I was in Hong Kong during New Year of 2007. Had my share of leisure walks and sightseeing around town especially HK's ever famous 'night market'. You can find all sorts of things here, like many other Asian countries, especially imitation goods (just name the brand, you can find them all here..) and of course, food. So while munching some snacks, me and a couple of colleagues browsed around.
At one small corner, a typical pedlar selling all these silvery jewellery had all 'mat sallehs' tourists flocking around her. My curious mind brought me nearer and I saw a glimpse of a jewellery box with a familiar hue. And hey presto! It's Tiffany & Co. Looking and studying the goods of this Tiffany's impostor, I realised that at a glance, it is as good as the real ones. One who has never known the real Tiffany can never tell that these are fake. So after picking 2 pieces of items and after some bargaining, I managed to get it at HKD 60 (roughly RM 30). Bought it for my little experiment back here in KL.
Here are some pictures of the fake pieces I bought from HK...
If you look closely, this bracelet has its bases similar to a real Tiffany's bracelet. One of the starfish has this etching, 'Tiffany & Co.' behind it. This piece however, is overly done with a tiny disc carrying the name Tiffany & Co.. Fyi, no Tiffany & Co. item ever carry this tiny disc. Another detail would be the cheap, easy hook. Now, a real Tiffany would cost a bomb, do you think the designer is stupid enough to put a cheap hook so that purchasers can drop and lose them easily?
This ring is another faker. This piece is a cleverer
imitation, I shall say. This time, you tell me what's wrong with it. On the left is the supposedly velvet pouch. They got the colour almost right, it is only a shade darker than the real one. Tiffany & Co's packagings do not come in any other colour except in this hue, so take note of that. However, the design is all wrong.
On the other hand, below are pictures of an original Tiffany & Co. item...
The real pouch would look like this... With a button clasp and not strings
. And it is square in shape, in case you find it hard to notice.. See the colour?
The shade is brighter for the real packaging, unlike the fake. Have a close look at the clasp. It's complicated in order to prevent it from dropping off easily. And the etching
goes onto the clasp itself. This original piece of Tiffany & Co. was bought from its boutique in KLCC.Tiffany has its many boutiques at only 7 Asian countries i.e. Japan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea.
So now, voila! You have completed a course in identifying the real and the fake Tiffany. The next time you see peeps with a Tiffy piece, you can tell if it's real. Don't let them fakers fool you!
Credits : The real Tiffany & Co. bracelet used in the above document is a courtesy from the ever original Ms. Satyiana Rosli.