jshepherd
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2004
- Messages
- 6,166
ShopNBC and Pearlfection pollute late-night television (as if it were not bad enough).
Glancing at television listings late last night I saw something that caught my eye. ShopNBC had a show called Pearlfection. I had never heard of this brand or company before so I thought I would check it out.
First glance at a randomly presented piece immediately told me they were selling a fake pearl line. Not a big deal, but nothing which appeared to be a good deal either. Just run of the mill fake pearls. But listening to the hosts was very disturbing.
The show was hosted by a Daniel Green and another gentleman apparently from the Pearlfection company. I believe his name was Mark Brown.
What disturbed me about their presentation was the repeated embellishments, the clear violations of the Lanham Act and the FTC guidelines in describing “pearls”, and the way they constantly insinuated that the pearls were real, or at least nearly so. Here are some of the things Daniel and Mark repeatedly said over the course of a two hour show.
- The pearls are not imitation. They are 95-98% real.
- A jeweler would not be able to tell the difference between their pearls and a $40k strand.
- Their black pearls come from P. margaritifera.
- Their whites are from Australia.
- Their golds and roses are from the Philippines.
- Bronze was a rare natural color and the Asians and Europeans are buying them all up.
- Mark only referred to the fake small line as akoya, repeatedly talking about Japan.
- Mark claimed to have sold an 8mm akoya strand 2 weeks ago for $20k.
- Black is a rare color found in Japanese akoya.
It is very disheartening to hear such blatant untruths. It is no wonder so many consumers are confused about pearls. The fact that a TV shopping show like ShopNBC would allow this illegal type of presentation to air indicates that they likely have no clue what they are selling. Let's break it down for them, point by point.
- The pearls are 100% fake. Calling them “not imitation”, and “98% real” is unethical and is prohibited by the Lanham Act and the FTC.
- Any jeweler that has any degree of pearl knowledge would be able to tell the difference.
- How can they claim a fake black pearl comes from P. marg., the black lip?
- The fakes are designed to look like Australian. They are in no way Australian.
- See above.
- They were showing a strand of what appeared to be chocolates. Popular in the US, not Asia and Europe, and not a natural color.
- The pearls were fake. However, Mark only referred to them as akoya. He talked of traveling Japan and naming his son after an area of Japan because akoya are so important to him. Again, the pearls were fake.
- Who is this unknown, fake pearl dealer that sells a strand of 8mm akoya for $20k? More expensive than a Mikimoto? Sounds like a lie to me.
- Black is not a natural color found in Japanese akoya or any akoya. It is a dyed color and is by no means rare.
All I can say after watching that show is shame on ShopNBC, and shame on that company Pearlfection. They should be selling on eBay and shipping out of Hong Kong.
Glancing at television listings late last night I saw something that caught my eye. ShopNBC had a show called Pearlfection. I had never heard of this brand or company before so I thought I would check it out.
First glance at a randomly presented piece immediately told me they were selling a fake pearl line. Not a big deal, but nothing which appeared to be a good deal either. Just run of the mill fake pearls. But listening to the hosts was very disturbing.
The show was hosted by a Daniel Green and another gentleman apparently from the Pearlfection company. I believe his name was Mark Brown.
What disturbed me about their presentation was the repeated embellishments, the clear violations of the Lanham Act and the FTC guidelines in describing “pearls”, and the way they constantly insinuated that the pearls were real, or at least nearly so. Here are some of the things Daniel and Mark repeatedly said over the course of a two hour show.
- The pearls are not imitation. They are 95-98% real.
- A jeweler would not be able to tell the difference between their pearls and a $40k strand.
- Their black pearls come from P. margaritifera.
- Their whites are from Australia.
- Their golds and roses are from the Philippines.
- Bronze was a rare natural color and the Asians and Europeans are buying them all up.
- Mark only referred to the fake small line as akoya, repeatedly talking about Japan.
- Mark claimed to have sold an 8mm akoya strand 2 weeks ago for $20k.
- Black is a rare color found in Japanese akoya.
It is very disheartening to hear such blatant untruths. It is no wonder so many consumers are confused about pearls. The fact that a TV shopping show like ShopNBC would allow this illegal type of presentation to air indicates that they likely have no clue what they are selling. Let's break it down for them, point by point.
- The pearls are 100% fake. Calling them “not imitation”, and “98% real” is unethical and is prohibited by the Lanham Act and the FTC.
- Any jeweler that has any degree of pearl knowledge would be able to tell the difference.
- How can they claim a fake black pearl comes from P. marg., the black lip?
- The fakes are designed to look like Australian. They are in no way Australian.
- See above.
- They were showing a strand of what appeared to be chocolates. Popular in the US, not Asia and Europe, and not a natural color.
- The pearls were fake. However, Mark only referred to them as akoya. He talked of traveling Japan and naming his son after an area of Japan because akoya are so important to him. Again, the pearls were fake.
- Who is this unknown, fake pearl dealer that sells a strand of 8mm akoya for $20k? More expensive than a Mikimoto? Sounds like a lie to me.
- Black is not a natural color found in Japanese akoya or any akoya. It is a dyed color and is by no means rare.
All I can say after watching that show is shame on ShopNBC, and shame on that company Pearlfection. They should be selling on eBay and shipping out of Hong Kong.
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