Side by side strands--Blue Nile vs Pearl Paradise

[Picabia]

Quick recap: I recently inquired about buying a pearl bracelet for my wife. Among other things, I wanted to compare her "premier" Akoya earrings with a Pearl Paradise AAA bracelet. I was told you can't compare earrings (or pendants) with bracelets. So, we ordered a BN bracelet to compare side by side.

Unfortunately, BN "premier" bracelets are super expensive ($1500). Their "classic" is, price-wise, more in line with Pearl Paradise's AAA ($595 vs $352 for 7.0-7.5mm, 7.5"--with BN the more expensive of the two). So, how do they compare? I'm still new to this, but I think the PP is the clear winner. I'm curious to hear from the pros. PP on the bottom.

 

[Red]

So, are you comparing a BN classic to a PP AAA? The PP is the better bracelet in your photos, but that is to be expected if the BN is not their top quality.

 

[Picabia]

That is correct. And you might be right--we thought about that. However, hanadama is arguably Pearl Paradise's best and "Premier" is BN's best. "classic" and "AAA" would be second best, according to that logic. The prices make sense in that comparison: $895 for PP hanadama and $1500 for BN "premier."

 

[Abi]

Are you able to return the BN bracelet?

 

[CrazyMissy]

Photos are a bit dark, but it seems that the PP one is more silver grey and the BN one is more rose/cream?

I'd play devil's advocate and say, why not go for the hanadama? maybe it's my buying habit (i'm a one-and-done person), but I'd say save a little bit more, and purchase the topnotch one, then totally forget about it... until your next big event, which is probably some time near the yearend (Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, take a pick!).

 

[Red]

Photos are a bit dark, but it seems that the PP one is more silver grey and the BN one is more rose/cream?

I think what appears as silver grey is the superior luster of the PP strand.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

A very quick color correction on the first photo, assuming a white background.

 

[Abi]

Thank you Lady D for the photo corrections, they're always helpful!

 

[Katbran]

I agree with Red , while the PP. racelet is better it’s not comparing like with like . You would , I think , need to compare BN best to that PP AAA . BN doesn’t carry Hanadama so you can’t compare them . Hanadama is a whole other level . Not to be compared with regular top grade Akoya. You can compare Hanadama with Hanadama , not with AAA .

Thanks for the photo LadyD

 

[BWeaves]

As others have already compared quality, I'm going to compare price.

For the price, you can get a much better quality from PP. And their customer service is top notch.

 

[Picabia]

Thanks for the color correction! That does look more accurate.
Perhaps the comparison isn't fair. And to be clear, we're big fans of Blue Nile. I think they do many things well, and their customer service is excellent. But $1500 was not really in the cards for this purchase. Besides, as someone new to buying pearl jewelry on the internet, my concerns (and the utility of this post) have to do with whether the very reasonably priced pearls from PP, a pearl specialist, compare or even best a similarly priced piece from a jewelry retailer. In this case, the BN bracelet didn't compare in price--it was still substantially more. That's a different question than "who has the best pearls, price is no object." Great question for enthusiasts, not really helpful for a guy buying his wife a modestly priced gift.

 

[JerseyPearl]

Picabia, I think that you should decide the quality factors that create value for a piece of jewelry you are purchasing. In other words, you have a budget and you want to find the best piece of jewelry you can within that budget. To me, the elements of value are: which strand looks best with her coloring? Which strand has the best luster? Cleanest surfaces? Thickest nacre? What about the hardware...karat gold? These are all evaluations you should consider when buying. Hands down, I always go for luster over any other factor...and from your photos, it appears the PP strand has superior luster compared with the BN strand. If something is holding you back on deciding, I would suggest reviewing additional strands from PP at that same price point...that way you are comparing apples to apples.

 

[Katbran]

I'm jumping back in regarding price. To be honest I was simply looking at the pearls and the grades you were comparing. If the BN top range is 1500 ... then the PP is the better choice as it combines a good price with nice lustre.

JP has spelled it out well. If you decide the important boxes you want ticked ... and you have a price in mind. I'd give PP a call and tell them exactly what you are looking for and how much you want to spend. Ask for the best strand for that amount of money. I know you'll be happy with them.

 

[Picabia]

I was just providing a side by side that I found interesting. We're definitely going with PP.

 

[BWeaves]

You chose WELL.

 

[KarinK]

I found it interesting to see the comparison at the same prize. I understand why you were curious

- Karin

 

[LadyBratFace]

I appreciate seeing the difference in the two sources. I've been 'window shopping' (Facebook shopping??) with PP and found their whole team to be top notch. I don't think you can pay for that sort of service. Nice to see the side-by-side.