Pearlfection or Pearlfabrication

[jshepherd]

I have been playing with it some more. Still not exatly "pretty", but it seems to work quite well.

Suggestion, please email me! Also suggestions of Sites to include in the search would be great.

 

[Slraep]

are themselves not knowledgable and will defend their beliefs and actions.

Ash

As much as I would love to give pearl offenders a swift kick in the "e-sales", I hate the idea of a blacklist. A whitelist, yes. Blacklist,no.

People err because of many reasons and one major reason is lack of knowledge, as Ash has said. As for the shysters and congladiation losers, we have only to expose them on this forum and hope that people will stay away from them or complain to the proper organizations.

Even if certain merchants are guilty as sin of embellishing false goods and you can win a case against them in court, some have a nasty habit of becoming vengeful pests that will keep litigating and litigating just for the fun of it.

Slraep

 

[salem]

Be well, my friend.

LOL, Knotty, another "D'oh" moment. When I came back, I saw that post and thought"Who is she talking to? Is someone sick?" But, no, it was about me going to the doctor. Thanks for the concern, more check-up than anything. Sorry I didn't respond faster.

My one and only defense...Japan is really humid and has been rather hot the last week or two. Maybe my brain has melted?


Just a thought, with all this talk about "the list", should that part of the thread be moved to it's own topic? There are pages that have nothing to do with Pearlfection and I thik this is important enought to everyone to have it's own thread. Thoughts?

 

[Valeria101]

I have been playing with it some more. Still not exatly "pretty", but it seems to work quite well.

Suggestion, please email me! Also suggestions of Sites to include in the search would be great.

Works great! for pearls... given that the descriptions are using fairly similar wording.

Now, if the sellers didn't know that their sites are used this way to make them 'search friendly', I would guess that whoever uses such a search may as well want to go to at least some of the individual sites and ... see what Google is missing if anything.

 

[DFrey]

I am glad to hear that the "list" is being panned by the community, I too am nervous about such a direction. This thread started from what I consider an "educational " post, possibly motivated by late night bordom and channel surfiing.

IMHO this forum should maintain its focus on education about pearls, the world of pearls and pearl business. There has always been something of interest to all levels of participants right from the retail consumer to the business owner on this forum. I never quite understood how the forum was at a "cross roads" as Blue Camel repeated twice. The direction the forum has taken continues to allow for open discussion about a wide range of topics one of which seems to be false advertising and unscrupulous dealers. Lets keep it that way without putting on the policemans (persons) uniform.

A better search engine for the forum could be a postive outcome from this thread. As the info available on the forum increases, ease of access will become more important.

DFrey

Dfrey

 

[bluecamel]

Hi DFey,
When Pearlflection was given a forum on NBC to just out and out lie, it seemed like it was time to address the issue of unsavory retailers---that is why I used the term crossroads.

I threw out the question, shared some thoughts, and asked what people thought. Out of 1,799 members (as of this posting) 15 different members, thankfully took the time to weigh in. The consensus of ideas was overwhelming, so I suppose one could say that the community has decided the best course of action.

I agree with your suggestion that a better search engine is needed, because there is a wealth of information within this forum, that anyone should be able to easily access.

 

[Slraep]

Hi bluecamel,

I commiserate with you. No one more than I wants to expose pearl fraudsters! I once had to restrain myself from desperately wanting to poke a salesperson at Birk's(Canadian high end jewellery store)right in the eyes ala Bruce Lee. She was insistant in telling me that some 12mm pink pearls they had for sale were SSs. I had to have her call the manager in order to get the right answer---Kasumiga. It's not the first time this has happened to me at Birk's and it's not the last. Actually, if i went to all the jewellers in my area(I have), and grilled them about their pearls, I assure you that ALL of them are giving out misinformation to a certain degree. Are they doing this on purpose? I dunno. But I know that it is mighty frustrating to me. I think that they would deserve to be blacklisted but then that wouldn't leave any jewellers left(actually there is one downtown who knows his stuff).

I think if anyone is wanting to buy pearls, they should take a little time to research them. Retailers should be more honest and take time to read up on what they are selling too! As for pearl shysters, they will always exist. That's why a forum like this is great for debunking them.

Slraep

 

[bluecamel]

Hi Slraep,
Good points, you are very right. Forget the poke to the eyes though?show back up in your chain malle with your sword!

 

[Caitlin]

Pearls are a very myth-laden subject and subject to a number of myths, beliefs, about them that have no foundatrion, but are spread by the urban legend method. The feeding the pearl to the chicken one, or that pearls start from a grain of sand.

We even have one infamous pearl that deliberately started and is maintaining a set of myths about their pearl. We did a whole thread on that one. Because we come up high in most rankings, our thread will be available to anyone that googles the pearl.

Right now, our consumer Q and A and our eBay forum are our main vehicles for expressing our opinions on any given vender. Maybe the better search engine will help find opinion threads on venders more easily.

One thing I have noticed is that when Jeremy takes on a dishonest statement, the venders often change their advertising. That seems to be the case with Premium Pearl, for instance, who no longer claim to have AAAA pearls.

Even our informal policing is having a notable effect on venders. Now maybe we could take on an informal project to point out the specific errors in the eBay pearl ads we come across in our hunts for good pearls. Even if we each took one vender, it would take us a month to check them all out because there is so much material there.

