Pearl Neckaces sold on Ebay

Hi,
I'm in the market for a pearl Necklace for my wife. Just out of
curiosity I checked ebay. I'm suprised to find exactly what I want:
AAA,8mm-8.5mm Akoya 18" single strand, white - cream color for prices
I have a hard time believeing. They are being sold from China. So I
assume they are Chinese Akoya. My undertanding is that Chinese Akoya
are basicly the same as Japanese Akoya. I hear the prices are cheaper
because the labor to harvest and make the necklaces is cheaper than
Japan, although the Chinese may not do as good of a job when it comes
to matching and grading the pearls.

Does anyone have any input on this? A jewelry store wants thousands
for a necklace like this, but it seems I can get one for hundreds on
ebay from China.

Thanks for your input

Chris

You might visit www.yourgemologist.com . Along with good online info I
believe he also has 'rankings' for gem relayed ebay sellers.
fyi

Carl
1 Lucky Texan


Chris wrote:
Hi,
I'm in the market for a pearl Necklace for my wife. Just out of
curiosity I checked ebay. I'm suprised to find exactly what I want:
AAA,8mm-8.5mm Akoya 18" single strand, white - cream color for prices
I have a hard time believeing. They are being sold from China. So I
assume they are Chinese Akoya. My undertanding is that Chinese Akoya
are basicly the same as Japanese Akoya. I hear the prices are cheaper
because the labor to harvest and make the necklaces is cheaper than
Japan, although the Chinese may not do as good of a job when it comes
to matching and grading the pearls.

Does anyone have any input on this? A jewelry store wants thousands
for a necklace like this, but it seems I can get one for hundreds on
ebay from China.

Thanks for your input

Chris



--
to reply, change ( .not) to ( .net)

Chris wrote:

Hi,
I'm in the market for a pearl Necklace for my wife. Just out of
curiosity I checked ebay. I'm suprised to find exactly what I want:
AAA,8mm-8.5mm Akoya 18" single strand, white - cream color for prices
I have a hard time believeing.


Caveat Emptor!

AND

You get what you pay for!

AND

When it sounds to good to be true, it usually is ...

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

You will have to pay for shipping from China. Also, if they don't send
them, what can you do about it?

--
Connie Ryman
Cryman Studio

"Chris" wrote in message
news
Hi,
I'm in the market for a pearl Necklace for my wife. Just out of
curiosity I checked ebay. I'm suprised to find exactly what I want:
AAA,8mm-8.5mm Akoya 18" single strand, white - cream color for prices
I have a hard time believeing. They are being sold from China. So I
assume they are Chinese Akoya. My undertanding is that Chinese Akoya
are basicly the same as Japanese Akoya. I hear the prices are cheaper
because the labor to harvest and make the necklaces is cheaper than
Japan, although the Chinese may not do as good of a job when it comes
to matching and grading the pearls.

Does anyone have any input on this? A jewelry store wants thousands
for a necklace like this, but it seems I can get one for hundreds on
ebay from China.

Thanks for your input

Chris

On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 17:43:38 -0700, in (Chris) wrote:

Hi,
I'm in the market for a pearl Necklace for my wife. Just out of
curiosity I checked ebay. I'm suprised to find exactly what I want:
AAA,8mm-8.5mm Akoya 18" single strand, white - cream color for prices
I have a hard time believeing. They are being sold from China. So I
assume they are Chinese Akoya. My undertanding is that Chinese Akoya
are basicly the same as Japanese Akoya. I hear the prices are cheaper
because the labor to harvest and make the necklaces is cheaper than
Japan, although the Chinese may not do as good of a job when it comes
to matching and grading the pearls.

Does anyone have any input on this? A jewelry store wants thousands
for a necklace like this, but it seems I can get one for hundreds on
ebay from China.

Thanks for your input

Chris


Chris,

While buying on ebay, supposedly directly from the source may well be able to
save you money, you should be aware that there are many factors that influece the
vlaue of pearls, just as with any other gems. The grading of AAA sounds nice,
but it's not a standardized grading scale. That rating is simply assigned by the
seller, often to differentiate between their various grades, or simply to help
market their pearls. Conciencious sellers will try to be honest with such a
grade, trying to keep it somewhere in the range of what other's might call that,
but you have no guarantees, and even among well meaning dealers, there can be a
lot of variance in the actual quality. Factors that come into play in the value
of Akoya, or other, cultured pearls, are the thickness of the pearl layer
deposited on the implanted core, which is an indication of how long the "farm"
allowed the pearl to remain in the water before harvesting the pearl. Some
pearls are harvested almost as soon as it looks sorta like a pearl, creating a
pearl that won't last very long, nor look all that good compared to those that
are left longer. Others may be left in longer than average, which can make the
pearls much more durable and a good deal reacher looking, but also reduces the
yeild from the oysters, as there's more time for things to go wrong, and it costs
money to let the oysters just sit the are grow the pearl. Then, the quality of
the pearl also depends a LOT on it's color. Some are white, others yellowish,
others decidely pinkish, and some have only a little "orient", that irridescent
sheen that makes them look so unlike the imitations, while others have much more.
Some are very nicely round, with few or no surface blemishes and defects, while
others are lumpier or out of round, with more surface flaws and irregulatiries.
Some may be fairly matte, almost dull in luster, while the best will be highly
lustrous and shiney, enhancing the other qualities. Between all these factors,
even with just the same size and basic description, you can get an enormous range
of prices. That makes buying pearls by mail, a dicey prospect, if you're
concerned with actually getting the quality you wish. Retail stores may indeed
charge a higher markup than you'd pay via these ebay sales, and it's possible
that the ebay deal really is as good as it looks. But pearls are an active, hot
market. Wholesalers can generally sell their better stocks without trouble, and
without needing to resort to unusual tactics such as ebay. If they are good
pearls being sold on ebay, they are likely being sold for a bit more than the
usual wholesale value, thus making the sellers a bit more money than they'd
ordinarily make via wholesale deals. If they are marked down a lot for some
reasion, well, there's a reason, and it's not just the economy.

