TOMMY SINGER S Silver Mediterranean Red Coral Necklace Start Price USD 1,349.95 Current Price USD 1,349.95 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Wednesday, September 03, 2008 End Time Saturday, September 13, 2008 Location N.E. Kansas Indian Country See more about 'TOMMY SINGER S Silver Mediterranean Red Coral Necklace' Description Beware of necklaces represented as Tommy Singer necklaces that aren't or those with sufficiently ambiguous descriptions you're not sure. These fakes are sometimes sold with pendants or labeled as 'Tommy Singer style' or 'Tommy Singer type' with the words 'style' and 'type' being the operative words that mean it's a knockoff and not genuine. They're made by the hundreds by non-Native Americans in Albuquerque and while they're reasonably attractive, they're not authentic Native American necklaces and certainly don't have the investment value that Tommy Singer's work has. Genuine Tommy Singer necklaces have Tommy's miniature sterling silver hallmark tags attached them at the clasp or stamped on one his alrge hand made beads, and they utilize the distinctive sterling silver barrel beads many of which have engraved black geometric lines as well as several varieties of semi precious stone beads. This tag read "T Singer Sterling." As beautiful as all the genuine Singer necklaces are, however, not all them are created equal. That's why instead of mail ordering Tommy's work and then settling for whatever a sales associate sends me, I travel to New Mexico and Arizona about every three months or so and hand pick everything I sell. This ensures that you'll receive the best made, most attractive pieces -- the pick of the litter -- because there are aesthetic, composition, material, and craftsmanship differences between similar pieces -- even those made by famous artists. This 28" long necklace consists of seven strands and dozens and dozens of the very highest quality, silky smooth 3/16ths" in diameter completely natural Mediterranean branch coral beads from the now permanently closed coral beds off the coast of Italy, several interesting varieties and shapes of delicate sterling silver spacer beads, and other gemstone beads including sky blue Skleeping Beauty, White Buffalo (howlite), Acoma black jet, and lapis beads. Mediterranean coral has become nearly prohibitively expensive, and unfortunately it's already out of reach for many people. The Navajos traditionally have called coral "red gold" -- a description that has more relevance today than it ever has. I don't think you'll be seeing any Mediterranean coral in any quantity in the future as it now appears these coral beds are indeed permanently closed so take advantage before it goes up again, and believe me, natural red coral of this quality goes up sunstantially several times a year! Today, this Singer coral necklace has a no hype retail value of well over $2000.00 in the southwest and more on both coasts.  The necklace also features two hand made 15/16ths" by ½" 12 kt. gold fill and sterling silver overlaid ancient stairstepped Monument Valley rock formations or Ute designs barrel beads and twenty-two graduated spherical eagle beads (the largest ones are hand stamped). The shiny sterling silver and 12 kt. gold fill Monument Valley designs, the two gold fill bars, and rain drop beads are overlays created from separate sheets of sterling silver and 12 kt. gold fill and then bonded to the bead which the artist oxidized (darkened) in order to provide a contrasting background for the overlays. The cones and clasp are also sterling silver. Coral is more expensive each year, and if you've been following the silver market, then you know that silver hovers between 250% to 300% increase since 2005. This necklace is nothing less than an investment quality necklace for the discerning collector of the finest Navajo artists! Tommy Singer's hallmark can be found on the sterling silver ID tag attached to the hook clasp as discussed above. Payment is expected no later than ten days after your purchase. Questions: Questions about this item only, please, from serious buyers only and NO questions that are answered in the product description. Most of the questions I receive have nothing to do with the item or are answered in the product description. I don't accept offers (see below), do free appraisals, free research, put members in touch with artists, sell wholesale, or take custom orders so please don't email me about these issues, out of idle curiosity, or questions not pertaining to the item. Pricing: Unlike many other ebay sellers, I don’t over inflate listing prices on the first one or two listings and then cut the price on subsequent listings to fool buyers into think they’re getting a hot deal or a “sale“ item. My prices are fair and firm, I do not negotiate lower prices on or off ebay, and I don’t accept Best Offers which are seller killers. Please respect this. Anyone submitting an offer may be blocked. Extra Photos: Please remember that people buy millions of dollars’ worth of products each month in this country from catalogues where generally there’s only one photograph and about three short descriptive lines. Sorry, no additional photos are available for this item. CORRECT Email Address: Your ISP’s or your email’s spam filter can and sometimes does prevent delivery of many emails. If you don’t hear from me, this is probably why so please don‘t think you’re being ignored because every purchase and payment is acknowledged. If you don’t hear from me, please check your span/trash directory. Making Smart Buying Choices: Remember, choose wisely. Save for a while if necessary to buy the best pieces you can possibly afford. Don’t just spend money, invest it in good quality items that have possible future investment potential. It's against federal law to misrepresent foreign made jewelry as Native American. Protect this investment and assure the Native American authenticity of your purchases by requiring a Certificate of Authenticity. Be wary of items with many bids -- especially when the bidding exceeds $200.00, and ebay hides the bidders‘ identities. The truth is that there isn’t enough traffic anymore in the Native American jewelry category to generate lots of bids on most items, and sellers you wouldn‘t expect routinely engage in shill bidding practices. Be skeptical of sellers who say they’ve signed some vague paper with an anonymous third party to accurately represent their items. Ebay has no such requirement. With Fixed Price listings and No Second Chance Offers that are responsible for most fraud against buyers, shilling is impossible. You can have confidence the buyer is a legitimate buyer -- not me under a different ID and not any associates engaging in a fraudulent shill bidding scheme to drive prices up. Authenticity and Provenance: This is a new rather than a previously owned item, and a Certificate of Authenticity guaranteeing its Native American