unbleached freshwater pearls

[Siduri]

Lurking around these forums has taught me so much about pearls, and gotten me interested in starting my own collection. I recently took the plunge and custom-ordered a bracelet from pearlparadise.com. I inquired first about "natural color" freshadamas, comparable to the natural-color akoya line that Pearl Paradise carries at http://www.pearlparadise.com/pearl-natural-akoya.aspx. I was interested in a graduated strand. I got this very helpful and informative reply from Hisano Shepherd at Pearl Paradise:

"Unfortunately we do not carry a variety of unbleached freshwater pearls to create a graduated strand. We currently have a small bag of 7.5-8.0 mm unbleached pearls and the shape and the luster are AAA grade. Please keep in mind that our Freshadama quality is based on the roundness of the pearl and also the luster. The sharp luster is achieved by the standard treatment procedures. Unbleached pearls will most likely have creamy color and less sharp of a luster."

With that in mind I asked for a bracelet made from the unbleached pearls, and it was promptly drilled, strung, and sent out to me! I thought others on this forum might be interested to see these pearls:



I am a pearl newbie but to me the pearls have a lovely soft luster with peachy overtones. I'm quite pleased with the shape of the pearls and their matching. The bracelet came with a certificate stating that the pearls are unbleached. I'm very proud to be the new owner of these hard-to-find natural color freshwater pearls!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Lovely!! Congratulations!

 

[pattye]

Great way to start your pearl collection! It is lovely on you!

 

[lisa c]

Oh, dreamy! May we see it enlarged?

 

[Siduri]

Oh, dreamy! May we see it enlarged?

Yes! I'm happy to show them off



There are a few imperfections in the pearls (consistent, I think, with the AAA rating), but what might appear to be rather a significant blemish on the right side of the photo is actually mostly just a reflection/trick of the light.

Thank you for the kind words, everyone! I'm already starting to think about saving up for a pair of South Sea stud earrings so I can compare the color and luster...

 

[Amrita]

So pretty! Nice start to your collection, Siduri!
Welcome to P-G.

 

[KarinK]

Lovely! Yes, the Pearl Bug does tend to spread

- Karin

 

[zengirl]

That's a gorgeous bracelet. I want it!!! Um... was it expensive? (You don't have to answer that of course). Just wondering... I want a bracelet and earrings for my collection but I'm taking a L_O_N_G time deciding.

 

[Siduri]

That's a gorgeous bracelet. I want it!!! Um... was it expensive?

Well, it's the most expensive bracelet I own--but no, as far as pearls go it wasn't really pricey. It was the same price as the standard AAA-grade 7.5-8.0 mm freshwater bracelet on Pearl Paradise ($112), except I also paid an extra ten bucks to have the unbleached pearls drilled.

I already got back in touch with Hisano to ask about the South Sea pearls for earrings...all their white South Seas are unbleached, but because I'm drawn to untreated pearls, I'd like to get a pair that haven't gone through maeshori either. Hisano says that once the pearls go into their stockboxes there's no way to tell which have had the maeshori "pretreatment" and which haven't, but that next time they do their purchasing (some time next year) she will set aside a couple of untreated ones for me. That will give me time to save up, because the earrings will definitely cost more than the bracelet!