My original plan was to purchase a strand of Mikimoto, but the price was beyond me. I did a ton of on-line research before ordering, reading the information on each competitors site and learning the difference among companies and types of pearls. Pure Pearls website was filled with important information discussed in a way the consumer can understand. And it helped to have Ashley's personal touch and photo! I ended up ordering a strand of Japanese Akoya pearls, 7-7.5mm AAA quality. My pearls arrived and I'm very pleased. The have a lovely luster and hang perfectly (this was one of my worries). My only disappointment was in the size/weight of the clasp. I ordered the X-clasp and it was smaller than I envisioned. Of course, I didn't want it large enough to detract from the pearls, but it just seemed smaller than I expected to find on Mikimoto, which was my mental standard. My pearls were shipped quickly and beautifully presented in a dark navy satin-lined box encased in another protective navy box. Anyway, I'm very happy with my purchase and have since returned to Pure Pearls and ordered a pair of Japanese Akoya hanadama 7.5-8mm earrings. Looking forward!