posted on February 27, 2008 05:38:05 AM
I listed a dress clip, a rather large dress clip (almost 5" long). I didn't give it much fanfare because it's missing a lot of stones so I started it at $9.99. Well, the first email was an offer for $100. The second email was a note telling me who the designer is. The third email was an offer of $1,200. The designer? Rene Lalique!! OMG, just thinking about taking the $100 offer turns my stomach. Thank goodness I got suspicious about the $100 offer. Although the auction had three bids after only being up a couple of hours, I ended it and will relist it properly. Geesh, that was a close call!!
Lesson learned? It pays to research, research, research, even pieces missing many stones. I had no idea. It was signed simply Made in France, Rene Paris. Dopey, dopey me!
Now, you tell me, without knowing who the designer is, would you take much stock in this clip or think it could be worth thousands?
Now, I'm off to pull my head out of the sand.
Cheryl
[ edited by cblev65252 on Feb 27, 2008 05:38 AM ]
posted on February 27, 2008 06:15:21 AM
You never know, that is the beauty of Ebay. Other people do know, some will try to "get" you, others will help and inform. But, at least there is a huge audience as opposed to selling it in a local mall where only a few lucky people will see it.
posted on February 27, 2008 06:41:29 AM
Geesh, why oh why do I listen to people. It is not Lalique from what I've now learned. I have no clue who the designer is, but if someone wants it that badly, it must be someone. Anyone got a clue?
posted on February 27, 2008 06:55:42 AM
No, I haven't had them tested. It's been up not 15 minutes and already have two bids. I'll let it ride. I don't think they're real stones. The glue is so dry some of the stones just fall out. They aren't foil backed and I believe strongly that they are French Paste. Fortunately, I have some of the stones in a bag. It will need work. Some of the stones are so tiny, there's no way I can do it. I'm all thumbs when it comes to things like that.
Edited to add: The dangles at the bottom are really translucent green. I have no idea why they won't photograph that way. It's odd. They look like malachite they way they photographed.
Cheryl
[ edited by cblev65252 on Feb 27, 2008 06:56 AM ]
posted on February 27, 2008 07:10:56 AM
Wow, it's now at $100!!! Doing the happy, happy dance. Ken has been not working all week and we've really been down about it. Although I'm selling this for someone else, my cut should be rather nice once all is said and done. At least I'll be able to pay the electric bill.
posted on February 27, 2008 07:30:51 AM
Neglus - I emailed a collector in Canada. He's not 100% sure it isn't, but he doesn't think it is. I didn't use Lalique in the title because it's not sure to be him. The signature does say Rene Paris and that's what I put in the title. There were a couple of contemporaries of Lalique named Rene. Could be one of those. We may never know for sure.
Also - you might want to check the typo in your 5-star graphic. There's a missing 't' that you'll want to correct if you can for future listings. Good idea though to help educate buyers. Obviously, eBay hasn't been doing a stellar job of it.
Hope this helps.
Wayne
Never explain -- Your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.
~ Elbert Hubbard
posted on February 27, 2008 08:46:10 AM
Hi, Wayne. I had made the change and I apparently forgot to upload it. It's uploaded now so it should show now.
posted on February 27, 2008 09:56:01 AM
cblev65252
I had a similar experience with a high end watch, that I did not no anything about.
Take my advice and pull it off ebay again.
Call Sothebys Jewerly Dept. tell them what you have and send pictures online to them. They will tell you what it is worthor ask the the value.
Then I would put a reserve of the value that they gave you. That is the way you deal with a high end item. Good Luck
posted on February 27, 2008 05:52:18 PM
A lesson learned, for me at least. If I had that clip with all those stones missing I wouldn't have even listed it.
Sounds like it still could be Lalique. I would go along with what bregmani said, pull it, check it out with Southebys.
posted on February 27, 2008 06:39:04 PM
It doesn't look anything like Rene Lalique's other jewelry designs, which practically define Art Nouveau.
However, one possible scenario is that there are a bunch of people who think it IS Lalique and are simply wrong.
I really, really hate to bring this up, Cheryl, I don't want to worry you, but it would be nice to be sure that the eventual winner is on the same page with whatever the piece really is, to avoid a buyer's remorse situation.
fLufF
-- Now updated daily. Jewelry news, views and pretty baubles for those with low impulse control.
posted on February 27, 2008 07:15:56 PM
From what I'm hearing from collectors of these things just by virtue of it being French and paste makes it highly collectible and difficult to come by. There is a blurb saying that more likely than not this is NOT blah, blah, blah. As stated above, there were a couple of contemporaries of Lalique whose names were Rene. Rene must be the French equivalent of John. LOL! Thanks, Fluffy. I will definitely be careful with this one. Insurance and signature confirmation will definitely be a must.
posted on February 27, 2008 11:13:29 PM
I admire your chutzpah. I might have resisted the $100 offer, but not knowing for sure what I had would make the $1,200 offer hard to resist.
posted on February 28, 2008 04:17:19 AM
I would have accepted the $1,200 offer had it come from someone other than a 0 feedback buyer. That kind of an offer from someone with no buying (or selling) history makes me nervous.
posted on February 28, 2008 04:22:32 AM
wow, cheryl... this will be a fun one to watch. also, it's amazing you have this going right now, running right alongside the EO thread that dejapooh started regarding not taking 'offers'.
posted on March 5, 2008 02:46:16 PM
I was surprised it went for that much. There are at least 50 stones missing and the rest will need to be reset into the piece because the glue is no longer holding them. It will be work for someone, but it should be stunning when it's completed.
