80th Birthday Present

Q: have two questions: 1. I am interested in buying my friend (80th birthday)her first set of pearls. I know she wants 18" 7.5 measurement, but I don't know what color (in truth, I didn't know I had a choice until I pulled up your Akoyas.....what is the standard color? I'd guess ivory, but the silver seems so close. Is there a place on this site to see color of Akoya? 2. I am a pt. time teacher on limited income. Can you please tell me when pearls go on sale? Is there a holiday season sale on Akoyas? Any teacher discount programs?

A: The overtone colour really depends on the personal preference of the wearer. Generally it breaks down like this:
Silver overtone for more olive skin or tones with some yellow
Ivory overtone for more blue skin undertones and very dark skin
Rose overtone is the most universally flattering to all skin tones

Having said that, the overtones are so subtle that you really can’t make a mistake. If your friend seems to have a preference in her clothing to off-white and wears mostly yellow gold jewelry, then the ivory overtone is probably your best choice. Should she have very silver hair and prefer bright-white clothing, you would do best with the silver overtone. Also based on her age, she may prefer the ivory since those preferences also seem to fall a bit into generational lines. You can take a look at photos of white peals illustrating the overtones on our site. On the left hand side of the website under Pearl Shopping Guides there is a link called Pearl Quality. This section will show you quality, grade levels, and overtones so you will be able to see just how subtle those colours are.

Each month we offer one piece as our Monthly Special. We also have a customer appreciation sale for those who have purchased from us in the past which takes place in late autumn. Once you have made a purchase and are in our database, we send out an email announcing this private sale.