Strand Comparison

[LadyBratFace]

** End of Poll ** The bottom strand is the Hanadama pearls.

So, the question has been on my mind for over a year -- how do other strands hold up to a miki strand? Is it really true that online retailers stand up when there's this strange flux of grades between companies and a tricky flexibility in grading systems between companies. And honestly...not really sure that even if a cert 'says' a pearl is X grade, how do we know it's really X grade in hand? As a consumer, is there a way we can know that what's grade is what's shipped?

Anyway, I brought my Hanadama strand and put it with a Mikimoto AA grade Akoya (They told me that Miki doesn't do Hanadama but there is a AAA grade available.)

I know, the argument here is that we get what we pay for and I think that's important to keep in mind. I don't think I need to tell what strand is what, but will wait for responses before I answer.

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

So you want us to guess which is the Hanadama and which is the Mikimoto AA strand? I would guess the top is the Hanadama.

 

[Red]

The luster is far better on the top strand.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

A few considerations regarding hanadama.

To be certified hanadama a strand must possess certain minimum criteria. Some hanadama strands will exceed those criteria, and thus be better than other hanadama strands.

Each vendor will buy his own AAA strands and decide which to send off for certification. You can see how one vendor's handama strands might be better than another vendor's hanadama, depending on how picky each vendor is when buying his strands.

I will add that in the past we saw side by side photos of 2 strands sold as hanadama by a 2 different online vendors. There was a striking difference between the two strands. The difference was great enough that we wondered if the lower quality strand's certificate was fake.

I agree with the top strand being visibly more lustrous. If the bottom strand is the one that was sold as hanadama, it would be interesting to see the certificate that came with it.

 

[LadyBratFace]

Thank you Pearl Dreams. It's interesting information about selected strands that get certification. I'm curious how a buyer can verify they have in hand what is/was certified? If a buyer feels that it's....wrong...what can the person do? Does the certification process charge a fee and simply shuffle the strand through regardless? I highly question the hanadama process. I will share more information after the end of the poll.

A few considerations regarding hanadama.

To be certified hanadama a strand must possess certain minimum criteria. Some hanadama strands will exceed those criteria, and thus be better than other hanadama strands.

Each vendor will buy his own AAA strands and decide which to send off for certification. You can see how one vendor's handama strands might be better than another vendor's hanadama, depending on how picky each vendor is when buying his strands.

I will add that in the past we saw side by side photos of 2 strands sold as hanadama by a 2 different online vendors. There was a striking difference between the two strands. The difference was great enough that we wondered if the lower quality strand's certificate was fake.

I agree with the top strand being visibly more lustrous. If the bottom strand is the one that was sold as hanadama, it would be interesting to see the certificate that came with it.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I hunted up the photos. These were the two strands; the top one was from PP and the bottom was from another online company. Both were supposedly hanadama. (Obviously not).

 

[Pearl Dreams]

As to what you can do...send it back! Get another strand!

Post the Pearl Science Lab certificate, please? We have seen certificates in the past that looked hinky.

 

[lilliefuzzysocks]

GoldenMaia, Jeremy was asked about fake Hanadama certificates when we went to Newberry's birthday party last April at Pearl Paradise. You can see his answer on the live we did that day. It's about half way in. It talks about how to spot fake certificates.
You will have to go to Pearl Paradise's facebook page and look for this post on April 11 to get the video.

 

[LadyBratFace]

As to what you can do...send it back! Get another strand!

Post the Pearl Science Lab certificate, please? We have seen certificates in the past that looked hinky.

I didn't bring the cert with me but I'll post it when I return.

Also, the differences in the two strands is amazing. It seems like it wouldn't be any thing to swap out a random strand for a certified strand and the only way to know would be having it appraised or doing a side-by-side.

 

[CrazyMissy]

Is the top the hanadama and the lower one the Miki AA?

It would be interesting to compare the hanadama with a Miki AAA though. Or a tenyou with the AAA.

 

[Katbran]

I think I'd rather see the Hanadama compare to Miki AAA . With what we know about Hanadamawe think should be better than a AA grade - but then having seen the Miki AA and AAA pearls I can also see where some Hanadama simply couldn't beat them. I'd be surprised if they could surpass the AAA . They were the most lustrous pearls I've ever seen.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

One more question, GoldenMaia: where were you focusing the camera when you took the photo in the first post? If you were focusing on the top strand, the bottom strand could be a bit out of focus.

It looks to me like the knots in the lower strand as not as sharply in focus as in the top stand.

Pearl photography is challenging!

The top strand looks pinked; the bottom does not.

 

[GemGeek]

Right. Please take the photo again with the pearl strands next to each other.

 

[LadyBratFace]

Photography and the pearls are really hard. I tried to get an actual white image that didn't have the ivory quality and the camera just wouldn't behave. I did try to do the focus on both strands but by eye, there was a stark difference. I'll see if I can't get another series of pictures without making the sales people flip out.

-GM-

One more question, GoldenMaia: where were you focusing the camera when you took the photo in the first post? If you were focusing on the top strand, the bottom strand could be a bit out of focus.

It looks to me like the knots in the lower strand as not as sharply in focus as in the top stand.

Pearl photography is challenging!

The top strand looks pinked; the bottom does not.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Don't worry about the color; it's the focus that is more important.

Take 2 side by side photos with the pearl stands right next to each other, altering which strand is on top and which is on the bottom.

 

[LadyBratFace]

Don't worry about the color; it's the focus that is more important.

Take 2 side by side photos with the pearl stands right next to each other, altering which strand is on top and which is on the bottom.

Left = Top and Right = Bottom

Alright, I didn't get them as close as I probably should have and was in and out before reading about putting the strands in various spots. I thought this angle would be good though. This is the same AA strand.

 

[LadyBratFace]

Oh, I got a pic of the Miki A and the hanadama. Aside from the coloring being very pink so that the hanadama's seem bleached beside them, it seems like better equality.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

The hanadama strand, which I assume is the one on the right in the last photo, looks more lustrous now that it is in focus.

The pinking in the Miki strand increases the contrast between the dark centers and the periphery-- and normally greater contrast comes across as greater luster. But is it actually greater luster, or just more color contrast? (I find that photos tend to enhance this contrast; I don't see the difference as much in person.) Also, looking at the bright spots of reflection, they do not seem very different in their degree of sharpness from one strand to the other.

At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that you have a strand you love (within your budget, of course). If that specific strand you bought isn't it, then return or exchange it and find one that thrills you. You might even prefer a pinked strand over a natural white. If you prefer Miki, then buy Miki.

If I could, I would choose all my pearls in person. You might want to do an exchange in person.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

I played with the color to make the background more white.
Honestly to me the difference here is mostly between pinked and not-pinked. Do you like pinked better?

 

[LadyBratFace]

I played with the color to make the background more white.
Honestly to me the difference here is mostly between pinked and not-pinked. Do you like pinked better?

View attachment 57873

In this image, the pinked strand is the Miki A -- Rather than the AA. I just felt that they were closer in quality where the Miki AA seems sharper to me. I liked the orient effect better on the Miki.