Buyer beware-a glossary of terms any Estate Agent would be proud to utter

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msLondon

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I've never purchased anything from ebay, are there any overused terms that are used to mislead the uneducated consumer.
I've seen the following:
1. natural pearls...translation NOT faux/fake
2. Tahitian Black...translation FW peacock
 
the classic is authentic = good (or not so good) copy
you are quite right about natural and T black - both careful wordings which are economical with the verity
 
It's not just on ebay, either.
I recently looked at a row of "real" pearls on a stall that were faux.....
And was assured by the vendor that these were absolutely the real thing and unbelievably rare, too......
He'd searched the world over for another strand without any luck......:rolleyes:
 
Often, for finished jewelery, a gold purity will be in the listing title but you will find the EP (electroplate), HGE (heavy gold electroplate) layered, plated, GF part of the description buried somewhere in the listing.
 
About 6 years ago I was at T. J. Maxx and saw a strand of pearls, marked "Cultured Pearls 14K." I didn't have a loupe on me but they looked nice enough for the price so I bought them.

Got home, checked them out with the loupe. They were imitation with a base metal clasp!

Back they went! I took the manager aside and explained to him why the "pearls" should not go back in the display but back to his supplier, then wrote a complaint letter to the corporate office and got a 10% discount coupon for my trouble.

Now I keep a loupe in my purse.
 
oh

oh

I would like to share my experience.
I was in a small jewelry store and pointed out a dyed FW strand (looks too small to be Tahitian): "Are those dyed FW?". The lady replied: "No, South Seas". :confused:. Then I pointed to several white strands and at least 3 of them are small about 6mm or smaller "What about those?". The lady said: "South Seas, all South Seas.". Maybe "South Seas" is the buzz word now.

I won't be buying from them even if the price is right, not even gold chain. Either they do not know what they are selling or they do it on purpose, which gives me a reason not to give my business there.
 
I have interviewed about 40 jewelery stores in my city. 99% of them don't have a clue about the pearls they sell. It's no wonder buyers are confused!
 
msLondon said:
I've never purchased anything from ebay, are there any overused terms that are used to mislead the uneducated consumer.
I've seen the following:
1. natural pearls...translation NOT faux/fake
2. Tahitian Black...translation FW peacock
Click to expand...

The phrase "Tahitian black color" often appears in the descriptions of these strands, which is a pretty clear indication that the underlying pearl isn't Tahitian. Dyed freshwaters look nothing like Tahitians, so I'm not sure this rises to the level of "buyer beware." I'd say this is more of a "buyer must have the most basic notion of what (s)he is trying to purchase."

I'm also seeing more baroque shell pearls, but the uniformity is still a dead giveaway.

Hanaleimom, she was fortunate you refrained from quizzing her about nucleus sizes used by SSP farms. :D I think the rise of "south seas" as a general descriptor may be rationalized thus: "they're farmed south of the US/Europe and come from the sea."
 
IT's not just the level of knowledge and disclosure that is disappointing in a lot of bricks and mortar jewellers, but the quality of the pearls as well! I am continually seeing small, ordinary FW baroques for hundreds and hundreds of dollars, and loads of very chalky rounds. And because these are the ONLY pearls a lot of consumers will see, these jewellers are giving pears a bad reputation.

haha laurenb - good description of "south seas"
 
There are a couple of ebay dealers, Briarwoodartgems and BaublesandBeads, who have nice gemstones, and from whom I have purchased a number of times, but they incorrectly describe some of their pearls, such as Tahitians, when they were dyed flameballs, and pink petal pearls at SS keshi. Those are the latest that come to mind, but there have been others-----I do send them an email politely correcting them--------
 
I've only ever met one person in a brick and mortar jewelry store who was fairly knowledgeable about pearls. He was the jeweller and was from the far east. He also had a nice collection of pearls.

I've had salesgirls assure me that large faux pearls for under $70 are cultured pearls: that freshwater pearls are Akoya; that pearls don't come with a high luster; that there are no different grades of pearls - they're just cultured or not; that all their freshwater A to AA grade round pearls are natural pearls; that saltwater pearls are not cultured; etc, etc

Unfortunately, the general public isn't very well informed when it comes to pearls and that tends to extend to quite a few jewellers as well.

