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Old 08-16-2010, 02:48 AM   #1  
HelenMay
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Default Jewelry/Pearls-how do I handle this??

I have a problem that I haven`t a clue how to handle.

10 years ago DH went on a business trip to Hong Kong and brought me home a strand of white pearls. They were all the same size and shape. The clasp was a white gold round ball that mimicked the pearls. It has little diamonds throughout the pearl but not pave.

Because the white gold ball was the highlight of the pearls I ALWAYS wore it in front rather than "just" a clasp.

This summer I decided to finally do something with my grandmother`s engagement ring that I received a few years back.

My MIL has a friend who has a friend who makes jewelry. I met with MIL`s friend and the jeweler and told them I wanted a pendant with another stone and my grandmother`s ring mounted on top. In addition, I gave him some old jewelry that had small diamonds that he could use around the pendant. He made a gorgeous pendant. I can wear the pendant attached to the pearls or on another chain. In other words the pendant is removable.

The problem is that MIL`s friend gave my pearls to a friend of hers (another person) to re-string my pearls.

I am as confident as I can be that I didn`t get my original pearls back. The pearls closest to the white gold clasp are now tapered, smaller and not the same size.

As I ALWAYS wore the clasp in the front, I think I would have noticed once or twice OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS that they were tapered. When I wear it that way now, it looks ridiculous because the pearls on one side of my neck are smaller than on the other side.

Do you understand what I mean??

I am seeing both of them tomorrow although they have no idea what it`s about.

I don`t know how to handle this. I am upset and feel that I waited so long to do something with my grandmother`s stone and now I feel like it is all so marred by this experience.

Does anybody know if the re-stringing could make the pearls appear differently? The knots seem so much bigger now and I don`t like how that looks either.

DH is coming with me tomorrow for moral support but I feel like neither one of them are going to admit there is a problem or that they did something wrong.

When I picked up the pearls last week, I thought they looked different but I didn`say anything because I thought it was my imagination. I was jet-lagged having just come home from the far east and thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Now I`m well rested and very very upset.

Anyway if somebody knows about this or has some advice please respond. I am really freaking out. How do I go in and be civil and "nice" when I feel like I`ve been robbed??
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Old 08-16-2010, 05:52 AM   #2  
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Can you go to a reputable jeweler and have the pearls examined? I think you need an expert opinion before you confront the jewelry maker. Have you run the pearls over your teeth (not a definitive test, but simple)? Does the texture of the pearls feel different?

An accusation of stealing is a serious one. You'll need expert evidence to back you up.
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Old 08-16-2010, 06:01 AM   #3  
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I understand how you feel. I had a ring reset many years ago and was certain that I did not get my original stones. Unfortunately there was no way to prove it.
Natural pearls do vary ever so slightly in shape or size. is it possible that maybe she deliberately changed the order of them and that this resulted in them having a more tapered appearance? do you have any photographs of your original pearls that could be enlarged to show the difference? did you have them insured?
I hope that you have not been cheated. That is such a feeling of loss.
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Old 08-16-2010, 06:42 AM   #4  
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Thats why im terrified to bring my jewelry in. Call a lawyer and ask some questions,

Good Luck,
Im sorry that this is happening to you
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Old 08-16-2010, 11:30 AM   #5  
HelenMay
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Thanks for the responses. I`m exhausted from all the nerves about this situation. I spent the morning searching through an old box of photos looking for pictures of me wearing them. DH and I also searched our photos on the computer. We found some but not enough to really show the entire necklace. When we zoomed in, it just distorted how they looked.

I went to a jeweler that I trust and told him the entire story.

He made some interesting comments that calmed me down.

First he said that I wasn`t the first woman he`s seen that came in with the same complaint after a restringing. He said that over time pearls wear down from rubbing against clothing and skin. He said that a strand that has been worn alot in 20 years will go from being round to barrel shaped. He also agreed that the knots in between were a tad large. He also said that seeing the pearls all the time as I did that I might not have notied small changes because I wasn`t looking for them. Then I was away for 2 months and didn`t see them and then when I did, they were restrung. Perhaps they weren`t all put back on the same way and then add to that the larger knots and that`s why they look different. There is one that is really obvious that is facing the wrong way. We saw that from a picture.

He told me that he was sure that all the pearls on my strand were all the same. The same to each other anyway.

These guys look at things like color (ok I know what that is) and lustre. I`m no expert about lustre. And I just like what I like.

Anyway, there really isn`t any way to tell if they switched the entire set and I don`t think they did because that one odd shaped pearl is still there, but I have learaned a very valuable lesson from this. I am going to photograph from different angles all my jewelry.

Thanks for the support, this board is about so much more than dieting and food!
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Old 08-16-2010, 10:34 PM   #6  
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perhaps she purposely put the ones that didn't look as nice in the back- by the clasp- in the thoughts that people wouldn't see it as much? did you tell her how you prefer to wear them?
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