I started day 3 with a visit to Heng Mei to select metallic freshwater strands. I walked away with a handful of nice metallic drops, a few round strands with unusually rich color and some great metallic whites. They didn't have the peach and lavender metallics I needed, but these were a good start.
While sorting metallic freshwater strands, I was shown two stunning drop shaped Edison(bead nucleated) pearl necklaces. What made these strands interesting was the color, particularly the second strand, which had a combination of golden/peach body color and purple overtones, definitely unusual. Unfortunately these strands were as pricey as they were impressive, so I decided to sleep on it before pulling the trigger. Along with the strands I was shown two large 14-15mm Edison pairs, that despite the premium pricing, couldn't be passed on.
After a late lunch, I jumped back to the sorting tables to select a couple cards of fancy color drops. Starting with a bucket of several thousand top grade pearls, I whittled it down to a dozen pairs of the very best. Two of the staff stopped to take pics of the pairs I made, which is always a good sign you're doing something right.
After the fancy color drops I found a bucket of was labelled as AAAA 10-12mm white drop pearls. Again I sorted through the bin taking about a dozen pairs with the best luster and shape.
At this particular booth they sell primarily freshwater pearls, but they also had a display of AAA grade Tahitian strands in the middle of the sorting table - very clever! So while I spent a couple of hours sorting metallic drops I couldn't help but stare at a wall of top grade Tahitian strands. I wasn't planning on buying Tahitian strands this trip, but I did end up taking one dark peacock beauty. The price was good(not great) but it did give me some bargaining leverage on the drops, so I think we both walked away happy.