origin is included. The jewelry I sell isn’t stolen (ebay is a leading venue for stolen merchandise and, yes, some of what you see in the Native American jewelry category is stolen), and the artists and traders have been all paid so you needn’t worry about the police knocking on your door or any letters from attorneys. Everything but pawn sterling silver jewelry and stone necklaces are cleaned and polished with tarnish retardant polish before shipping so that it arrives looking sparkling clean and odor free. Buy Only Authentic Native American Jewelry: If you care whether the jewelry you buy is authentic Native American, please click on the View Seller's Other Items link in the box at the top of the page at right. A substantial percentage of the jewelry offered in the Native American category is actually made in China, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, the Middle East, Mexico, and elsewhere and then misrepresented as Navajo or Zuni. Two-thirds of all so-called Native American jewelry sold in this country is fake, and a lot of it is sold on ebay by sellers who should know better both in terms of the law, good ethics, and knowledge about the true origins of their products. Multiple Item Shipping: For your convenience and savings, multiple jewelry purchases purchased within a 10 day period can be shipped together Priority Mail -- just please let me know when you begin buying. Your new jewelry will be carefully packed by people who care whether your hand made jewelry art arrives in the same condition it was when shipped because it deserves to be properly protected. On international orders, some items can be combined for fixed rate shipping, and others can’t. Please email me if you a question about multiple item international shipping. U.S. Domestic Shipping and Insurance: Same day USPS Priority Mail shipping with 2-3 business day delivery and FREE delivery confirmation except weekends, holidays, unplanned events like doctors‘ appointments and illness, dangerous weather, and buying trips from a non-smoker on receipt of payment before 3 pm Central Time. I require Post Office internally trackable insurance on all shipments to protect you against Post Office loss or damage because delivery and signature confirmation are NOT true tracking in case something is lost. PayPal requires signature confirmation on all shipments of $250.00 or more which will be included when applicable at cost with the insurance. USPS Express Mail with overnight delivery to most but not all locations available -- cost varies by item shape, size, and weight of your purchase(s) -- please email for a quote. There will be a small handling charge on Express Mail items to cover packing materials and gas to the Post Office. Otherwise, I charge only ACTUAL COSTS for USPS shipping, insurance, and signature confirmation, FREE delivery confirmation, and NO handling charges. International Shipping and Insurance: PayPal REQUIRES online tracking for ALL international shipments. If you are a new customer OR if you’re purchasing more than US$100.00 of merchandise, the risk is too great to ship without tracking and your order will be shipped by the least expensive tracked mail, USPS International Express Mail. Express Mail has a flat rate packet for smaller items OR the cost varies by weight and your location if the item is too large for the flat rate packet. If you are an established customer OR your item is less than US$100.00, your order will be shipped insured International 1st Class Mail. Recorded Delivery may be required on these orders. Most orders will arrive within 1-2 weeks, but exact delivery time depends on how fast your country’s customs clears the parcel. Exact shipping charges will vary by parcel weight, destination, and insurance depending on the size and weight of an item you purchase. Buyers are responsible for paying your country's duties and taxes if any. The U.S. Postal Service no longer furnishes free shipping supplies for international 1st class mail shipments so there will be a $1.00 charge for shipping materials. The Postal Service won’t insure silver, gold, or platinum jewelry so I use a private insurance carrier for international shipments. Shipping rates are best estimates -- if less YOU WILL RECEIVE A PAYPAL REFUND. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions about international shipments or costs. I ship at cost for Express Mail; at cost + $1.00 for 1st class. EXCLUDED COUNTRIES: Sorry, I can NOT ship to the following countries because insurance is impossible to obtain except to US military or diplomatic corps with APO/FPO addresses: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola & Cabinda, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma (Myanmar), Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Papua/New Guinea, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, and Yemen. Payment Options: On domestic orders, I accept credit cards through PayPal (Visa, Mastercard, Discovercard, American Express) and also gratefully accept PayPal e-checks, money orders, and bank or cashiers' checks. International customers are asked to remit payment through PayPal, and Canadian customers may remit through an international money order designated in U.S. dollars. Sales tax: Only Kansas residents must pay Kansas sales tax. Feedback Policy: A transaction is considered complete when you receive your items and post feedback. I will then post feedback within a few days. Please be patient as I have many, many feedbacks to do and don’t use those impersonal automated feedback systems. Returns: Sales are not made on an approval basis and you are expected to keep you what you’ve agreed to buy except for major misrepresentation or major defect. Ebay no longer refunds sellers final value fees on returns if the buyer didn’t pay with PayPal so this policy varies with specific circumstances. Ebay never refunds listing fees. Returns must be approved in advance and then return shipped within 3 business days of receipt, and the item must be returned in its original condition or full credit may not be given. I issue merchandise credits less a restocking fee. A restocking fee is necessary to cover a part of the enormous amount of time and a high number of hidden expenses that returns create that buyers are unaware of. Buyers who chronically return items will be permanently blocked at the sole discretion of this seller. © Photos and product description: Ebay and non Ebay sellers: please take your own photos, do your own research, and write your own product descriptions. This is copyrighted material and finding my product descriptions and research on other seller‘s item pages and websites won‘t be tolerated. Please respect the plagiarism laws. Thank you. On Apr-29-07 at 19:54:02 PDT, seller added the following information: Powered by eBay Turbo Lister The free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items. Place a Bid!