For today’s coffee break, we’re digging this Tahitian pearl pendant. Like diamond studs, pearls can be all over the map in terms of expense and quality, but they always convey that you’re striving for a classic look. We like the Tahitian pearl to mix it up a bit, and this one seems like a great size and price for someone just building their serious jewelry collection. It’s $530 at Blue Nile. Tahitian Cultured Pearl and Diamond Pendant
(L-2)
{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
$530 for one pearl is a bit much for me. I’m all about quality (I have a very nice and expensive strand of pearls – gift from my grandmother), but this seems a stretch.
There is a small diamond on there, too. That is a good price for what it is. I have given some of the blue nile pearl pendants as graduation gifts (without the diamond) and they are beautiful in person. Very good quality for the price.
I’ve been trying to get away from delicate necklaces like this for work, based on corporette advice! I’m still working on my collection of bigger necklaces…would love any good tips!
Etsy is a great place to find reasonably priced “real” (meaning using actual stones) necklaces. Or you could make your own, which is what I normally do.
Thanks for bringing that up NYC, I was going to make a similar comment. I don’t see a need to build a “serious” jewlery collection when, to be quite honest, these classic pieces look the same at the end of the day. Theyre great for formal events and it’s great to have a strand of pearls and a diamond pendant here and there, but I prefer a collection of unique stones and pieces to give my wardrobe more oomph and personality. A pearl drop is simply not going to cut it, esp for that price.
In fact, I’d take that great multi-colored, multi-strand “Acorn(?)”-brand necklace that Kat featured for ~$53 any day of the week. IMHO.
I was wondering if anyone else felt this way. I get a lot of my jewelry at art shows, small boutique artisan jewelers, craft fairs, antique shops, and even thrift stores. I have funky taste in jewelry and I favor really big, bold pieces that have a ton of personality – probably because I prefer mostly black or otherwise plain clothing, and would rather make a statement with my accessories. I have some “nice” jewelry – a couple of things my husband has given me, and a couple of things I got from my grandma when she passed on – but in general, when I spend money on jewelry it’s for something semiprecious with a lot of “oomph” rather than a conservative piece like this. I do like it, but I have something very much like it that cost me $20 at an antique store. The pearl is fake but it’s very hard to tell fake from real with well-made older faux pearls. For anyone who is looking for pearls on a budget, I highly recommend antique and vintage stores. My husband found me a set of pearl studs and a pearl drop pendant – all genuine, set in 18K gold – for my birthday a few years ago for under $100 at a vintage store.
I’m with you, Amy. I get a lot of jewelry from travel and boutique finds and even from vendors on the city streets. Though I also tend to like a lot of items in Banana Republic – they can be quite funky and well-priced (esp on coupon days).
@freshjd – I LOVE BR jewelry. I just ordered a necklace last week as a matter of fact. I have yet to wear one of my pieces from BR and not have someone comment on how nice it is.
I also like Etsy for that kind of stuff. I recently discovered Gosia Meyer jewelry (I got a necklace as a gift) – http://www.etsy.com/shop/Gosia?section_id=6076679
It’s so much cheaper than I ever would have imagined, I have the gold brushed teardrop lariat (http://www.etsy.com/listing/49168221/gold-brushed-teardrop-lariat-necklace) and it’s just BEAUTIFUL. I was shocked when I found out how much it cost. I think they have some great options for necklaces that are trendy and different but not the huge multi-layer chunky necklaces (which I’m also a big fan of but can’t always pull off at work).
oooh, I like her stuff. I may have to order some. Thanks for sharing. I find etsy so overwhelming that I almost never bother looking because there is so much. So if anyone else has recommendations for good sellers, do please share…
that’s an amazing shop. thanks for sharing!
Oh thanks for this! This is a great shop. I love her stuff, going to have to order some right now :)
Oh my gosh, I’m in lust. It’s taking every ounce of self-control I have not to order something right now.
