Online Color vs. Reality

[jpacella]

Also, to reiterate, I still think the earrings are beautiful, and I am not dissatisfied with my product or the vendor, but i thought it was interesting that my suspicions proved true in this case.

 

[Valeria101]

Oops! That must have been the post asking about body color vs. overtone I've deleted...

Thanks for the reply and the picture. Do you guys sell pearls by the handful too? Wish those lot were on my desk right now.

 

[knotty panda]

Please don't forget that your computer equipment greatly influences what you see. Their pictures may be true-to-life accurate and they have no control over your equipment. What you are describing is called "bait and switch" and is illegal, at least in this country. Reputable companies who do only show a representative piece state the article as such. I guess my question to you is, are you seeking an opinion as to whether or not what was photographed and what you received are the same thing? If that is the case, perhaps you need to discuss this with the vendor and get their response first before deciding what to do. They deserve the opportunity to respond.

 

[Slraep]

So, I received my pearls that i purchased, and like I predicted, despite my efforts in stressing very strong green overtones, the pearls I received were not as vibrant as the ones in the picture. Now, I'm not saying they are not beautiful, they are, but they are not as green as I would expect from looking at the picture.

I don't know the proper protocols for this site, but can I reveal who I bought them from and show pictures of what I got vs. the online picture?

If no one has a problem with it and it doesn't upset anyone, I would like to show the difference to emphasize my point that online is different from reality.

Hi jpacella,

Please post both the original pic and the pic of the received earrings. I'm curious to see the difference too and from who you purchased them. I'm sorry the pearls didn't measure up colourwise. I have certainly often seen the very green pearls you are talking about. Possibly a combo of green/teal overtone on top of greenish black body colour, makes them really green. I don't know why you wouldn't be able to get that after speaking to one of the big online vendors here. If a supplier or vendor is not use to handling or seeing lots and lots of Tahitian pearls, then their idea of very green may be more diluted because they have not really seen any very saturated green. At regular jewellery stores around my place, you would be really hard pressed to find Tahitian pearls in even an insipid green. They think that a slight tinge of green is green enough. Also, many people who sell pearls do not understand body colour, overtones and orient very well. So you could be asking them for a certain thing and they could be thinking of something else altogether, even with your picture in hand.

Slraep

 

[jshepherd]

Please do post the pictures as well. We would like to see.

 

[jerin]

Hi jpacella,

sorry to hear that the earrings did not match Your imagination of them but I too have bought Tahitian earrings that looked greenish/rose on the picture, i.e. lovely overtones, when I got them, they just look silvery with just a very light tinge of green in the very best lighting (no direct sunlight)and no rose overtone at all! Surface quality excellent, the total grade was AAA.

That just happens, in my case I think it was because I was not prepared to pay what a pair of dark bodycolour with the overtones in green really should cost! When it comes down to it, I as the customer have to decide how much I am prepared to pay - You get what You pay for. And you say that they were the second cheapest ones, so my guess is, for that amount You might have got the best, there was!

If You take a look at the latest pictures of Jeremy, You must know that this quality in Tahitian pearls have their price..and a pair of earrings would cost you at least several hundreds, if that would be enough, which I doubt, but as a consumer one is always a bit overoptimistic, at least that goes for myself .

Please post the photos of the original and what You got. I think it is good, that a customer is brave enough to tell publicly on the forum, that she/he is not satisfied. Very often we don?t dare to say the whole thruth when it comes to purchases..

 

[knotty panda]

I may be wrong but I think she's saying the picture she purchased from is not the item she received. She received something entirely different. I guess that happens sometimes, but every strand I've purchased looks different when I receive them and I'm certain I received precisely the pictured strand.

 

[jpacella]

when I got them, they just look silvery with just a very light tinge of green in the very best lighting (no direct sunlight)and no rose overtone at all! Surface quality excellent, the total grade was AAA.

That is very similar to what I am seeing. They look silvery with a tinge of green and a tinge of teal depending on how you look at them. Surface quality and total grade are AAA.

I want to reiterate that I received what I ordered and I think they are beautiful. I ordered a pair of diamond solitaire earrings with tahitian pearls. On the phone I stressed that as long as the pearls are AAA, the only thing I really cared about was the strongest green overtone possible.

Again, I don't think this is a "bait and switch" and the earrings do match, I am just surprised that this slight green overtone is what I received after stressing it's importance.

I feel that regardless of price I did buy the pearls, and my main concern is online vs. reality. Can I trust any vendor to deliever what I see in the picture?

