Newbie with question about a freshwater necklace?

[MissySue]

Hi all, this is my first post and I don't know much about pearls, except that they're beautiful, so forgive my ignorance please!

So, I really want a loooong strand of pearls. Around 50" to wear doubled, tripled, knotted, etc. And I want fine jewelry as oppesed to fashion or costume jewelry. Years ago when I was in high school freshwater pearls were pretty much considered the costume type and they were shaped like rice crispies. I see now that they are more round which is what I want, but are they considered fine jewelry? I was also thinking of saltwater pearls but those would be out of my budget in that long length. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[pattye]

Welcome, MissySue,

So it sounds to me like you want cultured pearls, which would generally be considered fine jewelry, rather than imitation, fake or manmade pearls, which would be fashion or costume jewelry. Mostly we just wear what we like and talk about the pearls as freshwater pearls, Tahitian pearls, South Sea pearls, etc. Some prefer round pearls, but others like the other shapes, including vintage rice krispies. A 50 inch rope will need to have a clasp for you to wear them tripled, and it is a great choice for a first pearl necklace. Lots of the online vendors who are members here offer that type of rope with round (ish) pearls. A cultured freshwater pearl rope will give you many years of wear as they are all nacre, having been nucleated with a piece of donor tissue instead of a bead like Akoya pearls.

 

[Sea Urchin]

Here's a nice one. You don't say your budget, but for a rope length strand like this, in my opinion it's not very noticeable at all if the pearls are a little off-round, or there's the option to go up to the AAA for an additional charge, which would be round-round. This is a nice pearl size too, but of course we all have different tastes. The pearls, to me, are large enough to get notice but small enough to tie in a knot without having the knot be weirdly huge. There's a Valentine's sale going on now, 14% off, I believe. If you use the chat function on the site, they'd email you pics of a few strands to choose from, if you're not sure what you want. They have a good return policy, too. This is what I'd choose, but you know more about what you want, specifically, maybe we could help you more.


http://www.pearlparadise.com/52inch-7580-mm-White-Freshwater-Pearl-Necklace3515.aspx

 

[Sea Urchin]

I am not a pearl expert, unlike many of the people on here, but it seems to me like women often start with the classic white round or roundish set and then branch out from there to colors and other types of pearls if they get more. If you get the earrings at the same time, they can match them for you (overtone varies, silver, rose', ivory, for example). I would go AAA on the earrings if you get them (or, if you go with Pearl Paradise, their highest-of-the-high grade, which they call "Freshadama"). I think the roundness is much more noticeable on earrings, and of course it costs less than a higher grade on a whole long strand does. I also like them at least one size up from the pearl size of the strand so they seem set apart from being "just another pearl in the strand." But then we all have different tastes and what counts is just what you like the best. Maybe others will weigh in as well.


http://www.pearlparadise.com/8090-mm-White-Freshwater-Pearl-Stud-Earrings480.aspx

http://www.pearlparadise.com/8590-mm-White-Freshadama-Freshwater-Pearl-Stud-Earrings-774.aspx

 

[shinylizard]

Another newbie-ish lurker here. I'm not a "rope of white pearls" woman, but was going to get a rope because of the good sales to try out. Had my rope researched & almost ordered, when I Googled "100 inch pearl necklace" & found The Pearl Outlet has a 100 inch rope of 6-7mm, going for $150 right now. Since I got such a nice strand of Tahitians from them, just ordered & am going to play with the style. Smaller than I wanted, but I think they will go with my jeans/sweaters. I can always size up later if I wear them a lot.

Leaves me enough in the budget to justify my metallics from PP, as well as Pearl Collective necklace I've been eyeing without feeling guilty.

You people are bad for my budget.
-Rhonda

 

[Caitlin]

You people are bad for my budget.

heh, heh, heh. Don't talk about budgets around here LOL!

 

[Amrita]

I think freshwater pearls are the best bet for a beautiful AND enduring long rope. In my experience, 7-7.5 mm round FWP has been the most popular size to use for long ropes. We even made one that was 72 inches long. However, in the 52" size, we did make one in the 8-8.5 mm size. However, body stature and preference of the wearer also have a part to play in making the choice of the right size of pearls for the rope. In the latter case, the lady in question was about 5' 10" ....so she preferred the bigger pearl size.

Ropes do tend to be heavy for the neck muscles if worn for long periods of time at one go - so the size of the pearls needs to be considered carefully from that perspective too. Welcome MissySue!