Here are some other etsy shops I like (though I have not bought from them)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BijouxOdalisque (super expensive but GORGEOUS)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ToranjDesign (cheaper larger stuff)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/FortyfourOranges (very colorful inexpensive necklaces)
I have found some really unique statement pieces on http://www.novica.com
I love this site because everything is so unique and you know its actually helping someone out. I’ve given lots of gifts from here and my mom has even found small furniture pieces.
My colleague wears this to work almost daily and it’s very classy. I prefer creamy pearls but for those who have fair skin, I think this rocks!
$530 is definitely steep – They do have one for $365 at Blue Nile without the diamond http://tinyurl.com/2w9qxuh
Beautiful! Very elegant without being distracting. I could see it looking just lovely with a gray or navy suit. Too bad I don’t have a birthday or anniversary or anything happening anytime soon. I’d be dropping the hints…
That’s a nice pearl pendant that would be appropriate for the office or the evening. Can I suggest that you show some pearl jewelry from Beladora.com and Beladora2.com where you get more bang for your buck.
If you aren’t ready to spring for real Tahitian yet, Carolee and Majorica (both online, with some styles also carried in Bloomingdales) have a basic studs and strands in a variety of colors and sizes. *Much* cheaper than, say, Brooks Brothers’ perennially-overpriced glass pearls.
Amen. Ladies, that Brook’s Brother’s “pearl” necklace is one of the biggest rip-offs out there. Go on etsy or something else and buy either (1) real freshwater pearls for the same price or (2) the same quality of glass pearls for about 1/10 of the price.
You could pay for a trip to Central America and buy a pretty strand of river pearls in a market for the cost of one of the Brooks Brothers fakes. It’s amazing.
I would recommend pearlparadise.com. Their pendant collection is extensive [http://www.pearlparadise.com/All-Pearl-Pendants359.aspx] as are their other necklace collections.
I’ve always found http://www.pearlparadise to have a good selection of pearls at fair prices. Also, http://www.futurefashionista.com has great tahitian and south sea strands and earrings at very competetive prices.
8mm is a really small pearl – I think that would be lost on me. We’re talkign one pearl from a not-very-big pearl necklace.
Classic or not, I am not a huge fan of the single strand pearl orthe single pearl studs. Honestly, on too many people, I think they look like moles (esp. from far away!).
Love the classic strand of pearls and all, but the single pearl on a chain is just kinda “eh” as far as I am concerned. I’d wear it if someone gave it to me, but I wouldn’t pick it out personally.
Also, not a huge fan of the tiny diamonds on my jewelry. Either make it a good size, or keep your flecks to yourself — it just raises the price, without adding much in terms of aesthetic value, imo. I’d rather the same pearl for $300, e.g., & a $200 pair of shoes; or, a better & bigger pearl for the same price. Diamonds for the sake of diamonds, I can do without.
I agree, AIMS. But I really do like the black pearl thing – wish list is for a nice string of medium size black pearls – oooh. Don’t really know how/where I’d wear it since I almost never wear any jewelry except stainless Movado watch, simple diamond studs and engagement/wedding band. Can’t quite get organized enough to do the necklaces everybody talks about – whenever I attempt something along those lines, I feel like some caricature of the high school art teacher or Meryl Streep’s character in Prime!
Love love love it! If I had $500 to blow on a necklace, I would probably buy this. I’ve been eying a similar (much cheaper) version from a site Kat posted last year called Erin Gallagher.
http://www.egjewelry.com/store/gwen-19.html
It’s not a real pearl and there are no diamonds, but it’s only $45.
I actually own a necklace almost identical to this one and it is one of the best gifts my husband has given me. I have gotten so many compliments on it and it goes with everything. I’ve worn it with everything from casual to office to evening attire.
So sad to see that so many of the comments are little more than ads. Not sure how to fix that problem. I think the necklace is lovely.
What do you mean? Do you mean the links other people posted?
I actually think the vast majority are regular posters helping others find more affordable jewelry basics, not spam or ads… I appreciated some of the links.
Ditto, I appreciate most of the links personally.
i promise that i have no relationship to Pearl Paradise other than as a happy customer.
