Question about 2 rings......

http://www.ice.com/customer/product_...oduct=56552254

Is this a women's ring or a men's ring? I ordered this assuming it was
a women's ring and I am a female, and liked it anyway. But, it's WAY
thick for my fingers. Anyone got a clue? Not that it matters, I like
it anyway, but just curious. also, does ice.com use genuine stones
too? like is that peridot most likely real? they sent me a certificate
of authenticity... but about nothing specific. nice ring though.

Also, this ring he
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/sunbeetle/700511.html I receieved as a
gift a couple months ago and LOOOOVE it, but am curious if the Amber
is real. I did the hot pin piercing test and the salt water floating
test on another Amber gem from another ring like this where the gem
fell out...
When pierced.. it smelled sort of like resin, but also smelled sort of
like that when I did that with some plastic but the smells were
different.
It also left a whiteish mark on the "Amber". If that means anything.
When I did the float test.. I took one cup of water and mixed in 2 and
a half tablespoons of salt and the gem floated! it didnt sink once.
So, I am assuming this is a good sign, then again.. some amber fakes
can do the same thing.
when i emailed the place that offers these rings, they said they got
the amber from poland. (never too sure who to trust with these
places..)
anyone know for sure based on that online store's reputation?

thanks in advance!

On Sun, 11 Apr 2004 00:28:38 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry
(porkchops) wrote:

hey porkchops.

I didn't want to bog down the group with one of my long messages, so I sent it
in email. It bounced back. If you'll send me your real email address via
email, I'll resend the message. Obviously the above message isn't real, since
aol says "mailbox not found"...

Peter Rowe
moderator
rec.crafts.jewelry

porkchops wrote:

Also, this ring he
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/sunbeetle/700511.html I receieved as a
gift a couple months ago and LOOOOVE it, but am curious if the Amber
is real. I did the hot pin piercing test and the salt water floating
test on another Amber gem from another ring like this where the gem
fell out...


I recognized this item immediately! This amber ring picture, and all of
this "store's" pictures are stolen directly from the wholesaler's
website. For that, I wouldn't trust them. One, because using copyrighted
pictures is ethically and legally wrong, and two, because if they can't
take their own picture, they probably do not have the item in stock.
(This particular wholesaler does drop shipping, so it is possible, this
"store" never even touches the items they are selling.)The wholesaler
offers a service where affiliates can link to their catalog for a very
reasonable fee, however this person is circumventing that by stealing
the pictures and text. This store's prices are also grossly inflated
above what even the wholesaler calls retail.
After all that, I have never bought amber from their wholesale company,
but their catalog does call the amber genuine. However, many of this
company's genuine gemstones are obviously dyed. Many people sell this
company's products on e-Bay for significantly less, so if you're looking
to buy again, I'd find someone who is more honest and uses their own
pictures!

mjoann

On Sun, 11 Apr 2004 10:06:00 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry mjoann
wrote:



Also, this ring he
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/sunbeetle/700511.html I receieved as a
gift a couple months ago and LOOOOVE it, but am curious if the Amber
is real. I did the hot pin piercing test and the salt water floating
test on another Amber gem from another ring like this where the gem
fell out...


I recognized this item immediately! This amber ring picture, and all of
this "store's" pictures are stolen directly from the wholesaler's
website. For that, I wouldn't trust them.

Mjoann,

I'm curios how you know these images are stolen? It seems to me that if i were
a wholesaler, looking to have dealers or retailers or whatever, carry my goods
and sell them, then I'd be happily supplying them with needed marketing
materials, including good photos they could use in their own sales efforts. If
that's the case, then these are not stolen images. Good photography isn't
actually a trivial matter, and even if the retailer has the goods in stock, if
their supplier has good photos, it would be a great time saver not to have to
repeat the process. I also have no real problem, ethically, with sellers
selling items that are then drop shipped by the wholesaler. That's not an
uncommon practice in mail order (or web sales) arrangments. As to the price,
well, perhaps this seller is indeed overcharging, or perhaps not. that just
depends on whether you can find another retailer selling it for less. It's not
fair to compair a retail price with the wholesale price, unless the "wholesale"
isn't really wholesale. If some web seller is buying the things from a
manufacturer the public can also go to, and from whom the public would pay
the same price, then of course the buyers from that retailer will be paying a
markup they don't need to pay, but even then, if the retailer is putting in a
bunch of marketing, while the wholesaler is harder to find, perhaps some markup
can be justified. It's impossible to know this from the sites given (which are
not the same for the two rings, by the way.)

This store's prices are also grossly inflated
above what even the wholesaler calls retail.

Do you happen to have links to the site you feel is the orignal source, so we
can compare?

After all that, I have never bought amber from their wholesale company,
but their catalog does call the amber genuine. However, many of this
company's genuine gemstones are obviously dyed.

many stones on the market, including from high end 'brick and morter" stores
are treated in some manner. The amber in the one ring, I'd have no suspicion
of being dyed, since amber of this sort isn't especially costly in any case.
The sun spangles they mention DO identify it as the typical material from the
Baltic region which has been heat treated to clarify it. But dye is not
usually used in this stuff. And Peridot, as shown in the other ring, is one of
those few gems which is only very rarely treated in any way. No dye, no
heating, etc. Unless the stone is simply not peridot, but some imitation
material, then it is most likely exactly what it's stated to be.

The owner should be aware that if it IS genuine peridot, then it is a stone
that is quite soft and fragile, and it should be treated with care.

