Buying Pearl Jewellery Online

At Absolute Pearls, we aim to provide service and products beyond expectation, but sadly not all online pearl jewellers offer the same high standards. This can make them appear to offer better value, but all may not be what it seems. 

Here are a few of the common tricks and pitfalls to look out for when buying pearl jewellery online.

• Unbelievable offers – you get what you pay for when it comes to pearls, so beware of offers that seem too good to be true. They probably are.
  Absolute Pearls works hard to bring you great value while maintaining the highest quality.
• Incredible discounts – you can expect to pay less online, but shop around so that you have an idea of what pearls really cost, so that you aren’t fooled by so-called '80%' discounts from an huge inflated ‘original price’ or ‘high street price’.
  Absolute Pearls offer genuine and real pricing on all our pearls.
• No post and VAT – if the price shown does not include postage and VAT then this can significantly add to the overall cost.
  Absolute Pearls includes UK delivery and VAT in all our prices.
• Overseas delivery – some companies appear to be UK based, and even have a .co.uk web address, but dispatch from overseas. This not only takes longer, but could cost up to 30% extra in import taxes,  VAT and the like. If you return your pearls, it can be hard to get these taxes back.
  Absolute Pearls is UK based and dispatch from the Wirral near Liverpool and Chester.
• Overseas laws – if you buy your pearls from an overseas company, your transaction will be governed by the consumer laws of that country. Not only will it be costly to return your jewellery, it may also be near impossible to get your money back.
  Absolute Pearls is covered by UK law and is a member of Safebuy, the OFT backed web assurance scheme.
• Poor description – there are a number of ways that pearls are assessed, including size, lustre, colour, shape and surface, and these should each be described. If the details are missing, or are vague, then you simply don’t know what you will be getting.
  Absolute Pearls provides descriptions for our pearls.
•  Vague pearl sizes – cultured freshwater and Akoya saltwater pearls sizes should be given to the nearest 0.5mm. Be wary of wider ranges, such as 7-8mm, as there is a considerable difference in price between 7-7.5mm and 7.5-8m and chances are you will mostly get the lower end of the range.
  Absolute Pearls measures all freshwater & Akoya pearls to the nearest 0.5mm.
• Lack of hallmarks – all gold jewellery over 1g, or silver jewellery over 7.78g, which is sold in the UK should carry a three part hallmark as described in our Discover section. If there is no hallmark, there is no guarantee of what you are buying.
  All Absolute Pearls jewellery where legally required is hallmarked at  at an official  Assay Office
• Stock images – many online jewellers use heavily retouched stock pictures, rather than pictures of their actual jewellery.
  Absolute Pearls use photographs of actual products from our stock with no re-touching except sharpening (unsharp mask).
• Added extras – make sure that you know what you are paying for. Some online jewellers will show a gold chain in the picture but price is only for silver, or they do not include the chain in the price at all. So, you need to pay extra to the lead-in price.
  All Absolute Pearls pendant necklaces include a quality necklace chain as shown.
• Out of stock – some online pearl jewellers show much more stock than they actually hold, leading to a lengthy wait for your pearls and perhaps a disappointed loved one on their special occasion.
  Absolute Pearls carries an extensive stock and will always endeavour to mark items if out of stock and email you if you place an order for same.
• Returns and guarantees – always check the returns policy with any online jeweller and make sure that your jewellery comes with a guarantee that you can actually hold them to under UK law.
  Absolute Pearls offers 60-day no quibble returns* if you are not satisfied for any reason, along with a comprehensive 1year guarantee on all pearl jewellery. (*Pierced goods must remain sealed).