As Abrasha noted, you get what you pay for. I'd suggest taking the time to fully
educate yourself about pearl qualities, and what makes a good pearl or not. That
may help you deal intellegently with sellers, whether in person at a retail
outlet, or via ebay or other online seller.

Also, if shopping the retail stores, choose your stores with an eye to those that
don't need to charge quite the top price, and can give you your full money's
worth in service and knowledge. if you shop in the malls, in the big chain
stores or very well known glitzy names, you'll likely pay a good deal more than
if you find a smaller, "mom and pop" type store where the employees are actually
fully involved in the jewelry business, rather than being the often part time
sales help found in many of the mall stores. If you're dealing with a jewelery
sales person who's more than just some young kid at their first job, but rather
is an experienced dealer , perhaps even a trained gemologist, who can help you
find the quality you wish, and explain why it is indeed that quality, you may
find that paying a bit more for this level of service is indeed worth the money.
That's the premise that has kept many fine jewelers in business for a long time,
and the fact that it continues to do so, suggests that at least some customers
are still finding that to be true.

Peter Rowe

"Chris" wrote in message
news snipped
Buyer Beware is very correct, Chris. Pearls are something you just
simply have to hold in order to see their quality. Many sellers of
pearls on eBay also use "stock" photos... meaning, a great pic of the
necklace/bracelet/strand of pearls... but what you end up holding in
hand is a much lesser quality.

I purchased a 10 inch strand of "cultured" pearls (i.e. no clasp, just
pearls on a string) for my hobby jewelry making. The seller had 100%
feedback and people were going nuts over her auctions. She stated that
the "cultured" pearls had a Retail Value of $80.00. The picture was
great, the nacre was lustrous and even in the pic. I bid, I won. When
the pearls came and I took them off the string to look at/work with
them, the hole on side side of the pearl was nicely drilled, but the
hole on the other side of the pearl had a _huge_ chunk of nacre out of
it; when the drill came through the other side it broke the nacre off
around the pearl's hole. You couldn't see from the picture of the
pearls that the nacre was missing because they were tightly fitted
together on the string.

I've purchased thousands of pearls and the best purchases I've made by
far are the buys when I could see and feel the pearls. One last
warning... make sure the pearls have knots between each one. Knots
strengthen the necklace in case of breakage, so that only one or two
pearls are lost. It also allows you to view the drilled holes on either
side of the pearls. And best of luck finding your wife a lovely
necklace.
--
Linda
http://snipurl.com/95ko - eBay auctions



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If you obtain such a necklace on Ebay, consider yourself lucky for
saving over a thousand bucks. I think the quality is excellent (at
least for the price). Your SO will probably like the pearls, unless
she is a nitpicking b*tch who only wants genuine Japanese Akoya,
Mikimoto, Tahitian pearls or any other snob name. I've bought the real
stuff and the nacre, surface clarity and roundness are not so much
better that I would pay thousands more for it.

One seller I can recommend is es_store. Check out his feedback for the
item you are interested in, and then write to other buyers for their
thoughts on the quality.

bluemaxx wrote:

When
the pearls came and I took them off the string to look at/work with
them, the hole on side side of the pearl was nicely drilled, but the
hole on the other side of the pearl had a _huge_ chunk of nacre out of
it; when the drill came through the other side it broke the nacre off
around the pearl's hole.

Pearl drillinbg machines are built in such a way, that the pearls can be drilled
from both sides, when they are mounted inside the holding jig. They come with a
variety of holdiong jigs, that can hold pearls of different sizes. The pearls
can be rotated 180 degrees suring the drilling process. These are specialty
little machines, made to avoid just that problem of the drill breaking through.
A good pearl is NEVEr drilled from one side.

This is what they look like: http://www.italtradesupplies.com/newdrillmac.html
or
http://www.ajstools.com/products/jewelry/drill5.html

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

"Abe M." wrote:

If you obtain such a necklace on Ebay, consider yourself lucky for
saving over a thousand bucks. I think the quality is excellent (at
least for the price). Your SO will probably like the pearls, unless
she is a nitpicking b*tch who only wants genuine Japanese Akoya,
Mikimoto, Tahitian pearls or any other snob name. I've bought the real
stuff and the nacre, surface clarity and roundness are not so much
better that I would pay thousands more for it.

One seller I can recommend is es_store. Check out his feedback for the
item you are interested in, and then write to other buyers for their
thoughts on the quality.

It's so nice to know where to an experts, who "knows" how to save a thousand
dollars on the purchase of a pearl necklace.

"Snob name"? Cute.

Abrasha
http://www.abrasha.com

Thanks for everyone's posts. I've believe I'veshyed away from ebay.
I'm now looking into online jewelry shops. I'm looking at this 18"
necklace :
http://www.pearlparadise.com/item.html?PRID=1467627

They are listed with the Better Business Bureau and have no complaints
on file

Does anyone have any issues about buying from an online site that is
OK with the BBB such as this one that has a 90 day return policy? This
would allow me to have a jeweler inspect it for me.

Thanks,
Chris