Pearl Neckaces Sold On Ebay .

Q: 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.

A: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.

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