Another lurker coming out of the shadows

Thanks for the input. I would hate to think he lied to me. His family has been in the business for about 300 years and he personnaly has over 60 years in the business. He sales in Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Doha and others. I think I will send some of the pearls to GIA for analysis.

Here are some more SSG:
 

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At this point, we pearl people know he is a liar. I would take the 300 years thing with a grain of salt, knowing he is a liar about the stuff he sold you. Many pearl families are multi-generational, but that only tells you that they can make living at it; it doesn't tell you how ethical they are.

This guy sounds more like 300 years of salesmen. He really has an effective pitch of the worst kind. Half truths. He weaves a wondrous world of words evoking ancient places and treasures as you stand in the present with a very pretty pearl in your hands. Pearls and words can get anyone high -for long enough to buy. Besides, you really have an eye for pearls, so trust it and not the patter falling on your ears.

The guys whose families have been into pearls for 300 years don't generally sell Chinese cultured freshwater pearls at all; they are traditional and stick to genuine natural pearls and feel no need to bring in cultured pearl upstarts and lie about them. I am thinking he was from a country whose pearl mystique aided him in weaving his spell?
 
I really sympathise with you...it is a real dilemma because you want to believe him - you have invested time, money and your own trust in him and now we are saying that much of what you have been told is simply not true. I suggest that before you spend out more money on a lab examination you ask someone on the forum to cast a practiced if unofficial eye over the pearls in person. If you say where you are maybe a senior member lives nearby.
Those of us who sell honestly and openly welcome scrutiny and informed criticism. I think I speak for us all when I write that we want happy, satisfied customers with fabulous pearls. so a bad apple sours pearls for all of us
 
Marianne said:
Well said Caitlin and Wendy!
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Yes, it is sad but true that your vendor has lied to you. I am sorry, as you have probably paid far far more for these pearls than they are worth. Costly GIA analysis is not going to tell you anything you want to hear, either. The new GSS photo is also of cultured pearls - color looks to be natural, and if they are authentic, the quality and matching is exceptional - a beautiful strand.
 
Hi Roy,

I was just wondering - are you selling pearls yourself? This could be another reason why it might be hard to accept that what is in the inventory is not what you thought it might be.

I am thinking that it might not be a bad idea for you to send some of your pearls to a lab. I know that people at PG finds it a waste of money, and I would tend to agree, but it seems to be really important to you, and I have the feeling you will trust the judgement of a lab better than the judgement of the people here on PG.

- Karin
 
Hi Nerida..do you really think those gss are really gss? given the context aren't they a bit too good, too round, flawless and matched?
I think more pictures might be helpful - for example, of the whole piece rather than shots of one or two pearls. Since they are knotted we assume strands - the look of a whole necklace would also help form an opinion, maybe.
Again, where are you in the USA?
 
Caitlin said:
Ask me about the Lop Noors (sic) from the famous traveling lake in China somewhere. Would you believe that this lake produces cherry red freshwater pearls? And of such rarity only the Dalai Lama and Zeide Erskine have full strands.......?
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Oh jeez- I bought that one hook, line and sinker when I first started getting acquainted with pearls, P-G and Ms. ZE in particular- the way she could spin a yarn is mind boggling! Lesson learned- always do your own research! ;)
 
Roy,

Can you share whether you bought your pearls online or in person, and where? At a traveling gem fair, or some place like that? Can you return the items for a refund, as they seem to be misrepresented? I agree with the others that you have been taken advantage of, and likely paid much more than these items are worth.
 
I did not want to even mention the SSP earrings before- and said so. They are total cheap kaka earrings. I hate being that rude about pearls.

A close inspection of them reveals a cheap fitting, maybe gold filled. I swear it looks worn. It is dull, anyway, not high carat gold. The loop place for the drop is not even soldered! They don't do that on gold findings! The way the earring wire is fitted onto the earring is a basic technique all crafters here know how to do and use to great effect in their pieces. It is not appropriate for a fine SS pearl. It is an absolutely mass produced piece, I could do in 5 minutes with gold plated findings and wire. and I hate doing that kind of wiring. So my guess is those are shell pearls edited to add: or freshwater pearls They take gold dye really great.

Once that guy had this poor buyer in his grasp, he really went to town. I don't blame him for not coming back, I'd be so upset at the vendors, if I believed us! Which of course, I do. We are not here to poo poo good pearls or good venders! We know our pearls and were not trying to sell the poster on some Lop Noors!

