Keshi or not?

[Snowdrop13]

The bottom line is that Keshi pearls are not inexpensive. Retail is often around 10-15$ PER pearl . Price alone tells you they cannot be Tahitian Keshi. But you got some cute necklaces for 90$ so it's not the end of the world. I'd send them a note though and if it bothers you tell them you want a refund.

+1 to this- I have a couple of Tahitian keshi pieces, both from Kohima Pearl. They are beautiful and I love them but they were not cheap! Have you looked at Druzy design on eBay? They sell loose keshis along with some jewellery items and you will get a better idea of the price levels.

 

[shaunlee]

All pearl looks awesome and I, like most Keshi .

 

[amti]

Please return all your fake Tahitians to the seller. File a claim with ebay and state that they were not what they claimed to be or that they were fake. Then you are not responsible for the shipping of the necklaces back to the seller. The only way to stop misrepresentation, whether intentional or knowledgeable, is to make sellers responsible for their mistakes. You were duped but know now... how many other hundreds of buyers have they fooled? With all the money you've spent of fake tahitians, you could have bought a real one! I buy pearls on ebay and when something is not as presented, I return them and get my money back. I don't want stuff that is subpar or not what I had in mind. You will not miss your fake tahitian necklaces when you get a real one. And every time you look at your fake tahitian, you'll be reminded of being duped and it will not make you feel good.

FWIW, when I first ordered Tahitians on ebay, it was from a Chinese seller who posted several thousand auctions a week. When I got my items, they were nothing like the photo and I took pictures and told them Their tahitians were cheap chinese dyed freshwaters. And guess what? The sellers knew and told me to keep them and refunded my money because I filed them as fake (they would be responsible to ship them back if they wanted them).

I still buy on ebay and I've gotten pretty good at identifying good and real pearls from fakes, but there are still a lot I don't trust because of the seller or poor pictures. Chinese freshwaters are getting better and better, thus making them harder to distinguish from other, more expensive pearls.

 

[Pearlescence]

Hi
You do know that 'authentic' is an eBay code word for fake....?

 

[stracci2000]

Hi
You do know that 'authentic' is an eBay code word for fake....?

Yes! And "Ox Bone" is Ebay code for ivory.....you gotta know these things to navigate Ebay

 

[Pearlescence]

Oh, I didn't know that one. For real illegal ivory or fake bone/plastic/whatever ivory?

 

[stracci2000]

Oh, I didn't know that one. For real illegal ivory or fake bone/plastic/whatever ivory?

They use this term for real elephant ivory.
Dealers will say "ox bone" and sometimes they will say "bovine bone" or "faux ivory"
However, they usually include really tight photos of the obvious cross hatch grain pattern in the ivory, which collectors immediately recognize.
Frequently, they just don't say what the material is at all, assuming collectors can tell by close-ups of the of the material.

 

[NacreLover]

Elk tooth jewelry is ivory also. Only two teeth in their head fit this criteria.

 

[stracci2000]

Elk tooth jewelry is ivory also. Only two teeth in their head fit this criteria.

Yes! I've worked with elk ivory in the past. A friend is a hunter, and asked me to make matching sterling pendants.

 

[marymm]

I also recommend ebay vendor Agustus Collection - http://stores.ebay.com/AGUSTUS-Collection - over the years I've bought many loose pearls from Agustus Collection, including gorgeous keshi pearls. (Disclosure: Possibly I have a few keshis coming my way right now from them!)

 

[Arkteia]

NacreLover,
Thank you for the led light advise! I bought several Sea of Cortez pearls, and just invested into the led light to check. Glad I stopped here!

The only thing, the string was cheap. Isn't it also a sign? I would not expect perfect Tahitian keshis to be cheap.

There are many things "Tahitian" sold online it seems. One vendor on Etsy openly told me that they were from China (they look the same they cost, it seems - good to be used as balls for my old wooden maze, not for the necklace). I feel bad because I ordered them drilled, so they are non-returnable. But at least he connected with me to say that they were Chinese. I wonder if Chinese pearls should be sold as "Tahitian-like", or it makes no sense as long as the product is adequate?

 

[NacreLover]

You bought a UV flashlight right? https://www.amazon.com/Escolite-Ult...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B008133KB4

 

[Arkteia]

Yes, the first UV one you recommended, but I am looking for other ones. I might still keep the one I used before (for gems) in my office, hopefully the battery still works, so I shall check today. The Sea of Cortez ones I bought were of different shapes, but they have something very different about them... Very shiny. I like them more than Tahitians. I hope they are real.

 

[Arkteia]

I found a source of UV light and tested one that I have here - cool!
The pearl itself had a very crisp reflection, it did not come out as such in my picture but I have very little light.