Rakuten Purchase - Pearl Watches

http://global.rakuten.com/en/

http://global.rakuten.com/group/

Picture from seller's website. The face of this watch is mother of pearl. Pretty nice.

This is nice too but the mother of pearl surface isnt as obvious.

Yippeee venture out into Japan. Although the radiation is an issues for me but i think i need to quickly buy the pearls that i like

Since i've spend so much $$$ with Yokota Pearls, I'm going easy with my wallet now by going for freshwater pearls.

Looking for multicolor ones since I've good Ak

oya pearls so to me, it makes no sense to buy white round freshwater pearls because normally they cant be as round & with that metallic overtone like Akoya.

This purchase is 2 pearl watches. One is freshwater white, the other is like tahitian pearls. I only took pictures of the white though. Order is shipped directly to me. Shipping takes abt 2days from Japan. Its really fast. Also, I like the fact that the seller enclosed 2 pcs of the pearl cloths for my purchases.

I've few other purchases where I used Tenso for forwarding services.

If possible, i do think its cheaper to ship direct because tenso charges services charges which is still considered reasonable. They also have a 14days policy for customers to park their stuffs in the warehouse. Consolidation can be done but big items like umbrellas etc cannot be combined. If you are interested, do remember to read up on their terms & conditions

I dont read Japanese but I've no issues with my order because its rather straight forward. Maybe because I know chinese and some of the Japanese words is Chinese characters, easier to guess the words? Anyway I'm glad i venture into Rakuten & shipping isnt that expensive too.

Dont have to worry abt crazy volumetric weight compared to items shipped from Europe/USA

p/s: I still have a few packages that was not updated. Need to update them too but first priority is Yokota Pearl purchases.

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Side track a bit... wow look at this. I think its ostrich leather. Hermes Birkin. Its expensive, look at how many '0'!!! lol

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/o-kura/a4010772/

Busy busy...... purchases from Rakuten etc

Been so busy for months, Dec is a busy mth. Now, Jan? Busy with spring cleaning which i have not really start to clear my stuffs. Whats more?

CNY is just NEXT WEEK!!!!!! I dont even have time to go trim my hair. oh oh, i need to go trim my hair

So busy i havent do the following. Hope i can do so during CNY


1- Update my blog with pearl purchases from Yokota Pearl. This time round, i paid a lot, especially since Yen went up. Zzz

I really paid a lot, 5 digits. Daring huh? Thru www? The seller is honest & good so there's no worries. I received the items in late Nov.


2-I ventured into Rakuten Japan. Managed to get something from the Japan co, shipped directly to me. Dont really like the pearls I get. Freshwater pearls, pricing i cant remember how much I paid but after wearing it, i know i defintely need pearls with in between knots. Otherwise, they kept on biting my hair.


3-I've placed an order for pearl watch from R. Japan too. Seller is pretty slow but i think its okay because I've plenty of patience. I think they are slow because they waiting to receive the $?

Also, its not my style to chase after seller because i want things to be perfect/good. Especially when its customisation, time must be given to seller to prepare the items. Not forgetting that we are not the 'only' customers. I think this is understanding especially when sellers have to deal with other companies too (esp my case with Yokota Pearls, even customised a gold hardware thats in a rodhium design).



I just ordered from Rakuten Japan & from a seller that doesnt ship to Singapore. So I have to use a forwarding co. This is the first time I'm using it so lets hope that things will be okay.

Nice?


I plan to get another 3 items from different sellers & foward together to me. Not sure if i want to receive from one seller first, 'test' the courier co services first. But my instinct tells me that things should be great and fine. Nothing to be worried about.

Parcels and Parcels - Delivered!

Received a few shipments few mths back. I managed to get Tokkidoki stuffs and also Urban Decay makeup.
Took pics but too lazy to upload them. Probably going to do so soon

I also tried to order from Ryuten for the first time. Not bad. But its freshwater pearls and since its not very expensive, the pearls are more of potato shape. Cant really expect round pearls.


Then today I received my order from Spanx and also my Akoya Pearls from the same seller!!! This time round i really spend a lot of $$$ cause i get not 1 but 3 strands of necklaces. Then also 1 pair of earrings for my SIL.

Shall update the pics soon. Stay Tune!

See! So many stuffs LOL

The Cranberries in SG !!!

The Band that I adore most is IN TOWN!!! The Cranberries!!!!

The cranberries is the band that i really really love. Come to think of it, there isnt much band in the 90s. The cranberries is the one where there's guitarists, drummer and just one Singer. They compose their own songs etc... so they are really a very talented band, isnt it?

I remember listening to their songs during my secondary and poly days. I really love a lot of their songs..... this is the 2nd time they are in town for a concert. The first one was a concert, together with No Doubt. I have no idea of that concert until i watched the review in papers!!! My heart simply sank........ I cant imagine i actually missed that out!!

