[Bernadette]

Dont follow this link if you have a mouthful of coffee or tea - you may damage your keyboard.

Found on ETSY - Titled as "Tahitian Pearl Necklace"

And then described as: Five strand necklace consist of swarovski tahitian pearls, and crystals. Sterling silver adjustable chain closure. Matching earrings also included with purchase!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=308074

Oh the humanity

[purepearls]

Ha! This really reminds me of the channel on TV where they sell jewelry exclusively. They were advertising stones as diamond "GEMS" and talking about how they were "natural gems" though they weren't really diamonds. They were using diamonds as the adjective which is very tricky! I wonder how many consumers actually thought they were buying real diamonds.

[effisk]

all sellers of dyed freshwater pearls on eBay.fr advertise for "perles de culture Tahiti" which means literally "cultured pearls Tahiti". I asked a couple of sellers, they argue that "Tahiti" is the term used in the trade for the color of these pearls...

[Satine De La Courcel]

Aren't swarovski known for glass beads and glass pearls?

[Mandy]

Yeah, they are. I haven't heard Swarovski selling any cultured pearls before but their glass pearls are very shiny and pretty. The seller here is just probably using the term Tahitian for the size of the pearls and their colors but who knows.

[Satine De La Courcel]

I thought so. I have only seen the overpriced glass pearls they sell. People see pearl lately nothing else seems to matter!

Thanks

Ashby

[boo]

Fire Mountain Gems uses "Tahitian" as one of the color categories of the Swarovski pearls they sell (along with cream rose, white, gold, etc) - I think it may be an official Swarovski designation (they have a bajillion different names for their crystal colors). The "pearls" are available in many sizes (4mm - 12 mm).

[Satine De La Courcel]

Hi Boo,

My point being that it appears to be passed off as original tahitian pearls not glass ones by Swarovski, I feel the seller should make that clear. tahitian is the color name and they are glass beads not real pearls.


I now many beaders think tht swarovski makes FWP Tahitian pearls, when in truth they are just glass pretty no doubt and well IMO overpriced.. but they are just glass.. not a real pearl.

Cheers
Ash

[boo]

Hi, Ash

I agree with you that it is misleading. Even if we choose to overlook the title that flat out states Tahitian with no mention of the fact that they are faux, the proper descriptive phrasing would be "Tahitian Swarovski pearls" not "Swarovski Tahitian pearls."

However, I would be kind of surprised if a serious beader (as opposed to a consumer) mistook the Swarovski pearls for FWP - Swarovski is so strongly identified with (manufactured) crystal that it would be something a stretch to imagine them also being involved with non-manufactured pearl. Also, every bead shop I have ever been in has all of the Swarovski components grouped together, well away from the "natural" (i.e., not manufactured) pearls. Well, okay - maybe I would be less surprised than disappointed. I just have this sad little hope that if someone puts time and effort into creating a piece of jewelry, they should know what the heck it is that they are working with as well...