[dpaul]

Can I please get an opinion on a couple of ebay listings. I live up in Canada and would like to get a single strand of pearls for my wife. I would prefer Akoya pearls but would be alright with cultured pearls. Pleae let me know any thoughts that you might have.

The Ebay listings are as follows:
1) Ebay Item# 170070144268
Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...4268&rd=1&rd=1

2) Ebay Item#110078932062
Link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...2062&rd=1&rd=1

I am relatively new to this but have been looking over a lot of the information posted here over the week. Thank you for your help.

David

[Valeria101]

Originally Posted by dpaul

...would prefer Akoya pearls but would be alright with cultured pearls.

Well, akoya are a type of cultured pearls... so it makes no sense to say ether or.

I n pictures I cannot tell them apart from outright fakes and quality if typically very, very difficult in pictures unless those images are of truly impressive quality - which is really, really uncommon and definitely not the case with either of those auctions.

It could be that someone could feel confident to make a judgement based on the pictures, but I do not. In fact, I have yet to hear anyone daring to risk serious cash on images like that. There might be other clues - the clasp of the first strand is quite unusual / would guess it is some sort of costume (=fake) piece... dunno. The others - anybody's guess: obviously neither of us or the seller believes that they are selling pearls worth $1700 for $60 or so or that 7-7.5mm freshwater pearls with a flimsy clasp could be worth $1k to begin with... The last thing I want to do is slander somebody's auction for no good reason - frankly, it is quite difficult to guess which is what on Ebay auctions and these two fellows don't make it obvious at all.

On the other hand: does this purchase have to be on Ebay? There are safer ways to go about it - even online.

Would expect 7-8mm round freshwater to be $150 - $300 on established shops. $50 is stretching my imagination, although somewhere down the production chain.... maybe.... What's worth all that hassle to you? Akoya $300-$500 or whereabouts - however, those are really not in my comfort zone (I never looked for them).

[Perle]

Hi David,

You might want to take a look at this thread (if you haven't already) on Akoya vs. Freshwater (and specifically the Freshadama line by Pearl Paradise):

AAA vs AA+ Worth the extra money?

Both types are cultured. But Akoya have a bead inside, which leads to certain durability issues. (I have seen this firsthand: I have a necklace I purchased about 20 years ago from a very reputable jeweler and I recently discovered that it is now worn down to the bead in some places.)

Fortunately, I read about the Freshadama alternative here on this forum. Zeide and others have posted extensively on the merits of Chinese freshwater pearls. Another pearl expert, Fred Ward, has remarked that "[a] great irony of pearl history is that the least expensive cultured pearl product in the market today rivals the quality of the most expensive natural pearls ever found. The price-value anomaly is obvious to consumers as they hasten to buy Chinese freshwater bargains. Indeed, pearls from freshwater mussels lie at the center of the liveliest activity in pearling today."

I recently purchased two Freshadama necklaces, a 9-10 mm and an 8-9 mm triple strand, and they are beautiful. I have only the highest praise for Jeremy Shepherd and his staff at PearlParadise.com. The quality is excellent and the customer service superb! You might want to give them a try. I've heard that it can be rather dicey on Ebay!

Good luck in your search!

Perle

[Satine De La Courcel]

[quote=dpaul]Can I please get an opinion on a couple of ebay listings. I live up in Canada and would like to get a single strand of pearls for my wife. I would prefer Akoya pearls but would be alright with cultured pearls. Pleae let me know any thoughts that you might have.

David,

Skip E-bay all together and search any of the vendors on this Site! you are going to get what you see in the picture as for e-bay its " maybe you will maybe you will not get what yousee in the pic!" Most of the time its not!

Do not look for a good deal first, have a set $$$ amount you are willing to pay for pearls. and include shipping cost in that! then do some comparison shopping ans ask Questions... Those on this site are always willing to answer any question you have!

[dpaul]

Thank you for your thoughts. I will be more patient with my purchase as I just started looking. I would rather get my wife something nice then just something cheap (but there being a reason for its low value) I will also take a look at PearlParadise.com. You are all right in that the golden rule is that you get what you pay for.

David

[icevic]

I like how the second seller clearly explains in their other auctions what their Majorica pearls really are, so the buyers are not deceived by the name. That shows some honesty and integrity.