hi all - i am looking to build a charm bracelet with about 4 to 5 tiffany charms. question is i see there quite a few up for sale on ebay; so does it make sense to build preloved versus new? the charms seem to be going for about 60-70% of retail; any pros/cons in going preloved? are counterfeit charms a thing aka could i get cheated? thanks in advance for your candid thoughts!
Charm bracelet - your opinion please?
- Thread starter mystique_nyc
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I personally don’t know if counterfeit charms are a thing, but when going preloved always request proof of purchase, so original receipts with time stamps. Ask the reason why they’re selling, and what year they bought it (this is mainly for your personal record so you can get a feel for how worn it is if they say “I wore it every day”).
A huge pro of Tiffany is their cleaning and repair policy: it’s a pretty sweet lifetime deal that you don’t have to be the original owner of the piece to have the option of cleaning it. BUT! In the event that they find a fake piece, they won’t touch it and you’re out for your money.
Note that it’s stupid easy for scammers to buy a secondhand box to make it “seem” like it’s real, so at the end of the day you have to do your homework and make sure you know it’s authentic.
With enamel charms, there’s always a risk of it coming off depending on how often it was worn previously, so you’d want to ask how much it was worn. Consider if the owner submerged the charms in water, exposed them to excessive heat, etc.
I’d say most people want to sell their charms because they’ve outgrown the style or got bored. Like shoes in a closet, some people like rotation / change.
Ideal sellers to me would also have a real social media presence. Not a fake account that has 2-3 followers. That also helps me feel better about private purchases online if I don’t buy from a licensed luxury consignment vendor. Haha!
So in short, “it depends” if you can validate the authenticity and if you’re okay wearing a used piece of jewelry. Also consider that you don’t get the coveted store experience, so it’s definitely not as rewarding to buy preloved because it doesn’t feel like it’s “mine” (in my opinion). I’ve bought maybe.. 3 preloved luxury shoes/SLGs? Ended up selling them all. It just didn’t feel as special, to me at least. But hey, no one can tell except for you!
A huge pro of Tiffany is their cleaning and repair policy: it’s a pretty sweet lifetime deal that you don’t have to be the original owner of the piece to have the option of cleaning it. BUT! In the event that they find a fake piece, they won’t touch it and you’re out for your money.
Note that it’s stupid easy for scammers to buy a secondhand box to make it “seem” like it’s real, so at the end of the day you have to do your homework and make sure you know it’s authentic.
With enamel charms, there’s always a risk of it coming off depending on how often it was worn previously, so you’d want to ask how much it was worn. Consider if the owner submerged the charms in water, exposed them to excessive heat, etc.
I’d say most people want to sell their charms because they’ve outgrown the style or got bored. Like shoes in a closet, some people like rotation / change.
Ideal sellers to me would also have a real social media presence. Not a fake account that has 2-3 followers. That also helps me feel better about private purchases online if I don’t buy from a licensed luxury consignment vendor. Haha!
So in short, “it depends” if you can validate the authenticity and if you’re okay wearing a used piece of jewelry. Also consider that you don’t get the coveted store experience, so it’s definitely not as rewarding to buy preloved because it doesn’t feel like it’s “mine” (in my opinion). I’ve bought maybe.. 3 preloved luxury shoes/SLGs? Ended up selling them all. It just didn’t feel as special, to me at least. But hey, no one can tell except for you!
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I have a Tiffany charm bracelet and I have lost 2 Tiffany charms (simply fell off). I would recommend going preloved and buying them slowly to build the bracelet. I regret having bought mine full price and then them falling off
same thing happened to my Wife, I did a full Charm bracelet and two fell off, I went back and repurchased and had them solder them closed and one just broke off... the Charm bracelet still looks nice, but I know how it was suppose to look and what each charm represents to us and it drives me crazy that it is not perfect !
"J!m"
Sorry to hear that you lost your charms. How did they fall off? Was it due to the link on the charms or the link on the bracelet? I have six dot charms and I just bought a link bracelet, planning to wear them in spring but I am paranoid now. Maybe I should just continue to wear my charms as pendants and the link bracelet on it’s own?
I have the open link bracelet and all SS charms. One charm I lost was the crown charm and it always got caught on everything cause of the sharp edges so I understand how I lost that one but the lolipop charm is small so I was surprised that one fell off. I didn't realize I lost them until I went to wear the bracelet the next time
I think I will eventually get mine soldered on too. I think continue wearing them as pendants and if you decide to wear on the bracelet wear it in a safe setting ( house etc). I lost mine either the one time I wore it to work or at a mall. Both high traffic areas and never realized until the next time I went to wear it.
I have the open link bracelet and all SS charms. One charm I lost was the crown charm and it always got caught on everything cause of the sharp edges so I understand how I lost that one but the lolipop charm is small so I was surprised that one fell off. I didn't realize I lost them until I went to wear the bracelet the next time
I think continue wearing them as pendants and if you decide to wear on the bracelet wear it in a safe setting ( house etc). I lost mine either the one time I wore it to work or at a mall. Both high traffic areas and never realized until the next time I went to wear it.
Thanks for your feedback Tarana.