pick a pearl setting

[mom2mykids]

Anyone have any new settings that they would like to share?

When DS (10) gets home from school I'll take a picture of his necklace he had made at DTD. Its a gecko. DD has a dolphin and I have earrings. I'll take pics of those too.

DH is a sucker for this type of thing, LOL. His plan was to try to get 2 pearls close to the same size and color to make mommy earrings as a thank you for the wonderful trip planning I did.

He suggested to the kids to pick oysters that are fat towards the back, allows more room to create a bigger pearl. I can't remember the sizes but they are all a nice size.

When I was little my family went to sea world. They use to have ladies dive down to the bottom of this large tank and get the oysters. They had floating buckets attached to them and would walk the rope to bring the bucket down to them. It was really neat.

 

[Mom2Evie]

Each pearl is $14.80 to select the oyster. My pendant is small, yellow gold and has a small birthstone at the top. It was about $25. My daughter got a larger silver butterfly pendant for $22. The cages were somewhere around $25, but I don't remember for sure.

DD (6) picked the oysters for both of us. Atsuko opened the oyster and then got it to "reveal it's hidden treasure". She explained the average size of the pearl & talked about the formation. She measured it, placed it in a bowl of salt so it could be easily seen. Both mine & DD's were 6 3/4mm. DDs was a creamy white color and mine was a beautiful champagne color. BFFs was over 7mm, so Atsuko beat the drum & chanted a song in Japanese.

When we arrived, there was no one at the counter. When we were finished, there were at least 20 people crowded around to watch. Atsuko cleaned the pearl and passed it to another CM to help us select out settings. DD picked the larger butterfly setting. They had one that was slightly smaller, slightly cheaper ($17) and I thought much prettier. DD disagreed and we got the larger one.

My DD loved the whole experience & ritual of it. We now have souveniers that we can keep for many, many years. It doesn't involve stuffing, fur or a t-shirt that she'll outgrow.

 

[elgerber]

I should have gone to Japan. I was just looking at the Beach Club and asked to see the more inexpensive simple settings, and she pulled out settings that were starting at around $90!

 

[solferino]

I should have gone to Japan. I was just looking at the Beach Club and asked to see the more inexpensive simple settings, and she pulled out settings that were starting at around $90!

Similar situation at the DTD booth. The prices of the settings really turned me off to doing one. I do like how the booth in Japan seems to do the openings with a bit of fanfare involved, and that kind of makes it seem more worthwhile to me.

 

[Mickeysangel49]

I must respectfully disagree with the poster who said the oysters are seeded with pearls ahead of time and that they are dyed - although I can't speak for the oysters in Japan, I had an extended conversation with one of the women at the Pearl Factory in DTD, who told me they are not pre-seeded with pearls, but they are seeded with sand. She mentioned Wish Pearl by name in talking about companies that do pre-seed with pearls. The pearls are not removed from the oyster (ie: to dye them) until the customer picks it. She said they do sometimes open one without a pearl and that customer gets another oyster.
I had done this in Epcot 17 years ago and never did anything with the pearl - I brought it with me and they set it with one of the ones I got this this time. (Now this was in DTD, but I don't see why Japan wouldn't do it as well.)

I'm sure it's been said before on this thread, but the location at DTD has MANY more settings (and many more beautiful!) than Japan or the Beach Club. My sister and I were just there in early September, and we did it both in Japan and DTD.

The one I got 17 years ago was a 6.5mm yellow pearl, this trip, in Japan I got a 7.25mm white one, and at DTD I got an 8mm black pearl. I put the two light pearls in a yg ring and the black pearl put in a yg pendant. These were both a bit more expensive b/c they are yellow gold and also b/c there are two pearls in the ring, but they had settings that were inexpensive as well. They are just beautiful and I love wearing them. (I had both of these done in DTD)

Here's a pic of what I had done:

__________________

 

[Graciesmom77]

Any tips on getting the black pearl? The color of the shell or anything. I would die of happiness to get a black pearl. (maybe my love of Captain Jack is turing to an obsession! )

Seriously, my favorite color is black and I think the black pearls are soooooo beautiful!

