There's no way these are South Sea pearls, right?

[s3rndpt]

So thanks to this forum, I now go out of my way to search and compare pearls on ebay. Today, I came across these, and I guess ebay was stalking me because a few hours later I got an email from ebay telling me they'd been reduced by $600 (!!).

My guess is they are dyed freshwater pearls. Am I way off?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/152080415473?ul_noapp=true

 

[Pearl Dreams]

They look like dyed freshwater pearls to me, too.

 

[Katbran]

They don't look like SS pearls. I certainly wouldn't anything listed as SS pearls on Ebay.

 

[Camelotshadow]

Ebay is not going to guarantee south sea. Its too vague & unless you get a GIA certificate to prove its really one opinion against another.
Most purchases are not worth the cost of an appraisal.
If you like them & the price is right then you buy but don;t count on south seas pearls being south seas pearls.
At $200 there is alot of silver & handwork. Pearls jus look too uniform in color & sort of nothing special so are likely dyed.
Soemtimes its best to get less pearls but better pearls or even a nice big single pearl pendant that really is wow! You can get a nice tahitian pendant in gold for a little more!

Advise is not to buy expensive south sea pearls on ebay or online unless they are from a trusted source.

 

[pattye]

Notice the shape of many of these pearls are not round; they are flattened. Size listed is very small for SS and the color is either dyed or irradiated (gray), not something done to South Sea pearls.

There are a few trusted pearl & gem sellers on ebay, but only a handful that I can specifically name.

 

[Pareltje]

Dyed freshwater pearls. The only vendors who sell real ssp I know are Agustus Collection, Pearl Society and HS Jewelry and Watches.

 

[Camelotshadow]

Seen HS..
Is Pearl Society in Hong Kong?

They have baroque gold south sea pearls they say are from Australia but they are not really producing gold pearls or so I thought.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/17-LIGHT-GO...652230?hash=item3f7e2a7886:g:Hz4AAOSwi7RZMic0

Sterling clasp baroque

Nicer color/ more round

http://www.ebay.com/itm/13-7MM-RICH...778027?hash=item2f048c79eb:g:tAcAAOSwaeRZK-oB

If they are truly Australian they are quite rare but guess where its from does not matter as much as the color size & quality.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/20...ut-still-elusive-for-australian-farms/8204654


OOOOh this one is nice but its $66,000 on sale! I do like the white with platinum overtones

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ENORMOUS-16...674343?hash=item2f0396c0e7:g:RFQAAOSw8HBZGHRL

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Dyed freshwater pearls. The only vendors who sell real ssp I know are Agustus Collection, Pearl Society and HS Jewelry and Watches.

To this I will add druzydesign (Care Ehret) who is a member of P-G.

 

[Camelotshadow]

Yep been checking druzy...wish there was a nice matched pair of round tahitians for earrings. I think I'd like drops too.

 

[cmd2014]

Definitely died freshwater pearls. You can tell by the shape and color.

 

[Pareltje]

Seen HS..
Is Pearl Society in Hong Kong?

They have baroque gold south sea pearls they say are from Australia but they are not really producing gold pearls or so I thought.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/17-LIGHT-GO...652230?hash=item3f7e2a7886:g:Hz4AAOSwi7RZMic0

Sterling clasp baroque

Nicer color/ more round

http://www.ebay.com/itm/13-7MM-RICH...778027?hash=item2f048c79eb:g:tAcAAOSwaeRZK-oB

If they are truly Australian they are quite rare but guess where its from does not matter as much as the color size & quality.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/20...ut-still-elusive-for-australian-farms/8204654


OOOOh this one is nice but its $66,000 on sale! I do like the white with platinum overtones

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ENORMOUS-16...674343?hash=item2f0396c0e7:g:RFQAAOSw8HBZGHRL

Pearl Society is in Hong Kong.
Atlas Pearls also carries gssps. I remember Kalmen22 bought gssp keshi necklace from Atlas. The company is Australian but their farms are in Indonesia. Maybe that's why they are listed as Australian pearls.

 

[Pareltje]

To this I will add druzydesign (Care Ehret) who is a member of P-G.

I'd like to add Isis Pearls too. She's a member here too. Her shop is in UK.

