how can i distinguish between a genuine swarovksi crystal from a fake one?
336667
the easiest way i have found to determine a fraud is to rent an albanian spider monkey and feed it unripened grapefruit, wait 30 minutes and if the animal can see its reflection its fake
167225
I would say just be happy that you have a man that would buy you nice things, but if it's just killing you to know, take it to a reputable jeweler to get it appraised, but be careful about leaving it over night because I saw a 20/20 report about jewelers taking out real stones and replacing them with crap and if yours is real you may get ripped off.
1031720
Search for a stone like that on Ebay, and see what they go for.
947481
you buy it at a respectable jewelry store.\ndont buy a lab or a russian diamond.
226550
1. If it claims to be "brand new" and costs less than $300, most likely it is fake.\n\n2. If the “LV” logo is upright on both sides, it might be a fake. \n\n3. If it’s "brand new" and being sold on eBay or Yahoo! Auctions, there is a good chance it’s fake.\n\n4. If the piping is not leather, it is fake\n\n5. If the seams are uneven, frayed, the monogram is off or the bag is poorly \nsewn, it is definitely fake.\n\n\n6. If there is no date code (a.k.a date number) provided or if the seller is reluctant to provide a date code or receipt, it could be fake.\n\n7. If it’s a new bag and the bag’s handle is a different color leather than that of the piping, it’s fake.\n\n8. If the seller doesn’t allow returns, most likely it’s fake.\n\n9. If you bought it in your local Chinatown or from a street vendor, it’s fake.\n\n10. If the dust cover has rounded edges and/or it doesn’t come with a dust cover, it’s fake.\n\n11. If the bag has a hanging tag (of any type) or a bright yellow tag or envelope, it’s definitely a fake.\n\n12. If you bought the bag on an ecommerce site other than eluxury.com (be careful of eBay), it’s fake.
398032
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal
495467
http://www.acstones.com/gemofmonth/2001/gemofmonth.8.01.html
212378
http://www.crystalmeth.org/
29341
Here are some comparisons from Kelkoo:\n\nhttp://shopping.yahoo.co.uk/b/a/ssc_100164013_set_top_box.html
15970
NO it doesn't look authentic. It doesnt even have shopping option plus they havnt given any contact info..\nAt the most we can find out the country where the wensite is hosted.. but that is not going to help much.\n\nOne thing that you can do is.. send out mails randomly to email addresses like\n\nadmin@cairnsgreenlizard.com\ninfo@cairnsgreenlizard.com\ncairns@cairnsgreenlizard.com\ncairnsgreenlizard@cairnsgreenlizard.com\n...etc.\n\nu might just hit the nail on the head.
377751
No not really..... There are plenty of people who take the sellers word for it.... Some get what they seen, some get screwed...\n\nI once bought a watch off eBay... I was wondering if I had been screwed... I went to a local jeweler, had them look at it... It was legit..\n\nNow if it had been fake.. I would have been doing a charge back immediately...\n\nGood Luck
164059
Where did you buy this PC? Can you tell if the CD you have is in English? If so then loading it over the other copy would be the easiest thing to do but I would certainly make the seller do this if your in an English speaking country and then I would make them go to MS's Validation check site with me watching and prove the copy is legit.
766367
The details\nDon't overlook the smaller features. The zips, handles, buckles and other trimmings are often what lets down a fake. Hermès bags should have an 'Hermès Paris' stamp, while genuine Louis Vuitton leather goods say 'Louis Vuitton Paris, Made In France'. However, the fakers are cannier than ever and are wise to the fact that savvy shoppers seek the 'LV' stamp on zips and press studs. In this case, look even closer. Monograms should be clearly printed, not smudged - and stitches should be tiny and discreet, not clumsy and gaudy..........\n\n\nSmall variations in the LV letters and flowers (such as printing them upside down) are telltale signs and another important factor is the colour of the leather. The leather should be a light brown which gets darker with age.\n\n1. If it claims to be "brand new" and costs less than $300, most likely it is fake.\n\n2. If the "LV" logo is upright on both sides, it might be a fake.\n\n3. If it's "brand new" and being sold on eBay or Yahoo! Auctions, there is a good chance it's fake.\n\n4. If the piping is not leather, it is fake\n\n5. If the seams are uneven, frayed, the monogram is off or the bag is poorly sewn, it is definitely fake.\n\n\n6. If there is no date code (a.k.a date number) provided or if the seller is reluctant to provide a date code or receipt, it could be fake.\n\n7. If it's a new bag and the bag's handle is a different color leather than that of the piping, it's fake.\n\n8. If the seller doesn't allow returns, most likely it's fake.\n\n9. If you bought it in your local Chinatown or from a street vendor, it's fake.\n\n10. If the dust cover has rounded edges and/or it doesn't come with a dust cover, it's fake.\n\n11. If the bag has a hanging tag (of any type) or a bright yellow tag or envelope, it's definitely a fake.\n\n12. If you bought the bag on an ecommerce site other than eluxury.com (be careful of eBay), it's fake.
