Strand length

[pearlescence]

One thing I have noticed while going through my Hong Kong new stock is that strand length has crept back up to 41 or 42cm from a low of 38cm a few years ago.

 

[CLICLASP]

True, I noticed that also and with big pearls is a problem, because there are few pearls to add length to the strand with knots , ahrrrr

 

[Caitlin]

What do you think that means?

 

[pearlescence]

Hmmm, on a practical level it means no more needing two strands to make a necklace that doesn't strangle a customer!

 

[Amanda]

Customers can be sooooo unreasonable..........

 

[CLICLASP]

I noticed that contrary some times also ...

 

[Sutrisno]

This is very interesting, so 'who's direct the fashions of pearls?

 

[lisa c]

Wendy, I remember your push a few years back to get buyers to agree to insist upon 16" strands. Amrita very calmly and pleasantly demonstrated it in her video.

Perhaps, collective pressure has yielded results? Perhaps the sellers have decided to use full strands as a positive selling point for their companies?

 

[Amrita]

I agree Wendy - I have also not come across "shorter" lengths in the last year or so....maybe even last couple of years...
Such a welcome development. On the whole, I feel that the Chinese pearl market is gradually but surely evolving into a more mature and professional environment......of course, it still has a long way to go...but the direction is correct...
I have also noticed that there is an attempt by a few suppliers to make actual pearl sizes closer to what the stated size is. However, this is still limited with a few factories, and not across the board.....but all these are hopefull signs, don't you think...?

 

[pearlescence]

Yes, I do agree Amrite.
But it still makes me smile when even the biggest and most respected suppliers can't resist trying to slide something past you.

 

[pearlescence]

As a follow up to this, I got some 2mm and 3mm dyed pearls for a specific customer and have just been sorting through them - strand length varied between 31cm and 45cm! same wholesaler,all same price.

 

[Amrita]

Gosh - that's a lot of variation! Can't let our guard down yet, can we?

 

[Nerida]

31cm or 41cm? that is a huge difference if it is 31-45cm variation? it is more than enough if it is 41-45cm...

 

[Ramona]

Wendy, did you get the total in strand length per pearl size you requested from the seller?

 

[pearlescence]

eh?
They were all the same size 3mm
I was buying in person in HK, by pearl size, uniformity and the dye colour so I just didn't think about strand length. It's not the most important thing to my customer either

 

[lisa c]

Hi Wendy, I think we're wondering if the numbers were a typo or if the strand lengths really varied that far from 45cm.

I wonder if your customer is going to embellish cloth with those colorful pearls?

 

[pearlescence]

No, the customer has a different project
and those are the correct figures