PearlsAmerica.com ? Freshwater or Akoya

[pearl guide]

Someone sent PG a message today and asked me about an eBay seller called pearls_america. This eBay seller also has a Web site called pearlsamerica.com.
The eBay seller claims to only sell akoya pearls. He also claims that akoya pearls can be cultured in freshwater.(I?m not kidding).

Here is an example of the seller?s pearls.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=380106490425&Category=164333

So, what do you think?

 

[jshepherd]

Funny! Freshwater, freshwater, freshwater! It looks like another Chinese FW seller passing their pearls off as akoya, but with the name "america" in their title to make it appear to be more legit.

This is funny:

Akoya Pearls are Saltwater Pearls from Akoya, Japan, or grown and sold for purchase in Japan and elsewhere. They grow for 3-7 years inside oysters living in sea water. Fresh water Akoyas are not the same.

3-7 years?! Wow! Even Mikimoto could not do that! Fresh water akoya are not the same

Q:
Can Akoya Pearls be grown in freshwater?
A:
While not known in Japan, they are grown in China with great success. However, freshwater Akoyas are not nearly as round as seawater pearls. Thus, seawater pearls are the preferred pearl.

Not known in Japan?! Or not known in the world?!

 

[AMc]

LOL- I don't even know where to start!! Maybe there's like a mis-translation problem... I see that alot with the Chinese vendors that don't have the proper programs on their sites

 

[laurenb]

Wow, bizarre. And that photo on the upper right hand side of the display area is hilariously blown out.

 

[knotty panda]

He also claims that akoya pearls can be cultured in freshwater.(I?m not kidding).[/FONT

You mean it's impossible? Shoot! Ok guys, everyone out of the pool! Apparently we can't do this!

 

[barbie biggs]

Gee, I'm glad everybody covered most of the things you could accurately say about these pearls (I wouldn't want to be critical) because I was thinking they were really inexpensively priced for 8-9mm akoya.

 

[AMc]

Wait, wait! I've got it: TRANSGRAFTS!!!

He must be referring to the legendary, the extremely rare and experimental breakthrough technology only known to a select few mad bio-geneticists hiding out in temperature controlled caves in Siberia- the ones that are stationed by the Travelling Lakes... It all makes sense now. Yes, yes, precious.... wait. Sorry I think I got carried away

Are you sure that vendor isn't the infamous ZE?? Have you checked for trolls?

 

[pearlescence]

nah..they're white not red

 

[jshepherd]

Just the lop noors were red. I think the transgrafts were white!

 

[AMc]

Somebody get Slaerp in on this one- I think this thread needs to get hijacked by some good ole' fashioned ZE Bashin'!

... Hey that rhymed!

 

[Caitlin]

These guys seem to be selling freshwaters passing as akoyas. If they didn't know that from their seller, they've been dished blarney, if they did know they are dishing blarney. In any case, I hope they get reported.

 

[gravityalwayswins]

It looks to me like they are also strung with clamshells instead of finishing wire then knotted back through. Nothing wrong with clamshells, but I wouldn't expect them on super-duper Akoya strands.

 

[pearlguy]

response

response

I am writing to this thread since I am the seller in question. First, I am not ?another Chinese FW seller? trying to ?[pass] off [my] pearls. I am U.S, through and through and don?t even have Asian blood in me. I do travel extensively and have made many connections in the gem and jewelry world as I go about my business. That is how I got started. I am trying to operate a bona fide business here but apparently was mislead by my Asian supplier (I?ll spare you the details). The trouble is that he was supplying me with very good quality pearls, albeit mostly freshwater, as I now understand it.

I appreciate the creative writing and all when commenting on my listings. I did find conflicting information on Akoyas and freshwaters in a number of online articles and discussions, though.

The bottom line is that I appreciate Pearl Professor?s kind advice on my listings. While the pearls I offer undoubtedly are high quality pearls, I unfortunately have some freshwater pearls here. However, many of my customers who have had their pearls assessed still found they got very good deals and were extremely satisfied with their purchases. I guess that only those who expected to get a $10-20,000 necklace for $200 were the disappointed ones. My purpose, though, was never to deceive anyone and I never claimed these were $10-20,000 necklaces. I assure you, I am not one of ?these guys?.

I have found that my pearls are much better quality than those sold by many major U.S. retailers and large big box retail discounters, yet they are charging from five to eight times and more that which I am charging. Some store-based jewelers charge even higher. My purpose simply was to build a quality pearl dealership that offered higher quality pearls at affordable prices. There is a lot of junk sold in the pearl market online, and I do not intend, nor did I ever intend, to be a part of that.

 

[GemGeek]

There is a lot of junk sold in the pearl market online, and I do not intend, nor did I ever intend, to be a part of that.

Good for you! Knowledge is power.

