Source for souffle pearl earrings besides PP?

[jshepherd]

I think the vendor is actually wrong. I don't believe those are shell pearls. I've see fake baroques, but there is always a pattern because they follow a finite number of molds. Actual baroques are like snowflakes. Those look like actual baroques.

 

[cyndayco]

Those look like actual baroques.

Thanks, Jeremy. I wondered that myself but the vendor was adamant that it was shell.

I do see a strong pink hue around the edges of the larger, squarer pearls. Dyed?

 

[GemGeek]

They might be "nucleated" with baroque shells. Jack Lynch at Sea Hunt Pearls had loose freshwater pearls nucleated with random chunks of shell at the Tucson show. If they are shell pearls with random shell innards, the surface certainly looks like nacre. Cool.

 

[cyndayco]

I took a second look--and a bite--at those shell pearls, and I now know what they are. It appears that everyone is right, in some way.

Jeremy was correct; each one is an actual baroque pearl. But as the vendor claims, it is also a "shell pearl", because the baroque is inside a shell--of resin and lacquer. That is why the pearl has both the snowflake-y individuality of the genuine article and the super smooth, faintly rubber-y feel of a fake.

Mystery solved.



By the way, my apologies to Montacute. This is her thread, and my contribution has effectively highjacked it. If the admins can transfer the posts about the shell pearls to its own thread, I'd be grateful.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Fascinating, again.

 

[Montacute]

By the way, my apologies to Montacute. This is her thread, and my contribution has effectively highjacked it. If the admins can transfer the posts about the shell pearls to its own thread, I'd be grateful.

No apologies necessary--it has been an interesting sidebar.

 

[jshepherd]

I took a second look--and a bite--at those shell pearls, and I now know what they are. It appears that everyone is right, in some way.

Jeremy was correct; each one is an actual baroque pearl. But as the vendor claims, it is also a "shell pearl", because the baroque is inside a shell--of resin and lacquer. That is why the pearl has both the snowflake-y individuality of the genuine article and the super smooth, faintly rubber-y feel of a fake.

Mystery solved.

That would actually make them coated baroque pearls. That's a treatment some factories do to artifically enhance luster. In other words, it's a treatment done to the baroque pearls. But that and shell pearls are a very different thing. If the pearls are coated, the coating is very thin and should be completely transparent or invisible.

 

[cyndayco]

Coated pearls.... Good to know, Jeremy, that there is another category of pearls in retail.

Who knows where the misuse of "shell" started? The vendor said that the strands came from Hong Kong. It's quite likely that they passed through a series of middle men who were told by someone in the Mainland that they were "shell" pearls. And no one knew any better.

As for the coating, it may well have been transparent, but this one felt very thick to the touch, like layers of paint.

 

[GemGeek]

The seller wanted to be sure you were not mislead - very good. I've bought coated pearls in the past and some have had a springy to the touch coating, but they had transparent colors with depth that made for a great fashion look. And they have worn well.

 

[AMc]

The accumulation of pink near the edges is also really interesting; I wonder if the pearls were 'pinked' and then coated? They look like fun pearls to wear

 

[juliebeth]

those do look like fun - spice them up with some cz/goldfill, and you've got a party around your neck!

 

[Katbran]

Montacute - so glad that you are on your way to the pearls that you want! Better to wait and continue to deal with a good company like PP that stands by its products!

Really interesting re: the coated pearls..they are really pretty! But good to know..

 

[Montacute]

I have another souffl? question. I only just sent back the earrings for exchange, and decided to also ask for a souffl? bracelet. I got quoted a price of $1290 for an 8 pearl bracelet. This seems crazy expensive as my whole strand was $1200 last fall and there is a peach strand for sale now for $1300. Doesn't this seem way too expensive for a bracelet? Have you ever seen a bracelet cost more than a strand of the same pearls?

 

[GemGeek]

Not if the bracelet has gold beads or if the pearls were purchased by the vendor at a higher price or are a higher grade. Why not just ask the vendor why they cost more? I'm sure there must be a reason .

 

[jshepherd]

I have another souffl? question. I only just sent back the earrings for exchange, and decided to also ask for a souffl? bracelet. I got quoted a price of $1290 for an 8 pearl bracelet. This seems crazy expensive as my whole strand was $1200 last fall and there is a peach strand for sale now for $1300. Doesn't this seem way too expensive for a bracelet? Have you ever seen a bracelet cost more than a strand of the same pearls?

I just checked on this for you as I think I/we could probably answer this better than anyone else here.

You were quoted the cost to create a bracelet with the loose, metallic souffle pearls that Hisano and I selected that we purchased on a per-gram basis and not per strand. The white ones here:
http://blog.pearlparadise.com/2013/11/working-with-metallic-souffle-pearls-for-black-friday/

There is a substantial difference between those and the 'strand' souffle pearls listed on the site. If this isn't what you wanted, I suggest responding to the person you're emailing with.

 

[GemGeek]

A bracelet of the hand-picked beauties - now that would be something special!

 

[BAS]

Speaking from experience, the loose hand-picked "super" souffles (personally picked out by Hisano and Jeremy) are exquisite. And the "regular" strand souffles are terrific, too! I own both and can recommend both. Whether the quality difference is worth the increase in cost is a purely personal matter. Only you can decide that.

 

[Montacute]

Thanks everyone and Jeremy especially for the quick answer. I had e-mailed back to ask about the size because they seemed so expensive, but posted here too as I hadn't heard back yet. The forums are so quick. Anyway, I am sure a super-souffle strand would be amazing, but I don't think that would not match my previously purchased regular strand. Now I know to just ask for regular souffles. I really didn't know there were different types. BAS, do you ever mix yours?

 

[BAS]

I have a double strand of souffles (white) -- and a single strand of the "super souffles" (pale lavender), and a long tin cup with souffles. I don't wear any of the three necklaces together because three short strands would be too much, and the long tin cup with the shorter strands wouldn't look good, in my opinion. I also have two sets of souffle earrings. A Black Friday set I wear with my super strand, and the other ones I wear with my tin cup -- they were bought as a set. And I have a souffle pendant I don't wear with anything else. I don't tend to layer. I don't know if that answers your question...if you're asking if I'd "mix quality", the answer is yes. They're all beautiful pearls -- some more metallic, some smoother skins, some with gorgeous overtones -- all different and mixable. But "mixability" is entirely in the eye of the beholder. Very personal.

 

[Hanaleimom]

I just checked on this for you as I think I/we could probably answer this better than anyone else here.

You were quoted the cost to create a bracelet with the loose, metallic souffle pearls that Hisano and I selected that we purchased on a per-gram basis and not per strand. The white ones here:
http://blog.pearlparadise.com/2013/11/working-with-metallic-souffle-pearls-for-black-friday/

There is a substantial difference between those and the 'strand' souffle pearls listed on the site. If this isn't what you wanted, I suggest responding to the person you're emailing with.

Those super souffl?s are extra special. I have the colored ones that were sold on black Friday. This pendant is one of my favorite pieces. IRL the colors are more striking, not as bright as the green and pink ones but more subtle with blue and green.