New Golden South Sea Earrings on the Way!

[GemGeek]

Wow. That is a splendid pearl. Just like the Burmese pearl article where they used to have a pink tint, this pearl has an wonderful surface quality. I have a Jewelmer drop for the Pearls of the Week that is light and beautiful like yours, but with more depth and even hints of pink and blue.

 

[jshepherd]

I would agree that pearl is an exception -- but there will always be exceptions. I think the same can be said for any gemstone. But I'm not describing exceptions.

I think most people don't realize that with goldens, the difference in value between the one of the left and the one of the right is about 5 times. That's the point I'm trying to get across. If there were any visible imperfections on the lighter pearl or if it were slightly off round, the difference would multiply.

 

[GemGeek]

Right. It's an important point to make as sellers are always talking up "golden" pearls without giving any indication of where they range on the color/value scale.

 

[Icyjade]

Hope it's ok to join in and ask a question. What color/description would you give to this pair of GSSP?

 

[GemGeek]

Description: Totally Gorgeous.

 

[Katbran]

Hello there IcyJ ! Is that another one of your gorgeous iphone photos ? Your photos are always wonderful ! That's an amazing luster ! Beautiful pearls !

 

[Icyjade]

Gemgeek: True! It has an amazing and very eye catching luster IRL. Was looking for deep golden studs but was smitten by these instead.

Katbran: I only take photos of pearls using my iPhone 5 (so far). ^_^ Would be fun to play with a DSLR some day, but I'll rather spend $ on pearls than a macro lens.

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Should have added that these beauties were described as "champagne" by the seller. They are not pale yellow however, more of a pale salmony pink color. Are there any charts where we can go to find pearl color descriptions/names?

 

[JerseyPearl]

In golden South Sea pearls gold vs yellow is the biggest distinction and is also the reason there are so few farmers that specialize in golden South Sea. Gold is the most valuable color in South Sea -- it commands the highest prices. Yellow, on the other hand, is the least valuable of all South Seas and commands the lowest prices. The bulk of any gold South Sea harvest is yellow. Jewelmer is probably one of those rare exceptions but only because they've been perfecting their gold brood stock for more than a decade.

The difference in cost from a light yellow to a deep gold, even if all other factors are equal, could be 10 to 20x. This is one of the reasons dyed golds are so dangerous if the treatment isn't disclosed. Dyed are almost always dyed deep gold and come from light yellow.

It's easier to show the difference than explain the difference. The pearl on the left is what I would consider medium gold. The pearl on the right is yellow. I've included a 14k cup because the cup is gold. When golden South Sea are photographed with actual gold in the same photo, you can usually tell the tone.

Sorry for the camera phone shot. Angela is taking a week off after Hong Kong.

Thank you!!! This is a wonderful explanation. So in a way it is sort of like a yellow diamond...an M or N color may cast yellow to the diamond, but a fancy yellow is worth considerably more (all other factors excluded or equal).

 

[Katbran]

I can definitely see some red/pink tones in there, it's a beautiful colour and looks a bit unusual. I don't know anything at all about GSS pearls as I'm not a fan of the colours and so never use them in anything.. but those could change my mind !! Must have been hard to match these up..they seem exactly the same shade.

 

[Cees]

these pearls are nice, but it is so important that the seller tells you where they originate from and how he got them. From the photo you cannot see if they are enhanced. But the luster and color are familiar to me and I have a suspicion also where they originate from.

 

[CathyKeshi]

Well, I really like the colors and luster on Icyjade's earrings and would love to know more ... Even guesses

 

[GemGeek]

If they have been tinted, it should have been disclosed, but they may have passed through more than one vendor. Secret dyeing of gold pearls happens all the time. On the other hand, the color is beautiful and you shouldn't let that stop you from enjoying them.

 

[lisa c]

Where do you think they're from, Cees? IcyJade, totally gorgeous!

 

[Cees]

Dear Lisa C, I was in contact with Icyjade and she revealed the source and I have reasons to believe that South Sea pearls like the ones she have come from Myanmar. The reason is that I had a number of pearls in the same color and showed them to Jacques Christophe Brannelec Jr (Jewelmer) and also he said that this is a color rarely seen in Myanmar South Sea.

 

[Katbran]

Well wherever it comes from ... that is a gorgeous colour !

 

[MelT]

Dear Lisa C, I was in contact with Icyjade and she revealed the source and I have reasons to believe that South Sea pearls like the ones she have come from Myanmar. The reason is that I had a number of pearls in the same color and showed them to Jacques Christophe Brannelec Jr (Jewelmer) and also he said that this is a color rarely seen in Myanmar South Sea.

Hi Cees Can you tell us a bit more about these pearls coming from Myanmar? I can see that they have lovely colors and luster, but how does it rate comparing them to the golden south seas and the Burmese ones? Are they really that rare or just that particular color Icyjade had? Thanks!

 

[Cees]

Dear MelT, have a look at https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/content.php?r=14-Burmese-Triple-Threat this tells you a bit more about them. First I thought they look a lot like an Edison pearl from Grace but when you really compare them, you can see the difference.

 

[kchronister]

The tip about putting a piece of real gold next to them for comparison was new to me - thanks for that, great idea! Would you think 14K or 18K is more 'on-target'...? They do vary, even within 14K the different alloy-mixes range from brassy to more orange...

 

[CathyKeshi]

Thank you for the info. Icyjade's earrings are lovely, and just the prettiest color I've ever seen.

 

[lisa c]

I'm going to totally embarrass myself here, I should know this - are the deep gold SS so much more costly/valuable because of the rarity (as in infrequent) or because the darker color is more desired?


ok, I re-read Jeremy's post, and he said the bulk of the harvest is yellow, so the deep gold is numerically rare.

Part 2 of my question remains - is the deep gold so much more desirable emotionally, esthetically? Do buyers love deep gold as much in say, Edisons?