Hi Redwana
I like your open spirit and do not think you are trying to fool anyone. While I admire the fact you wrote an article on pearls for eBay-I have to appreciate the fact you tried- but, your guide is perfectly awful. You actually encourage people to look for $30.00 Tahitians. There is no such thing. In fact the worst Tahitian strand I ever saw (Judi McC took a picture of it in Jeremy's hand at a gem show many years ago) was posted here. The nacre had big holes in it and was separated form the bead on many pearls. The color was a dead gray. No luster whatsoever and they wanted more than 30 bucks.
I would really promote it, if you were to write a guide on how not to get fooled by freshwater pearls being passed as Tahitians and South Sea pearls. The fact that the lying venders charge low prices- though still high for a freshwater- makes unknowing people think they are getting a bargain. But in fact they are getting ripped off- just as you were.
There are several clues to help detect lying venders.
One is using the phrase "Tahitian black". That phrase is a code word for freshwaters dyed black to look Tahitian, so Tahitian is an adjective not a noun in this phrase, but most people do not know that.
Another clue is the lack of roundness. That ALWAYS means freshwater.
A big clue is that the seller is in China. China does not grow Tahitians, and believe me the venders do not import pearls for resale. Period. End of sentence
The biggest clue though is the price. The least expensive Tahitians I know of cost over $300 for a strand and the pearls have flawed skins. Lots of dots and rings and poor luster. Jose at Tahitian pearls.biz sells a heavily ringed multicolor Tahitian for $288 for 17" made up of striated pearls, a look most people do not like on Tahitians, because they really do not look Tahitian, unless you know Tahitians can look like that. I happen to love that look and so do more sophisticated pearl buyers who like a bit of a funky look in pearls.
Please take down that guide and rewrite it. Everyone here will help you get it right, but I personally do not think that article can be corrected. It is better to start over with the title first and go from there.
You are a student. You can learn a lot about pearls here and maybe even read a book or two. Pearls are by far, the most complicated gemstone and most jewelers do no understand pearls- let alone most laymen. If you are on a student budget, you can still get freshwater pearls with a lot of luster for that price, though they will tend to be 7mm and under for roundish pearls. If you like the rice shape, you can get stunning luster for around $30. Your stand has NO luster, it looks dead. That is why they dyed it and called it Tahitian- to get a little more money than it is worth, though still vastly underpriced for a real Tahitian.