So now... fast forward to 2011, again, I have no idea they are coming until i checked out some forums. OMG! I missed it and I cannot buy CAT1 ticket with the first few rows of seats...... so i am really debating if i should go CAT1 alone or I should get a CAT2 tickets and asked someone to accompany me. ..... so since CAT1 tix is mostly sold out for the good seats, i decided to go for CAT2. I dont want my view to be blocked and end up seeing heads..... err as in other fans' heads. Ha!


The day has finally come.......


1st Aug 2011
8pm

Almost full! I have only been to one concert before this and this is actually my first paid concert! So i'm shocked to learn from someone who told me concert do not start until 9.45pm?!? My gosh!

But it wasnt long........ before the lights just went off!!! 8.20pm! Concert is going to start soon. My adrenalin is shooting up..... i'm so eager.... waiting and waiting......

Then the concert starts!

The first song..... i can hardly hear Dolores because her voice is drowned by the loud band music. .... so its true when people say Singapore indoor stadium doesnt do justice to singer's performance.... & its true!!! Especially for such LIVE concert!

Luckily for us, things get better soon after. Guess they made the adjustment to it. Great!

I was singing along songs that I love...... Just my Imgination, Animal Instinct, Analyze etc and its not until ZOmbies, Animal Instinct and Dreams that people around me began to warm up. Well, i'm those that warm up real fast because I know most of their songs! I can sing along!

Listening to the band live is really fanastic~ Awesome! I always pay attention to the intro where the band (guitarist, bassist, drummer) comes into play. It feel great listening to them jamming away before Dolores starts to sing!

Doloress!!
How I wish i'm those in front. She changes into just 2 outfits haha. But thats okay! We are here for the live band! We dont care abt her dressing. its her Vocal, the guitarist, bassist and drummer performance that made us feel High!!!!

They also played a few of their upcoming albums.... so we are one of those to listen them live, way before they are released in Jan 2012.


This fellow is really exaggerating. He's using a laptp?!? to record the event. So exaggerating! and hes right in front in the premium seats!!!

Just when the concert is at its peak, it finished....... sobsob Mummyyyyyyyy, its over!!!!

I'm like the few HIGH fans in that area. There's only like 3-5 of us standing up at times... and the others just sit down. The couple next to me, i believe they get their tickets from starhub mobile phone purchase. They are really mild........ just like the fellow that followed me to the concert. He's the one taking these pics. I'm simply too busy indulging myself in the concert.

I read the reviews, yea, sound systems at indoor stadium is not good. Such a waste!!! Dolores has such great vocal. She has her own unique singing style, she doesnt have to copy anyone! but the spotlights, i find them very cool!!! spectacular! Its also good i didnt get CAT1 because i dont think i can see anything on the concert day. Too much standing crowd, i mean u cant expect people in CAT1 to sit right?!?

I'm just so glad I went to the concert. Its one of the happiest time of my life!!!!

Faye Wong actually intimated Dolores singing style. When i told my peers back in the school days, i dont think any of them listened to me or believed me...... until she copied the song 'Dreams'! Totally following Dolores' singing style. THats the reason why I'm not into this song because i've heard Faye's version and it really turns me off.

Anyway, I'm glad that i actually sang along with the rest when Dreams was played. Im shocked i still remember the lyrics!

I'm looking forward to their new album in January.... and i hope that they will open a concert soon in Singapore again. 90mins is way too short. But of course, its tough on Dolores because she has to sing live 90mins!

http://www.spinorbinmusic.com/2011/08/03/concert-review-the-cranberries-live-in-singapore/

The Cranberries in SG - Channel NewsAsia
(hey writer, u are wrong! Dolores' still has her great vocal!!!)

Pls come to Singapore soon Cranberries! Pls do!!!

Something arrived from Japan! Akoya Pearls

Fedex courier guy knock on my door....... not ring the bell ..... :X

Yea my purchase has arrived from Japan. Pretty daring huh since its pretty expensive, the seller no longer selling at ebay, (previously ebay also 3 tokens (good) )...

I paid on 31 Mar and received it today. Cannot blame the seller though because it so happened the Tsunami happened and the chain is delayed. Plus I have special request to lengthen the pearl strand after getting the set so he has to take some time to find the matching pearls for me.

I decided not to wait for the chain and asked for the pearl set to be delivered first.

Hanadama Pearl Certificate Set

I've read about some companies talking abt Hanadama grades and those on the forums have different interpretation of Hanadama vs another company (all these companies not from Japan). They said that the Hanadama grades are the best under Pearl grading (Mikimoto used Hanadama pearls)

However, the Japan Science Lab that issue the Hanadama certificate doesnt only grade AAA under its certificate? The pearl quality can range from AA-AAA.

