Every so often, you can find some dandy finds.. This was one of them

[bartholomewroberts]

I went last Saturday our for a few garage sales...I did score big [in my mind anyway] when I

found 9 pieces of 3 inch aluminium tubing 10 feet long each.. I thought that was the highlight.

Then I went to another sale and found a nice 925 necklace, 2 bracelets and an earring .. Paid 1 dollar for the works..

The items sat in my truck until today when I had to get some lumber.

I brought them into the house and took the loupe to them

The necklace said 925.. and on the other side, Tiffany and Co.

So I decided to check it out online.... The fake diamonds I thought were there are in fact, real

diamonds..[I checked them with my tester]..

The closest I could find to it was a necklace with 3 diamonds,

all smaller than the one I have... And that one was $1475.00 US.

A pretty good day all in all

Micheal

 

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[Red-Coat]

It's very nice... but this is what I would expect to see on an authentic piece of Tiffany & Co jewellery:

- Serifed lettering (your is sans serif)
- Perfect spacing and alignment of the letters (yours has a suspension hole encroaching on the 'T' and a slanting 'I' as well as being unevenly spaced)
- Neat high quality join-work and settings (yours has some clumsy soldering and imperfect bezel settings among other things).

Those are very bright red flags for me. This does not look anything like Tiffany quality workmanship I'm afraid:

 

[xr7ator]

Looks like silver plate over brass/copper as well.

 

[djackson7348]

Great catch...

 

[bartholomewroberts]

It's very nice... but this is what I would expect to see on an authentic piece of Tiffany & Co jewellery:

- Serifed lettering (your is sans serif)
- Perfect spacing and alignment of the letters (yours has a suspension hole encroaching on the 'T' and a slanting 'I' as well as being unevenly spaced)
- Neat high quality join-work and settings (yours has some clumsy soldering and imperfect bezel settings among other things).

Those are very bright red flags for me. This does not look anything like Tiffany quality workmanship I'm afraid:

View attachment 2045545

You may be correct Red... but if it is fake, why are the diamonds real.. My tester came up positive

on all 4..I am not trying to get into an argument.. just trying to understand.

Many thanks

Micheal

 

[Red-Coat]

You may be correct Red... but if it is fake, why are the diamonds real.. My tester came up positive

on all 4..I am not trying to get into an argument.. just trying to understand.

Many thanks

Micheal

Hi Micheal.

There are multiple possibilities.

When you buy an authentic Tiffany piece, you’re paying for the quality of the materials, workmanship, quality control and attention to detail… plus, of course, you’re also paying for the Tiffany name and reputation. Most Tiffany pieces are (and have been) made in the USA, with consequently higher labour costs versus jewellery made in the Far East (notably China).

For those reasons it’s perfectly possible to produce fake Tiffany pieces and still make a healthy profit, even if using ‘precious’ materials including real diamonds. A diamond tester tells you nothing about the quality grade of a diamond and its consequent value. Fakers also have none of the marketing costs that Tiffany have and, if outside the US, will not be using legitimate import routes nor paying relevant taxation.

The other type of fake, with more profit to be made, generally uses inferior non-precious materials. The most common diamond substitute used for serious fakery is synthetic moissanite, first marketed as gem quality by Charles & Colvard Ltd. of North Carolina (later Charles & Colvard) in 1995… and now more widely manufactured. Although they will readily distinguish substitutes such as Cubic Zirconia (CZ), diamond testers which rely thermal conductivity will not distinguish moissanite from diamond and can only be relied on for pieces known to pre-date 1995. Otherwise, you need a tester that relies on electrical conductivity (you didn’t say what kind of tester you have).

The other possibility is the use of lab-grown (LG) diamonds, which are at least 30% cheaper than natural. Unlike moissanite, they have essentially the same chemical and physical properties as natural diamonds and will pass both thermal and electrical conductivity testing. They were first produced in gem quality in 1970 but didn’t reach the market in commercial quantities until the early 21st Century from companies such as ALTR (New York), Apollo (Boston), Diamond Foundry (San Francisco), Gemesis (New York), Tairus (Bangkok, Thailand) and WD (Washington). Othe makers followed and even de Beers have been producing them (under the ‘Lightbox’ brand since 2018). They sell a .25 carat stone for $200 or a full carat for $800, which is around a tenth the cost of natural equivalents.

 

[Ohiogoldfever]

Great finds! Gotta love a good garage sale.

Has anyone ever had luck selling diamonds?

 

[Gare]

Nice finds for sure thanks for showing them

 

[bartholomewroberts]

Hi Micheal.

There are multiple possibilities.

When you buy an authentic Tiffany piece, you’re paying for the quality of the materials, workmanship, quality control and attention to detail… plus, of course, you’re also paying for the Tiffany name and reputation. Most Tiffany pieces are (and have been) made in the USA, with consequently higher labour costs versus jewellery made in the Far East (notably China).

For those reasons it’s perfectly possible to produce fake Tiffany pieces and still make a healthy profit, even if using ‘precious’ materials including real diamonds. A diamond tester tells you nothing about the quality grade of a diamond and its consequent value. Fakers also have none of the marketing costs that Tiffany have and, if outside the US, will not be using legitimate import routes nor paying relevant taxation.

The other type of fake, with more profit to be made, generally uses inferior non-precious materials. The most common diamond substitute used for serious fakery is synthetic moissanite, first marketed as gem quality by Charles & Colvard Ltd. of North Carolina (later Charles & Colvard) in 1995… and now more widely manufactured. Although they will readily distinguish substitutes such as Cubic Zirconia (CZ), diamond testers which rely thermal conductivity will not distinguish moissanite from diamond and can only be relied on for pieces known to pre-date 1995. Otherwise, you need a tester that relies on electrical conductivity (you didn’t say what kind of tester you have).

