mmmmpear.  what's a salad bowl setting?

I love, love, LOVE this salad bowl setting!  And the stones aren't too bad either!   

Mikla

I'm a huge fan of the salad bowl setting.  I think they're my ideal earring setting.

Re: shopping second-hand (pawnshops, coin shops, antique shops)

I also find it shocking when things are incorrectly represented such as the pendant you mentioned....But sometimes their mistakes can work in your favor, such as my recent find - a nice 18K chain to use for wearing my pendants.  The store's tag described it as 14K.  The 18K stamp was clearly visible with my loupe and the gold was yellower/brighter as typically 18K looks in comparison to 14K. I think that frequently these stores don't "do their homework" correctly (a lot of things come in and they rush rather than spend time on each piece)  In your case, it might have been deliberate misrepresentation, of course.

I used to be really honest and would point out to the merchant ("Your chain is really 18K, not 14K")  But I stopped after having enough of them raise the price on the item after I pointed the mistake out.  

So now, I keep my mouth shut and buy.  

If the item is lesser (tag says 14K but the stamp clearly says 10K) I gently point it out to the clerk (To spare the next customer from buying something that has mistaken gold content) When this happens, the second-hand merchant always has gratefully thanked me.  

that's an awesome find geena!  yay!  i felt lucky about the horsehead diamond ring i found, but i don't think i could get that kind of percentage over what i paid.  nicely done.
it's so true about the junk people wear though, it's always depressing to see what people will pay for things just because they're 'diamond' or 'designer'.  the point of jewelry is to be beautiful, but honestly, it's rare.

Thanks.  My percentages are usually not that good, but I am happy with having 2 or 3 "lucky finds" like that per year.  Another one was a ring I found at a pawn shop for $840 - a tan/yellow emerald-cut over 1 carat topaz with lots of sizeable VS baguette diamonds in a heavy 18K setting - custom ring for a wealthy local woman who sold it to the pawn shop because of her relationship/money problems.  Had it checked by a jeweler who told me that it was nice topaz (not citrine) and that it was a great buy.

I buy the stuff to wear, not resell.  I love the really cheap stuff too if it is beautiful - I spent $30 yesterday on a sterling ring made by a local craftsman, in it is a gorgeous pink glass cabochon that literally glows with blue flecks inside (hand blown artisan glass)  looks great on my finger near my ruby & diamond ring.  

I get most lucky in small cities or towns in places such as Utah, Oregon, Montana.