I'll post pics shortly

 

[jpacella]

This is a picture from the vendor:



The remaining three are pictures I took.





Those two I felt were pretty close to what I was seeing in real life. This one I think brings out the colors more.



Keep in mind this is my first time doing this, I don't really even know if I am doing it right. I tried to find a color similar to what I was seeing. I thought it was interesting that some times when I took the picture they came out greener than what I was seeing. Can anyone explain why? Whether the reason is natural or technological, it adds to my argument of online vs. reality.

Anyways, I guess what I'm looking for is whether you think (1) that the picture from the vendor shows pearls with strong green overtones; and (2) whether you think I got what I asked for.

 

[jshepherd]

What you are seeing is influenced by the light where you are viewing the pearls. Your photo shows that clearly. I think the vendor did a really good job based on your photos. I do not think it adds to your argument "online vs. reality", it just shows you what different realities produce. Your environment tremendously affects what you see.

I am sorry to harp on the online vs. reality thing but it is something that tends to bother me for obvious reasons. A reputable vendor will always produce pieces as close as possible to the exact specifications of the customer. But what about an actually jewelry store? Have you ever wondered why jewelry sparkles so well in the showcase and in the store? It is simple. The lighting is made for jewelry. It is not natural. Once the jewelry leaves the store it will never look the same, unless you walk into another jewelry store. So what about "reality vs. reality"?

 

[jshepherd]

Anyways, I guess what I'm looking for is whether you think (1) that the picture from the vendor shows pearls with strong green overtones; and (2) whether you think I got what I asked for.

1. The picture from the vendor (who I am going to now assume is The Pearl Outlet) shows pictuers with a dark green bodycolor.
2. From your photos, yes I think you did.

They look silvery with a tinge of green and a tinge of teal depending on how you look at them. Surface quality and total grade are AAA.

This must be related to the light you are using to view the pearls with. I see nothing 'silvery' about them.

 

[jpacella]

Thank you, it makes me feel better that you think the picture matched reality. Like I said before, I was never disappointed with them, I just thought it was interesting that after asking that question at the forum about online vs reality I experienced it to some extent. I have no problems with the Pearl Outlet and I think the earrings are gorgeous. However, though I clearly recognize and understand your expertise in this field, to me with possibly an un-trained eye, they still look less vibrant than the picture. Granted, I am looking at them in real life. I have tried to portray it with my digital camera, but even that produced many pictures that I felt were not true to life. I think this has been a very interesting excercise.

I definitly agree with you that there are many different realities. The reality vs. reality argument is valid as well. However, at a lot of jewelry stores, they will let you take it outside and look at it before you buy it. It leads me to believe that the only way to truly compare them would be having the vendor take a picture in the same setting, which would be unreasonable.

This whole online vs. reality thing has left me wondering if this is the best I am ever going to get? I never had any doubt in the Pearl Outlet's ability to produce what I asked for, but after seeing the picture and seeing the pearls in real life, I still feel there was a significant difference. when I got them I did a simple test, I showed them to my colleague and asked what color hey thought they were, he answered "greyish...no...maybe greenish?"

I guess I had it in my head that when I opened the box it would be like BAM! those are some green pearls. It makes we wonder, are all pearls going to look dull indoors? am I going to have to be outside on a sunny day to see strong green overtones in any pearl? Should I just say "to hell with it" and go to Tahiti myself? I think these questions are all valid as a consumer who will probably buy many pearls over the course of my lifetime.

Again, I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes and I respect all that you do in the business. Because of places like PP and the Pearl Outlet I was able to get high quality pearls I could not have otherwise afforded. I am thankful for that, but I think this excercise has shown me alot for the future.

 

[Valeria101]

I thought it was interesting that some times when I took the picture they came out greener than what I was seeing. Can anyone explain why?

I have not found an explanation for exactly this phenomenon, but there is lots of very interesting research material about what exactly colors pearls. Apparently, most of the 'colors' we see are optical effects not actual colors: definitely the greens and blues and purples overtones of Tahitian pearls, but also the more 'solid' looking cream and peach and golden. Quite amazing, really. Along these lines, I would expect that there is some nice explanation about how an electronic camera sees the diffraction and interference colors in pearls. So far, I'd bet that the 'monocular' view of the camera has something to do with that. It plays tricks with gem photography too, and mocks opals which do have some properties in common with pearls...

