pick a pearl setting

[fakereadhed]

A quick update. My friend and her new DH went to EPCOT on Thursday and went to Japan. He picked the oyster for her and they got TWINS !!!!!
How great is that. Now she has two for her carriage pearl cage to represent the two of them.

How perfect!!!

 

[luvmyfam444]

Oh good grief! I've SOOO gotta start taking notes of the things I have planned! Now I've gotta hunt this thread again to find my answerd to the locations other than Epcot (we aren't going there this time). I know DTD & then someone said Boardwalk it seems & then I think there was somewhere else....

ACK! Off to searching threads!

 

[Disney_Aggie]

Here are three pearls I bought my wife while in Disney. All three were bought at DTD.

The first (black) on was the most recent pearl. We had bought roughly 10-12 pearls from the Pearl Factory stores and never gotten a black one. As we were telling the CM, , out popped the black one. My wife was so excited.

The middle pearl has a green tint to it, thus why it was mounted with emeralds. The picture does it no justice, the emeralds really bring out the green color. BTW, the ring was purchased from a jeweler back home not at WDW.

The third one was just a plain old white pearl, nothing special about it.

My wife has a gold pearl (her first pearl, from Las Vegas though not WDW) that literally looks as if it was dipped in gold. I'll see if I can get a picture of it later.

On an aside, a CM at DTD told my wife and I that every color you see inside the shell was once the color of the pearl. I don't know anything about oysters other than they make pearls and taste good on crackers with hot sauce, so I can not affirm or rebut that statement. Just know early in this thread there was some discussion about certain oyster that only produce black pearls. If that's the case, I'll be looking for that particular oyster on our August 2010 trip.

Jerry

 

[Elevationist]

Here are three pearls I bought my wife while in Disney. All three were bought at DTD.

The first (black) on was the most recent pearl. We had bought roughly 10-12 pearls from the Pearl Factory stores and never gotten a black one. As we were telling the CM, , out popped the black one. My wife was so excited.

The middle pearl has a green tint to it, thus why it was mounted with emeralds. The picture does it no justice, the emeralds really bring out the green color. BTW, the ring was purchased from a jeweler back home not at WDW.

The third one was just a plain old white pearl, nothing special about it.

My wife has a gold pearl (her first pearl, from Las Vegas though not WDW) that literally looks as if it was dipped in gold. I'll see if I can get a picture of it later.

On an aside, a CM at DTD told my wife and I that every color you see inside the shell was once the color of the pearl. I don't know anything about oysters other than they make pearls and taste good on crackers with hot sauce, so I can not affirm or rebut that statement. Just know early in this thread there was some discussion about certain oyster that only produce black pearls. If that's the case, I'll be looking for that particular oyster on our August 2010 trip.

Jerry

Those are GORGEOUS, thank you so much for sharing them! I love the setting on the left, you say you got that one at Disney?

And I disagree about the one on the right being "nothing special." Look at the size of that thing, it's a monster! I think that makes up for the lack of color.

If you don't mind, could you possibly share how much each of these three setting cost? I'm trying to estimate how much to plan on budgeting.

 

[Stefy]

Wow those rings are gorgeous, esp the emerald one. Thanx for sharing

 

[Disney_Aggie]

Those are GORGEOUS, thank you so much for sharing them! I love the setting on the left, you say you got that one at Disney?

And I disagree about the one on the right being "nothing special." Look at the size of that thing, it's a monster! I think that makes up for the lack of color.

If you don't mind, could you possibly share how much each of these three setting cost? I'm trying to estimate how much to plan on budgeting.

I knew someone would ask,. I'll have to ask my wife this evening (she usually keeps all her jewelry receipts).

As a rule of thumb, if you want gold jewelry figure at least $200-250 for a nice setting (without any precious stones), if it comes out cheaper, you win. I will once again be at the Pearl Factory in August (2010) and I have already put aside $250.

I have a couple more pieces I will take pictures of to post (probably this evening). One is a clam shell charm with the pearl inside. The second is the figure eight necklace that was bought from the Pearl Factory in Las Vegas in August 2003.

Earlier in this thread there were some questions that related to the durability/workmanship of the pieces. I can say the necklace (bought in 2003) and the clam shell charm (bought in 2006) are on my wife day and night, and she has never had a problem with either. The three rings shown earlier are only worn occasionally to coordinate her ensemble, thus no problems there either.

Wow those rings are gorgeous, esp the emerald one. Thanx for sharing

Thank you very much!

I'll have an update later this evening.

 

[Disney_Aggie]

For an accurate planning guide goto http://www.pearl-factory.com/jewelry-mountings and look through what they have there. It will probably make the "I want that one......no that one.......argh!" decision much easier. Once you get there, pick the pearl and ask specifically for the (insert setting type here) setting and then your off to enjoy the ambiance of Disney once again.

The rings pictured (left to right) in post 1143 are as follows:

1: 14K Gold Swirl with 0.02ct Diamond $259.99 + cost of pearl.
2: 14K Gold ring with emeralds and diamonds (Not a Disney Setting, bought in Austin,TX at jewelry store) ~$550.00 + cost of pearl.
3: 14K Eternity Ring $219.99 + cost of pearl.

Number 1 and 3 can be seen on the Pearl Factory website. From what I gather, the pearls are now selling for around $16. You can spend what ever amount you want, based on the different options that are available. The two I have shown here (1 & 3) range between $218 and $295 after tax. So like I said previously, I usually budget about $250, and hope the Mrs. doesn't go too crazy.

