New (for me) Ebay Sellers to Evaluate

D

Diane

Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2013
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12
I have spent so much time on this forum and have learned such a great deal. I particularly like the threads in which people ask what type of pearls they have! I have become so much better at spotting CFWP trying to pass as Akoya, South Sea, Tahitian (died of course), and it is a really educational process even when I guess wrong!

I have been perusing Ebay listings for "South Sea" pearls to see what was on offer. I have ignored Care's listings (they are impeachable), Augustus (for the same reason), Pearl Society and ES_STore, as they have been discussed at length elsehwhere. I have also omitted from my search any Chinese sellers as all of the ones I can across were selling "South Sea" strands between $24.99 and about $399.00 which made them highly unlikely to be real (for that reason, I did not even examine most of those pearls, although I can tell you that there are some VERY bad dye jobs on the goldens!

Here are some different sellers, offering "South Sea" with prices that would seem realistic. The question is whether they are just expensive CFWP or something else? I have my gut reactions to most of them, but I would love to see how the experienced members and the experts assess these. I don't know how to post pictures yet, so I will pot the listings and hopefully Caitlin will be able to post the pictures from the listings.

I hope this will be of benefit to others! Let's Go:

South Sea pearl ring: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Simon-G-set...S_Fine_Necklaces_Pendants&hash=item35cbaf7d02 (seller janet7008);

Tahitian ring: http://www.ebay.com/itm/9-87mm-Blac...d=100033&prg=8089&rk=1&rkt=4&sd=390590086948& (seller lord_of_pearls)

Vintage South Sea Necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Nat...S_Fine_Necklaces_Pendants&hash=item565ade25c2 (seller petersuchyjewelers)

South Sea necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/AAAAA-gloss...S_Fine_Necklaces_Pendants&hash=item33853538f5 (seller xiangmingtan)

Paspaley South Sea necklace: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170979419215 (seller nicevixen);

Tahitian necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUGE-Genuin...S_Fine_Necklaces_Pendants&hash=item2a30b8e0b1 (seller lapofluxuryla)

South Sea Diamond Lariet: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Designer-Au...S_Fine_Necklaces_Pendants&hash=item4612be1463 (seller auctionpearls)

South Sea pearl necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/14K-SOUTH-S...S_Fine_Necklaces_Pendants&hash=item4d120c5546 (seller brittanywon)

Gold and Diamond pearl necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/STUNNING-14...S_Fine_Necklaces_Pendants&hash=item20d6a5a133 (seller mycollectioninc)

Golden South Sea necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HS-Golden-S...S_Fine_Necklaces_Pendants&hash=item565a75465d (seller hs_jewellry_watches)

and last but not least:

South Sea pearl necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/South-Sea-N...S_Fine_Necklaces_Pendants&hash=item2c7259abae (seller lavalenciainc1013)

I will tell you that I have run most of the seller's names through Toolhaus but I won't tell you the results so it will make this more fun. By the way, there are a few listed in here that just make me shake my head.

Who is interested? Please take a look and tell me what you think. I am not looking to buy any of them, just to further my education and maybe that of some other members like me!

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you have a chance to play along!

Diane
 
I took the liberty of numbering your list so people could refer to them more easily.


1. South Sea pearl ring: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Simon-G-sett...item35cbaf7d02 (seller janet7008); Probably SSP

2. Tahitian ring: http://www.ebay.com/itm/9-87mm-Black...90590086948%26 (seller lord_of_pearls) Tahitian

3. Vintage South Sea Necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Natu...item565ade25c2 (seller petersuchyjewelers) SSP-- note the seller has a reputable B&M store in Stamford CT

4. South Sea necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/AAAAA-gloss-...item33853538f5 (seller xiangmingtan) Freshwaters

5. Paspaley South Sea necklace: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170979419215 (seller nicevixen); SSP (I like this strand!)

6. Tahitian necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUGE-Genuine...item2a30b8e0b1 (seller lapofluxuryla) Tahitian

7. South Sea Diamond Lariet: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Designer-Aus...item4612be1463 (seller auctionpearls) SSP (notice the few small flaws typical of SSP)

8. South Sea pearl necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/14K-SOUTH-SE...item4d120c5546 (seller brittanywon) Freshwater

9. Gold and Diamond pearl necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/STUNNING-14K...item20d6a5a133 (seller mycollectioninc) SSP, GSSP and Tahitians, some baroque or a little off-round

10.Golden South Sea necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HS-Golden-So...item565a75465d (seller hs_jewellry_watches) SSP but I would wonder if they were color-enhanced (dyed)

and last but not least:

11. South Sea pearl necklace: http://www.ebay.com/itm/South-Sea-Na...item2c7259abae (seller lavalenciainc1013) Very flawed and cheap clasp but probably SSP-- see the pits/flaws
 
Thanks for numbering them! I should have thought of that! And thank you for responding. I am very interested how others view them as well.

