Tiffany Pearls on eBay

[pearl4me]

Hi,

Has anyone here have experience with ebay sellers proud_babushka and ksn2hs? They're husband and wife team and sell Tiffany and Mikimoto pearls along with other pre-owned designer jewelry. I'm looking at a Tiffany 8 mm necklace which states that it's a new condition. I contacted the seller and she guarantees authenticity and said it's unworn (new). She will give me 3 weeks to have the item appraised by Tiffany. I feel that I'd be protected by eBay/Paypal if it's a counterfeit. They have lots of positive feedback and some of their Miki come with certificate (some don't). Other buyers bought Mikis or Tiffany and seemed to be satisfied. Their price for Tiffany necklace is at least 40% of retail which makes me wonder.

[Chameleon]

Hi pearl4me and welcome to the forum!

Is there some specific reason you would like to buy these brands? If they are authentic, you would anyway pay a big part for just the brand name. I checked one item that proud_babushka (babushka means grandmother in Russian ) has listed and I think the pictures are not of the same necklace. The Miki's on the picture are not 8,5mm 18' strand or the model has a giant neck. This case the strand is longer too.
Why don't you check out the trusted sellers on this forum? Their web sites are under their names. Many of them carry the highest quality pearls and are more then happy to work with you to make sure you get the exact pearls you want. You can get AAA Akoya for much less or choose top of the top freshwater pearls with as super luster as Akoya for the fraction of the price.

Maria

[pearl4me]

Hi Maria,

My husband felt that we can take it to Tiffany to be verified and appraised. And if it's not authentic, we'd have recourse with eBay and Paypal. I'm still hesitating. The one I'm looking at is item #150516850646. She also has a 9-8.5 mm that she can post up for $5k if I'm interested. I'm including pics that she sent of the 9-8.5 mm. The necklace's supposed to have the one-sided X clasp and have light rose overtone.

[pearl4me]

Hi Maria,

My husband felt that we can take it to Tiffany to be verified and appraised. And if it's not authentic, we'd have recourse with eBay and Paypal. I'm still hesitating. The one I'm looking at is item #150516850646. She also has a 9-8.5 mm that she can post up for $5k if I'm interested. I'm including pics that she sent of the 9-8.5 mm. The necklace's supposed to have the one-sided X clasp and have light rose overtone.

[pearlescence]

If it is good pearls you want, rather than a well-promoted brand name, then I would recommend you go for any of the US based sellers who post regularly on this forum or could be easily found on the web.(I am assuming that you are in the USA). High quality pearls are not the exclusive territory of these two brands. Especially if you are looking for white round pearls sized between 7mm and 9mm.
(And no, I don't sell them, simply because others do, and so I don't)

[pattye]

Took a look at proud_babushka and their feedback.

Less than 10 seller ratings in the past 12 months.

119 seller feedback total, 322 as a buyer! ---just sayin'

Re: ksn2hs, WHY would someone be selling empty Miki boxes????????????????

[pearl4me]

Took a look at proud_babushka and their feedback.

Less than 10 seller ratings in the past 12 months.

119 seller feedback total, 322 as a buyer! ---just sayin'

Re: ksn2hs, WHY would someone be selling empty Miki boxes????????????????

That's why I'm hesitating although the seller seems confident and encourages me to get the piece verified by Tiffany. I just don't know how they could sell it that much cheaper. Hmm...

[Pearl Dreams]

I suggest you take a look at the quality of Akoya pearls you can get from some of the online vendors like Pearl Paradise, Pearls of Joy, and others here.
In general you'll find you can get better pearls for less money, with a money back guarantee-- without having depend on eBay or PayPal's protection (they do not always side with the customer.)

[Kevin Canning]

My husband felt that we can take it to Tiffany to be verified and appraised.

The only thing that Tiffany's can verify is that the clasp and box are genuine, the pearls could be from a totally different source. The pearls you posted do look very nice so they probably are the originals but there is no real way to verify the actual pearls. Its best to ask yourself, if the box didn't say Tiffany's would you still feel its a good purchase? If the answer is yes, make sure you have buyer protection, buy them and enjoy.

[GemGeek]

Don't waste your money. If you want the best, get the natural white hanadama akoyas from Pearl Paradise. My two cents as a happy owner! And there are lots of other great vendors here, as well...

[pearl4me]

Hi GemGeek,

Your pearls are gorgeous! I was just browsing through the natural Hanadama on Pearl Paradise site yesterday. It's great to be able to see the pearls taken in natural setting. I find it's hard to tell from the professional photography setting as everything look nice and rather the same (all nice).

[GemGeek]

Thanks. These pearls are much higher quality than the Tiffany pearls in the photo. You can see how great they look in different light. Plus, they will last a very long time because they have a very thick coating of nacre. I have south sea pearls, but these are much prettier because their nacre has depth. I have slightly olive fair skin and they look fabulous on me. If I were you, I would order a strand just to see them in person.

[pearl4me]

I took my friend who loves pearls into Tiffany on Tuesday to look at their necklaces in person. Nothing's like seeing the real thing. They have one strand of 8.5-9 mm and few smaller ones. To me, the 8.5-9 mm was creamy color with light pink overtone. It was free of blemish that I could detect but it didn't seem to 'glow'. It just didn't grab me. The rest of their smaller strands were quite pink but glossier. Their South Sea pearls on the other hand were much nicer (but huge).

From the pictures I've been seeing on a few online stores mentioned here on the forum, the hanadama looks a lot richer and with more 'glow' for a lack of a better word. I really like the look of the natural white hanadama and am really tempted. I'm also considering a smaller strand of SSP that I saw on PP (so instead of getting a 9 or 9.5 mm akoya, go up a bit bigger with SSP). Not sure which way I'm leaning as they're different looks. I'm fair olive skin myself. Mind you, I'd love to get both but don't think I could sell that to DH after getting a pair of SSP earrings and pendant just last month. Either way I plan to get my necklace from one of the online stores--for my own peace of mind.

Thanks to everyone for your helpful input.

[lisa c]

You'll be very happy with the pearls you find here, and feel safe and cossetted. I've never seen better examples of folks who go out of their way to ensure that buyers get what they want, and they stand behind their guaranties.

Have fun selecting your goodies and please keep us posted (sometimes the suspense is hard to bear!). Only if you want to, of course, no pressure. I just love to see these pearls.

[GemGeek]

South Sea pearls are pretty darn nice. Have fun!