Our new company blog is now live!

Exactly six years ago, in April of 2007, we started this blog to address questions sent to us from our customers around the world. A couple of years back, we realized that having this blog separate from our primary website wasn't working as well for us as we would have liked.

We are pleased to announce that earlier this year we launched a new blog at blog.pearlparadise.com. This company blog doesn't just cover pearl questions and answers, but covers everything pearl and everything PearlParadise.com!

Please visit blog.pearlparadise.com and see what's been happening at Pearl Paradise this year!

Conflict Free Diamonds

Q: I have recently got engaged and, like many people, do not want to go down the traditional 'diamond' route - for a number of reasons. One of the main being that I would never be sure where the diamonds had come from.

I ADORE pearls, and love the rings featured on your website - particularly the settings with the diamonds. There lies my problem though. Do you know the origin of your diamonds? Could a setting be done similar to the Bonnie Collection Freshadama Pearl and Diamond Ring but without the diamonds? Or with different stones (not sure which though so totally open to suggestions).

A: The diamonds we use in these small-diamond pieces are melee diamonds and unfortunately there is no way to track the source of such stones, especially when the pieces are purchased from a findings supplier as finished settings. Melee are tiny stones that come from all over the world including Africa, Russia and India. They are sold in bulk to findings suppliers by the tens of thousands.

The piece could be recreated with different stones or with no stones at all, but would need to be recast through CAD software. This would unfortunately make the ring quite a bit more expensive because it would need to be recreated from scratch by hand. In the past when we have done this sort of thing, the custom jeweler costs can be as much as a thousand dollars just for the setting.

Freshadama or AAA

Q: Dear Sir or Madam,
I have 2 questions listed as follows:

1) What is the difference between White Freshadama Freshwater Pearl and White Freshwater Neckace?

2) There are 2 items from your websites (listed as below) which I like the most, but wonder which one is better, in term of quality, grade and type.
10.5-11.5 mm Freshwater Pearl Necklace
Freshadama Freshwater Pearl Necklace

3) Can we actually see (by eyeball) the difference by size, since one is 9-9.5mm, the other one is 10.5-11.5mm

A: 1. The difference between a freshadama pearl necklace and a standard freshwater pearl necklace are the pearls that the two are composed of. Freshadama strands are composed of loose-grade pearls: pearls that are reserved usually for earrings and pendants. This means that the pearls are almost perfect in shape, luster and surface. It is the highest quality of freshwater pearl produced today. Our AAA freshwater strands are also of very high quality, but these strands are composed of pearls selected for necklaces, not earrings and pendants.

2. Of the two strands that you are interested in, the freshadama strand is going to be the highest quality.

3. There is a substantial visual difference between the two sizes. Pearls are measured by diameter and are spherical. This means that for every two millimeters of size difference, the visual difference is nearly double the size.

Should Pearl Earrings Match the Strand?

Q: Should the size of pearls in a necklace match the size of the pearl earrings? Or would it look ok if the earrings wear slightly larger?

A: The earrings should either be the same size as the pearls in a strand, or slightly larger. Both combinations work very well. The only thing I would caution against is choosing pearl earrings that are smaller than the pearls in a strand.

14 karat Chain Link Sizes

Q: Wish to purchase chain. need to know size of chain links to determine which to buy. what is the mm size of the links in the rolo, forzatina and flat cable chains.

A: We've measure the chains and the link diameters are as follows:
Rolo - 1.25 mm
Forzatina - 1.0 mm
Flat Cable Chain - 2.3 mm

Loose Hanadama Pearls

Q: I would like to know if you have any single (loose) Hanadama 8.5-9/0mm pearl, certified by the "Pearl Science Laboratory from Japan", just like the Hanadama earings you carry. If not then I would like to know if you sell the paired loose pearl without the earing posts, or with the post but not attached to the pearl (loose pearls)? If possible I would like to purchase just the loose pearls.

A: We could request a single pearl from Japan and have it certified by the Pearl Science Laboratory if you like. This would take approximately three weeks. Also, if you would like a certified pair without the posts attached, we would be happy to provide you with this, and discount the cost of the 14-karat gold findings.

How to Wear Pearls

We recently created a long, 10-foot strand of pearls for promotional purposes. This has lead to quite the conundrum. How does one wear a 120-inch strand of pearls? This has sparked a lengthy discussion over on Pearl-Guide.com. To follow along, visit How To Wear Pearls