Size of my SS pearls - are these 10.0-11.0 mm?

[Lili4ka]

Hello dear forum members,

Recently I have ordered my first pair of white SS studs on the Valentine's Day. I have ordered a pair of White South Sea Pearl Earrings: 10.0-11.0mm.

Spent about a week in anticipation!

Now they have arrived. I opened the beautiful package with appraisal, and was a bit confused as to the size of the pearls. They just appear to be too small!

I have no experience on how the pearls are measured. So I just took a regular tape, and compared the pearl to it.

Is that the correct 10.0-11.0 mm sized pearl?

Thank you all!

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

10mm is aproz 3/8" on your ruler 11mm is 7/16

 

[Lili4ka]

lilliefuzzysocks

Thank you! I see you are an expert, are these really a 10.0-11.00 mm pearls?

Another photo:

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

I just measured my caliper at the 10mm and 11mm openings. Yours appear to be 10mm.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I also make them out to be 10mm.

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

Zowie, The bottom numbers on your tape measure are Millimeters. The 10mm is hidden by the silver end piece, but you can still see the the individual MM measurements.

If you're looking for something about 1/2 inch in size. look for 12.5 mm pearls

 

[pattye]

Yes, I agree your pearls appear to be 10mm. Were you expecting larger pearls? An 11mm pearl would have quite a bit more volume and would definitely appear larger. Here is another thread on this forum that discusses differences in pearl sizes that may help you~

 

[Lili4ka]

Thanks Pattye! A very helpful resource.

Yes, I thought they would be larger than what I have received. I looked pictures of models with different pearl size, and thought that this size would be right.

If the seller sells 10 or 11 mm for the same price, they will likely send the smaller pair... I forgot about that.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Photos of pearl models with small ear lobes aren't much help to me! Studs always look smaller on my large lobes.

As to the 10-11mm range, the pearls would all fall somewhere in that range. Pearls are made by oysters, not machines, so they are not calibrated sizes. Some buyers will get slightly larger pearls and some will get slightly smaller but they would all be somewhere between 10 and 11 mm. You could try to exchange for slightly larger ones in the same range. Communicate with your vendor.

 

[JerseyPearl]

Photos of pearl models with small ear lobes aren't much help to me! Studs always look smaller on my large lobes.

As to the 10-11mm range, the pearls would all fall somewhere in that range. Pearls are made by oysters, not machines, so they are not calibrated sizes. Some buyers will get slightly larger pearls and some will get slightly smaller but they would all be somewhere between 10 and 11 mm. You could try to exchange for slightly larger ones in the same range. Communicate with your vendor.

As usual, PD makes wonderful suggestions. I will only add that when purchasing from a vendor and you are selecting a size range, that means you are relying on them to send you something in between those sizes. Don't hesitate to ask them to show you photos of the actual pair you will receive, as well as give you an accurate measurement of the those pearls. I get that some places might not be willing to take the time, however, I would also suggest that many of the vendors here will absolutely respond to direct requests. Don't be afraid to ask!

 

[jshepherd]

The pearl should really be measured with a caliper and not a ruler and estimated with math. It's nearly impossible to get it accurate otherwise, and when you dealing with a distance between 1/10th of a millimeter, you're not going to get it right.

What I tried to do is draw a straight line, lined up with the top and bottom of the measurement line, from the half millimeter point on either side (assuming centimeters are on the bottom) to the edges of the pearl. The line on the right touches the top of the pearl. The line on the bottom shows that the earring is in a slight angle relative to the millimeter measurement, and shows from a straight line that the entire cup and the edge of the pearl extend slightly below.

It looks to me the pearl measured this way (which is the wrong way to measure a pearl because it isn't perpendicular to the drill hole and there may be up to a 5% deviation in shape) is about exactly 10.5 mm. It is larger than 10, but does not appear to be 11 - it looks like it's in the middle. This will change, however, when the pearl is measured correctly, which is the diameter and not the length.

The only reason I'm able to make this out is because it's something we've come across countless times over the years. I recommend getting a digital caliper and measuring it to get the true accurate size.

Edit: I measured using photo #2

 

[jshepherd]

This is what I am referring to.

 

[SunSeeker]

Excellent point, Jeremy. Also when buying pearls with a 1mm range (10mm-11mm vs 10.0mm-10.5mm) you're likely to get pearls closer to the smaller end point, in this case 10mm. I prefer when vendors list with a .5mm range b/c I have small lobes; .5mm doesn't really make that much difference, but a full 1mm is noticable to me.

 

[cmd2014]

Zowie,

As Jeremy has said, pearls are measured at the widest point perpendicular to the drill hole (so the other way to how you are measuring), and a caliper is the only accurate way to measure. Yours do look to be the right size. Model ears and your ears may be very different. Same with necklace lengths. 18 inches is a choker on me (I don’t have a swan neck), while on the model pictures they are halfway down their chest. And 10 mm pearls look large on petite people, and quite petite on me.