LipGlossQueen and Miss Kris: Thanks for the information on authentic Pandora bead variations. I guess I won't accuse the seller of sending a fake, but I am still disappointed that it doesn't match my other Cluster beads.
I bought a second bead, the Wide Stripe, from the same seller at the same time. That one matches another Wide Stripe that I have from an authorized retailer in every detail that I can see. Funny that one bead is exact and the other is different. Oh, well.
About the price increase: I asked my local jeweler to look up the prices of a few items for me, as she had an updated price list from Pandora. It looks like some of the gold items are going up in price considerably. The silver bracelet with gold clasp, #59702-HG, is going from $230 to $280. The gold safety chain, #75312-05, is going from $235 to $300. Yikes!