Roaring trade in empty Miki boxes on Ebay ...

[Mary Montpezat]

I've noticed old, empty Mikimoto boxes fetching $40 and up on ebay - why would you pay that much for a Mikimoto box with no pearls in it?

 

[pearlescence]

Because you put some non-Mikimoto pearls in the box and someone will pay the premium (#oneborneveryminute)

 

[pattye]

This seems to happen with Tiffany boxes also. I've had the feeling they are counterfeit boxes~

 

[Caitlin]

The clasp and the box are the only provable parts of a Mikimoto strand. With those, the strand can be reconstructed with non Mikimoto pearls. It is impossible to tell the difference. And Yes. It is a scam, though there are not enough clasps available to do it very often. I think the boxes would be easier to fake than the clasps.

 

[Adeline Leigh]

This seems to happen with Tiffany boxes also. I've had the feeling they are counterfeit boxes~

Here's a tale fo the new generation fakes that China's producing. My brother's a pilot and frequently travels to China and beyond. Last Christmas, he brought back a Grade AAA counterfeit Tiffany box and a faux Peretti pendant and when we compared it against the real thing we could barely tell. (The recipent would have discovered that it would have tarnished in 3 months, however). The difference was as minute as the creases and folds of the boxes being ever so slightly off. According to him, Europe is now getting into the fake (triple A grade) act as well and as faraway as Moscow too. Long gone are the days when we can identify fakes by sloppy workmanship or spelling errors. And now this: quasi-Mikimoto-fakes. Why can't we have sellers (no matter how small time) with integrity just like those we see here on PG?!?!

 

[pearlescence]

Adeline, brands get counterfeited because people will pay such a premium for brands - although there was some research which showed that it did not harm the finances of the brands because people who bought the counterfeits would never buy the brands anyway, so there was no economic loss to the brands
Of course the brands and the counterfeit enforcement people didn't like this so the law and the enforcement still stands