Let's take it as a challenge and see how much we can contribute towards helping people understand and appreciate pearls more!
 
Miriam Reed said:
Let's take it as a challenge and see how much we can contribute towards helping people understand and appreciate pearls more!
Click to expand...

Oh I love a challenge! Do u think The pearl-guiders could get together a glossary of terms from A-Z?
 
The glossary is on the left, at the bottom under Pearl-Guide FAQ ;)
 
Nerida said:
IT's not just the level of knowledge and disclosure that is disappointing in a lot of bricks and mortar jewellers, but the quality of the pearls as well! I am continually seeing small, ordinary FW baroques for hundreds and hundreds of dollars, and loads of very chalky rounds. And because these are the ONLY pearls a lot of consumers will see, these jewellers are giving pears a bad reputation.

haha laurenb - good description of "south seas"
Click to expand...


Same here Nerida....:(
Can't speak for Bond Street, but high street jewellers here have very poor quality pearls for sale.
 
jerin said:
msLondon,


P.S. We PG-ers perhaps should put together a glossary of "false" expressions and other faulty things, sellers and suppliers use towards us buyers.D.S.
Click to expand...

This is what i would like us to try and do.
OK....

A is for....?
 
Okay, want to see something funny? Check THESE out! http://www.rubylane.com/shops/shanajoel/item/cam-0216

I am not a jeweler or a pearl expert by any stretch of the imagination, but when I saw these originally listed as "South Seas Baroque", I HAD to write to her and tell her (politely) that I believed them to be freshwater. I said as freshwater, $1,170 was about ten times the going rate for them (I bought some freshies off the same website - different seller - about six months ago and posted photos on HERE asking advice from the experts. Again, the seller had them listed as South Seas - at the time I wasn't sure - I was set straight by YOU all! In the end, I was told that I had paid a fair price for a 52 inch strand - $95). In my e-mail, I also steered her towards this forum telling her how helpful and educational it was thinking she would realize her mistake and revise the listing. She wrote me back, a very nice, polite e-mail thanking me and then she changed the listing to remove the words "South Seas" from the description. But she kept the price the same! (or maybe that's when she lowered it to $1,170!) lol. Either way..... wow, she claims she's a jeweler. How can that be?????
 
mausketeer said:
She wrote me back, a very nice, polite e-mail thanking me and then she changed the listing to remove the words "South Seas" from the description. But she kept the price the same! (or maybe that's when she lowered it to $1,170!) lol. Either way..... wow, she claims she's a jeweler. How can that be?????
Click to expand...

That's way too expensive for that strand, sorry! :eek:

DK :rolleyes:
 
Wow, that is pitiful!! did you see the size, 4-5mm, really small, and not only circles, but the dull belly rings and blemishes! I think you are right, Jody, they are fw, and poor quality, the clasp is worth a bit if actually 22k, but the pearls themselves wouldn't be worth $10 retail. It goes to prove that a lot of jewelers don't know anything (I was going to put another word here) about pearls, as we know from the horrific stores repeated here!

Let's all send her a msg--maybe she will finally get it! Jody, you have earned your "Pearl Police" badge, but don't watch for it in the mail! Hey, how about that for a tat????
 
pearlescence said:
is she having a laugh?
Click to expand...

Who - the seller/jeweler? She'll certainly be laughing if anyone BUYS these I'm sure....... all the way to the bank as they say......

Wow, only worth $10? Sheesh, I didn't realize they were THAT inexpensive......

I know, I AM the "pearl police" now! Just told a friend here at work that her "South Seas" necklace ISN'T (she bought it in the Phillipines for $80 - they're all around 8-9mm) I'm not sure if they're freshwater or Akoya though (they're very round and I don't know enough about the round freshwaters to tell the difference). She's very interested in this stuff so she's going to let me take photos and post them on here. I love doing that! It's like being a PI!

Stay tuned (next week). Which thread should that go on? "Show us your pearls"?
 
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