 

[Disney_Aggie]

Here are the two settings I have been teasing about..........

Setting 1: 14K Figure 8 with 0.03ct diamond $189.99 + cost of pearl.

This was the first ever pearl I bought for my wife. The employee at the Las Vegas kiosk said she rarely ever sees a gold pearl, much less one that was as vibrantly gold as the one you see here. May have just been a sales pitch to entice a jewelry purchase. I will say, "It is gold." It was purchased in 2003 and it still looks good today (This is the piece my wife rarely ever takes off.).

Setting 2: 14K Clam Dip Charm 209.99 + cost of pearl.

I hope these are in better focus than on photobucket. They came off my digital camera onto Windows Picture and Fax Viewer fine.

I will once again reiterate, goto http://www.pearl-factory.com/jewelry-mountings and select the one(s) you like, or can afford, and let the CM show you them in real life. You can then make your decision. Just remember the prices you see on the website DO NOT include the price of the pearl or sales tax (6.5%).

 

[mistee]

picking a pearl at epcot was a lot of fun but i really liked picking one at the pearl factory at the beach club!

i picked first at epcot and all the ceremony was fun. after though my hubby kept telling me it was a fake pearl and all the crap. 2 nights later we were eary for our adr at cape may so we decided to do some walking. we came across the pearl factory.. the lady there was sooooo nice and she explained about the pearls, how they are cultured, how to tell if they are a fake and a bunch of other stuff. we were at her booth for over 45min, she was great!!! i think picking there was the best this time around.

i also picked at dtd and i thought the lady at that pick a pearl had about as much personality as the oysters she also drilled my pearl w/o asking to see if i planned on having it set,, which i wasn't.. i guess it worked out thugh because i ended up having to get it set and i got it set in a pretty whale tail..

i liked doing this so much that i became a demonstrater for vantel pearls and i now do pearl picking parties and their jewelery is soo pretty and better priced!

 

[inkkognito]

My carriage from eBay arrived today, so I am getting very excited about picking my birthday pearl later this month. Those colored pearls are gorgeous! I'm going to get mine at Japan. I wonder what kind I will get.....

 

[jennyraye]

we came across the pearl factory.. the lady there was sooooo nice and she explained about the pearls, how they are cultured, how to tell if they are a fake and a bunch of other stuff.

Please share! How can one tell if they are fake?

 

[brenda1966]

I have heard the way to tell if a pearl is real is to rub it on your teeth. A real pearl will feel gritty.

And as for wearing a pearl 24x7, have also heard that is not good as you don't want to shower in it -- don't want to get them wet when you wash your hands, etc.

 

[ZeroToHero]

You need to remember that these are cultured pearls though, not totally real-real pearls, like the one that PP found in a clam.

 

[mistee]

cultered pearls are real pearls just not natural pearls. natural pearls are rare! cultured pearls are started by man inserting sand or a small filed round piece of an oyster shell into the oyster. from there the oyster takes over making the pearl..

regardless,, i love,, love love my pearls!!!!!

yes,, rub your pearl on your teeth, if it is smooth it is fake, if it is gritty it is real!!! ALL THREE OF FINE FROM WDW ARE GRITTY!

 

[brenda1966]

Yes, yes. Real = made by an oyster. Not real would be plastic or some other fake material and those will not feel gritty on your teeth like a pearl made by an oyster will.

I have not told DD we are doing this. I'm excited to try it for the first time! We already have our key cage off ebay.

 

[Navywifebreezy]

We did the PAP in hawaii in July/august. DD wanted hers in some sort of jewlery but we didn't have time to really look so they are in the baggie, I think I will order the carriage and put her pearl in for and make it a christmas gift. May even let her PAP this go round too.
The boys each picked on and want to hold on to them for "someone special" how sweet is that

 

[ZeroToHero]

cultered pearls are real pearls just not natural pearls. natural pearls are rare! cultured pearls are started by man inserting sand or a small filed round piece of an oyster shell into the oyster. from there the oyster takes over making the pearl..

Exactly. I attempted to clarify natural vs. cultured vs. fake, but probably shouldn't have done it when I only had two minutes before running out the door.

 

[FirstTimeWDW]

Just a quick question before I fall asleep, to any of you who bought the carriages on ebay.. have you worn them yet? Did you buy the chain from the same seller? Do you find that it's quality or is it turning your skin green? I'm not having any bad effect with mine(but I haven't worn it long), but the price is so cheap I just wanted to make sure that nobody was having any bad reactions. Any tips from someone who's worn it longer would be great.
TIA! I can't wait to go pick my pearl.

ETA: sorry, I know that was totally OT... you can resume your conversation about natural vs. cultured vs fake.

 

[neatokimmo]

I have a sterling chain so I can't answer that question.

I wore mine in the parks for several days and I sweated and crudded it up pretty bad.

When I flip it from front to back, I think the back looks duller than the front does.

My Mom wore hers on a longer chain that fell on her shirt and her's still looks new.

They aren't high end charms, but they are super cute with the pearl in them

 

[cricketgirl]

I just got back from Disney and Did the Pick a Pearl in Epcot. They were out of Geko's. SO I took my pearls my pinkish 7mm and my husbands 7 1/4 goldish pearls to Downtown Disney. The cost for the Geko setting in Sterling has gone up. It was $49.00 I had my heart set on it but after reading on here for so long that they were $19.00 plus the $17.00 for the pick a pearl the $49.00 plus $17.00 was quite a shock. Just an FYI for all of you. Silver apparently has gone way up in price.
Lori