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2011
- Messages
- 470
There is a bit of a story to these pearls…
I first asked Jeremy if he could source a pair, back in January 2012. The first ‘nearly pair’ appeared fairly quickly after that, but they were not quite ‘deep’ enough.
Another pair appeared, but still not quite right – then Jeremy took the search out on his travels – Vietnam, Asia, Hong-Kong, and Japan
On we went, looking and waiting. There were a couple of moments when it seemed the pearls had been found – but they turned out to be colour-treated
Then one of Jeremy’s SSP suppliers said they would try and help. We were in September now. We were looking for 11-12mm
Eventually, ‘The Pair’ appeared at 10.8mm. There was a second pair at 12.2mm, but again, they were not quite ‘deep’ enough
It was October now, and the Xmas clock was ticking, so having waited 9 months, we took the plunge at 10.8mm
Then came the settings – had wanted emeralds from the beginning, but had not given much thought to it, as I thought it would be easy…..
There were many available settings with diamonds - but with emeralds……. noooo
Spent ages on the Kailis and Stuller websites, and elsewhere, but still noooo
November now, and back to the PP range. Jeremy suggested asking Takayas Mizuno to help (he is the one who made Hisano’s ring)
He started with ‘Allure’ – taking the diamonds out, and trying to re-set with emeralds, but the stones and setting were too small – it couldn’t be done
We looked at ‘Eternal’, but they didn’t seem right
So we tried again with ‘Rapture’. This time it was possible, and Taka used round cut (diamond) emeralds, so they sparkle a bit more than usual
Taka did a fantastic job – the top plane of the stones is entirely level, despite the cradles underneath having additional capacity as you work your way back up the setting. The re-set prongs are also meticulous, despite the expected variances caused by re-working soft metal on such a small scale
We were in December now, and it was back to Jeremy to drill the pearls and set them, and then on to Chenai who set-up the fastest Fed-Ex transit I’ve ever seen from LA to London, despite her being buried under the PP Xmas rush
When I first saw the pearls in person, I was speechless – I’d never seen Gold South Seas in ‘the flesh’ before, and can see now why they are so sought after – they almost look too good to be true, as if they are faux - their natural colour is absolutely extraordinary, and the luster is out of this world
One of the pearls is ever so slightly darker then the other, although you can hardly see it with the naked eye. But I kind of like this as it shows them to be truly unique organic gems – no two ever quite 100% the same. This same very slight difference is also there on BV’s Sea of Cortez and Kamoka pairs
Anyway, the story ends happily, as they made it under the tree with about a week to go – having been a year in progress
There was a brief ‘dog-house moment’ when BV opened them, as we had made a pact this year, re pressies, and she thought she was getting soap, but I think all is forgiven now
She absolutely loves them, and they have already have had several outings. There has been some murmurings in the pearl drawer, with some pearly noses being put out of joint, but I think an ‘agreement’ has now been reached with the Sea of Cortez, and the Kamokas…….
I was going to wait until the spring, when the light changes and the garden comes back to life, to take some picis and post them, but we had some extraordinary late afternoon winter sun the other weekend, so I went out and took some picis – and here they are. They are all taken outside in shade, with a couple taken using flecked unshaded light
Thanks again, Jeremy, Taka, and Chenai
I first asked Jeremy if he could source a pair, back in January 2012. The first ‘nearly pair’ appeared fairly quickly after that, but they were not quite ‘deep’ enough.
Another pair appeared, but still not quite right – then Jeremy took the search out on his travels – Vietnam, Asia, Hong-Kong, and Japan
On we went, looking and waiting. There were a couple of moments when it seemed the pearls had been found – but they turned out to be colour-treated
Then one of Jeremy’s SSP suppliers said they would try and help. We were in September now. We were looking for 11-12mm
Eventually, ‘The Pair’ appeared at 10.8mm. There was a second pair at 12.2mm, but again, they were not quite ‘deep’ enough
It was October now, and the Xmas clock was ticking, so having waited 9 months, we took the plunge at 10.8mm
Then came the settings – had wanted emeralds from the beginning, but had not given much thought to it, as I thought it would be easy…..
There were many available settings with diamonds - but with emeralds……. noooo
Spent ages on the Kailis and Stuller websites, and elsewhere, but still noooo
November now, and back to the PP range. Jeremy suggested asking Takayas Mizuno to help (he is the one who made Hisano’s ring)
He started with ‘Allure’ – taking the diamonds out, and trying to re-set with emeralds, but the stones and setting were too small – it couldn’t be done
We looked at ‘Eternal’, but they didn’t seem right
So we tried again with ‘Rapture’. This time it was possible, and Taka used round cut (diamond) emeralds, so they sparkle a bit more than usual
Taka did a fantastic job – the top plane of the stones is entirely level, despite the cradles underneath having additional capacity as you work your way back up the setting. The re-set prongs are also meticulous, despite the expected variances caused by re-working soft metal on such a small scale
We were in December now, and it was back to Jeremy to drill the pearls and set them, and then on to Chenai who set-up the fastest Fed-Ex transit I’ve ever seen from LA to London, despite her being buried under the PP Xmas rush
When I first saw the pearls in person, I was speechless – I’d never seen Gold South Seas in ‘the flesh’ before, and can see now why they are so sought after – they almost look too good to be true, as if they are faux - their natural colour is absolutely extraordinary, and the luster is out of this world
One of the pearls is ever so slightly darker then the other, although you can hardly see it with the naked eye. But I kind of like this as it shows them to be truly unique organic gems – no two ever quite 100% the same. This same very slight difference is also there on BV’s Sea of Cortez and Kamoka pairs
Anyway, the story ends happily, as they made it under the tree with about a week to go – having been a year in progress
There was a brief ‘dog-house moment’ when BV opened them, as we had made a pact this year, re pressies, and she thought she was getting soap, but I think all is forgiven now
She absolutely loves them, and they have already have had several outings. There has been some murmurings in the pearl drawer, with some pearly noses being put out of joint, but I think an ‘agreement’ has now been reached with the Sea of Cortez, and the Kamokas…….
I was going to wait until the spring, when the light changes and the garden comes back to life, to take some picis and post them, but we had some extraordinary late afternoon winter sun the other weekend, so I went out and took some picis – and here they are. They are all taken outside in shade, with a couple taken using flecked unshaded light
Thanks again, Jeremy, Taka, and Chenai
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