We Buy Pearls Near Me
By contrast, the classic White Japanese Akoya Pearl Necklace at PurePearls.com in the same size starts at around $1,000.00. Akoya pearls from Pure Pearls are sourced from the top 10% of each pearl harvest, and are selected for their perfectly round, perfectly matched shapes, bright, highly reflective luster and smooth, clean surfaces.
we buy pearls near me
Classic Hanadama Akoya Pearl Necklaces also start at just $1,500.00, so you are saving nearly $1,000.00 at aminimum by shopping with PurePearls.com over Tiffany - even when you opt for our highest quality Certified Hanadama Akoya pearls.
Mikimoto offers designs in every pearl type: cultured Akoya, Tahitians from French Polynesia, South Sea pearls and even exotic natural pearls like Conch and Melo-Melo, but they are primarily known for their first pearls ever offered, theJapanese Akoya.
Keep in mind that Mikimoto sources their cultured pearls from the top 5% of each annual pearl harvest and uses their own grading system. Mikimoto grades their pearls: A, A+, AA and AAA Quality, which is their highest/best pearl grade.
At the end of the day, the best value is where you find it. If the idea of visiting a Tiffany or Mikimoto flagship location and selecting a luxury brand strand of pearls thrills you to your toes, then go for it!
To be perfectly honest though, I think most pearl lovers will find the best value shopping at an alternative pearl specialty boutique. If you find the right jeweler, you can have pearls that are the equivalent (or get realllyyyy close!) to Tiffany or even Mikimoto at practically a wholesale price, with personalized jewelry tailored to your exact specifications.
When you shop at Pure, we can provide some of the highest quality luxury pearls at prices that are a fraction of the high-end name brands. From Certified Hanadama Akoya to gorgeous White and Golden South Sea and exotic Tahitian pearls, we have every pearl type available for you to choose from - all at exceptional price points.
Cultured pearls are pearls that come from a mollusk, whether saltwater or Freshwater varieties. These pearls are nucleated with either a small mother of pearl bead nucleus or a square 1mm piece of mantle tissue, which irritates the mollusk into forming a pearl sac, and then subsequently coating the "seed" with crystalline nacre layers, eventually forming a pearl .
If you have a pearl necklace (or pearl earrings, bracelets, pendant, etc.) in front of you, your very first and most formidable tool is simple observation. Place the jewelry on a plain white sheet of paper and begin examining the pearls inch-by-inch.
Synthetic pearls will feel smooth, like plastic, because man-made gems lack these crystalline plates. The Tooth Test is not 100% definitive, but it will point you in the right direction and spot most fake pearls.
There are three major types of synthetic pearls commonly found on the market at the moment (although new, hard-to-spot fakes, and "off-brand" synthetics are always being experimented with and introduced). The ones you should know about are:
Majorica pearls are considered fine synthetic pearls that are often found in high-end departments stores like Barney's or Nordstroms. Most traditionally seen in white, black, grey and gold, these pearls maintain a "realistic" palette of colors, and are VERY convincing - especially the newest versions featuring circled Baroque shapes.
Majorica pearls have been in production since the late 1800's on the Spanish island of Majorca. These man-made pearls are created by repeatedly dipping a solid glass orb (to give the "pearl" a realistic heft or weight) into a substance called "essence d' orient".
The exact recipe is a heavily guarded secret, however it is commonly known that the pearl-like substance is a liquified mix of ground up fish scales, powdered mother of pearl and oil. The "pearls" are dipped approximately 30 times to give them a nice, thick coating over the bead and then hand-polished to remove blemishes, bumps or uneven areas of coating.
Shell pearls also exhibit perfect uniformity in shape, color and reflectivity. These synthetic pearls are typically created in South Sea pearl sizes - 10.0-14.0mm ranges are the norm - and pastel colors traditionally seen in luxury pearl types: white, black, grey, gold, pistachio, brown/chocolate, and soft pinks - the better to fake you out, my dears.
The Tooth Test won't be effective with Shell Pearls due to their composition (ground up mother of pearl or solid shell), and these pearls can also exhibit surface irregularities, making the evaluation even tougher.
Swarovski Crystal Pearls are always labeled as synthetic pearls by the manufacturer, and are easy to spot due to their plastick-y looking shine and perfect uniformity in color and size.