Anyway. I think I understand your frustration with the pearls. Those are dark bodied with green overtone in your pictures. And there's obviously some difference between the seller's pictures and yours... The seller's picture looks more like a 'cartoon' of a pearl - exaggerated. Now, I'm not revolting against this, because many seller's photos of pearls also look cartoonish. No idea why the style endures, but it certainly does. In time, I've just gotten used with it: I know what the 'usual' pearls look like, what to expect... and try not to care as much about the silly pictures.

Now, when it comes to exceptional pearls, imperfect pictures are sheer frustration! All I can do, is try to read between the lines, imagine what might have gone wrong with the photo... Did you see THIS THREAD about blue pearls?

Around here (and not only) pearls of any kind with unusual or unusually intense colors are called 'fancy colored'... sometimes the difference between these specimens and the 'norm' is staggering! Now.. I want to see some of those blue pearls up close! I wish they are like the picture ... but what do I know? I've never seen any that blue. I have seen a couple with green, aqua and pink overtones of similar intensity. So I can dream of blue ones to match

Now, I think you could choose to chase some illusive greener pearls. It may help to see a couple of different qualities up close and personal to know what to expect and what to ask for. Not hard if you live next to some well stocked jewelery shops and have time on your hands. Difficult otherwise.

Oops for the long post! You can hate the seller and the pearls. But it is fun to learn about pearls... especially if that doesn't have to be a 'crush course' before a meaningful purchase. Perhaps even this seller can help now that you two have some common language about pearl color based on the 'sample' that is already in your hands. The settings look nice - nicer then the picture let them appear; quite subtle...

My 2c.

 

[boo]

Another possible consideration (that has been alluded to) is the local environment of the pearls - i.e., what you wear them with. I know that my silvery-blue pearls will look more silvery when I wear them with greys and blacks and more bluish when I wear them with blues - a combination perhaps of both the reflective properties of the pearls and a trick of the brain.

I sympathize with you. I have a necklace with dark green Tahitian pearls that I wanted to get earrings to go with. I ended up trying a number of different places (which all had decent return policies and were told up front about what I was trying to accomplish) before I found a pair that worked to my satisfaction. There are just so many different shades and nuances to the colors that a simple phrase like "dark green" is not quite sufficient, despite the best attempts by the vendors.

Regardless, they are very pretty pearls!

 

[Slraep]

Anyways, I guess what I'm looking for is whether you think (1) that the picture from the vendor shows pearls with strong green overtones; and (2) whether you think I got what I asked for.

Hi jpacella,

I think the earrings look fine. They are not the vivid green I think you mean but, nonetheless, they are very fine. I actually like the lighter body coloured greens more than the very dark because the pearl looks bigger(an illusion) and the silvery overtone(you can have multiple overtones) is more flattering to most women's complexions than just the light-absorbing deep black/green body colour. If you got them from The Pearl Outlet, I think you did far better with them than you would have with any other smaller retailer. I believe they have lots of stock to choose from.

I'm also thinking that the vivid pearls you have in your mind's eye probably have a gold overtone instead of silver. So if you have a deep greenish black body colour, plus green/teal (and often pink) overtones, and on top of that the pearl has yet another gold overtone(giving it yet more yellow), you have yourself a really, really vivid green. Those pearls are quite expensive.

About two weeks ago, someone brought me two really awful and very dark bodied Tahitians they wanted to have earrings made with. I hated their insipid look. But, lo and behold, when I photographed them for the client, they came out looking like the most fabulous peacocks!! I use a full spectrum diffused light source just like Jeremy mentioned. You would never have thought it was the same pearls!

Slraep

 

[Sueki]

Hello jpacella,
I am finding this thread fascinating, so thanks for posting it.
Much depends upon the light I feel. So many times I have received pearls and been disappointed, on the point of returning them. But I've learnt to hold for a couple of days, as different light changes everything.
These pearls arrived and I was very disappointed. They arrived on a wet, grey gloomy day, and looked "dead".
I e-mailed the vendor and asked if I may return them.
However, the next day was bright and sunny, and the pearls had come to life - rich colours and full of life. And this was indoors, too, in fact I haven't taken them outside yet.
Had to re-e-mail the vendor asking if I could please keep them as they are glorious.
And, surprisingly, they are just as good in electric light, too, which I hadn't realised the day they arrived.
And I think Slraep is right in that a gold tone seems to produce a greener hue.

 

[Raisondetre]

I think the vendor pic and your photographs are a good match. Those earrings seem to be more of a dark silver/grey with greenish hues rather than full-blown green altogether. I wouldn't be disappointed.

For better pics I think you can use either macro or portrait (what I use), and photograph them in diffuse sunlight, not direct. I just open my blinds partially in morning light.