 

[Katbran]

Pearl Society is in Hong Kong.
Atlas Pearls also carries gssps. I remember Kalmen22 bought gssp keshi necklace from Atlas. The company is Australian but their farms are in Indonesia. Maybe that's why they are listed as Australian pearls.[/QUOTE

That would be very misleading if they listed Atlas pearls as Australian. We don't really have gold pearls here other than the odd pale one that pops up every now and then ( so I've been told) . So they are being pretty tricksy. I've certainly never seen a gold pearl at Paspaley

Certainly puts the rest of their 'Origin" claims in question.

 

[s3rndpt]

Thanks, glad to know my pearl radar is developing. The color was the first giveaway for me, then the shape. And obviously the price. I wasn't considering them (thanks to the forum I've become quite the customer of Pearl Society, Agustus collection, and I just got an amazing package from Druzy Design on Thursday), but I was hoping I was actually starting to learn something from here and the pearl course.

As a side note, I wish someone had warned me about pearls. Because I'm now totally obsessed.

 

[Pareltje]

Pearl Society is in Hong Kong.
Atlas Pearls also carries gssps. I remember Kalmen22 bought gssp keshi necklace from Atlas. The company is Australian but their farms are in Indonesia. Maybe that's why they are listed as Australian pearls.[/QUOTE

That would be very misleading if they listed Atlas pearls as Australian. We don't really have gold pearls here other than the odd pale one that pops up every now and then ( so I've been told) . So they are being pretty tricksy. I've certainly never seen a gold pearl at Paspaley

Certainly puts the rest of their 'Origin" claims in question.

Are there any Australian wholesalers who buy pearls from small, less known farms, collect them, grade them and put them in bags based on their grades and then auction them off in Hong Kong? That would be interesting to know.
Maybe this is the reason why some retailers assume they are Australian pearls.
Here in this thread London Pearl thought this exotic ssp was Australian of origin https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?10925-Guess-the-origin&highlight=Atlas+farm
I'm just trying to figure out why some vendors state their pearls' origin incorrectly.

 

[Camelotshadow]

This is great. Every question leads to more knowledge & more questions but all are a learning experience.
Sometimes a mistake can be the greatest lesson & learning experience of them all.

I guess the big wigs get familar & personal with the farms or those that buy direct from them. This way they know where it comes from.

I do like knwoing the origin & even the exact farm.

Then again there is an allure & mystery to finding an unknown great bargain on ebay but those are very rare. Still the hunt & the conquest have there own value in adventure...

Seems to me farming pearls i not something that a small backyard farmer will do. It takes access to the ocean & can't see any of it being a easily attainable small time venture.

 

[Katbran]

Are there any Australian wholesalers who buy pearls from small, less known farms, collect them, grade them and put them in bags based on their grades and then auction them off in Hong Kong? That would be interesting to know.
Maybe this is the reason why some retailers assume they are Australian pearls.
Here in this thread London Pearl thought this exotic ssp was Australian of origin https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?10925-Guess-the-origin&highlight=Atlas+farm
I'm just trying to figure out why some vendors state their pearls' origin incorrectly.

Most of the smaller farms that I know about ( and there certainly could be a few more) sell their own pearls at retail. We would need Rusty to comment on what they do with the pearls that they don't list on their website. . He'd have a better idea as to what the few smaller farms do with their pearls. Paspaley seems to own most of the larger farms .

As to why retailers choose to mislead customers by claiming Indonesian pearls are Australian, I'm guessing that it's to add an additional perceived value and legitimacy to their products. Most customers don't know about Indonesian pearls but they have heard of Australian SS ( Paspaley has spent time and money promoting them to the world ) . I guess some retailers might not know that the origin of their pearls is incorrectly identified. But lots of them would know exactly what they are doing.

 

[JerseyPearl]

Katbran, what a great summary.

 

[Katbran]

Katbran, what a great summary.

Why thank you very much JP Just babbling away down here lol.

 

[GemGeek]

I was on the Paspaley III during harvest and there were about 5% gold pearls. Of course, they are constantly aiming for perfectly round and white, so there are not a lot of them, but I saw buckets full in their operation in Darwin. You can see some photos here, mostly on the second page. This color is in line with the light gold in the link you shared. Their store had several white and gold necklaces on display at the time, 2007. My friend Donna purchased one and it's magnificent!

https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/s...arl-Tour-Paspaley-Pearls&highlight=pearl+tour