Overstock Pearls?

[lisa c]

Okay, so I steered clear of Overstock, but was wondering if Amazon is of the same caliber? They seem to have very nice pieces including this Tahitian pendant but I did see that it was made in China. I don't know if that is a "give-away" that it's not a real Tahitian.
http://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Tah...r_1_2?s=jewelry&ie=UTF8&qid=1319039131&sr=1-2

It's late at night so maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any reference to made in China for the chocolate Tahitian pendant. It looks Tahitian to me (the pearl shows multiple subtle colors,as opposed to the single color you'd see in a dyed pearl, and the chocolate is lovely, a soft shade), but again it's a stock photo. I think you should wait to hear from someone here who's an expert. Helloooo, any experts up? to help this wonderful husband?

 

[Pearlsforher]

Thanks for the help, Lisa and Karin. And Lisa, I appreciate the call for the experts. I'm feeling a little disappointed though after reading what Karin wrote about low quality Tahitians being smuggled to China. Not very reassuring. I am stuck on the piece but what do I know. I did figure the pearl was dyed because of the research I have done up to this point. But the listing does say made in China under the "Product Features" heading. I would love to know what an expert thought. And thank you to all the "pearl gurus" out there that take the time to post on this site. I definitely appreciate it.

 

[jshepherd]

Lisa - No, we are Pearl Paradise on Amazon. A lot of companies sell on Amazon, in fact most of what people buy on Amazon (apart from books) probably comes from third parties. It is a very, very small percentage of our sales though.

Pearlsforher - In order for Tahitian pearls to be legally exported from French Polynesia they have to be examined and approved for export. Unfortunately, a lot of the pearls produced are smuggled out of the country and the vast majority of those pearls make their way to Asia. I've seen entire booths in Hong Kong literally filled with pearls that could not have legally been exported. Then again, two years ago we saw the same thing in Tucson ... from a Chinese company.

 

[Pearlsforher]

JShepherd- So then there is a chance that the pearl is indeed a true Tahitian, but also a chance that the pearls being used by that company were obtained illegally? Lovely. Well, thanks for the heads up.

 

[jshepherd]

It's impossible to say whether or not an individual pearl is legal (unless it is obvious). When viewing an entire lot it's much easier.

 

[KarinK]

JShepherd- So then there is a chance that the pearl is indeed a true Tahitian, but also a chance that the pearls being used by that company were obtained illegally? Lovely. Well, thanks for the heads up.

I think (experts comment) that it is low grade Tahitians that are smuggled out. I have seen ringed Tahitians from Chinese vendors of really poor quality. It doesn't help the name either that suddenly Tahitians can be had cheap (with no mentioning of the quality).

I was wondering, though, if there are not Chinese owners of Tahiti pearl farms? I think so.

- Karin

 

[Pearlsforher]

Ah, well I understand. I guess just knowing that it was "made in China" raises a red flag. Thank you for the insight.

 

[jshepherd]

I was wondering, though, if there are not Chinese owners of Tahiti pearl farms? I think so.

- Karin

Robert Wan ... Paul Yu ... just to name two

I didn't mean for my comment to be a dig on Chinese pearl companies. I just know that the majority of the unsaleable pearls somehow float West from FP.

 

[lisa c]

Hi pearlsforher. Geez, if it'd been any bigger it would've bitten me. I see it now; blame the blurry mid-night eyes. Anyway, could that not have meant assembled in China? or of parts made in China? See, I didn't see grown in China.

I too think it's lovely, but this is the downside of jewelry buying from box stores. Unless I'm about to be wildly shocked they won't be able to offer you an exact photo of ONE of the pieces, the way one of the vendors here would. However, if you ask for an exact photo,a box store might offer to pay for return shipping if you buy it and don't like it. That's about all they can offer, but they are in the business of selling and they'll probably gamble that once you see it in person, you'll keep it. That's how smartbargains got my sale; they sent me a return postage label. Oh, they might also offer a further discount but I don't think that's standard, and if sales are good...