 

[Raisondetre]

Some suggestions for your website and ebay listing. Skip the flash. Also, more pictures, less words. If I have to scroll down right to the end to look at the pictures, I usually don't bother. You can have a separate FAQ page on ebay rather than put all the educational information there. The pictures do need some work - do you use a professional photographer? You need closeup macro shots. Alot of the detail on your pearls is lost. All I can see are rough shapes and not enough detail about the surface. Hope this helps.

 

[Nerida]

Hi pearlguy, and thanks for coming onto the forum in your own defense - that is a pretty admirable thing to do! I guess my 'beef' is in sellers not knowing their product before listing it.... that is annoying. Whilst you may have been misled, the buck stops with the seller, and yes, your customers mostly got great deals on good pearls - but please please don't contribute to the plethora of pearl misinformation that exists on ebay! Ultimately it is the responsibility of the seller to ensure that their information is correct! Can you change suppliers or perhaps purchase in person... ?

 

[Caitlin]

The Pearl Professor? Where did he post? I see you sold one of those freshwaters as an akoya for $1,800. That is absolutely fraudulent.

An akoya that expensive would have round pearls, not all those off-rounds that your photos featured. Huge profit margin in selling cultured freshwaters as cultured akoyas.

I checked your store and it looks like you are undergoing a redo. You are not the first American taken in by thinking cultured freshwaters are cultured akoyas. One the other pearl necklace of the same style, you still call it akoya and say this:

This is a new, higher quality pearl we are introducing with high nacre and luster.

What is new and higher quality about it?

You use the same stock photo for both the $297 "akoya" and the $1900 necklaces. In other words, you are not showing the actual strand the consumer will get. If they are really AAA cultured freshwaters, $297 is a good buy.

Your Q & A has some correct info in it.

One more thing--it is against international regulations including the FTC to use the word "natural" in conjunction with cultured pearls. There are many cultured freshwaters (CFWP) in natural colors of peach, pink, lavender and even purple, also some pond scum colors. These may be called "natural colored" or "natural color", etc

In the side bar on your store page, you state you love natural pearls. Well so do I, but they are NEVER cultured pearls, they are wild pearls grown without human intervention. This was fought over in the courts of France when the cultured pearls first came out. The verdict was that cultured pearls may not use the term Natural. and must use the word "Cultured" with any pearl type, ie cultured freshwater pearls, cultured South Sea pearls, cultured akoyas, cultured Pteria sternas and so on.

Many jewelers have little to no understanding of pearls and tell people the most outrageous things! We have at least one thread with examples.

Gem quality CFWP can have as good or better mirror than hanadama akoyas at 1/10th the price.

I would like to hear about the conflicting info you heard.

We love it when people learn some accurate facts about pearls on this forum.

There are a number of merchants, Chinese especially, who will lie or mislead to get the sale. People are tricked every day by sales pitches. I think that is why eBay is not often trustworthy when it comes to pearls.

 

[Caitlin]

Ps
There is no such thing as freshwater akoyas. All freshwater pearls, whether natural or cultured are from mussels, not oysters. As they are solid nacre, it takes great skill to grow them round. The Chinese are the world's best in coming up with better techniques for their cultured freshwaters.

yes, your customers mostly got great deals on good pearls

I disagree with that. Paying akoya prices for freshwater is just plain fraud. Even with a high appraisal, if the appraiser was not a pearl graduate from the GIA they are talking through their hats. Those pearls will never get a higher price than your customers paid.

 

[pearlguy]

Thanks for the feedback. No one paid $1800, that's just an Ebay ploy to post listed price, not what was paid. It was marked down 55-60 percent. I'm my own photog. I find it is tough doing post production on pearl photos for posting given the bright color and all the light reflection. I will take your advice on web page design and shall consider revising. Do it all myself. Thank you. Pearl Professor was involved in earlier direct dialogue. He/she posted here to demonstrate wider support for his assessment re: freshwater versus Akoya. I agree that buck stops here. I have revised most if not all copy. As for pearl quality, even the freshwaters are pretty round for 8.5 and 9.5 pearls. Surfaces have minimal to no unmagnified flaws. Luster is good to very good. These definitely are not low quality pearls. I will carry more Akoyas in future as soon as I find quality at good prices. Suggestions on sellers?

 

[Nerida]

Suggestions on sellers?

As in suppliers for you to buy from? I think if you are pitching yourself as a reseller of quality pearls, you should be able to find yourself a good supplier... you should know the market before you jump into it!! I guess my earlier point was that not only does the buck stop with you, but that if ANYONE is going to sell pearls, then they need to do their research first... otherwise that would be the same as me suddenly deciding on my trips to China that I could sell industrial machinery because I could get great markups on it if I buy directly from China - the fact that I know nothing about the products or the market is irrelevant.. really?? Of course not! You owe it to your consumer to know as much about your product as possible!