Any one familiar with this Etsy seller?

[Lulu]

I have been admiring some of the pieces that the Etsy seller LusterWear has been posting. She seems to specialize in pearl jewelry (among other art).

And while, ahem, I am not in the market for another pair of pearl earrings at the moment, I am quite taken with these freshwater pearl earrings mounted in 14k gold (so much of the more design-oriented pieces I see these days are vermeil or goldfill rather than solid gold, or with boring pearls).

http://www.etsy.com/listing/70599523...otic-nucleated

They're beautiful, but I am little bit skeptical of the seller, as it seems all of her pearls are described as AAA and "flawless". Perhaps she really does only deal with the best of the best, but she also doesn't seem to explicitly identify dyed pearls. Maybe she assumes that people know better than to think that a bright red pearl is natural in color, but plenty of people mistake black fwp as natural in color and it seems not quite forthcoming to leave that out of the product description.

Thoughts? Experiences? Anything to offer would be greatly appreciated!

[Agustus-Collection]

Hi Lulu,

we know Carolyn for quiet some time, she makes some stunning pieces.
She has some outstanding pearl sources...

Buy with confidence.

All the very best

Sven

[Lulu]

Hi Sven,

Thanks so much for your response. That is great to know!

[morphius]

This may be an incredibly unpopular post as this is apparently involving a well known PG-er...but how can pearls that are visibly off-round, potato shaped or baroque receive a AAA grade?

[Agustus-Collection]

valid point David!

Those bead nucleated pearls a quite tricky, you either love them or hate them!

I believe that she explained why she listed them as AAA based on her observation and not on the grading system, which is debatable of course.

Sven

[morphius]

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[Agustus-Collection]

Hi David, that's is correct, i edited my post as i actually wanted to say more but was hitting 'post reply' to quickly.

[morphius]

(removed by poster)

[Caitlin]

I don't think you are too honest or in trouble, but, I thought I made it clear I was talking about mainland Chinese sellers on eBay, selling to retail buyers. I thought I apologized and added a caveat the last time you complained about that. Most of the mainland Chinese ebay sellers people ask about over here are terrible, but to say P-G slams mainland Chinese pearls sellers is- as you already pointed out, a bit inaccurate.

Now, if you are talking about eBay pearl sellers being almost universally innacurate, I'll agree. Altough there are a few good ones and we share them over here, in general, you don't get what is advertised. Don't blow that up to say I am slamming legitimate wholesale sources in mainland China! There are lots of those but the people who buy from ebay do not buy from them. The people here who buy from mainland Chinese wholesale sources do not generally mention their sources here- or need advice about who to buy from; it is mostly Ebay sellers that come up for discussion time and time again.

When I see designed pieces like Carolyn Singh's, the quality of the materials can vary from designer to designer and piece to piece- and they can be described accurately in gemspeak, -or not. It is the design one is buying, not whether every dyed pearl is mentioned or not. The designs speak for themselves, IMO.

[morphius]

Caitlin - I wasn't referring to you when I said "we" slam mainland China sellers, nor did I say we were incorrect for doing so as we all know that most are advertising their pearls inaccurately, and doing so intentionally, especially on eBay, Amazon and even on Etsy. I'm also not aware that I "complained" to you about your comment in another thread...as much as I sent you a PM asking if in your reply, you meant 'all claims', or mostly eBay claims.

I'm not certain how you received the impression that I was making any reference to you at all in my posts here, but I wasn't, and I do apologize that you may have thought I was referring to you in any way at all.

But, clearly I have crossed a line with my posted opinion, which I should not have, and for that I apologize as well, and have removed my earlier comments.

[Adeline Leigh]

As for Carolyn Singh's pearls, I've long admired the simplicity in designs and quality FW pearls. I always thought it a tad expensive though. That's me speaking. Think one can do similar or better if one can find good quality FWs and gold findings. :=)

[Caitlin]

Hey David
I said that because over on another thread I did slam all mainland Chinese pearls sellers, though I meant only the vast majority of ebay sellers. I can't remember who else has said that, besides me. I did not take offense, at all! I just wanted to 'own' that I said that and do not intend to say it again! <grin> I wish the smilies were more viewable and usable, I'd use more of them.

[lisa c]

You and me both, Caitlin! I need new glasses, I admit it ;-)