Some nice finds from E-Bay

[PGDesign]

After a couple of Pearl Paradise purchases last December I was of course still 'in need' of more pearls, but funds were a little restricted. I was specifically after large freshwaters. And so, I turned to e-Bay. I was pretty shocked by the frankly fraudulant claims of some sellers, but I was relieved to see that the seller who had caught my eye has had a favourable mention on the forum. That was the clincher, so, after a long search for large nice quality black freshwaters, I took the plunge and ordered some pieces from Apex pearl. After testing the water I have been back for more, this seller really does deliver on service and great value for money. I was amazed by the variety of 'black' pearls and I ended up buying three strands in differing hues.

10-11mm black freshwaters:


By voley



10-11mm 'Tahitian grey' freshwaters - these have somehow been dyed to resemble Tahitians, and indeed people assume that is what they are. I've included some dark grey Tahitian earrings in the photo so you can see just how successful this dye job has been. However, my partner has unkindly nicknamed them 'rabbit droppings':

Here are some 9-10mm natural colour strands, creamy white, 'golden' (but they are actually a delicate champagne peach) and lavendar (these have blemishes, but despite the low price tag they are very pretty). I have failed to capture the lovely overtones on all three strands:

Lastly, another e-Bay seller caught my eye - Pearl Fashion Trend. This seller tries to adhere to a stricter grading system - his prices and service were excellent, and I love the mauve/bronze 10.5mm freshwaters, they're so colourful:

 

[Valeria101]

Your pearls are nice, of course, but your pictures! Now those are quite awesome!

 

[Raisondetre]

Wow, the pictures are wonderful! You don't have a special setup do you? I want to take pictures like that. Lovely pearls, excellent taste. The dye job in the tahitian greys is almost flawless.

 

[jerin]

PG Design,

beautiful pearls, professionally photographed!

 

[lisamla]

I think the pearls look great. Its nice to hear you were satisfied with your Ebay purchase. You did a great job with the photos!

 

[PGDesign]

Hi Everybody

Your comments on the photos did make me smile - if you could have seen how 'crudely' they were taken you would have laughed! 10 minutes in my lunchbreak, a bit of white paper on my desk (this is curved up against a stack of CDs), my old and quite hopeless little Canon Ixus, no exposure control (with such a glaring white scene I would normally overexpose) ... followed by a LOT of cleaning up last night on Photoshop! It's just perseverence. Hopefully I can replace these pictures with more professional ones when I'm reunited with my full kit.

I don't use a light box, but some people swear by them, basic ones (and that's all you need really) are cheap and easily sourced on e-Bay. It's important to light the contents as evenly as possible and colour corrected lamps are also available, should you want to go down that route. The next complaint you often hear is that after photographing the 'subject' the scene is a dull, dirty bluish grey. This is because your camera's light meter will read the scene as being very bright, and it will automatically try to reduce this to a more 'acceptable' average value, hence darkening it. The trick is to over-expose by about two thirds of a stop, as I mentioned earlier. If you laid your pearls on a light grey background, all this would be less of an issue. Personally I prefer a white background, even if entails a bit of extra work. It's really nothing more than practice - pearls are very difficult to photograph so a bit of frustration is inevitable.

I have a fondness for that shell, I found it on the beach in Aden when I was 3 years old, it functions as a soap dish these days.

Every photographer I have ever known will say the same thing - a good product photo is almost entirely down to post-production. Photoshop has been around longer than most people realise - significantly longer than digital photography.

PG x

 

[Nerida]

Hi PG - I had mentioned Apex pearls in another thread, and maybe another member did as well. They are the only ebay seller from whom I have received consistent quality, albeit with slightly smaller than stated pearl sizes. Jerry is also very helpful, and will also sometimes take what you may think is a very low offer on some pieces - I have saved quite a lot by offering less than the buy it now price. You have bought similar pieces to what I have bought from him in the past - I have also bought a strand of darker gold FW - more of a dark champagne. I also have a strand of the light ones, but the lavenders are my faves and are consistently well matched. Glad you are happy, and I think I need to investigate photoshop - your photos are fantastic!

Nerida.