 

[quiltymom]

Here are some photos of our experience on Saturday. I was amazed at just how fast they open the oysters and get the pearl out. It took less than a minute, I believe. Our pearl was 7 1/4 mm with a pink tint.

Here is the counter

This is the oyster my kids picked out

Watching the process

Just opened

The pearl

Measuring it

Showing it off

In the bag

The setting. (I'll try to take a better photo later once I figure out how to get to the macro setting on my new camera!) It cost $17.00 and had a small clear stone chip in it. I purchased the chain from AC Moore after I returned home.

 

[jayhjay]

After reading all your pick a pearl reports, I decided to try this when we went to WDW earlier this month. Our trip overlapped our anniversary so I thought this would make a great gift and souvenir.

Before buying I checked out the stands at Japan, BC, and DTD. Both the Beach Club and DTD were run by the same company, Pearl Factory. Their process and selection is a bit different from Japan. Here are my observations in case you are interested:

The Pearl Factory is a Hawaiian company. They sell both a large selection of ready-made pearl jewelry, as well as the pick a pearl settings. The stands had 4-5 large display cases of premade jewelry ranging from very fancy, large black and gold pearls to more standard sizes. They also had some mother of pearl and plumeria (a Hawaiian flower) designs. They also carry a huge selection of pick-a-pearl settings (she told me over 300) that they don't have in cases.

In comparison, I believe Japan sells only the pick-a-pearl jewelry (versus premade). They have one display case with about 1/3 silver settings, 1/3 white gold and tin, and 1/3 yellow gold. They had more oysters to choose from though (2 large tanks).

I specifically wanted a white gold ring and they selection at Japan was minimal so I decided on the Pearl Factory. I bought from the BC as we were staying there and the woman working there, Vicki, was very friendly and helpful during all my pre-buying "visits". I narrowed it down between a premade ring I really liked and a pick-a-pearl setting. Vicki was great and held them both for me until DH could come and look. In the end DH and I both decided we liked the pick a pearl setting better. They had multiple ring sizes. Here are some pics of my experience:

The pearl stand

Picking my oyster (you do it yourself here)

Tapping my oyster and saying "Aloha" (their little ritual)

There it is! Isn't it pretty! (7 mm, slightly pink)

Cleaning it off

Finished product! It is a white gold ring with plumeria flowers around the outside.

And a close up

Overall it was a great experience. Picking my own pearl made it even more special. I have nothing but great things to say about Vicki and the Pearl Factory so I would definitely recommend taking a look there as well as Japan if you are looking.

 

[Daxx]

jayhjay -- I love, love, love your plumeria ring!!!! It is right up my alley! Do you mind if I ask you the cost? If you don't want to post it, just send me a PM! Thanks a million!! I'm def. going to do this in Jan!

 

[jayhjay]

jayhjay -- I love, love, love your plumeria ring!!!! It is right up my alley! Do you mind if I ask you the cost? If you don't want to post it, just send me a PM! Thanks a million!! I'm def. going to do this in Jan!

Thanks! I was so happy with the way it came out. And I like that it is unique looking.

The whole thing (ring, pearl, tax) came out to $250. As I said, it is white gold, not silver. A bit on the pricey side but it was a special occasion. Glad you liked it!

P.S FWIW, the woman at the Pearl Factory cautioned against silver settings b/c the polish you use if it tarnishes will damage the pearl. So if you have a silver setting, be extra careful when you clean it.

 

[Simba's Mom]

jayhjay, thanks so much for telling me Vicki's name. She's the same one who helped us, and I agree-she's so nice! I think I already posted about my ring, but it's not nearly as lovely as yours. I love that setting!

 

[fakereadhed]

P.S FWIW, the woman at the Pearl Factory cautioned against silver settings b/c the polish you use if it tarnishes will damage the pearl. So if you have a silver setting, be extra careful when you clean it.

