[E. Kristoff]

I know this is a forum about eBay, but my point is to tell people to watch out for an eBay seller now selling on a Website. The Website name is Imperial Jewels, at ImperialJewels.com.

Look at this seller's offerings.

http://www.imperialjewels.com/Akoya%20Pearls.asp
This all says akoya pearls, but you can see that they are all freshwater pearls.

http://www.imperialjewels.com/South%20Sea%20Pearl.asp
This all says south sea pearls, but you can see again that they are only freshwater pearls.

http://www.imperialjewels.com/Tahiti...r%20Pearls.asp
Now their Tahitian pearls. Again, they are all freshwater pearls.

I know that this is something that happens every day on eBay. There is nothing anyone can do there because eBay does not care. But I think the sellers here should be concerned because this is happening on a regular Website. But the Website is in Thailand.

Imperial Jewels sells a lot of other jewelry as well, you can see it on their Website. It is probably all fake.

[tanakarn1]

Yes, all pearls look like freshwater. Although the website is in Thailand, it is American & British owned and operated.

[richipat]

I can appreciate your frustration. After reading this site for a while and really looking at pearls I see every where, when I see obvious incorrect information on eBay, I feel frustrated and angry.

People are often misled into really poor purchasing choices because of ignorance and misplaced trust. Also, now, I am beginning to feel that the whole process cheapens the product.

The only thing we can do is educate those around us who show an interest in pearls. I don't own very many pearls, but have some and I am often asked at work, "Are those pearls real?" I usually reply, "Yes, are you interested in pearls?" and this opens the door to conversations where I can "enlighten." So many women feel that quality pearls are so far beyond their price range that they just settle for expensive imitations. I have been shocked to actually see some of the prices of plastic pearl necklaces. For the price one could buy a decent quality freshwater strand or even a fairly decent saltwater strand. But I ramble....

Unfortunately there is a lot of junk out there on eBay, not just with pearls. I am sometimes appalled at the quality of diamonds and other gemstones peddled out there as well.

So guys and girls, it our mission to educate and inform! Go for it!

Thanks for the heads up.

[Caitlin]

The following is from their Tahitian page:

TAHITIAN BLACK CLR PEARL

Notice the CLR. what do you think it stands for? I think it is this dealers way of saying Tahitian black color.

Tahitian black is a very favorite color on eBay and if you don't read carefully, you will think they mean Tahitian pearls.

There is no excuse for calling any pearls that pink color SouthSea.

[knotty panda]

I agree with Caitlin. I didn't see the Tahitian "color" as deceptive advertising, but the pink South Seas? I'll allow them a misprint for that error.

[jshepherd]

I had never heard of ImperialJewels.com before. This must be a new Site. I see they joined immediately after E.'s post, though. Maybe they are coming to explain.

Because Imperial Jewels is in Thailand there is not much anyone here can do about their dishonesty except post. Hopefully consumers will research them before buying.

I noticed another "type" of pearl they sell. They call it "Round Golden Pacific Pearl". The word Pacific would infer that the pearls are saltwater. But they are dyed yellow freshwater...

Add ImperialJewels.com to the blacklist. A denifinite scam.

[The Pearl Outlet]

Hmmm... Just to chime in there...

The following quote is from their website:

BREATHTAKING TOP QUALITY RARE CORAL PINK ROUND NATURAL PEARLS NECKLACE... Australia South Sea Pearl

Natural Australian South Sea Pearls for ONLY $177.13

LOL

There are so many outright lies there, where does one start?

[Ingykiz]

I got scammed on Ebay my very first purchase. I bought what I thought was a Tahitian pearl strand 10-11mm for a fair price (not too low not to high) so no red flags. When I received the necklace, it was a dyed fresh water. When I tried to get my money back, the site when MIA. I did get back up on that horse again and have been pleased with the my other purchases from Ebay (toys, makeup, and yes pearls!). I am glad found this forum and the sellers that post here. I always look at their sites before I Ebay for pearls.

[Kevin Canning]

too much misinformation on that site to even get started - let hope they read this and give their head a good shake.

[jshepherd]

ImperialJewels.com just sent Admin a post threatening to sue PG if this thread is not removed within seven days. Caitlin just sent it to me. They are claiming that the original poster is a gemstone competitor of theirs. Interesting ...

I just went back to their Web site (imperialjewels.com) and checked their pearl sections. I see page after page of what appear to be commercial quality freshwater pearls listed as akoya. The dyed freshwater pearls are all "tahitian color" with no mention of the fact that they are dyed freshwater.

Exhibit A ():
http://www.imperialjewels.com/shop_f...tcode=HA008056

Sorry Imperial Jewels. The poster may have been a competitor, but it sure appears to me that he/she was telling the truth. Maybe an easier way of getting Admin to remove this thread would be cleaning up your misrepresentations.