The original post, didn't ask about the wisdom of buying the peridot ring,
since she's alreaedy got the ring. the question was about whether it seems to
be a mans or womans ring. I'd guess a womans ring, from the style, but rings
don't actually come with a sexual orientation. Some styles are not likely to
be worn by men, and other styles are not likely to be worn by most women, but
it's a totally personal choice. This simply direct style can be found in both
mens rings and womens. About the only difference, usually is overall size and
the finger size. As to the bothersome thickness of the shank, if the inside of
the shank is solid, rather than hollowed out to make the metal thinner, then
any decent goldsmith could file some of the extra metal off the sides to make
it perhaps more comfortable. if the inside of the ring is hollowed out, then
the amount that can be taken off may not be much, if anything. Show it to a
decent jeweler for an opinion. It's hard to tell just from a couple stock
photos on the web.

Many people sell this
company's products on e-Bay for significantly less, so if you're looking
to buy again, I'd find someone who is more honest and uses their own
pictures!


obviously, anyone buying an expensive item is well advised to shop around for
the best price, and to look for sellers who have properly served previous
buyers. On ebay, this isn't so hard to check, as the good sellers will have
good feedback ratings, in most cases. At the same time, weigh the efort
required to search out all possible sources of a thing for the best price,
against the cost savings possible. If the seller you find first has a ring for
40 bucks, and you spend three hours finding it for 31 dollars, you've just
earned a whole three dollars per hour for your search time. What a bargain.

Cheers

Peter

Peter W. Rowe wrote:

Mjoann,

I'm curios how you know these images are stolen?

The wholesaler's FAQ states that buyers may not use the images on their
site. They offer an affiliate service that they make money on, so they
do not allow use of the photos for free.

I also have no real problem, ethically, with sellers
selling items that are then drop shipped by the wholesaler. That's not an
uncommon practice in mail order (or web sales) arrangments.

I actually buy some items from that wholesaler, and their items often
vary dramatically from order to order, thus I have to take new pictures
for many items every time I order. If someone is dropshipping, there is
no way to ensure the items will look the same or even close.

As to the price,
well, perhaps this seller is indeed overcharging, or perhaps not. that just
depends on whether you can find another retailer selling it for less. It's not
fair to compair a retail price with the wholesale price, unless the "wholesale"
isn't really wholesale.

I meant that the "store" prices are higher than the recommended retail
from the wholesaler. They are also higher than the prices offered on the
wholesaler's legitimate affiliate store sites.


Do you happen to have links to the site you feel is the orignal source, so we
can compare?

Well, it is a wholesale source that requires a sign up and log-in.


Many people sell this
company's products on e-Bay for significantly less, so if you're looking
to buy again, I'd find someone who is more honest and uses their own
pictures!
At the same time, weigh the efort
required to search out all possible sources of a thing for the best price,
against the cost savings possible. If the seller you find first has a ring for
40 bucks, and you spend three hours finding it for 31 dollars, you've just
earned a whole three dollars per hour for your search time. What a bargain.

In this case, from looking at the store's site, and comparing to the
actual wholesale prices, a buyer should be able to find these items for
less than half of that cost on e-Bay.
Anyway, my point was mostly that the site with the amber ring was
scammish. It was hard to find any business information, and one cannot
even be sure that the same items are available. I don't know why someone
would bother to "borrow" the pictures anyway, because they usually
blurry! I would also never drop-ship through this particular company,
because every time I place an order, about half the items are out of
stock. Imagine the difficulty they will have if a customer orders from
their site and half the items are not available to drop ship!

mjoann

Email me at: ShampooTofu (at) AOL.com
And yes, that email works, heh.
(after changing the (at) to @ t ...)

The other email address I had gotten rid of recently and Google was
still letting me use it as a sign in thing. I was too lazy to change
it. :-P

Sorry about that.

On Sun, 11 Apr 2004 07:28:45 GMT, (porkchops)
wrote:

http://www.ice.com/customer/product_...oduct=56552254

Is this a women's ring or a men's ring? I ordered this assuming it was
a women's ring and I am a female, and liked it anyway. But, it's WAY
thick for my fingers. Anyone got a clue? Not that it matters, I like
it anyway, but just curious. also, does ice.com use genuine stones
too? like is that peridot most likely real? they sent me a certificate
of authenticity... but about nothing specific. nice ring though.

Since it comes in 8 or 8.5, it's probably meant to be a man's ring.
Peridot is cheap enough I can't imagine they'd use a substitute.

--
Marilee J. Layman

Marilee J. Layman wrote in message
Since it comes in 8 or 8.5, it's probably meant to be a man's ring.
Peridot is cheap enough I can't imagine they'd use a substitute.

When I got the ring I got it in a size 5. I think right now those 8's
are the only they have in stock right now.

They had them before I think in sizes 4 up to a 10 before. On all the
jewelry there, the size availablities vary from time to time, I guess
until they order other sizes, after the others have been all sold out.
It's the same with a few other definite female rings on there.

The one I have is INDEED a size 5. Even has "5" engraved next to the
14K inside the band. I have very small fingers and I normally fit in a
5 to a 6 (even a 6 can be a little loose on me, but I bloat a lot, so
the extra space helps.)

But this one, in a 5, seems a little too small, based on the design.
But it's dealable.

As for the Peridot ring, I am pretty sure it's a genuine Peridot.
Not 100% sure, but doesn't appear to be fake at all, and I have seen
some fake Peridots. Even has gotten a couple easy scratches, which
proves further that it's genuine... since Peridot is fairly soft and
easily scratched.

And as far as I know, Ice.com seems to be a pretty reliable company
and has been around for a long time and has a reputation of selling
quality, genuine jewelry. (And that certificate of authenticity...
which could be nonsense, but seems to be a good sign of being legit,
LOL!)
The certificate didn't mention anything specific .. like the stone or
whatever being genuine, but.. it came with a special serial code or
some kind of number to it and all of that, heh.