I won't tell you yet what my thoughts are, but do you really think #5 is Paspaley? The clasp alone (ie one pearl) runs $750 on the Paspaley website. Or you might just be saying they are south sea without necessarily agreeing with the provenance. I asked to see the certificate of authenticity on the strand, and she showed me a two page generic 'certificate' which refers to an attached invoice (which was not provided). She also indicated that the clasp is stamped, and I believe that it is, but that just demonstrates that the clasp is or may be Paspaley. Curious to see what others think!

Diane
 
I defer to Paspaley experts.

Are Paspaley clasps known to be counterfeited?
 
I see the point of the exercise - but can't help wonder why anyone would ever risk spending that amount of money on eBay...

- Karin
 
But that is one of the reasons I posted! People happily pay top dollar for 'Miki's' on the basis of a clasp or a box!

If they are not Mikis, what do we rely upon? Feedback, which is not all that it is cracked up to be!

The sellers were deliberately chosen as a random cross section as best as I could (from the jeweller in Stamford, whose pearls are no doubt the real thing), the one off seller who may have happened upon a strand at an estate sale or is selling off Grandma's pearls, the experienced Ebay sellers with a 100% rating who appear to be selling crap with a huge price tag, the 'Top Rated' sellers who have a few skeletons in their closet when you search (that includes Ms. Vixen) as I can't figure out how she can sell a genuine 11-12 mm Paspaley for less than 4K, when the clasp alone runs $750! She has many other Paspaley items for sale as well. A south sea necklace with a silver/cz clasp? (Ok the pearls are lousy quality whatever they are, but still). The gold ss that look too good to be true?

A couple of these sellers are high volume traders! People are paying these prices!

The colour on the round tahitians is so uniform that it makes me suspicious! The 'shambala-like- clasp does not improve the situation.

So, when these are being offered for sale, at prices that can make you gasp, I wanted to know what others saw that perhaps I and other, less experienced pearl lovers, may have missed!

I would love to get your opinions! Diane
 
Hi
No-one is going to show you an itemised invoice which would show you how much they paid for a strand.
Paspaley may well sell off the weakest strands around the market for all I know. What does happen to a Paspaley dud pearl which isn't so bad that it really has to be thrown away but not good enough for the brand,because sure as sure they aint gonna just chuck them away now are they? (I've seen some pearls which really should have been thrown away this week.)
 
Looks to me like a Paspaley "tringle" pearl necklace. I took this photo at Paspaley in Darwin.
https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1813&highlight=paspaley+pearl+tour

tringle necklace.JPG
 
I have purchased and sold South Sea pearls from Stuller that came with Paspaley boxes and certificates of authenticity. I'm not sure if they still have an agreement with Stuller. :)
 
"Tringles"! Too cute!

Thanks for the link to that thread from your trip-- it's great to see your wonderful photos again.
 
Thanks for checking on that, Pattye. And thanks, Pearl Dreams, for the compliment. Fashion grade is still pretty darn nice when you're talking Paspaley pearls. You can see that the eBay pearls are circled. Less expensive, but still beautiful.
 
Thanks for that! I am learning more all the time. I agree that the Paspaley pearls (whatever grade) are beautiful! Gorgeous photo Gem Geek!
 
GemGeek Loved your Paspaley thread! It is so fun when these old threads pop up :cool:
 
Thanks, Diane. This thread was a great idea. I hope by the time I can look up all the eBay entries, they will still be available. :)
 
GemGeek said:
Thanks, LitGeek. I will post the links at every opportunity. I paid a fortune to go on the trip, so sharing the photos is like reducing the cost-per-wear, or in this case, cost-per-view! :)
https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1807&highlight=tour+eyris
https://www.pearl-guide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1804&highlight=alumni+pearl+tour+tahiti
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for sharing the links to your other two diaries! I had actually started going back through the posts on the Pearling Industry Forum trying to find them, but got a bit sidetracked looking at the old posts, haha, so I only got through page 6. What a dream trip! Those Eyris Blue Pearls are breathtakingly beautiful!!! Wow! Your ring is just gorgeous ~ I hope you wear it often.
 
Thanks Diane and Pearl Dreams for the list. It's helpful to newbie like me.

GemGeek, I'm envious of your VIP trip. I absolutely enjoyed your photos! Thanks a lot for sharing these photos.
 
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