Authenticating Designer Jewelry – Some Down and Dirty Tips:

(How do you know if it’s real?)

“How do I know it’s real?” Is the question I get asked the most by buyers. The answer for most people is: you don’t! Unless you have spent years studying a designer’s line the best you can do is trust the person you buy it from. However there are a few tips I can talk about to help you weed your way through the worst of the fakes, frauds and forgeries out there. These are also some of the first things I look at when I authenticate jewelry.

Before you start asking me to authenticate every jewelry designer under the sun, please remember that no one can be an expert in every designer. Not only do you usually have to pick and choose the designers you want to research, but many times you also have to focus on a time period or product line. I, for example, while knowing Tiffany & Co. jewelry that has been created over the last 20 years like the back of my hand, would be horrible in trying to identify a piece created even as late as 1970. Or, I could tell you which Philippe Charriol is authentic as long as it has steel cable in its design, but show me an all gold piece and I am lost.

While you can read more about me in my bio, the long and short of it is that I have been in the jewelry business since I was 10 years old, (no I am not 11 now) and have become extremely familiar with several of the popular designers work. So, once an item leaves a Cartier, Tiffany, or David Yurman etc. store – my authentication involves a variety of steps.

1) Markings – Most jewelry designers, no matter how large or small use a unique signature stamp to “brand” their designs and differentiate between their designs and those of everyone else’s. But aside from verifying their signature stamp you also have to become familiar with how deep and sharp the impressions are supposed to be. This criterion is different for different designs at times as well as the different factories that might produce the same design. When the markings are placed in a position that comes in contact with your skin you also have to keep it mind that it will be worn down. You therefore also need to become familiar with how different methods of creating those signature markings wear with time and which method of applying the signature the designer consistently uses for a particular line.

2) Material & Craftsmanship – Is the item made out of 10k, 14k or 18k etc. gold? Is it made out of silver or sterling silver? How is the item assembled? Has it been welded or is it supposed to be single piece? Is it hollow when it is supposed to be solid? 3) Design – Most importantly though, is the item something that has actually been manufactured by that designer or just inspired by their look? How deep and clear are the impressions and patterns supposed to be for the design? How were they created? In wax? In metal? By hand? By machine?

3) Size – One of the biggest giveaways to copies being paraded as originals is the size. The process of creating a copy of an original usually also reduces the overall size of the item along with loosing some of the definition. Unless you can create an original piece, as well as calculate the exact shrinkage which will occur not only in the mold but the finishing process (easy right?), there is no getting around this fact. The difference can only be a millimeter or so but to the trained eye, it might as well be miles. It is obvious once both original and copy are placed next to each other, but not so obvious if viewing the item on its own. It takes a lot of experience handling the original to differentiate between original and copy. However, before you start yelling copy, you also have to be aware of the differing widths etc that might be offered by the original manufacturer. For example a men’s vs. a women’s version as well as understand how normal wear also reduces the size of jewelry. (Anyone who has ever had to re-shank a ring after years of wear can attest to this)

4) Packaging – I have noticed a lot of people on ebay offering a designer item for sale along with the original packaging. However, while people do hold on to all sorts of sales accessories, the majority of people either loose or throw away those items after a while. If you don’t believe me, just think of your own behavior and what you keep and for how long. And nothing makes me cringe more then when the packaging looks brand new or too much original packaging is being offered - Especially when it includes the sales bag. While there are cases where people have held on to every last piece of documentation (I have been guilty of rat packing any number of scraps- yes including the original sales bag), the chances of 90% of the people holding on to everything but the original receipt and offering it for sale is pretty slim to none. At that point the odds of either the packaging being a reproduction or the packaging and by extension the jewelry being a reproduction are pretty darn high.

These are just a few categories that someone who authenticates jewelry looks at, and just like high school - getting a D in Spanish won’t make you necessarily flunk the whole grade and merely scoring low in one category does not automatically make it a fake. It’s the overall GPA that is the most important. And yes, different categories have different scoring weights.

When buying designer jewelry from anyone other then the designer it all boils down to this – do you trust your source? Unless you know the seller personally you have to decide if not only the seller possess the knowledge and the experience but do they also have the ethics?

Hope this helps you get around a little easier through this maze of opportunities.

Happy Bidding!

Andjelika

AKA. SunnySilver007

Why is Ebay customer support so notoriously bad especially when it can be so easily fixed?

I mean it ranks right down there with Sprint/ Nextel.

I ask a question, and they are ingenious in avoiding the answer. It takes some real talent to sidestep the way they do. If the answer is not posted on the Ebay help website, well then the problem must not exist.

 And I don't blame the actual CSR's because they are just the messengers. I blame the higher ups who do not give the CSR's the tools to effectively help people and smooth over bumpy situations. And of course there is no way to reach a higher up .. well because they are untouchable and no one can hold them responsible to anything.

For the last week I have been attempting to discover what the rules and regulations are regarding Tiffany postings, and other then the fact that they have to be authentic (duh) all the answers I have received so far have had absolutely nothing to do with me or my question. Then the latest response which says and I quote: “ I am terribly sorry to inform you that, we don’t have a specific policy that that addresses listing tiffany items.”

Which is interesting because if they don’t have a specific policy surrounding these items, why was I able to post one item but am I restricted in posting another one. And why was I not allowed to make changes the delayed auction posting of my Tiffany item before it ever went live.

And I keep getting pointed in circles by these people.

Is anyone else as frustrated as I am? The sad thing is they are pretty much the only game in town and if you can’t get along with ebay – and you are not some huge website of your own, good luck in dealing in e-commerce.