 

[PGDesign]

Hi PG - I had mentioned Apex pearls in another thread, and maybe another member did as well. They are the only ebay seller from whom I have received consistent quality, albeit with slightly smaller than stated pearl sizes. Jerry is also very helpful, and will also sometimes take what you may think is a very low offer on some pieces - I have saved quite a lot by offering less than the buy it now price. You have bought similar pieces to what I have bought from him in the past - I have also bought a strand of darker gold FW - more of a dark champagne. I also have a strand of the light ones, but the lavenders are my faves and are consistently well matched. Glad you are happy, and I think I need to investigate photoshop - your photos are fantastic!

Nerida.

Hi Nerida

Indeed it was your comment about Apex which reassured me, and I have to agree that I have also received exactly what has been pictured, and quickly. I did use the 'make offer' facility on one of the strands, I think I saved about 12.5% on the original price. There are quite a few pieces I would still like to buy from him, mostly so I can wear multiple strands of the same thing, something I could not otherwise afford to do. Like you, I adore the lavendar strands I have, they were very cheap but they are so pretty and flattering, and big. I find white pearls quite hard to wear at times.

PG x

 

[Nerida]

Hi PG, I thought I would throw in a couple of photos of a smallish (7-8mm) strand of multicolored rounds from Apex... I think these are just gorgeous! I think these were around $35US at the time - bought last year, I think..

I really need to look at photoshop - haven't ever really played with it at all to understand its functions. I usually use Picasa, but don't find it really that helpful.

 

[PGDesign]

Hi PG, I thought I would throw in a couple of photos of a smallish (7-8mm) strand of multicolored rounds from Apex... I think these are just gorgeous! I think these were around $35US at the time - bought last year, I think..
QUOTE]

Hi Nerida

Your photos are great and I absolutely love your pearls - in fact I've got the same ones (in the 9-10mm size) and I wear them often. You got a fantastic deal - I think mine were around $149 .... which is a very good deal as well, considering their size. Some of the colours are so bright and metallic.

 

[jerin]

Hi PG, I thought I would throw in a couple of photos of a smallish (7-8mm) strand of multicolored rounds from Apex... I think these are just gorgeous! I think these were around $35US at the time - bought last year, I think..
QUOTE]

Hi Nerida

Your photos are great and I absolutely love your pearls - in fact I've got the same ones (in the 9-10mm size) and I wear them often. You got a fantastic deal - I think mine were around $149 .... which is a very good deal as well, considering their size. Some of the colours are so bright and metallic.

Hi PGDesign,

can you give me the link to Ebay for Apex Pearls? I tried the name and up came a company with mostly chinese/Japanese/English text and it was impossible to register as a new customer so I emailed them and got the answer that they have no WEBSITE. It was someone called Alice who answered my mail but I don?t understand - do they have a Web-site on EBAY but none other?

Thanks for helping.

 

[Hanaleimom]

Apex jewelry

Apex jewelry

PGDesign, Nerida,

Is this the one? It says Apex Jewelry when I searched for "Apex" under store names only, but item description and seller = Apex_pearl.

http://stores.ebay.com/APEX-JEWELRY

 

[lisamla]

Wow! I just checked out the Apex store on Ebay and they have some great looking pieces at great prices. I'm still a bit hesitate, but it seems everyone here who has purchased from Apex has had a good experience. Again, this forum is so useful.

 

[Nerida]

Yes, it is the apex_pearl - the owner's name is Jerry. He does know of this site - I told him about it before my China trip late Jan. I haven't bought from him since, but will again sometime. I will post a proper link tonight.

 

[ksrizz]

PP's quality is exceedingly better. From the reflections in the pearl, luster, shape, consistancy, even dye job seems spotty. You can see the differences viewing the Tahitian pearl earrings. They are a much higher class of pearl. As tempting as it was to buy at lower prices, considering - price vs. quality - I have to say, your money would have went a lot further and for generations - staying with the gems you once before purchased.

 

[Nerida]

Hi Ksrizz - how are your China plans going?

Hope no-one has misunderstood - I'm definitely not making comparisons between PP product and Apex - that would be the last thing I would do, particularly as I haven't bought pearls from PP ( I have bought findings, and they were fantastic!)! I am sure we haven't given any indication that that is what any of us here in this thread have been doing....