Selling freshwater pearls as akoya is dishonest, unethical and illegal. This thread points that out and your potential customers should know the truth before spending money on your pearls.

[Caitlin]

Whoever heard of akoya buttons? or 11.5 akoya strands" for $247!!! Even if they they are freshwater, that is an impossible price for 11.5mm.

When they say black Tahitian color they NEVER once mention the origin of their pearls. They never use "freshwater once on their site, yet most, if not all of the pearls shown ARE freshwater?????????

Honesty, integrity and a deep appreciation of the retail jeweler are the pillars around which Imperial Jewels has built its business. Full and honest disclosure of all enhancements, origins, and clarity grades of IJ jewels is our promise to you

I guess they must NOT be talking about the origin of their pearls- are pearls gemstones?

[jshepherd]

Just did some more digging and found the eBay connection as well. Imperial Jewelry is the eBay seller AmericanJewelry. I found this from their email address which returned americanjewelry.net.

Now to the auctions! Just one example.

http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/209...spagenameZWDVW

The pearl in the ring is clearly freshwater. The piece comes with an appraisal from USJAA or "US Jewelry Appraisal Authority".

I did a search for the supposed "lab". They have a Web site. How legit does this look?
http://usjaa.com/

An authority appraiser with no address and an incorrectly formatted telephone number. The number at the bottom of the page is written like this "646-8436-061". The telephone number on AmerianJewelry.net's auctions is written like this "305-8901-835".

Something fishy going on, eh? It seems like more than a coincidence to me. It would appear as though someone who does not live in the US, and hence does not know how US telephone numbers are formatted, posted both of those telephone numbers. Imperialjewels.com is based in Thailand.

The only reference to USJAA that I can find apart from their Web page is on every auction posted by AmericanJewelry. Something tells me that AmericanJewelry.net, ImperialJewels.com, and USJAA.com are all one and the same.

You are welcome to post here, Imperial Jewels. From where I am sitting your operation appears to be a complete scam. I would love to hear your take on it. Was E. Kristoff really a competitor? Or was E. a customer who figured this out as easily as I did?

[Caitlin]

Imperial Jewels was co-founded by Simon Bruce-Lockhart, a highly accredited British gemologist ...

I looked up Simon Bruce-Lockhart because the site claimmed he was a famous gemster guy. The only time I saw that name used was for headmaster at a series of prep schools. If he were famous, why no google hits?

I just googled Jeremy Shepherd. There are a number of Jeremy Shephards, it is no where as a rare a name as Simon Lockhart-Bruce, but the first hit was our jeremy's blog and near the bottom was Jeremy's online business book. If I use "Jeremy Shepherd- pearl" as the search term, I get nothing but hits for PP and for articles written about him by big-name magazines and newpapers.

When I google Simon bruce lockhart, pearls I get 2 hits one for Imperial gems and one for solitaire.com with is an online mag for which he wrote two articles, one on rubies, one on sapphires.....

If he has British credentials as a gemologist, why can't I find more links for him?

Here is a rather misleading LINK.

AAA RADIANT TAHITIAN PEARL & DIAMOND 14K FABULOUS RING</IMG>
Set With 0.16ct Real Diamonds 4.64gms Lustering 14k Gol

You don't find out unless you read the description down below, that they mean Tahitian color!

[jshepherd]

I should probably mention that the State vs. Shepherd Jeremy Shepherd is not me
No DUI's in my history
There is also a football player and an actor named Jeremy Shepherd I believe.


I found another eBay account connected to Imperial Jewels. The seller is indochinagems.
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQ...Zindochinagems

Every pearl auction is rife with illegal misrepresentations. Freshwater pearls are called Tahitian, South Sea, akoya, but not freshwater.

ImperialJewels.com, thanks for sending such a demanding, threatening letter to PG. We are all going to hold our breath now while you follow through with your rants. Your letter did succeed in putting your operation back on our radar. Consumers need to know that your operation is indeed fraudulent and your product illegally and unethically represented. You lies are tantamount to stealing. Yes, you are stealing from people. You will get NO respect from anyone on this forum.

Oh, and for good measure: Imperial Jewels, ImperialJewels.com, UJAA, USJAA.com, indochinagems, Americanjewelry, AmericanJewelry.net. Go google! You can do the rest!

[mikehrz]

As if USJAA wasn't shady enough already, it turns out their domain has been registered through www.domainsbyproxy.com.

Did you know that for each domain name you register, anyone -
anywhere, anytime - can find out your name, home address, phone
number and email address?

The law requires that the personal information you provide with every
domain you register be made public in the "WHOIS" database. Your
identity becomes instantly available - and vulnerable - to spammers,
scammers, prying eyes and worse.

But now there's a solution: Domains By Proxy®!

Why exactly would a reputable gem lab need to keep their identity secret?