The other possibility is the use of lab-grown (LG) diamonds, which are at least 30% cheaper than natural. Unlike moissanite, they have essentially the same chemical and physical properties as natural diamonds and will pass both thermal and electrical conductivity testing. They were first produced in gem quality in 1970 but didn’t reach the market in commercial quantities until the early 21st Century from companies such as ALTR (New York), Apollo (Boston), Diamond Foundry (San Francisco), Gemesis (New York), Tairus (Bangkok, Thailand) and WD (Washington). Othe makers followed and even de Beers have been producing them (under the ‘Lightbox’ brand since 2018). They sell a .25 carat stone for $200 or a full carat for $800, which is around a tenth the cost of natural equivalents.

Good morning Red;

just as a follow up.. I took the necklace to a Tiffany dealer yesterday..

The certified it as being an authentic Tiffany item.. I feel quite fortunate

Micheal

 

[Red-Coat]

Good morning Red;

just as a follow up.. I took the necklace to a Tiffany dealer yesterday..

The certified it as being an authentic Tiffany item.. I feel quite fortunate

Micheal

Morning to you too (afternoon here)

Please understand that I'm also not trying to be argumentative, but from the photographs of your piece I am absolutely amazed if this has been authenticated via an authorised Tiffany outlet... although extremely pleased for you if that is the case.

Tiffany will not certify nor authorise certification of a piece of pre-owned jewellery bearing their name as authentic:

Does Tiffany Authenticate Jewelry?(Jeweler’s Answer)

This article shares insights into everything you need to know about the authentication of Tiffany & Co jewelry and where to authenticate your jewelry from the brand.

www.afashionblog.com

So.... might I ask who certified it (although I completely understand if there are reasons why you might not want to say)?

 

[bartholomewroberts]

Morning to you too (afternoon here)

Please understand that I'm also not trying to be argumentative, but from the photographs of your piece I am absolutely amazed if this has been authenticated via an authorised Tiffany outlet... although extremely pleased for you if that is the case.

Tiffany will not certify nor authorise certification of a piece of pre-owned jewellery bearing their name as authentic:

Does Tiffany Authenticate Jewelry?(Jeweler’s Answer)

This article shares insights into everything you need to know about the authentication of Tiffany & Co jewelry and where to authenticate your jewelry from the brand.

www.afashionblog.com

So.... might I ask who certified it (although I completely understand if there are reasons why you might not want to say)?

Good morning again Red.

I guess certified was the incorrect word.. They stated that yes, it was one of their pieces.

Again, not trying to be argumentative.. But you did have me wondering about
its' authenticity [and I do understand your point of view].

They did not give me an actual certificate.. but the gentleman did say it was a 'Tiffany'

Micheal

 

[Red-Coat]

Good morning again Red.

I guess certified was the incorrect word.. They stated that yes, it was one of their pieces.

Again, not trying to be argumentative.. But you did have me wondering about
its' authenticity [and I do understand your point of view].

They did not give me an actual certificate.. but the gentleman did say it was a 'Tiffany'

Micheal

Hi again Micheal.

We'll probably have to agree to disagree here, but I remain sceptical that this piece was made by or for Tiffany based on the style of the mark and the quality of the workmanship.

 

[silverdollarbill]

I'm sorry to say, but everything about that piece is wrong. The piece with the logo has the hole touching the "T". You can see the seams on the round clasps holding the chain to the diamonds. The metal around the diamond is uneven.

What do you mean by Tiffany dealer? Do you mean a Tiffany store?

Tiffany Stores, at least in the US, do not authenticate pieces. The way you get around this is....you bring in the piece and ask them to clean it. They will inspect it. If they accept it....it's real. They will clean it, give you a receipt, and a new box or pouch. If they reject it....it fake.

No offense....but I'd bet the farm that your piece is not authentic.

 

[Drmad7]

I'm sorry to say, but everything about that piece is wrong. The piece with the logo has the hole touching the "T". You can see the seams on the round clasps holding the chain to the diamonds. The metal around the diamond is uneven.

What do you mean by Tiffany dealer? Do you mean a Tiffany store?

Tiffany Stores, at least in the US, do not authenticate pieces. The way you get around this is....you bring in the piece and ask them to clean it. They will inspect it. If they accept it....it's real. They will clean it, give you a receipt, and a new box or pouch. If they reject it....it fake.

No offense....but I'd bet the farm that your piece is not authentic.

This is how I get my Tiffany pieces “authenticated” and they know me by face and name at this point since I have come across probably 40+ pieces of Tiffany with only 3-5 being fake. To get a “real authentication” from Tiffany, you would need to spend at least $150+ (depending on value of piece I think) and have the local Tiffany store send it to their main store in NYC.

 

[Red-Coat]

This is how I get my Tiffany pieces “authenticated” and they know me by face and name at this point since I have come across probably 40+ pieces of Tiffany with only 3-5 being fake. To get a “real authentication” from Tiffany, you would need to spend at least $150+ (depending on value of piece I think) and have the local Tiffany store send it to their main store in NYC.

If your 'authenticator' believes this to be a genuine Tiffany piece, I suggest you sell it to him at a price which reflects that. Quickly.

Just to repeat what has been said twice already... Tiffany does not authenticate second-hand pieces, whether at branch level or at their main store in NYC. The words used are that they "no longer" authenticate such pieces, so it suggests that this is something they would have done in the past, but not now.