This has been exhausting for you? Oops, Sorry, I'm projecting because I don't really like shopping. Well, vendors here are standing by if you get it and don't like it. I must say, I'd love to see what you choose.

BTW, I noticed that for some of the expensive jewelry they offer the "roll over the photo" option. Good sales tool, don't know how meaningful it is since it isn't of an exact piece, but you get an idea perhaps of representative conditions, like average # of flaws or something? (oops, repeating myself)

 

[KarinK]

Robert Wan ... Paul Yu ... just to name two.

Yep! It was Robert Wan I was thinking about - just too lazy to look up the reference

- Karin

 

[Pearlsforher]

Lisa, don't knock yourself too hard. I did not see that print until discussing it here and I must have looked at the listing almost 50 times! As for the meaning behind it, I think that is what JShephard and Karin have been debating. I guess there are Chinese owners of Tahitian pearl farms but the quality of pearls coming out of China are of a lower grade. Amazon won't send a picture of the item (tried that) but they do have a good return policy so that's good. Exhausting? A little, but learning along the way thanks to you all.
I think I am going to go ahead and get the piece. I will definitely post here when I receive it and let everyone know how it goes. I will have to post a picture as well.

 

[jshepherd]

Sounds good! We look forward to seeing a picture!

One thing to look for is going to be surface blemishes. Single pearl pieces are generally much more expensive than a pearl in a full strand. This is because when pearls are drilled for a strand, they don't have to be clean. Tahitians typically have at least one blemish (the perfect place to drill). The pearl sets perfectly clean and is AAA (or A grade using FP's system). But the vast majority of Tahitian pearls have more than one blemish, often the large ones are just opposite each other, or very close to it, so they can drill very nearly clean (blemishes close to the drill holes are nearly invisible). This would be an A/B or a B grade pearl. Pearls have have more visible blemishes even after being drilled through would range in the B/C to D grade. Top gem and A grade pearls can easily cost twice an A/B pearl, and 3-4 times a C grade pearl. So if the pearl is set with blemishes showing, it is in the lower range.

 

[Pearlsforher]

Thank you! I will definitely check it over and let you all know before I give it to her. Hoping for the best!

 

[lisa c]

So, they didn't offer to pay for return shipping, even though they couldn't show you an exact item?

 

[Pearlsforher]

No, unfortunately while they do offer a full refund. You have to pay for the shipping.

 

[KarinK]

Pearlsforher, I agree that the pendant looks lovely in the picture, but since there is no return shipping included, you might want to work with one of the vendors here on PG instead. You'll find links to reputable on-line pearl sellers here at PG in the signatures. They will talk to you, give you pictures of the exact pearl and they do not need to be more expensive than Amazon.

As you can see, I am not one of these vendors so i feel I can safely give you this suggestion.

- Karin

 

[Pearlsforher]

Thanks for the suggestion Karin. I will definitely keep that in mind. Probably should have started here to begin with. Learning, learning....

 

[KarinK]

Thanks for the suggestion Karin. I will definitely keep that in mind. Probably should have started here to begin with. Learning, learning....

The learning is never wasted. You can always buy more pearls for her

- Karin

 

[Pearlsforher]

Of course There is always that.

 

[mausketeer]

One thing to look for is going to be surface blemishes. Single pearl pieces are generally much more expensive than a pearl in a full strand. This is because when pearls are drilled for a strand, they don't have to be clean. Tahitians typically have at least one blemish (the perfect place to drill). The pearl sets perfectly clean and is AAA (or A grade using FP's system). But the vast majority of Tahitian pearls have more than one blemish, often the large ones are just opposite each other, or very close to it, so they can drill very nearly clean (blemishes close to the drill holes are nearly invisible). This would be an A/B or a B grade pearl. Pearls have have more visible blemishes even after being drilled through would range in the B/C to D grade. Top gem and A grade pearls can easily cost twice an A/B pearl, and 3-4 times a C grade pearl. So if the pearl is set with blemishes showing, it is in the lower range.

Jeremy - great info! I'm going to copy and paste this one and keep it on my computer for future reference! (never know when I'll "need" another strand of Tahitians you know!)

- Jodie -