Threadjack: Help! Do any attorney corporettes have any experience with working on their own or office sharing with other attorneys? I’m reaching a point of acceptance that there really are no jobs for me right now (I’m 1 month away from the end of my clerkship), and thinking that might be my only option, but I feel like I don’t know what I need to and don’t know what questions to ask!
Can your law school provide you with any resources? The law school (Twin Cities, Minnesota) I graduated from has been doing a series on starting your own practice.
I get a lot of e-mails from the local bar assns. about workshops & CLE’s on how to start your own practice. I would imagine there are books, too (maybe the Nutshell series?).
I’d start there.
I have a friend who could not find a job after being laid off and eventually went out on his own. This is hardly a comprehensive list, but there are at least two things you need to seriously consider before going out on your own or sharing an office with another solo practitioner:
1. Malpractice insurance. There are apparently very affordable options out there – it’s cheap because there is only one (or a handful) of you to insure on the policy, and obviously it only covers the time period after you purchased it. This means that it will become more expensive as time goes on and it covers a longer period of time.
2. Getting clients. My friend who went out on his own is incredibly social and had some great contacts, but he still found he couldn’t network his way into enough clients to maintain his practice. Solos get so much of their work through referrals from other attorneys, and that is a difficult thing to come by when you are brand new to practice AND do not have strong connections with larger firms. I say this as gently as possible and with an understanding that this is in no way your fault, but if you are unable to network your way into a job as a new associate, it is pretty unlikely that you will be able to network your way into enough clients to make a solo (or small group) practice viable.
Thanks, guys. I’m looking at those things, but surprised about how little I seem to find. I hadn’t thought about asking career services for tips (aboutdoing my own thing, I had just used them for job contacts), so hopefully that will help.
Anon-chi: Don’t feel bad for that, I think you are absolutely right. Although I don’t think my failure to get a job has been a failure of networking; I’m doing tons of it and getting positive feedback, it just isn’t leading to a job. But as far as not being able to network to clients- yeah, I’m a definite introvert, so that scares me a lot. I have a lot of people who have said that they will help me out, and my judge said he can throw me some conservatorships, but it scares me. If I had other options, believe me, I’d take them, but as far as I can tell, my best alternative other than that is to go back to waitressing.
(I know I sound pathetic; I’m not. My resume is great: 7th in my class at a good state school, a clerkship, if anyone has had anything negtive to say about any work I’ve done in the past, they haven’t told me about it, and people frequently say positive things to and about me. The judge I clerk for has even been asking random attorneys for me. It’s just not leading anywhere.)
Lassa, I am in a similar position and have had similar thoughts of going into solo practice. You absolutely HAVE to read Carolyn Elefant’s book “Solo By Choice” before you do anything else. You can get used copies on Amazon. She writes the myshingle.com blog and is basically the guru for solo practice in the digital age. Also, sign up for the solosez ABA listserv to get a sense for what real solo practitioners are doing. I just lurked on the listserv, but my sense was that everyone on there was really nice and willing to help other solos.
Thank you, Anonymous! That looks like exactly the sort of thing I’ve been looking for!
Ugh. I’m sorry. :-( There are SO many incredibly smart, hard-working, well qualified applicants out there right now. I’m glad you aren’t getting down on yourself because of how hard it has been to find a job. Good luck and keep trying.
Ooh pretty! I have actually been shopping for something exactly like this but I looked at Overstock within the last month or so and saw almost-identical-looking necklaces for way less, like $400 less. Now, there is likely some quality differential there I’m not appreciating but . . . that actually more convinces me to spend less, i.e., if I can’t tell the difference, why not save a bit? And I don’t work for Overstock, I swear!
But I think this is a beautiful necklace and I also like the type of these that uses a white (South Seas?) pearl and also the types that have the “acorn” pendant top instead of the diamond (but I’m not averse to the diamond).
I think this necklace is, most likely, overpriced. For a great price on things like this, see
http://www.jtv.com
(jewelry television)
I use pearls in my own work, so I’ve done the research!