For my pearls, its AA quality. It looks average under daylight but under fluroscent light, its excellent luster (to me) and its smooth, very smooth indeed. Better than some of the Mikimoto I saw. No idea if it has anything to do with light too. The clasp I choose is Made in Japan 14K WG. Not cheap. I think Japanese are very detailed with their stuffs and one is paying for the quality. Maybe also because reseller will get better price than end consumer.

This pearl strand is white with pink,green overtone. The pink overtone is very minimal. Most people (asians, japanese etc) will look good with pearls with pink overtone. For me, such pearls doesnt look good. I need to find real white pearls with little pink overtone for it to look outstanding on me.

The picture is taken with iphone 3. Photo quality really sucks but the pearl set is really very good. The seller is also very nice and i think he's very stressed over my order because i've asked him a lot of Qns. I hardly get to chat with people that know abt pearls so i like to learn about it instead of just blindly like pearls.

Nice right? :) I need to change my wardrobe clothes to match my pearls

The quality is really good. Under Day/Sunlight, its like good but under fluroscent light, its very good luster and smooth! Eyes Zoom onto the pearl surface & it looks smooth too. Very good and its just AA Grade! AAA will be freaking expensive for the size of 8-8.5MM.

I went home to check the pearls again under artificial white and then fluorescent lights. Even the white light is very nice! In the day time, I see it under normal sunlight/daylight.
Overall I am very happy with my pearls especially checking them out under the lights @ night.

This morning I checked out again against daylight/sunlight and i can see iridescent colors of pink/green/white. Very nice

Its 295500Yen and I paid when Yen is high :(

Oh ya, initially i kinda worried abt the radiation but Kobe is far from Sedai and the earthquake area... plus the pearls are earlier stocks. I am now considering the 2nd pearl strand. *sweat*

The seller is based in Japan Kobe. I know some US companies are selling the hanadama pearls that are graded by Pearl Science Lab too. This seller also sell pearls that are qualified to be hanadama pearls as certified by Pearl Science Lab (again, they certified AA, AAA as Hanadama under their category. But their standard isnt exactly the same as Mikimoto).

I think Seller is not known in the states because his business is mainly in Japan? He has own website and also yahoo Japan.

My friends' are really surprised that I dare to purchase such expensive stuffs online.... err but well I am a person that depends on instincts & my religion hahaha. Plus the email exchange etc. I know the seller is honest and genuine and really helpful. :)

I will be providing more pics around May. So stay tune!

Pearls !

went around looking for pearl strands and pearl pendants recently. i find that the local staff are poorly educated in pearls. even worse than me as a consumer. first of all when i look at freshwater pearls and asked them what pearl is this, they will say.... "cultured pearls" zzzzzzzzzzzz WRONG. They should just tell me its freshwater or cultured freshwater. anyway its so hard to find natural pearls (not cultured).... and then, cultured pearls can be referring to Tahitian, Freshwater, Akoya etc. its just that they are cultured differently (seawater, freshwater) and by different oysters, mussels etc. then the best part is when i asked them what culture pearls... they just say its called culture pearls. WAAAAAAAAAAAA win liaoz

I've Donated to Japan (to IFRC) via HUBLOT! Have you?

jUst wondering.... hmm i always frequent US sites and right now, some companies are like having a day sales and all proceed will go towards Japan to help those affected by the tsunani, quakes etc.

Forever21 USA just held the one day sale 1 or 2days ago.



Now, this is another one but its by world reowned Watch company, Hublot.

Those that are into watches will heard of this brand. Those that only know of Rolex, Omega and Tag Heuer will probably not heard of this. Their watches starts from abt SGD20k onwards and its kind of a 'lesiure' watch i supposed? Not the usual names we often heard about (because not much value to pawn? lolll)

They have a boutique at Marina Bay Sands and they can be found at big watch retailer shops like Hour Glass.

Ok, why do I say so much? Because they are having a 'matching' donation. When you donate $100, they will also donate the same amount. So instead of donating to Red Cross directly, u donate to them and this will double the amount u donated.

Remember to state 'HUBLOT' under the company link when you are directed to the ifrc link. Even at ifrc link, u can do the donation too.. just type HUBLOT as well.

http://www.hublot.com/en/#/NEWS

This is the link u get after clicking the Red circle with Japan word. http://www.hublot.com/site/commitmentforjapan/

I donated liao! So i can confirm its legitimate.

Because after u filled up the Form at Hublot, u will be directed to this link which is under IFRC. .
http://www.ifrc.org/en/get-involved/donate/donation/?DisasterPageID=51098

THen from here u will be proceeded to RBS WorldPay to process the donations

And then after this I went to Hublot site and I saw my address twice ... Opps. I think I might clicked twice but well the amount I donated is not that much so even if I 'accidentally' donate 2x, its still within the amount I want to donate.

So if you plan to donate, might as well donate through this link. (ps i have come to know abt this through hour glass email. Now, I have already donated it to ensure its legitimate.)

Lets hope that things will get better for Japan