Andrew M
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2018
- Messages
- 299
Hi all! 
Pearl guide has been so welcoming, and I've already been adopted by 3 people here, I think.
I thought this might be a fun thread to make, post to, and keep track of my mother's pearls and pearl jewelry!
Everyone has been so helpful in suggesting, commenting on, and relaying information regarding some pearl gifts for my mother. I got to thinking, though, that the pearls I'm getting, while very nice, are certainly not her first or only pearls! Inspired by BN's "365 days of pearls" thread, I thought this might be a cool thread to document pearls she owns and wears. Instead of daily posts, however, I'll just add in when she wears/gets something new, and hopefully everyone will enjoy looking. My mother used to manage an entire jewelry department at JCP, "back in the day," as she says, so there will certainly be lots to photograph and share.
In "real life," I am a professional photographer, so I hope that I can get some good photos of pearls here. I would love to also use this thread as a showcase for some professional photos of models that I take that are wearing pearls. That said, sometimes I'll post a few phone shots, too. At some point, I'd love to create and post a "definitive guide to photographing pearls," as they are certainly tough! All in all, I hope that this thread will serve as a showcase for some awesome jewelry, as well as a documentation of sorts, with a few fun facts about when the pearls are worn. But most of all, hopefully everyone just enjoys looking at some different pearls. Every time I have something new to post, or we find something in the jewelry box, I'll post photos on whatever page and update the front page here as a sort of table of contents on where to find things people might be looking for! Eventually, there will be a LOT.
Fun fact about the title: Before my aunt (mother's sister) passed away, the story goes that as kids my mother's nickname was "KJ" - her initials are KM (maiden, KL), so who knows where the "J" came from, but I thought that "KJM Collection" sounds awfully high-end, and it's a way to give a small nod to my aunt. Whenever I borrow any of Mom's jewelry for professional shoots (which happens often!) I give credit for jewelry to the "KJM Collection."
If anyone has any questions about any of the pearls, I'd be glad to answer, or ask Mom and she can answer! She's not a forum user, or really an online anything-er, but she'd be able to share an awful lot about anything in this thread.
So far, many of these have been seen elsewhere throughout the forums, but I'll post them once again, and I'll have something new to post soon!
Truly happy to have found Pearl Guide!
Andrew.
---
Akoya:
Pg 1 Small strand -- Purchased for Mom by Mom from JCP (Mom: They were on sale, plus my discount!!) ~1990's. They are creamy, with a nice luster, and a generic clasp. Nice pearls, for what she paid! She wore these a lot when she worked in corporate marketing for Chick-fil-A (yum).
Pg 1 Double pearl earrings with small diamond accent - purchased for Mom by Mom from JCP ~1998. They don't seem terribly high quality (mom's words), but they sure are super fun! They are little and casual.
Pg 3 - Small flower inspired gold loops. There is a small pearl that sits in the middle of the loops. Probably purchased from JCP, ~1995. These are a lot of fun, and pretty casual.
Pg 3 - Natural white Hanadama strand. 8.5-9.0mm, with an unusually high thickness of nacre at .7mm. Purchased from PP.
FWP:
Pg 2 Freshadama triple strand, QE2 style. The pearls do not nest together, but sit apart from each other. Gift from Dad - Purchased from PP for Christmas 2018 -- See good photos on page 2.
Pg 4 Freshwater Button Pearls. These earrings were received as a gift, but I'm not sure when. They look very round from farther away, but almost square-shape up close. They have a textured surface, but are very nice earrings and comfortable to wear.
Pg 5 Freshwater Calla Lily earrings -- purchased from Kohl's 2019 - fun, small, dyed FWP - we liked the design and they were a great price
Tahitian:
Pg 1 "Gem Fancy Earrings" 12-13.0mm purchased from Pearl Paradise for Christmas 2018
Pg 1 "AAA Grade, Round" 'intense' multicolor strand 9.1mm-9.8mm purchased from Pearl Paradise for Christmas 2018
Pg 4 "AAA/Gem grade, Round" 'intense' multicolor strand 9.1mm-9.8mm purchased from Pearl Paradise for Christmas 2018 -- NECK SHOTS HERE! Also a few more commentary, some pearl close up.
White South Sea:
Project in progress! Stones sourced for WSS project.... Suspense!
Watch this space!
Gold South Sea:
Page 10 pair of light/champagne gold south sea gem quality pearls for a TBD project... I'd love to draw something out to do with them.
Other/Projects/Misc?:
pg 4 1.2ctw Brian Gavin studs. These are (maybe?) part of a "project in progress" so watch this space.
