What Kind of Pearls do I have

[mommyof4]

Could someone tell me what kind of pearls these are?

 

[pattye]

What is the approx size of the pearl?

Where did you get it?

Is the pearl drilled?

What were you told the pearl was when you bought it?

 

[mommyof4]

15.4x11.4mm

natural black red loose pearl undrilled

I bought it on eBay from a guy in New York.

 

[pearlescence]

I'd say a biggish freshwater drop, dyed, with pronounced rings and flaws.
Unless it's from some mollusc I've not encountered it's a farmed freshwater.

 

[mommyof4]

Thank You Wendy!

 

[mommyof4]

I was told this was a Natural South Sea Genuine Gray Baroque 11-14mm

 

[mommyof4]

Ss?

Ss?



8mm Natural Australian South Sea Pearl?

 

[pearlescence]

possibly more bad tidings...I think that the grey are freshwaters (albeit they have what looks like decent lustre) and the gss might be, although it is small for a ss, the colour is poor and the lustre is low.
None are natural as the term is used in the pearl trade to mean 'wild'
They will all be cultured or farmed.
I could be hopelessly wrong of course so will throw in the caveat that it is hard to tell from photos
Where did you get these pearls?

 

[pattye]

View attachment 28218

I was told this was a Natural South Sea Genuine Gray Baroque 11-14mm

I think Wendy is correct, these are probably freshwater. About how much did you pay for these, if you don't mind my asking? What is with that pearl toward the back on the right, black thread? Part of a tag?

Have all these pearls come from ebay?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

The pearls in post 6 are freshwaters without a doubt-- here they are on eBay-- from China, of course.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/11-14MM-NAT...175?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3389843d77


You cannot get a SSP strand for $24.99! The search for an impossible bargain snags a lot of eBay buyers.

The seller has terrible feedback (92.5%) with lots of negatives. http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...=negative&interval=365&_trkparms=negative_365

Here's the second listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TTG0117PL-4...815?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51b8fe74ff

Who lists a SSP for $4.99?

 

[pattye]

Pearl Dreams,

Thanks for finding that listing! Good heavens! Terrible, dishonest seller. Mommyof4, are you seeing a pattern here?

 

[GemGeek]

It's sad that sellers lie outright about what they are selling. If you like the pearls and didn't pay a lot, then you are doing okay. The necklace is pretty.

 

[pattye]

Yes, the necklace shown is pretty, but the listing doesn't say you will get the one in the photo, and in this case it is very likely you won't.

 

[pearlescence]

As have said before, with pearls you get what you pay for. Unfortunately if someone offered a diamond for ?5 people would probably not believe it (although depending on the size etc they might be wrong to discount - diamonds aren't actually very expensive, just very well marketed) BUT with pearls you do get what you pay for has always been my experience of buying quite a few over the last 101/2 years and being around other buyers as well)
It's a bit like estate agents (trans realtors) say, a street has a price for the properties. They may vary and you can negotiate and get a deal because a house might be a bit run down or the seller need to sell quickly or they could hold out for a full price..but the price is at a certain level, plus or minus a bit.
Same with pearls.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Yes, the necklace shown is pretty, but the listing doesn't say you will get the one in the photo, and in this case it is very likely you won't.

The seller has already sold 2 of these strands and just keeps recycling the same photo. So you should not expect to get the very one in the photo.

Here's the completed listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/11-14MM-NAT...S_Fine_Necklaces_Pendants&hash=item4acc357dfa)

This is a very common occurrence-- one photo used and reused over and over. Then the item arrives from China and surprise!-- it's not the one you thought you were getting. And sending it back with tracking will cost you as much as the necklace cost you in the first place, so people just keep them.

 

[Naan]

What is the difference between cultured or farmed pearls?

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Nothing. Farmed = cultured. Just another way to explain that they are not wild (natural).