Swarovski Crystal pearls are extremely durable in terms of daily wear and tear, and an excellent alternative to real pearls for costume jewelry or clothing purposes - the pearls can even be dry-cleaned without damaging the outer layers.
While Mikimoto Pearls is famous for their Japanese Akoya, this jewelry house also works with other high-quality pearl types to create their dazzling jewelry. Exotic Black Tahitian pearls (they call them Black South Sea) and White and Golden South Sea pearls are also prominently featured in their collections.
For a fine quality strand of classic Japanese Akoya pearls ranging from 5.0-8.5mm, you can expect to spend minimum $3,000 up to $7,000 or so (and of course, finer qualities are available upon request!).
Today, flagship Mikimoto locations can be found in major cities all over the world, but you do not need to go to Rodeo Drive to purchase pearls from Mikimoto (although I can tell you it is quite the experience and I would recommend it to anybody!).
All of our pearl jewelry is created by hand, to order, here at our Southern California workshops, meaning you have an opportunity to have the pearl jewelry of your dreams tailored exactly to your tastes by a specialty boutique that lives and breathes pearls.
By operating with reduced overhead (no expensive advertising budgets, no fancy retail locations) and cutting out the middlemen by buying our pearls direct from the pearl farmers and auctions themselves, we can save our customers THOUSANDS of dollars on similar purchases from luxury brands.
Bottom line: No matter where you buy your pearls from, my #1 recommendation is to always do your research first so you feel comfortable with your purchase, and you have a solid idea of what to expect.
My deceased mother bequeathed her Mikimoto pearls to me and I have a necklace given to me for my 21st. I was with my parents when they purchased the pearls & broches in Hong Kong and they would be at least 40 years old if not older. I still have all the boxes. I know you have to have them restrung particularly as she wore her necklace until the end. Do you know where I can get them cleaned and restrung and valued. I live in Brisbane in Australia but will be going to London in June this year for a holiday. I think you have a store in London. Thank you.
HiOn her death, My ex mother in law bequeathed me a single strand of Mikimoto Japanese Cream pearls which were bought for her as a wedding present from her husband who she me and married within 8 weeks. Immediately after marrying her husband was posted to Japan with the Army (hence the urgency). He bought the pearls for her on arrival in Japan. He is now in his nineties. The re is no box and no authentication except the letter he wrote to me on gifting them to me explaining the provenance. Where is the best place to get them valued?? Is it possible to authenticate them now?
My late husband purchased my Mikimoto pearls in Hong Kong while serving in Vietnam. I was told by a jeweler that inferior pearls were sold to military. Any truth to that? Also, where can I have them restrung? Thank you.
I had a beautiful necklace of the sea magic by mikimoto necklace which were stolen when we were robbed on Christmas Eve a few years ago, I vow that one day I will replace my necklace with this same brand, I feel they are the best that I have Ever seen abs the pearls are just beautiful, and the jewelry just as beautiful
Mikimoto is a specialty retailer that sells high end pearls exclusively. The top 1% of Mikimoto pearls (typically costing $20,000+ per piece) are untouched in the industry. But not all their pearls reach these lofty quality standards.
In fact, Mikimoto will often take one or two extremely high end pieces and ship them from store to store to show off. The rest of their pearls are high quality, but are closely matched by more affordable brands.
At the end of the day, the two safest places to purchase pearls are at a dedicated online boutique, or a luxury pearl retailer. Other stores may offer solid quality pearls, but they usually come with sky-high markups and are hit-or-miss in terms of quality.
You will need to understand the true value of pearls, how this value fluctuates, and how different pearls are priced in various ways in order to answer the question.Here is everything you should know about the value of pearls.
The value of a pearl depends on numerous different factors and how they interplay in the final product. In many cases, natural pearls are worth more than cultured pearls, but this is not a rule written in stone. Pearls actually tend to be valued for their aesthetic value and beauty in most scenarios.
Cultured pearls are significantly more affordable, ranging anywhere from $50 to $175,000 in price. Interestingly, both natural and cultured pearls are real pearls, and are grown from pearl-bearing oysters in either freshwater or saltwater in a nearly identical process.
There are many different types of pearls as well. These pearls are the most readily available in the world, and are widely used for jewellery purposes due to their affordability. Freshwater pearls are often grown in Hyriopsis cumingii oysters in lakes, ponds and rivers in China and Southeast Asia. 041b061a72