Yesterday, I woke up super early (which should be illegal on a Sunday) to do our once a year car boot sale. It wasn’t the best experience, we didn’t make many sales and I ended up doing something quite foolish. I bought a fake Tiffany’s bracelet. Granted, it was only £10, so it is not the end of the world. I think the sleep deprivation had got to me as I’m usually quite good at spotting a dupe. It angered me that the guy lied straight to my face. “I bought the wife it in New York and trust me it was a lot more money”. Pfft, What a load of tosh.
At closer inspection, it was pretty obvious it wasn’t real. When I got home and compared it to my other Tiffany pieces the difference was shocking. What was I thinking? I thought I’d spin a bad situation into a blog post and potentially help anyone who’s trying to identify a counterfeit Tiffany product.
Let’s start with the little blue box. After watching Crazy about Tiffany’s, I learnt that the famous ‘Tiffany Blue’ is actually a copyrighted colour. It is actually near impossible to re-create. The colour should have been the first giveaway as when you look at the two boxes, the difference is quite big.
I didn’t actually see the front of the box which I should’ve had a look before buying the bracelet. When I looked at it later, the font was the first thing that made me think it was a counterfeit. The logo didn’t look right with the letters spread out a little too much. On a genuine box, the font is in all capitals but the T&C is slightly larger. The Orientation of the text on the counterfeit box was also incorrect. The logo is usually placed in the middle and on a rectangle box it’s placed portrait.
The dustbag was pretty convincing, the material is almost identical to my others. The logo isn’t half bad either. The only difference was the drawstring. On a genuine dustbag, the drawstring is knotted on both sides
Getting on to the actual piece of jewellery, I’ve had a little read up online and the main tell-tale is that the links are soldered together. There should be no evidence of where the jewellery has been linked together. I also found that on the bracelet I bought, had thinner links at the T-bar fastening and looked rather cheap.
All of the Tiffany & co jewellery I own are from the Return to Tiffany collection and are made from .925 Sterling Silver. They have all been bought directly from the New York and London stores and came with a Sterling Silver Certificate. As they are made from .925 Sterling Silver they are quite heavy products so the weight is something to bear in mind.
Finally, the markings on the Tiffany products are all quite different but they always have a marking on the back of the charm. Most likely engraving Tiffany & Co 925, the marking is always very clear even though it’s a small font and always in a straight line. The fake bracelet I bought didn’t have a marking on the back but did say 925 on the front.
I think that’s everything I know on the subject. I’m no expert but just comparing the two bracelets has shown a couple of points on how to spot a counterfeit Tiffany & Co product. There’s a fair few points which makes me feel a little bit silly for buying it in the first place. Hopefully this article can help someone. If you are unsure about whether something is genuine, it’s probably best to leave it.
Have you ever accidently bought a Counterfeit item before? Would you be bothered?
Jorden says
This post is really helpful X
rachelnicole says
Glad you liked it Jorden! 🙂 xo
Caroline says
This was a really interesting post Rach. Definitely something to bear in mind. It’s all in the detail.
You didn’t lose too much money so I’d just put it down to sleep. lol I’m sure he’d of had a story/answer for everything.
Caroline. x
rachelnicole says
Yeah, Just wasn’t happy about lied to. I’ve given it to my Grandma as she really liked it 🙂 xo
chichi says
very useful post! would take care!
http://www.thestyletune.com
Alison Roome says
Lol. Just spent 10 mins checking all my Tiffany pieces which were gifts. Just in case. Paranoid. Moi??? Happy to say all pass muster but thanks for the useful post. I love searching for jewellery at car boots etc so will definitely keep in mind.
Alison
rachelnicole says
haha! I’m glad this post has helped you! Never realised there was so many counterfeit’s out there! xo
Yvette says
Very informative post. Too bad your sleep deprived state was taken advantage of. Nevertheless, thanks for the tips!
hugs x kisses
rachelnicole says
ahh yes! It’s a shame I was lied to about it! xo
jey says
Buying counterfeit jewellery and not knowing it is ok until you realise it and feeling really bad about it. I believe that that is one of the biggest problems. Besides that it is highly illegal what those people who sell it do it is also morally wrong. It this case where it was only 10 quid I would say that the lesson learned was not too expensive. When someone wants to buy a real piece of jewellery they should never buy on impulsive. Research, compare and look for signs that are making the piece of jewellery legitimate.
Wendy Hewson says
Hi Rachel,
This post was very intereting to me as I have just listed a fake Tiffany Elsa Peretti Bean necklace in my Etsy shop. The extra info about the box and suedette bag are points that I didn’t know. The piece is one I obtained in a mixed lot from E-bay and looks just like the real thing but clearly isn’t, on so many levels. I have kissed goodbye to a potential £300 for a genuine Tiffany piece, and dropped the price down to a slightly more realistic £75. It IS a beautiful silver-plated necklace – just not Tiffany !!
abby says
would you show a pic of the insides of the dust bags?