Pearl guide has been so welcoming, and I've already been adopted by 3 people here, I think.
I thought this might be a fun thread to make, post to, and keep track of my mother's pearls and pearl jewelry!
Everyone has been so helpful in suggesting, commenting on, and relaying information regarding some pearl gifts for my mother. I got to thinking, though, that the pearls I'm getting, while very nice, are certainly not her first or only pearls! Inspired by BN's "365 days of pearls" thread, I thought this might be a cool thread to document pearls she owns and wears. Instead of daily posts, however, I'll just add in when she wears/gets something new, and hopefully everyone will enjoy looking. My mother used to manage an entire jewelry department at JCP, "back in the day," as she says, so there will certainly be lots to photograph and share.
In "real life," I am a professional photographer, so I hope that I can get some good photos of pearls here. I would love to also use this thread as a showcase for some professional photos of models that I take that are wearing pearls. That said, sometimes I'll post a few phone shots, too. At some point, I'd love to create and post a "definitive guide to photographing pearls," as they are certainly tough! All in all, I hope that this thread will serve as a showcase for some awesome jewelry, as well as a documentation of sorts, with a few fun facts about when the pearls are worn. But most of all, hopefully everyone just enjoys looking at some different pearls.
Every time I have something new to post, or we find something in the jewelry box, I'll post photos on whatever page and update the front page here as a sort of table of contents on where to find things people might be looking for! Eventually, there will be a LOT.Fun fact about the title: Before my aunt (mother's sister) passed away, the story goes that as kids my mother's nickname was "KJ" - her initials are KM (maiden, KL), so who knows where the "J" came from, but I thought that "KJM Collection" sounds awfully high-end, and it's a way to give a small nod to my aunt. Whenever I borrow any of Mom's jewelry for professional shoots (which happens often!) I give credit for jewelry to the "KJM Collection."
If anyone has any questions about any of the pearls, I'd be glad to answer, or ask Mom and she can answer! She's not a forum user, or really an online anything-er, but she'd be able to share an awful lot about anything in this thread.
So far, many of these have been seen elsewhere throughout the forums, but I'll post them once again, and I'll have something new to post soon!
Truly happy to have found Pearl Guide!
Andrew.
---
Akoya:
Pg 1 Small strand -- Purchased for Mom by Mom from JCP (Mom: They were on sale, plus my discount!!) ~1990's. They are creamy, with a nice luster, and a generic clasp. Nice pearls, for what she paid! She wore these a lot when she worked in corporate marketing for Chick-fil-A (yum).
Pg 1 Double pearl earrings with small diamond accent - purchased for Mom by Mom from JCP ~1998. They don't seem terribly high quality (mom's words), but they sure are super fun! They are little and casual.
Pg 3 - Small flower inspired gold loops. There is a small pearl that sits in the middle of the loops. Probably purchased from JCP, ~1995. These are a lot of fun, and pretty casual.
Pg 3 - Natural white Hanadama strand. 8.5-9.0mm, with an unusually high thickness of nacre at .7mm. Purchased from PP.
FWP:
Pg 2 Freshadama triple strand, QE2 style. The pearls do not nest together, but sit apart from each other. Gift from Dad - Purchased from PP for Christmas 2018 -- See good photos on page 2.
Pg 4 Freshwater Button Pearls. These earrings were received as a gift, but I'm not sure when. They look very round from farther away, but almost square-shape up close. They have a textured surface, but are very nice earrings and comfortable to wear.
Pg 5 Freshwater Calla Lily earrings -- purchased from Kohl's 2019 - fun, small, dyed FWP - we liked the design and they were a great price
Tahitian:
Pg 1 "Gem Fancy Earrings" 12-13.0mm purchased from Pearl Paradise for Christmas 2018
Pg 1 "AAA Grade, Round" 'intense' multicolor strand 9.1mm-9.8mm purchased from Pearl Paradise for Christmas 2018
Pg 4 "AAA/Gem grade, Round" 'intense' multicolor strand 9.1mm-9.8mm purchased from Pearl Paradise for Christmas 2018 -- NECK SHOTS HERE! Also a few more commentary, some pearl close up.
White South Sea:
Project in progress! Stones sourced for WSS project.... Suspense!
Watch this space!
Gold South Sea:
Page 10 pair of light/champagne gold south sea gem quality pearls for a TBD project... I'd love to draw something out to do with them.
Other/Projects/Misc?:
pg 4 1.2ctw Brian Gavin studs. These are (maybe?) part of a "project in progress" so watch this space.
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