617535
Rubies are Red Corundum.  They belong to the same family as Sapphires.  Most people think of Ruby as Red and Sapphire as Blue.  What a pleasant surpirse they receive when they find out that Sapphires come in orange, purple, green, black, yellow etc and Rubies come in a myriad of Red shades like pure red, orangey red, pinkish red, brownish red etc.  Nature's factory is fun & quirky!\n\nTo a color scientist, there is no Pink.  Technically, Pink is Red at a lower saturation.  Using this logic, there should be no distinction between Ruby & Pink Sapphire.  Think about Blue.  We don't have a special name for light Blue Sapphires.  \n\nHowever, the market reality is that we do make a distinction between Rubies & Pink Sapphires.  One of the reasons is because Rubies usually command a higher price than Pink Sapphires.  \n\nWhere do we draw the line bewteen a Ruby & a Pink Sapphire?  In general, it is b/o saturation levels.  Higher saturation reds are considered Ruby.  Lower saturation reds are Pink Sapphires.  However, having personally handled stones of superb saturation that would still be considered to be Pink Sapphires, I would have to say it's best to use your own judgement on a case by case basis.  \n\nTo make things even more interesting, perception also varies from country to country.  Many Pinkish Red Rubies (so favoured by the Japanese) are called Pink Sapphires by Americans.\n\nShould you buy or not? If the price is fair, and you like the look of the stones - go ahead!  \n\nHope that helped!  Good luck, Ryan!
726490
let me check my crystal ball...
438553
Well you need to give some identifying characteristics before anyone can ID it for you.\n\nDoes it have crystals?\n\nDoes it rub off in your hand when you hold it?\n\nWhat color is it? Does it contain more than one color?\n\nDoes it have layers?\n\nIs it heavy for it's size?\n\nGive some more info & maybe we can help.\n\n:)
625721
Here are some questions that will help you:\n\nFirstly, are they natural or synthetic?  \nSome synthetics can look amazingly similar to heat-treated naturals.  \n\nIf they are synthetic, what kind of synthetics are they? Flame-fusion? Flux-grown? Flame-fusion synthetics can be had for a few cents a piece.  Some flux-grown synthetics cost over a $100/ct.\n\nIf they are natural, you'll need to judge their quality:\n\nColor - Is the color saturated? Is the tone balanced? Do they show undesirable brown modifiers? \n\nClarity - Are there inclusions? How distracting are they? Where are they located? Do they improve or adversely effect the aesthetics of the stones?  Do they affect durability? \n \nCut - Are the stones faceted or cabachon-cut? Are they transparent, translucent or opaque?  What shapes are they?\nAre they cut well? ie balanced & symmetrical, good length-width ratio, good polish and finish.  There is a premium for matched pairs and lots.\n\nCarat - 13 rubies totalling 50 carats makes each piece about 3.85cts.  Hmmm...that's considered large for rubies.  \nFine stones above 3 carats are considered rare.  Commercial & utility quality stones can be hundreds of carats in size and still not be very valuable.\n\nOrigin - Where were they mined? There is a premium for Burmese stones, especially from Mogok.\n\n------------------------------------------ \n\nBased on the information you have provided, it is not possible to accurately say what they are worth.  You could have a jeweller look at them, but it's probably better to send them to a professional colored stone appraiser.  \n\nAs a very rough estimate, here are some price ranges for faceted rubies in the 3ct range (in Bangkok): [Commercial/Good/Fine]\nRuby [25-300/300-1000/1000-6000]\nPink Sapphire (low saturation rubies) [50+/100-250/250-1500]\n\nBTW, 99% of all rubies available in the market are heat-treated.  A premium is put on stones that are not heated but only if they are of fine quality material.  All other things equal, washed out stones that have not been heat treated are never worth more than heated material with good color.