I think the venders do it because no one is bringing them up. I think some venders may not know. The truth about any pearl is really just fine and there is no need to exagerate, obsfucate, or lie about what you are trying to sell.

I can think of several eBayers that sell huge volumes of pearls without a single lie; a couple of them are members here.

 

[Slraep]

Hi Slraep,
Good points, you are very right. Forget the poke to the eyes though?show back up in your chain malle with your sword!

Oh Boy, I never thought of that! Slraep of Arc: The Pearl Messenger, slices through pearl myths and the deliberate embelishing mumbo jumbo of pearl fraudsters.

It would just be so much fun---the slicing and dicing. Of the misinformation, I mean.

Slraep

 

[salem]

It would just be so much fun---the slicing and dicing. Of the misinformation, I mean.

Slraep

Hey, Slraep, nice save! Sure, we believe you, the misinformation. Yeah, that 's the ticket.

You know, I found the most adorable jeweler here. He runs this little jewlery shop by a shrine here in my hometown. When I first walked in and went to the pearls, he assumed I was going to buy some. I noticed he had some baroque Tahitians, very dark and nice surface. He got them right out and let me play with them and handed me some brochures in Japanese to tell me all about the pearl. lol

So I struck up a converation with him about Chinese freshwaters. I don't see them around here much, but I had seen some strands at a department store a few blocks away. We talked about the developments in recent years and how the quality is getting much better. We talked about why Japanese women don't seem to want to buy CFWP and if and when it will change. Then we went back to the Tahitians, and we started talking about nacre depth, value differences based on coloration, etc. Then I asked him about Kasumiga.It was charming watching his polite, if disinterested face transform as he realized he was talking to someone who saw pearls as more than just a piece of jewelry. When we spoke about golden Tahitians, he said if I called ahead of time, he would get some strands ready for me to look at. Now, these are to look at just as a discussion tool. He knew I had no intention of buying them. So, once my baroque Akoyas come it, I wil tuck them in with my baroque freshies, and my AAA CFWP and go have another talk.

 

[Caitlin]

Hi Salem
That idea is cool! Please keep us apprised. I can move this post to a new thread when you have at least another post.

 

[knotty panda]

Quite by accident, my brother was channel surfing and ran into these clowns. He called me over to watch. After just a few minutes, I was in a tizzy. What non-sensical propaganda! And the prices! Totally outrageous for glass-nucleated/maybe-cultured beads. Not only will I not buy their product but I could never buy any of their products knowing how deliberately misleading this product demonstration was. Why would I consider them trustworthy after what I witnessed? Really, their spokesperson bounced back and forth between calling them glass and actually using the words nucleus and nacre. He said one of his salespersons was able to fool pearl experts in Tuscon with their product this year. And people fall for this stuff.

I took this off the website:

"Background Story: The creation of Pearlfection starts with the same identical mother-of-pearl nucleus that is used in saltwater pearl culturing. This includes the classic heirloom akoya pearls and the highly coveted South Sea pearl varieties. A special aquatic solution has been created and applied by man to mimic the finest saltwater cultured pearls in the world.

Features and Benefits:

PH-This jewelry was created to mimic high end cultured pearl jewelry
PH-These pieces are easily worn by themselves or with other cultured pearls
Individual hand knotting
Looks and wears like the high end saltwater pearl strands as well as gives protection to the Pearlfection pearls
Hand set pave cubic zirconia screw ball clasp
Looks and wears like the high end diamond clasp
California residents only: “Proposition 65” WARNING"

Do you know what the California "Prop 65" warning is? If I'm not mistaken, it's HIGH LEAD CONTENT!

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Oh, joy! Fake pearls with lead poisoning thrown in!

 

[Mikeyy]

I don't know the product but I have been reading the thread. First thing I can say is that I own a box full of these artificial pearls. They came from Japan. They used to be called "Oceanique". The ones I have someone tried to get me to market about 10 years ago. They are made from using third grade nuclei. Very highly stained. Then they are coated with a mixture of ground MOP. And the lead is what helps give them their shine. I don't know if these are the same. The fakes I have are not really too bad. The pinks are decent.

I have to agree with their assertion that what they sell is 98% cultured pearl. Given that cultured pearls are 98% shell nuclei. But what a stretch. I will never forget all of the angles they used to try and connect this product to real pearls.

And they came from the same company that originally made beads for Mikimoto. On Awaji Island in Japan. Sumoto City to be exact.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Ah, but humans and chimps share 96% the same DNA, yet we are not so similar, I hope?

 

[Mikeyy]

Ah, but humans and chimps share 96% the same DNA, yet we are not so similar, I hope?

Just a minute while I put down my banana.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Hahahaha!

 

[Slraep]

Ah, but humans and chimps share 96% the same DNA, yet we are not so similar, I hope?

I think the percentage was discovered to be even more than that now. And it proves without a doubt that primates and monkeys evolved from humans. Although humans have still kept their longer telomeres.

Slraep

 

[Slraep]

And the lead is what helps give them their shine.

Odd how no one at head office gives a rat's behind that:

a) Lead is a heavy metal that is toxic to living things and is a suspected human carcinogen.

b) The earth's oceans are choking on toxic waste, hence so are we; therefore why put more lead out into the environment in a faux-luxury item?

Slraep