My Apex pearl purchases are mostly items I have resold. If I were looking for gem quality pearls, particularly to wear myself, I would be either planning an all day venture in China looking for specific pearls (which I may or may not find) - or going to PP or TPO websites..... BECAUSE they all seem to be consistent in their quality, well regarded by their customer base, and deliver products that are true to their descriptions from what I read. I am just saying that Apex are a much better than average ebay based pearl seller (and there are so many average ones, and a hell of a lot that are apalling!). And as PG said, sometimes you don't want exceptional quality - you may just be looking for something affordable to wear casually or in multiples - but as always, you do want both reliability and consistency, and that is something I have always found at Apex pearls. I am definitely NOT an agent for them, just have no hesitations to recommend them! Remember too that I am in Australia - I had never heard of TPO or PP until I started reading this website - they don't come up on my Google searches here unfortunately! Until now, online buying of pearls for me meant some shonky traders who do come up immediately on Google (won't mention names) or ebay sellers. In order to resell well, my pearl purchases from now will predominately be in China - BUT I am dreaming of one day having my little business include SS's & Tahitians (preferably from Josh, I am totally in love with his pearls) ....always fancied a buying trip to French Polynesia! Who wouldn't? Hope this clarifies things!

Regards,
Nerida

BTW my business name is Penelope's Pearls - no website, which is why I have never added it to my signature - when I have a website, I will add it! Pearl sellers must have a thing for alliteration - I have had this name for ages, didn't know there were so many other "PP's"..

 

[Nerida]

Sorry Hanaleimon - didn't notice you had already posted the link...

Jerin - not sure if there is any other site than their ebay one - I usually just contact him by email if I am looking for something, so don't know if there is any other business associated with the ebay site. I did ask him if it would be possible to visit him when I was in Suzhou, but he wasn't in town at the time..
Nerida.

 

[PGDesign]

PP's quality is exceedingly better. From the reflections in the pearl, luster, shape, consistancy, even dye job seems spotty. You can see the differences viewing the Tahitian pearl earrings. They are a much higher class of pearl. As tempting as it was to buy at lower prices, considering - price vs. quality - I have to say, your money would have went a lot further and for generations - staying with the gems you once before purchased.

Ksrizz - Nobody is trying to compare Apex pearls to PP's! As Nerida said, and as I stated in my posting, Apex are regarded as a good source of low priced 'everyday' pearls which do represent good value for money. It is helpful for forum members to know that a reliable e-Bay source exists for this purpose, that is all. Not everybody can afford to make all their purchases from PP, TPO, and the other higher end dealers, much as they might like to.

I think it will be clear to anyone that if you look at Apex's prices they cannot possibly offer gem quality/flawless items for such a tiny outlay. I do have pearls from PP and they are reserved 'for best'. Whilst I am sure your comments were well-intended, I do not agree that I have spent my money unwisely, considering how little I have spent, I am very pleased. Not all of my pearls are purchased for investment purposes, nor am I in a position to consider future generations. Many of my Apex strands have been gifts for others, where spending more would not have been possible or appropriate, and all have been well-received.

To compare my (very costly, and flawless) Tahitian earrings to the dyed freshwater strand next to it doesn't make any sense at all. I merely placed them there to indicate how accurate some of the dying methods are now, because that has been discussed elsewhere on the forum. Much as I would like another Tahitian strand costing thousands, the freshwater strand I purchased is lovely in person and can be enjoyed without the worry of damage or loss. Incidentally, the dye job is not 'spotty' and for their huge size (10-11mm) they have very good lustre and bright reflections - far better than those 'comparable' (and very costly) strands in many of my local jeweller's.

 

[jerin]

Sorry Hanaleimon - didn't notice you had already posted the link...

Jerin - not sure if there is any other site than their ebay one - I usually just contact him by email if I am looking for something, so don't know if there is any other business associated with the ebay site. I did ask him if it would be possible to visit him when I was in Suzhou, but he wasn't in town at the time..
Nerida.

Hi Nerida and thanks for the help. I am still confused, I found the ebay-site and the name is apex pearl while the one I mailed to seemed to write their name a little bit other like apex_pearls.

It does not matter, I?ll contact both of them and then I am sure to get a clarification.

 

[PGDesign]

Hi Nerida and thanks for the help. I am still confused, I found the ebay-site and the name is apex pearl while the one I mailed to seemed to write their name a little bit other like apex_pearls.

It does not matter, I?ll contact both of them and then I am sure to get a clarification.

Hi Jerin - this is the direct link to Apex's e-Bay store, where I made the purchases, I'm sure it's the one you found: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/APEX-JEWELRY