Worth the money - potato pearls?

[zengirl]

Hi. I have found what I think is a lovely necklace (it would be my third set of pearls purchased within the last couple of days since suddenly becoming obsessed. SO exciting. For 43 yeras I have never even though about pearls. Now suddenly I can't get enough of them, of thinking about them and reading all about them. I NEEEED to own some ASAP!! ). I wanted to know if people thought my find was a nice set and if it, the necklace, was good value for money.

But first,

The three sets
----------------

(1) I am about to buy a good quality, more expensive necklace (I have already chosen the one but am waiting on some replies to a question in another thread before finally taking the plunge). Wanted some reassurance about the website.

(2) ?20 necklace from eBay that I already asked about on another thread (FW, cheap; waiting to see if it's real or a complete con. They were marketed as Akoya, but even *I* didn't think they would be or could be. Just hope they're not shells..).

(3) This that I've found:


Necklace Length: 40cm

Pearl Type: Freshwater - potato

Pearl Grade: AAA

Pearl Shape: Baroque

Pearl Size: 10-11mm

Pearl Colour: White

Clasp Material: 925 Silver

Price: ?60

Place of purchase: a privately owned company based in London

 

[Caitlin]

Please post a photo! They sound delicious!

 

[zengirl]

Ok, erm... will just be a moment working it out.

P.S. On the website they say "all our products are ethically sourced, adhering to the Base Code laid out by the Ethical Trading Initiative. We also have a strong commitment to minimising our impact on the environment." I really liked this.

Ok, just going to do a picture now...

 

[zengirl]

Aaarrrrgggghhhh, so near and yet so far. I'm trying to buy them but the checkout system stalls every time. How much does a girl have to struggle and stress in order to own her first set of pearls??!! Why won't it let me buy them??!! Gaugaugaugaugaugappppfffftttt!

 

[zengirl]

YES, YES, YES I DID IT!!!!!

I checked out on the Pearl Plum website. I will soon have in my hands a set of potatoes. My first pearls....

Please don't let them be duffers...

 

[zengirl]

Here they are.

 

[Caitlin]

I like those pearls. They seem to have good luster for such large ones. Will you get the one in the photo?

 

[zengirl]

That's the question. Who can say? It would be nice, but I would guess not? Anyway, I'll post a photo of the ones I actually get when they arrive, which will hopefully be in a couple of days.

P.S. I'm keeping this purchase a secret from my husband because I promised not to spend a penny on anything that wasn't necessary in the next couple of weeks because we need the money for our up-coming holiday. I hope to be alone in the house when the pearls arrive.

 

[Caitlin]

Ha ha ha! You came down with a really flown blown case of Pearlitus! And so fast! Well, you won't get any help to overcome it from us!


That's a pretty one for your first buy- if yours is as nice as the one in the photo.

 

[zengirl]

I know. It's weird. One day I was sitting outside watching my twins play on their bikes chatting with a friend when I caught sight of her ears. There were two tiny pearls sitting in her ears and they looked utterly and completely gorgeous. I just gasped and said, "are those pearls??" She told me her mother in law (who is Chinese) had brought them back from Hong Kong for her as a present. That very same night I started my three day long process of research. I knew I had to have some of my own. No earrings though, I wanted a necklace. I spent hours researching, looking at every single pearl necklace that Google images threw up at me, under search terms such as "fresh water pearl necklace," vintage pearl necklace," faux pearl necklace," expensive pearl necklace." LOL I developed a three-day long headache and a kind of aching feeling in my heart. I really, REALLY wanted my own pearls. I suddenly felt like I'd been living life with something missing all this time! I joined this forum and asked a few questions and read every thread I could. Then, after my dodgy eBay purchase (do we all do this? Is it a terrible initiation pitfall?) I bought these potato pearls last night. But I have another, more expensive, FW round pearl necklace that I want which I'm working on everyone to club together to get me for my joint birthday and Christmas presents (it's about ?200) so not the most expensive pearls by any means, but just a bit too much to come from one person for one present.

Actually it's very interesting to me to understand how people came to have their first set of pearls. Is there a thread where everyone's said how they first discovered pearls and when they first got their own?

 

[pearlescence]

Isn't a claim that a seller buys direct from a pearl farm on the P-G list of red alert phrases?

 

[zengirl]

Eeek, oh really? That's a bit worrying..

The website I bought them from is:

http://store.pearlplum.co.uk/index.asp

 

[Amrita]

The pearls in that picture have a pretty luster. Now let's wait and see what actually arrives. Hope you can post pictures of the pearls that you get - then we can compare..
Welcome to the pearl lovers gang - you are going to have a lot of fun!

 

[lisa c]

Sighs. I'm thinking Pearl Farm has become a euphemism in the sales shop, rather than a literal reference to a farm.
Really? A little black dress at a pearl farm? and strands, right out of the shell?

Before Pearl-Guide I would've bought that, hook, line and sinker.

Zengirl, welcome! I look forward to seeing what you get. Don't worry. It's a common theme, starting off with lesser pearls.

At the beginning of my journey I won some auctions. The pearls were very potato-y, but the luster was very nice. Not what I expected, but now that I know more about pearls, very nice. You might get lucky, and in the meantime you've met US, so you'll have fun!!!!

 

[Marianne]

Looks like they have a decent return policy, so you should be protected! Welcome

 

[pearlescence]

They have no choice. The Distance Selling Regulations apply throughout Europe. On line sellers must refund on any returned article

 

[pearlescence]

While I clearly have an interest in this Caitlin has said it is okay for me to point out that they also claim to be a limited company but according to Companies House, where the registration details of all companies in the UK are kept the company was dissolved in Nov 2010. this may just mean that they were not turning over enough to justify being a limited company with all the palaver of declarations, returns and corporation tax but to me it is another detail.
Claiming to buy direct from farms is an alert because no-one buys from the farms who wants stock to sell, as against a souvenir of a visit. One farm may produce one sort of pearl, another will produce another, and a third this grade; a fourth, that grade. They all go to big pearl factories where they are cleaned, drilled, matched, graded and processed and thence to the wholesaler. For something like Tahitians or south sea or Cortez you might buy direct (and I have) but not freshwater.
Loved the comment about the LBD down the farm Lisa)

 

[Caitlin]

Ho
I added some remarks to another thread. I want to steer you to the best pearls for the money!

 

[lisa c]

Ok, Pearlescense thanks for that, it was fun, and you know what? I think by the way she was sitting she has high heels on, too! Check it out, we girls will recognize this posture.

 

[zengirl]

Well, the money for these haven't been taken out of my account, and naturally, I haven't received anything yet. Looks like maybe the website is defunct, although it did let me put all my information through. Feeling uneasy about it now. So they have all my banking details but no order has been taken... When writing a cheque you can easily stop it or cancel it, but with this kind of transaction, already done, how does one canel it?? I'm only worried that maybe it's some kind of fraud.