Please give me your opinion on these Tiffany earrings

[CUSO]

I am considering getting them for my wife for christmass


Tiffany & Co. 2.24ctw Flawless and Colorless Diamond Ceylon Sapphire Platinum Screw back Earrings. Comes with all proper packaging, but no paper work. It is from a reputable dealer. is less than $3k a good deal? I am a watch guy and paperwork is everything, does not having the paperwork ruin the deal?






Designer
Tiffany & Co.

Metal Composition
Solid Platinum

Hallmarks
T&Co.~PT950

Weight
3.2 Grams

Earring Measurements
10mm x 8mm

Earring Backs
Screw backs For Pierced Ears

Total Gem Weight of Earring
2.24ctw

Primary Diamond
Eighteen Natural Diamonds with no enhancements

Cut
Ideal Round Brilliant and Marquise cut

Color
E-F Colorless

Clarity
IF-VVS1 Internally Flawless

Carat Weight
1.34ctw

Natural Gemstone
Two Natural Ceylon Sapphires with no enhancements

Cut
Round

Color
Deep Vivid Cobalt Blue

Clarity
VVS Near Flawless

Carat Weight
.90ctw Each @ .45ct

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Those are beautiful earrings and your wife will love them!

I'm not sure about the paperwork part...for that much I'd probably prefer paperwork, but then again, if the deal is super good, I may think otherwise. What is the full retail price of them? Can you take them to Tiffany for verification?

 

[kelpie]

I think that you'll save a ton vice Tiffany pricing and they certainly look very high quality. I've bought a lot of Tiffany off of ebay, and for the higher end stuff I think if you avoid red flags (like sellers in asia, only stock photos) it is knocked off way less than Tiffany wants to scare you into. Having the packaging says a lot. For $250 Tiffany will re-appraise jewelry which is very helpful and takes two weeks. I paid $6000 for a $12,000 retail ring off ebay and they actually re-appraised and size it for free.

 

[partgypsy]

Pretty earrings.

I do want to point out even if they say the sapphires have "no enhancements" I wouldn't assume so unless you have paperwork stating such. On the Tiffany's website they have a list of a host of enhancements they routinely do to gemstones. Just because it is from Tiffany it does not mean the sapphires are untreated.

 

[partgypsy]

Is there a way for you to bring them to Tiffany's to get checked out before you seal the deal?

 

[Gypsy]

I would stipulate in writing (and get it signed) that the deal is contingent on Tiffany verifying that they are authentic and that if they are not authentic then you get your money back within 48 hours.

 

[merilenda]

Ditto Gypsy.

As for the earrings - they are BEAUTIFUL!

 

[Amber St. Clare]

Oh, my. If she doesn't want them I'll take them.

They are gorgeous!

 

[kelpie]

I would stipulate in writing (and get it signed) that the deal is contingent on Tiffany verifying that they are authentic and that if they are not authentic then you get your money back within 48 hours.

When I made my major Tiffany ebay purchase, I sent the seller a note saying, "Got the earrings, they're lovely! I'll leave feedback once they've been authenticated by Tiffany". It takes two weeks at least so you don't what to put the seller through too much of a ringer when there are 14 people bidding on these earrings happy to take them presumably without stipulation based on the seller's good reputation. Ebay buyer protection is designed for when you get something and it's not authentic. I just had to use it unfortunately, but it worked as designed.

 

[CUSO]

I just did some research and Tiffany says they do not authenticate any jewelry. Can a jeweler verify a sapphire enhancement? More pics. What do you think?

 

[that_someone_special]

I don't know if it's worth the risk

 

[somethingshiny]

If you want them because they're beautiful and your wife will love them, I'd get them. If you want a TIFFANY piece, I'd pass due to lack of verification. I'm afraid you'll always wonder if they are REALLY Tiffany. The only T & Co marking you can see could easily be replicated on any earring and packaging is easy to come by.

 

[Pandora II]

You'll need a lab report to check for enhancement and even then it is a 'to the best of our knowledge' rather than a 100% thing. The sapphires would quite probably need to be unset to be tested.

Would it make a difference to you if the stones were heated? The vast majority of sapphires are.

 

[JewelFreak]

If it's an eBay top dealer or whatever it's called, you're probably ok, but there are caveats. Without certification, calling them "untreated" is a stretch on his part. I pretty much doubt they are untreated, frankly, knowing Tiffany's policies. They're very beautiful in any case.

The reason for suspicion is the vast amount of Tiffany fakes on eBay (& elsewhere) -- to the point where Tiff sued eBay for selling them but lost the case. When I worked at Tiffany, people brought in stuff from eBay frequently (sometimes wanting to return them for full-price cash!! Urp.) Some were real, most were not. Once somebody brought in a piece she'd been given in a Tiff box & bag that wasn't even fake Tiffany; it had simply been bought at another store, put into the Tiffany box & presented to her as a Tiff gift.

Two things strike me, though it's darn hard to tell from a photo, so take this w/a grain of salt. One is that the packaging, particularly the bag, seems in near pristine condition. I can see saving the blue box & the jewel bag, but who's gonna keep the outer sack like a museum piece? I can't remember what the flip-top earring boxes looked like -- does it say Tiffany on it? It definitely must if it's real. I frankly don't think they were black -- I think they were Tiff blue suede on the outside. (On the other hand, the seller could've received them in the jewel bag & used his own box.)

The other thing is the T&CO mark. These are sometimes a way to spot a fake. If this isn't real, it's good. And again, a photo is not a reliable way to discern much. I looked at the hallmark on some of my own Tiffany stuff -- it's the tiniest bit different in that the ampersand is fatter on the bottom than the top, and on the earrings it looks the same size. Jewelry houses do sometimes change the look of their marks so it could be from a different "era," but that's one thing I checked carefully at Tiff's because they're almost never perfect. Here's an example of the T&CO on a piece I bought there. Just something to consider.

The basic question is whether they're worth the price to you -- I am sure your lady will love them. Nobody can authenticate them as Tiffany for you, apparently not even Tiffany, so unless they turn out to be totally fake, it's a case of buying them if that's what you're willing to pay for them. They're lovely earrings, whoever made them.

--- Laurie

ETA -- Now that I can compare the 2 hallmarks closer together, they're fairly dissimilar. Doesn't mean the earrings aren't Tiffany; they might have changed style, but it would make me look twice. I'm not accusing the seller of anything -- he or she may know as little about their origin as you do.

 

[Imdanny]

Tiffany lists their gem treatments on their site. My advice is go read what they say they do to blue sapphires and then decide.

 

[Imdanny]

I don't know if it's worth the risk

The metalwork looks a little crude to be Tiffany to be honest.

 

[SB621]

Personally I would spend a little bit more and get these earrings from Leon Mege instead. His work is gorgeous and I'm sorry but Tiffany's these days is not very high quality with their gemstones. Just MHO but most people who are serious with gemstones/ Jewelry don't buy from there.

http://www.artofplatinum.com/portfolio/details.php?image_id=464

 

[slg47]

Personally I would spend a little bit more and get these earrings from Leon Mege instead. His work is gorgeous and I'm sorry but Tiffany's these days is not very high quality with their gemstones. Just MHO but most people who are serious with gemstones/ Jewelry don't buy from there.

http://www.artofplatinum.com/portfolio/details.php?image_id=464

wow!!!! those earrings...