I purchased a ring whose provenance I know. I had no doubt whatsoever that the ring was authentic. I had others by the same jeweler who closed down during the pandemic. I was happy to find one more of his distinctive design for sale.
I had no idea that authentication is mandatory. I tried to stop the process, but was told that customer service's hand are tied. The ring has now been sent off to some unknown, untrusted "authenticator" who could swap out the diamonds for other stones...could attempt to do a ham-handed verification of the gold content by either scraping, scratching or gouging the gold...or could use an acid process which would be disastrous on the fine enamel-work. I told customer service that if there is any sign whatsoever of the ring having been "tested," it'll be returned as damaged merchandise to the seller.
So, the seller will have a sub-par item and will have lost the sale, and the buyer will be disappointed as well.
The outcome is unknown as I post this, but one thing is absolutely certain: I will never buy anything on Ebay again that requires "authentication."
Ebay has always had a shady reputation for back-alley transactions. What genius thought anyone would trust them with putting precious goods into the hands of an unknown? I have jewelers I trust and they're not associated with the likes of Ebay.
