I’ve pretty much got the end part, where I hand over my credit card. The parts before are what’s unclear to me.
I know a little bit about buying diamonds and other gems. Enough that while I may not be getting the rock-bottom, best price ever, I won’t get fleeced.
I know nothing about pearls. What are the basics on intelligent pearl acquisition?
Google “pearl buying guide” and you’ll get a lot of hits. Amazon lists a book, that you might be able to find in a library:
Assuming you’re looking to buy a necklace, you’ll find them already made up, or you may find unfinished strands that the jeweler will then have knotted into a necklace, and add a clasp to the strand. They will be matched pretty well as to size, color, nacre quality (thickness and smoothness).
There’s a direct correlation between nacre thickness, smoothness, size and price. Obviously more flawless pearls are going to be more expensive than lower-quality ones of the same size. Color has an effect also.
If you ask a jeweler to show you two different-quality necklaces, without telling you which is which, I’d bet you can pick out the better one (I could, without knowing anything). The pricier one looked “richer” somehow while the cheaper one looked wimpier. Sort of like the difference between skim milk and whole milk.
Most pearls, if you look carefully under good light, tend toward the yellowish end of things. Mine have more pinkish undertones. I think this makes them more costly but I’m not sure.
While I’d generally say stay away from chain stores, it was at a chain jewelry store where I first saw the comparison between two different-quality necklaces. The sales associate was very helpful. This was many years back and I don’t remember the name, but it was definitely a chain.
As a data point: in the early 90s (92/93) we bought 4 pearl necklaces, at a jeweler in the Diamond District in New York. 3 were for nieces to be given to them on momentous occasions (bat mitzvah and the like) and they were on the order of 500-600 dollars a strand. The 4th was all for meeeeeeee and it was 900ish dollars. The nieces’ strands were not as flawless, they were a creamier color, and I think they were a bit smaller.
I bought a $900 pair of earrings online. They were beautiful, exactly as described, and I don’t hesitate to recommend the store. The site has a lot of educational material.