If you’re looking to shop for pearls online, three names in the business that you’re bound to come across are Pearl Paradise, Pearl Source and Pearls of Joy.
It can be difficult to pick out which of these are the best to shop from and sometimes, the devil lies in the details.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of these three pearl specialists and compare the pearl quality that they offer.
Pearl Paradise
With one of the largest inventories, Pearl Paradise is a giant in the pearl industry. They have over a million pearls on location and were among the first pearl specialists to take their pearls online when the internet came calling.
Why We Love Pearl Paradise
- They have a very large range of pearls in their inventory that there’s something for everyone and at all budgets.
- Pearl Paradise has showrooms in Los Angeles which means that if you’re in the area, you can easily check out their products and see how you feel about them.
- They have an excellent range of pearl collections featuring beautiful jewelry designs. These vary from pearl classics like pearl studs and necklaces to more unique styles like in their Destiny or Eclipse Collections.
- They have knowledgeable staff and very good customer service. The representatives tend not to push you towards a sale, but rather give you the information you need to make an informed choice.
- Pearl Paradise has a really good loyalty program which is excellent if you’re a pearl lover. You can collect points even without spending any money by activities such as social shares.
- 90 days returns policy is very generous in the industry and gives you time to make sure that you really want the pearls.
What We Don’t Like
- We couldn’t find a Build-Your-Own option on Pearl Paradise, meaning that you can’t customize jewelry on their site.
- You don’t get individualized attention as you would from a smaller site.
Pearl Source
One of the oldest pearl retailers, the Pearl Source have been around for almost 30 years. they’re experts in the industry and especially in the online pearl shopping space. One area in which they excel is at getting great customer reviews. Independent review site Trustpilot has over 6100 5-star customer reviews which far exceeds that of any other pearl retailer. This simply means that customers like what they get from Pearl Source.
Why We Love Pearl Source
- Pearl Source has reasonable pricing on their products and are typically less expensive than their competitors.
- They’re one of the few companies that offer unisex pearl jewelry. For example, check out their Leather Pearl Jewelry collection which feature pieces that can be worn by both men and women.
- Pearl Source let’s you customize your own jewelry from a range of options they provide, allowing you to choose features such as the length, pearl type, color and clasp for your jewelry.
- They have a showroom in Los Angeles so they don’t operate purely online. You can always walk into their showroom and take a look at what they have on offer if you’re in the area.
- Their client service is excellent, with customer representatives taking the time to answer questions, provide information on pearls and facilitating the buying process.
- They have a live chat service which makes it easy to get information about their products quickly online. Neither of the other two sites are offering this service at the time of this writing.
What We Don’t Like
- Shorter returns period at only 60 days. While this is still very generous, it’s a whole month less than the other sites listed here.
Pearls of Joy
Pearls of Joy operates 100% online, unlike Pearl Paradise or Pearl Source. They’re a much smaller retailer but offer great quality products at highly competitive pricing. And because the company is so small, it offers a more intimate shopping experience. You can get in touch with the owner, Kevin Canning, and he’ll personally respond to your emails!
Why We Love Pearls of Joy
- Because the company operates only online, a lot of the overheads are cut meaning that prices are very reasonable.
- They offer luxury pearls at affordable prices and are very confident about their products. So much so that Pearls of Joy challenges you to compare their pearls with any luxury brand, guaranteeing that you won’t find better quality and price. This type of confidence in turn inspires confidence in the customer.
- They offer a 100 day returns for full refund, which is a longer period than both Pearl Paradise and Pearl Source.
- Pearls of Joy feature exotic or rare types of pearls occasionally on their site, such as souffle or blue pearls. These are limited and hard to find varieties and are typically offered on a first come, first served basis.
- They offer pearls from among the top 1% of all pearls harvested, meaning that you get excellent quality at lower prices.
What We Don’t Like
- While their small size is a plus, the drawback is that you don’t have as much choice as offered by Pearl Paradise or Pearl Source.
- There is no customization offered on the Pearls of Joy website.
- No retail store means lowers overheads, but it also means that you can’t walk into a store and browse Pearls of Joy’s products.
Comparing Pearl Quality Across the Three Sites
The trouble with pearl quality is that there is no standard way to evaluate pearls. Unlike diamonds, pearl grading is quite controversial. Different shops have their own grading criteria and some even add new grades to the mix.
What does this mean for you as the consumer?
Comparing pearls across vendors is like comparing apples to oranges. Unless you have them side by side, it’s hard to say which is a better option.
Here’s how the three pearl retailers grade their products:
- Pearls of Joy – They follow the Hanadama-AAA-AA-A system for their Akoya pearls. While the rest follow the standard AAA-A grade. This is the commonly accepted system.
- Pearl Source – The company follows the AAAA-A system except for their Japanese Akoya pearls which follow the Hanadama-AAA-AA+-AA-A system. They’re the only retailer we’ve seen that has an AAAA grade for freshwater pearls, which can cause confusion and make a customer feel that they’re buying a superior pearl because of the extra A in the rating.
- Pearl Paradise – Pearl Paradise has the most varying
systems for their pearl grading compared to the other two companies, with a
different category for each pearl variety.
- They have created a new category called Freshadama for their highest quality freshwater pearls. The system ranges from Freshadama-AAA-AA+-AA-A.
- Their Akoya pearls go from Hanadama-AAA-AA+-AA-A
- Their Tahitian pearls and South Sea go from Gem Grade-AAA-AA+-AA-A
So what does this all mean?
Pearl Source offers among the lowest prices, even for their highest grade – AAAA. But just because they’ve added an extra A to their grade, does that mean it’s better than, say, the AAA of Pearls of Joy?
All we can say is that most retailers are capitalizing on the fact that there is no standardized system to grade pearls. The quality of pearls on all three sites are comparable, and only laying them beside each other would show you a which one has superior luster and quality. You would have to take each pearl jewelry on a case by case basis.
And finally, a quick note that’s not exactly related to our discussion so far.
The pearl forum Pearl-Guide.com is an excellent source for pearl information. However, it’s the brainchild of Pearl Paradise and Pearls of Joy. As such, you’ll find that a lot of information related to Pearl Source is either negative, inconclusive or simply taken off the forum.
A user who compared products from Pearl Paradise and Pearls of Joy unfavorably with Mikimoto Pearls, made this comment on Pricescope:
It’s funny, I tried to post this same thread to pearlguide.com twice but both times I was banned from the site. The first time they said my email was associated with spam, so I used a different email. The second time, no reason was provided. I assume that they have a financial interest in the pearls they promote on their site. Doesn’t sound like a very honest forum. (October 2018)
It’s something to keep in mind.
Wrapping Up this Discussion…
Clearly all three retailers are pearl specialists with years of experience in the business. They offer varying advantages to customers and with some cons to consider as well.
The best option would be to check out each site and see which suits you best.
