Pearl Earrings for Mother's Day

[nerdykarim]

After consulting with my father on an ideal gift for Mother's Day, I have decided to buy her pearl stud earrings. My time here at SF, however, has made me a much more discerning shopper, in terms of quality and value and I'm a little paranoid about making my first jewelry purchase.

I'm a student, so my budget isn't terribly high. At first, I was thinking about these from Overstock because, well, I'm a sucker for high MSRP's. After reading the reviews, though, Overstock didn't seem like a reasonable purchase for a gift at the last minute. Should I just walk into a chain store in the mall like Zales and pick up a pair?

Is there anything in particular I should be looking for when making this purchase? Does anyone have any advice about places from which to buy relatively inexpensive pearl earrings?

Thanks!

 

[calvin1663]

pearl earrings (unless they're really nice/big) seem kinda vanilla...it's the kind of present that's like...meh...thanks? pearl earrings (especially from a mall store) are a relatively low impact gift, and chances are, she's already got some. I'd spend a little extra dough and get her some super fancy chocolates and a nice card

just a thought...

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by nerdykarim

After consulting with my father on an ideal gift for Mother's Day, I have decided to buy her pearl stud earrings. My time here at SF, however, has made me a much more discerning shopper, in terms of quality and value and I'm a little paranoid about making my first jewelry purchase.

I'm a student, so my budget isn't terribly high. At first, I was thinking about these from Overstock because, well, I'm a sucker for high MSRP's. After reading the reviews, though, Overstock didn't seem like a reasonable purchase for a gift at the last minute. Should I just walk into a chain store in the mall like Zales and pick up a pair?

Is there anything in particular I should be looking for when making this purchase? Does anyone have any advice about places from which to buy relatively inexpensive pearl earrings?

Thanks!

Nerdy, not too sure about pearl jewelry , but i did order on overstock before and i got a seiko rolex replica watch. it is pretty nice but the price (99 dollars) could have been slightly better. but a good price... but however since those low cost items usually i dont mind (if i could have prevented it) to pay a few more dollars or such,
but all i know is that if you want real good quality pearls , you have to go to a place that specializes in it. zales and overstock and such can get you a cheap pair ,but most likely there is a grading system for different types of pearls that you and i dont know about, and those dont make the grade thus cheaper.

however, im thinking it wouldnt be bad to get those, as it is the thought that counts anyways. im pretty sure your mother would love em. and nexttime, you can put in a bit more research on the web concerning jewelry ( i know there are foras out there on jewelry as well) and get a better purchase.

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by calvin1663

pearl earrings (unless they're really nice/big) seem kinda vanilla...it's the kind of present that's like...meh...thanks? pearl earrings (especially from a mall store) are a relatively low impact gift, and chances are, she's already got some. I'd spend a little extra dough and get her some super fancy chocolates and a nice card

just a thought...

well that is what you think , just your thought, sure, but he decided already on pearls after talking to his dad, and was asking for advice on pearls.

 

[nerdykarim]

My first multiquote since the upgrade. Very cool

Originally Posted by calvin1663

pearl earrings (unless they're really nice/big) seem kinda vanilla...it's the kind of present that's like...meh...thanks? pearl earrings (especially from a mall store) are a relatively low impact gift, and chances are, she's already got some. I'd spend a little extra dough and get her some super fancy chocolates and a nice card

Although this is probably true for most mothers, I don't think mine has owned a pair of pearl earrings and has either asked or implied to my father that she would like a pair for mother's day/her birthday (which, incidentally, are only 2 days apart).

Originally Posted by diorshoe

Nerdy, not too sure about pearl jewelry , but i did order on overstock before and i got a seiko rolex replica watch. it is pretty nice but the price (99 dollars) could have been slightly better. but a good price... but however since those low cost items usually i dont mind (if i could have prevented it) to pay a few more dollars or such,
but all i know is that if you want real good quality pearls , you have to go to a place that specializes in it. zales and overstock and such can get you a cheap pair ,but most likely there is a grading system for different types of pearls that you and i dont know about, and those dont make the grade thus cheaper.

however, im thinking it wouldnt be bad to get those, as it is the thought that counts anyways. im pretty sure your mother would love em. and nexttime, you can put in a bit more research on the web concerning jewelry ( i know there are foras out there on jewelry as well) and get a better purchase.

Thanks for the input, Brian. That was sort of my assumption. To put it in language we both understand, if Zales is like Kenneth Cole, I'm looking for Allen-Edmonds, but not Santoni FAM. It doesn't look like there are any pearl experts on the boards, though.

I've also picked up some great watches from Overstock (from back when they stocked Hamilton Khaki field watches in the $50-$75 range.) Their prices on quartz seikos are pretty decent, but I think you can get the Seiko 5 automatics slightly cheaper from some of the eBay sellers located in Asia.

 

[Dmax]

I found this pearl education link at bluenile.com helpfull.
Blue Nile

If you are not very educated about jewerly it is easy to get taken advantage of by a mall stores. I found that most mall and chain discount jewelers sell really crappy quality jewerly. I try to buy my jewerly online or from stores that sell custom made items. At Blue nile.com comparable pearl Akoya studs seem a lot more expensive than Overstock.com. It is hard to tell from the pictures if there is a difference in quality between the similar studs offered on both sites.

 

[nerdykarim]

Originally Posted by Dmax

If you are not very educated about jewerly it is easy to get taken advantage of by a mall stores. I found that most mall and chain discount jewelers sell really crappy quality jewerly.

I was sort of operating under this assumption. I ended up buying a pair from Kevin at www.pearlsofjoy.com this morning. I did a google search for "pearl messageboard" to try to find some enthusiasts who post about pearls on message boards and found pearl-guide.com, which is actually fairly active. Kevin at POJ is one of the creators of the board. I ordered over the phone as I had some questions about whether to go with an Akoya or Freshwater set and he was informative and pleasant. I probably wouldn't be able to evaluate the quality of the pearls when they arrive, but I feel good about my purchase.