Etsy seller's pearls

[pattye]

Well, Pearl Police, what do you think of these: http://www.etsy.com/listing/95135781/superb-radiant-big-white-tahitian-south

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Look like bead nucleated baroque freshwaters to me....

 

[Amanda]

They don't look like Tahitians at all to me.

 

[Nora]

WOW! White Tahitian South Sea Pearls 15.5 - 19 mm for 199.99 USD ........ that's a bargain

 

[pearlescence]

Baroque bead nuked freshwaters. very lustrous but very random shapes. I'd say the price is a hefty mark up if they are indeed bead nuked freshwaters (see my much rounder south sea-ish ones for comparison)

 

[KarinK]

WHITE Tahities??

- Karin

 

[Amanda]

I've seen some very pale silvery Tahitians around - Jeremy will know much better, of course. But they ones I've seen have been very pale silver, rather than actually white.

Edited to add - a bit like these ones, but I've seen paler:

http://www.pearlparadise.com/18inch-AA-82115-mm-Tahitian-Round-Pearl-Necklace4237.aspx

 

[Caitlin]

Those look like curtailed fire balls. They have great colors, though calling them Tahitians is an error.

 

[waimeamomi]

Tahitians can be white, but these aren't they. Wrong shapes, wrong skin, wrong price. Bead nuc freshies. I like them if they were properly listed. (and priced)

 

[Isabelle35]

hummmmm. Very fishy... I also go for bead nuc freshies. Blue overtones are really nice, but I agree for the listing "mistake".

 

[Ash]

They look like fireballs to me too.

 

[Lindaphillipsbong]

I may only be a young spat, but I can tell something is fishy going on there.

 

[Amanda]

I may only be a young spat, but I can tell something is fishy going on there.

That's a red herring - it's neither the time nor the plaice for fish puns, surely?

 

[Caitlin]

Lol!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Isabelle35]

hehehe!!!!!!

 

[pearlsbynature]

They definitely look like fresh water, but they don't look too bad for that size with some nice luster. The price isn't bad for such a size without excessive blemishes

 

[fresh-pearls]

flag it!

flag it!

shouldn't one of the experts on this site flag the seller? i always feel bad reading about consumers writing into the pearl guide, after having been ripped off on ebay or elsewhere.

http://www.etsy.com/help/article/483#tagging_supplies

 

[pattye]

I have written to this seller a number of times over the past few years about mislabeled pearl items, and also flagged specific pearl items. Fortunately, their focus is on gemstones.

 

[Adeline Leigh]

Good on you, Pattye. I know this seller, S. She's quite a big-time seller on the West Coast and manufactures plenty of gemstone beads. You are right, Pattye, pearls are not really her domain and she either is misinformed errorneously by her supplier (which I find it hard to believe as she is quite a big-time player) or has misrepresented these pearls. I'll try communicating with her.

 

[GemGeek]

It's overwhelming when you consider all the misinformation out there and the slim possibility that we can make much of a dent. For a retail item, it wasn't an outrageous price and they were very colorful, but you can just hear the new owner telling everyone that she has real "Tahitian" pearls. It snowballs. The seller sounds more like a dork than a deliberate cheat.