Need Help! Buying Gift Need Advice on Size and Color

[Evelyn]

I would like to buy pearls for my wife for our 5 year anniversary. I plan to get an 16"-18" strand necklace, bracelet, and studs. I would like something she could use for every day use. Her work is a step above casual, but no one wears suits. She is 5'0" tall and probably close to 100lbs so pretty small. She has Italian decent so think dark brown hair, eyes and light tan for her coloring. I've read on-line a bit and I've pretty much settled on getting the Freshadama pearls. I'm not sure if that factors in at all or not, but I thought I would list it here. My questions are:

1. I know 18" is the classic, but with her being so small will it be too long? Should I go w/ the 16" instead?
2. I'm debating between 7.5-8mm and 8.5-9mm size. I want them to look nice, but no so big they are too formal. If they look too formal I don't think she'll wear them, but I do want them to look expensive. While I'm leaning to getting the bigger size for the more expense look I'm a bit concerned that b/c she is pretty small the 8.5-9mm might look too big on her especially w/ the studs and bracelet. One thing I am sure of is getting them all the same size... I do not want the size mixed/matched from earrings, bracelet, and necklace.
3. I was thinking of going with the classic white color because... well, it's classic/timeless and this will most likely be the only set of pearls she ever owns, but I'm thinking rose might look nice w/ her coloring.

Thanks in advance for your advice. I had considered asking her onion on the above, but I think I would rather have this be a surprise.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Welcome!

You've thought this through pretty well, I can see. Lucky wife!

1. The length depends less on her size than on what sort of clothes she usually wears. A shorter strand would fit into the neck of her top, directly on her neck, while a longer strand could lie better over a blouse. Also, you are not limited to 16" or 18"; a 17" strand would fit nicely into a lower-cut or scoop neck top. If you decide to go shorter, I suggest you buy the 18" strand and have them string it shorter but send you the extra pearls, so that if she ever wants to lengthen it, she will have the matching pearls. Matching later is harder.

2. I would not worry too much about their being too large. 8.5-9mm isn't really large. Also, we ladies tend to like larger pearls as we get older. If you can swing the 8.5-9mm, I'd go for it-- then you won't have to upgrade later when "pearl shrinkage syndrome" (as we like to call it) sets in. In any case she may not want to wear all 3 pieces at the same time.

3. The rose is just an overtone, not actually pink/rose colored pearls. I think either would look nice on tan skin coloring, but whiter pearls would pop more.

 

[CathyKeshi]

Sounds like you have a solid plan for a lovely gift for your wife If you're looking for a bit more of a luxury look, I'd go with the bigger size if it's in your budget. I don't think it will overwhelm your wife, and will add a richness to her wardrobe. Getting all 3 pieces at the same time will give you the best color matching as well. If you go with the traditional 18" length, it will likely lay a bit longer on your petite wife. This will look really nice with certain necklines, and if she wants to wear it shorter, closer and more choker style, it's very easy to get a pearl shortener clasp to shorten the necklace at the back a bit ... the best of both worlds. Or if she finds she always wears it shorter, when it's time to restring the pearls, have some removed and used for a tin cup style additional bracelet, or another pair of earrings, drops or with gems etc. Good luck with your pearl project!

 

[Sea Urchin]

I really don't think you can go wrong with the 8.5-9.0mm. As Pearl Dreams said, that is not super large even though your wife is petite, but they're large enough to look expensive. 7.5-8.0mm seems the typical starter size that everyone gets then thinks looks too small and unimpressive a year later and no longer wears it. There's a strange but practically universal phenomenon known around here as PSS (Pearl Shrinkage Syndrome). It's when smaller pearls are just great for a short amount of time but soon seem to look lack wow factor and we want bigger ones! (Well, really I'm sure 7.5-8.0 would be nice too).

If you can't decide between silver and rose overtones, you can hedge your bets and ask for silver AND rose overtones. I think they are probably the most popular (?)

I suggest getting the metal color in whatever she usually wears or what her wedding rings are.

If it helps, 16 inch is pretty much a choker. 18 inch is, I believe, the most popular length sold. They're both very nice and not all that different. If you don't notice her wearing one length over the other with her other necklaces, maybe hedge your bets there too, get 17 inch and have them send you the extra pearls just in case.

A couple more things, just my opinion of course but if your cash runs short, you could skip the bracelet. I don't often see women wear a bracelet with the strand and earrings because matchy-matchy is out, and the usual thing is the strand with matching earrings.

Another note on matchy-matchy, again just my opinion but when the earring pearls are the same size as the pearls in the strand, I feel like it has a bit of a cheaper, boxed set look. I prefer the earrings to be at least 1/2mm larger than the largest size in the strand and more is better. That way they pop and are set apart from all the pearls in the strand.

Good luck. Please post us a pic of what you get. We lurve pics!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I also like a slightly larger stud, but if she is on the phone a lot at work, a large stud is likely to get in the way.

 

[perlas]

1. If she seldom wears coats and blazers and have the round neck blouses or collared blouses, choose the 18". Otherwise, choose a shorter strand so in case she closes her coat, the pearls can still be seen.

2. The 9mms aren't that big. Although some women prefer understated classics. If she's pretty simple in her jewelry, choose 8mms but most girls would like bigger pearls. Note that collectors in this forum have 12mm and even up to 17mm strands - which are considered big...so 9mm isn't so bad.

For the studs, if she has thin lobes, consider the size. The bigger the pearls, the heavier they are. It sometimes needs getting used to to wear bigger pearl studs. Although tissue-nucleated freshwater pearls such as the freshadamas are not as heavy as bead nucleated ones such as the south sea pearls, as an example (I have thin lobes), my ears bled the first time I wore 10.5mm south sea pearl studs. Now I am able to wear up to 14mms.

Like Sea Urchin and Pearl Dreams, I prefer the studs to be bigger than the strands. I think they look more elegant. Bigger pearls look nicer at work (in lot of culture, pearls symbolize power), and smaller ones can be worn when doing groceries or wearing jeans (although I don't have problems wearing bigger pearls with jeans!)

3. The freshadamas are a good choice. Even if small, shiny pearls would look elegant. The whites are good to start with her first pearl jewelry. Rosé would look good on her skintone but a silver overtone (they look bright) is not bad as well.

 

[JerseyPearl]

I would buy the shorter strand, but use identical clasps for the necklace and bracelet. That way, she can connect the two together for a longer necklace. I suppose you could have a 2" extender made with the extra pearls from the 18" strand for even more flexibility. And remember, pearls can always be removed or added for a customized length.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Excellent suggestion from JerseyPearl!

Also, a way to get around the issues of potentially sagging pearl studs or cumbersomeness when using the telephone is to have the earrings set as dangles. IMO dangles look best with larger pearls.
I own a pair of 8-9mm freshadama dangles and IMO they are a bit too small -- at least, for my large earlobes.

 

[CathyKeshi]

JerseyPearl has a terrific idea re. the connecting necklace and bracelet, no matter what length necklace you end up with! I'd try to measure a favorite necklace or 2 that she wears for a guideline.

 

[Evelyn]

thanks for ur suggestion
I think i have made the decesion
tyvm