This is very true.

I love your ring. It is absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing the photos.

 

[mom2mykids]

I know I said I'd post pics but DS came home from school sick today so tomorrow! I wish I had thought to take pics of our experience!

 

[Sandy321]

Each pearl is $14.80 to select the oyster. My pendant is small, yellow gold and has a small birthstone at the top. It was about $25. My daughter got a larger silver butterfly pendant for $22. The cages were somewhere around $25, but I don't remember for sure.

DD (6) picked the oysters for both of us. Atsuko opened the oyster and then got it to "reveal it's hidden treasure". She explained the average size of the pearl & talked about the formation. She measured it, placed it in a bowl of salt so it could be easily seen. Both mine & DD's were 6 3/4mm. DDs was a creamy white color and mine was a beautiful champagne color. BFFs was over 7mm, so Atsuko beat the drum & chanted a song in Japanese.

When we arrived, there was no one at the counter. When we were finished, there were at least 20 people crowded around to watch. Atsuko cleaned the pearl and passed it to another CM to help us select out settings. DD picked the larger butterfly setting. They had one that was slightly smaller, slightly cheaper ($17) and I thought much prettier. DD disagreed and we got the larger one.

My DD loved the whole experience & ritual of it. We now have souveniers that we can keep for many, many years. It doesn't involve stuffing, fur or a t-shirt that she'll outgrow.

Great Pictures - dd picked her pearl, then wanted to go to DTD to look at the settings there - they told her they would use a pearl to put in one of their settings - she almost picked the Dolphin, but wanted to go back to Japan...

She decided on the gold setting that's in one of your pictures - she picked the pink (saphire?) for October...

 

[jayhjay]

Any tips on getting the black pearl? The color of the shell or anything. I would die of happiness to get a black pearl. (maybe my love of Captain Jack is turing to an obsession! )

Seriously, my favorite color is black and I think the black pearls are soooooo beautiful!

If you are sold on the idea of a black pearl, why not go to the pearl factory. They have tons of them preset. Of course you don't get the experience of choosing your own, but given how rare they are, I'd think the chances are slim of getting on on your own.

 

[lyzziesmom]

She decided on the gold setting that's in one of your pictures - she picked the pink (saphire?) for October...

(Pssst... Sapphire is blue, for September. The pink October stone is rose quartz - October's "genuine" birthstone is Opal but good opals are pricey so the rose quartz is often used instead.) It's a very pretty color, I bet with the pearl it's beautiful and something that will look good on her at any age.

 

[mom2mykids]

Finally I have some time to post these! All of these are from DTD

DS's Gecko, is was about $75 total, pearl, gecko and necklace. He used his own Disney Dollars

DD's Dolphin was about $45 for pearl and setting.

My earrings, they were close to $60 pearls and setting

 

[loveladyntramp]

Finally I have some time to post these! All of these are from DTD

DS's Gecko, is was about $75 total, pearl, gecko and necklace. He used his own Disney Dollars

DD's Dolphin was about $45 for pearl and setting.

My earrings, they were close to $60 pearls and setting

These are beautiful. Thank you for sharing. I am surprising my DD12 when we go in April. I was looking for something just for her, this is perfect. Pearl is her birthstone.

 

[maskw03]

Thanks for sharing all the info and pictures. We'll be there in 3days and I can't wait to do this. Can someone please share a picture of their birthstone/pearl setting? I'm hoping to find something like that with a garnet since I don't have anything jewelry with my birthstone and this would be part of my birthday gift for this coming yr.

Love all the pictures and info, keep them coming!

 

[TiggerAllie]

We have a pearl from a past trip that hasn't been set (or drilled or anything).

Do you think we could get it set at Disney? Would we have a better chance of getting the previous one set if we also picked a new oyster at the same time and had that set as well?

Is DTD the only place that has the AP discount, or does Japan as well?

Thanks for answering all my questions!