Please Help!!!!!!

[moonpie]

I'm ill. Really ill. It's almost as if my mind is not mine anymore. It's filled with thoughts of pearls, visions of pearls, desires for pearls!!!

My recently ordered freshadama strand is not even yet here but my want, absolute need for more,more, more is insatiable.... so my thoughts have turned to tahitians.

I've never seen a tahitian pearl in person before. In pictures I absolutely love the bluest ones. Some greens I love too. Not a fan of cherries or greys. But what to do!

PP have no deep blues right now, I've requested a picture but tell me good people....what to do?!

If I like a pair in the picture do I buy it now. Instant gratification...hmmmm it sounds so good. Or do I be sensible and wait, wait until after this eminent buying trip and see if I can get a deep blue pair that my heart does so desire.

What if they don't find anything on their buying trip this is torture.....

 

[FrenchPearl]

Oh this is a serious attack you have !
Here is what I do during a pearlitis attack.
I pick my favorite pearl , a magnifying glass, bach cello suite in my earphone, and i just gaze at the pearl, focusing on each amazing little details.
And then I do the same with my least favorite pearl of the moment. ( and it usually become my favorite again).
It usually give me a little respite ����������

And don't forget to breathe through your nose while enjoying this delicious torture !

 

[Pearl Dreams]

LOL, moonpie, you've got it bad! I think we all go through phases of obsession.

I suggest waiting but also studying comparison shots of the vendor photos vs. "IRL" or buyers' own photos taken in normal lighting.

Studio lighting brings out the best possible color a pearl will ever show. They will not look that way when you get them. The colors that you will see in normal light are tamer and sometimes just don't even look the same shade of that color.
Also, some colors are not body colors but rather overtone colors, which need overcast/diffuse light conditions to pop. In bright light, the overtones hide and the body color predominates.

I'm pointing this out because I know you don't want to do returns, and the colors can be hard to read in vendor photos. Studying comparison shots can help somewhat.

Here are a few threads about Tahitians on Pricescope with a lot of photos. Sometimes looking at eye candy quells the sweet tooth. (But it can also go the other way. )

Vendor and IRL photos: http://www.pricescope.com/forum/pearls-new/tahitian-pearls-vendor-vs-irl-pictures-t205879.html

Thread about pearls bought in the August 2015 Tahitians sale: http://www.pricescope.com/forum/pearls-new/the-new-august-tahitians-sale-thread-t216199.html

Thread about one blue strand and blues generally: http://www.pricescope.com/forum/pearls-new/rikitea-strand-t208515.html

Thread about the 2014 Tahitians sale: http://www.pricescope.com/forum/pearls-new/pp-tahitian-pearls-on-sale-t204779.html

 

[BWeaves]

I've had good luck with whites and blues in photos looking like real life, and I've been very satisfied with those purchases.

But Tahitians I've ordered have never looked like their photos, so I've given up ordering them. I'm going to just have to jump on them when I finally see them in person.

 

[starfish]

I think you should definitely wait until you receive your Freshadama strand and wear it a bit. Make sure the size and length when worn is what you are expecting. It could affect your next purchase. It took me a long time to figure out that 15 and 16 inch strands hit me wrong, they need to be longer or shorter. I could have saved myself some restringing if I had more closely analyzed this before purchasing more.

 

[CathyKeshi]

Moonpie and FrenchPearl ... you made my day with those first 2 posts! My 2 cents of advice echoes the wise ladies above: Wait till your freshadamas arrive and assess the wearability, length, size etc. Quell your "pearl fires" meanwhile with Sophie's meditation techniques above ... while asking to be on a wish list for blue toned Tahitians from spring shopping expeditions. If no one can find good blues (rare birds, those), you can always fall back to plan A, as there will still be good Tahitians around. One other tip, in regard to the tricky Tahitian colors: Try to go visit a couple of good stores that stock Tahitians, so you can see colors and overtones in real life; look at smooth, round, drops, circles textures etc., try some on to check colors against skin tones, view in store lighting, natural light etc. (I leave husband in the store as security while I step outside LOL) ... From the vendors, ask for both "glamor" shots as well as natural light shots; if you ask nicely many will even photograph on a real person for you to get a better feel for colors. And of course, I recommend any of the great vendors here for tricky Tahitians, with their so generous return/exchange policies. Good luck and happy hunting!

 

[JerseyPearl]

When ever I have these urges, I also do a lot of roaming around on Pinterest for "perfect" pearls. I like the pearl meditation...and while you are waiting for your new pearls to arrive, start watching videos on how to string pearls...a whole other world will open up to you!

 

[ckrickett]

When ever I have these urges, I also do a lot of roaming around on Pinterest for "perfect" pearls. I like the pearl meditation...and while you are waiting for your new pearls to arrive, start watching videos on how to string pearls...a whole other world will open up to you!

I do this too, I have a pinterest board filled with dream pearls I will never own (my personal favorite is that ear of corn brooch). But love to gaze at. It also helps to reset my mind from "sadness to never being able to own" to "How can I recreate this in a way that I can get/afford it" Its actually fun!

I do second the idea of, get your strand, wear it and love it and figure out what you want to look for next. Length, MM of pearl, color, shape. You can go so many different ways and they are all an adventure!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

CathyKeshi makes a good point about visiting a store to see Tahitians in person. I agree that you need to see the pearls not only in the in-store lighting but also daylight.

There are few stores that stock Tahitians with good colors around here. The ones I've seen are mostly just uniformly gray or near-black. At one store I saw a blue looking strand and asked to try it on. Looked great-- but when I walked next to the large front window to see the effect of daylight, the blue color all but disappeared. So even in stores, be sure to check how they look in various lighting, and even going on a bright sunny day vs. an overcast day can make a difference.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Also if buying online, you can request natural light photos from the vendor.

 

[JerseyPearl]

PD, you make an excellent point...it's funny, with gemstones that effect is called "color-changing" or "color-shifting"...with pearls there is no such correlation. I think the transformation of pearl colors in different lighting is most dramatic with Tahitians (maybe one of the reasons why I love them). Tahitians have different base colors...dark, silver, green, etc. They can also have orient which is a color that floats across the surface creating rich hues. While you wait for your strand, search through the Tahitians threads...between doing that and looking at photos your new strand will arrive before you've even gotten half finished!

 

[Katbran]

This post made me laugh !! Calm down..take a breath..eat some chocolate ( makes everything better) ! Do pay close attention to what people are saying about the photos...things might look "BLUE" in a photo ..but in real life ... maybe not so much. You need to go out and look at lots of Tahitians in stores to get an idea as to what the colours are and what they look like in natural light. Blues are very pretty but it's not like they are round Sapphires lol Look at pearls in the stores. If you want blue .. ask Jeremy to find you some.. they will be leaving for Hong Kong soon I'm sure. Breathe.....breathe....

 

[juliebeth]

LOL! i completely understand the pearl infatuation - especially with the blues! keep in mind, others have made impulse buys of "perfect blue buy it NOW" pearls and been BURNED when a dull grey beast with no overtones at all shows up in one's mailbox...DON"T DO IT! wait until you're calmer, once a trusted vendor can vouch for the actual blueness of the pearl in question. as katbran mentions, they're all headed to Hong Kong as we speak. your need for blue pearls will be satisfied, soon.

 

[KarinK]

Just want to add that the sooner you spend more money (next purchase), the longer it's going to be before you can shop again. Because you are probably going to be wanting something after the blues as well. You get a lot more for your money by making the purchase process slow.

- Karin