Day 2 was a very shiny day. Metallic all the way. Had intended to go to this wholesaler and that one and maybe call in at another too. In the end I was at the first place all day. He lured me with shiny things.

Gorgeous tahitians. every possible colour

First up was a large bag of mixed Tahitians. Probably a couple of thousand in the bag. After going through the I think I selected some gorgeous silver grey and pink ones, some blues and a pair of silver and pink rounds for studs which already have a home lined up – 12mm and up.

The grey and pink ones are mostly pink. Really unusual.

I decided to go with the trend and get some of these really pretty,feminine and delicate graduated strands in natural colours and all whites. I’m not looking forward to stringing the tiny tinies.

So feminine

Then I remembered I did have a  list so next up were 7mm white drop pairs – one card matched of super metallic..and I mean super metallic ..pairs. Then on to 9mm drops. another card and pick out the rare long thin drops and finally pair them too. The lustre on these pearls really was spectacular.

Going though the white drops, I could not help

Huge box of metallic drops

but reflect that I was rejecting – as not metallic enough -pearls which would have been remarkable ten years, or even five years ago, as not shiny enough. the pairs selected are really super metallic. Dazzling. I wondered where the quality goes from super-metallic shiny, white, great drop shape and clean surface. You can see the large box and guesstimate how many pearls are in it, full to the brim. All metallic. Just some with the matched overtones and degree of lustre, shape and size.

Next to where I was being dazzled by the whites was a long time member of staff at this office. With interruptions he spent the whole day sorting and pairing 5mm round white pearls from a pile of many thousands.