Those earrings would be lucky to sell for $2.50 on eBay

Let's try further devastation to our poor poster. That strand of peach rice pearls can be made, in China for under $20.00. It will retail here for far more, say, $80.00 in a store, or at Nordstroms, $180. At Ross Simon, $280.000. That is my best guess. And of their resale value on ebay- about $40.00. If that black jet strand is a klonk, it is worth over $100 at the tents. If not, if say it's 8mm, I can buy it in Tucson in the tents behind the main show for up to $20.00 depending on how many I buy, it could go down a bit. Depending on to whom I resell it, it could be worth up to $80 with a great clasp, retail, but I would be happy to get $40. from any source. I would ask $40-80 on Etsy- if I sold there, depending on the clasp and design.

I really hope to hear the full story of how this poster met the vender, the vender's name and the resolution of this Case of the Hyped-up Pearls!
 

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AMc said:
Oh jeez- I bought that one hook, line and sinker when I first started getting acquainted with pearls, P-G and Ms. ZE in particular- the way she could spin a yarn is mind boggling! Lesson learned- always do your own research! ;)
Click to expand...

I researched everything she said and herself. Who was she? Nothing ever came up anywhere, but here.

I believed every word she said, even when I was holding a parallel thought by my smarter self that everything looked like freshwater pearls! Of course, that secondary thought, I just shoved it aside, cuz I loved Zeide's magical tale spinning. My tail sure was spinning. Not only the Lop Noors, the castle in France and the maserati she waxed on, not to mention top of the line brands of everything from chocolate to pearls. She knew Harry, of course (Harry Winston) If ONLY she were real! And the Dalai Lama. They compared Lop Noors in their visitand his was in the form of a Buddhist rosary he held in his hand. He told his rosary on Lop Noor pearls! Yeah, sure and he eats off off gold plates. Not.

It was really hard to admit to myself, let alone everyone else, what a dupe I had been! And I was not the only one. She had everyone eating out of her hand, even Wise men. I think Slraep still gets in a conniption about her. It was an anonynous poster dugga, who came out and challenged her first and really loudly. At first, I even defended Zeide, but my other voice was just too loud. I hated to give up all that romance. It was like brain candy, pure sucrose. My delusions/illusions collapsed and revealed one of the most interesting lessons of my life.

I sure miss Dugga and talking politics with him! If anyone sees him, please tell him to email me. I don't have an email for him since he retired. He used to use his corporate email in our exchanges. I really adore the guy. One smart dude.
 
Caitlin said:
I did not want to even mention the SSP earrings before- and said so. They are total cheap kaka earrings. I hate being that rude about pearls.


Let's try further devastation to our poor poster. That strand of peach rice pearls can be made, in China for under $20.00. It will retail here for far more, say, $80.00 in a store, or at Nordstroms, $180. At Ross Simon, $280.000. That is my best guess. And of their resale value on ebay- about $40.00. If that black jet strand is a klonk, it is worth over $100 at the tents. If not, if say it's 8mm, I can buy it in Tucson in the tents behind the main show for up to $20.00 depending on how many I buy, it could go down a bit. Depending on to whom I resell it, it could be worth up to $80 with a great clasp, retail, but I would be happy to get $40. from any source. I would ask $40-80 on Etsy- if I sold there, depending on the clasp and design.

I really hope to hear the full story of how this poster met the vender, the vender's name and the resolution of this Case of the Hyped-up Pearls!
Click to expand...

Caitlin, the rice pearls and the blacks would be even less, and yes, that is why I said 'if they are authentic' regarding the GSS - I don't think they are either... I think shell based.
Roy - can you tell us more about the vendor? Otherwise I think we are all thinking that you are showing us your own stock.
 
ew, you pearl detectives, you! I am still a sucker. I believed Roy. If you are right, I am glad he never got his name in here, except to find ignominy.

I know a pearl vender named Roy who sell those kinds of pearls, exactly. He does notmake up jewelry though.

I was hard put to find earrings of such cheap manufacture on ebay. There is a swetshop making that jewelry and they are too cheap to buy the correct finding. The marks of poor workmanship are all over that wire. I could have done that one myself, it is so badly done.

I am LOVING this thread. What other important thing can we include in here? How can we get innocents to read it?
 
Dugga was a pen name for getting Zeide. The man behind the name is not a poster, nor a public person. I sometimes think I see the back of his head at important pearl places, once in a while, but that is cuz I miss him. LOL And no I don't think he is THE Pearl Prof, but he did use another nom de plume for posting over there once in a while. What with facebook and such, nobody can be private anymore. LOL! But at least I will let him out himself. <big conspiratorial grin>
 
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