COA's

[edicehouse]

I was talking to my wife the other day about the "Washington Pen Blank" from exotics and they come with a COA, ect. I have gotten some "Jack Daniels" pen blanks with a COA. I felt the COA could have been mass produced, because there was not a signature on it. I have heard/seen where someone gets a piece of wood from something, and made their own COA. I made a couple pens for close friends of mine from the bleachers they went to school at, but never thought of offering a COA for them, but since they knew me, they knew they were the real deal.

I guess what I am asking is how much water does that hold if it is not from one of the authenticating companies out there?

 

[Russianwolf]

The value of a COA is equal to the reputation of the person giving it to you.

 

[ed4copies]

I believe the COA has more value as it becomes closer to the source.

People see our website and I am offered "authentic" products from time to time.

Historical Woods is a good example of VERY CLOSE to the source. They cut the wood and research the writings that are contemporary to the wood. This is one of the reasons we like working with Historical Woods---the owner (Bill Jewell) is VERY conscientious about the accuracy of all COA statements.

On the "other side" of that coin, I get COA from Holy Land Olive wood. My best "assurance" that these are authentic is the fact that they are shipped from Israel.

To date, the only woods we have accepted for resale are the ones I have gotten from someone I know well enough to be confident their claims are accurate.

 

[Haynie]

In the middle nineties, might still be happening, a lot of tru-stone type materials were being made into and being passed off as "Authentic Navajo Turquoise" jewelry. Came with a COA and signature of the artist. Never mind that the signature was being mass produced in china right along with the "authentic jewelry" then distributed through a german company to unsuspecting dealers in the states. One of my Anthropology assignments was to learn to tell the difference between real and "Authentic" turquoise then hunt through the shops in tucson to find shops selling the stuff. I found it in some of the highest end shops in town.

I take COAs with a BIG grain of salt.

 

[bitshird]

In the middle nineties, might still be happening, a lot of tru-stone type materials were being made into and being passed off as "Authentic Navajo Turquoise" jewelry. Came with a COA and signature of the artist. Never mind that the signature was being mass produced in china right along with the "authentic jewelry" then distributed through a german company to unsuspecting dealers in the states. One of my Anthropology assignments was to learn to tell the difference between real and "Authentic" turquoise then hunt through the shops in tucson to find shops selling the stuff. I found it in some of the highest end shops in town.

I take COAs with a BIG grain of salt.

Mark, most of the Authentic Import stuff was coming in from the Philippines, It cost us quite a bit since my wife and I had built a good reputation around Santa Fe and Taos, as well as Aspen and Vail, for our Silver work, but they started bringing the crap in about 93 - 94 and it cut our sales drastically.
COA's and other forms of Provenance aren't hard to have made, artificially aged and if done right can fool many experts.

 

[WWAtty]

If unscrupulous people can lie to you in person, they can lie to you on paper. A COA means nothing unless you trust the source. And if you trust the source, you don't need a piece of paper attesting to authenticity.

A few years ago, I was looking at a "turquoise" and silver bracelet in a shop in Mexico. The stones had a funny, plastic-like feel to them, yet the merchant insisted it was genuine, and showed me a COA (which could have been created on any ink jet printer).

So I did the "bic lighter test." I pulled out a butane lighter and flicked it on. I was just about to hold the piece over the flame (real turquoise would not be affected by a few seconds over the heat). The guy quickly snatched it back out of my hands. You should have seen the embarrassed look on his face as we headed toward the door.

 

[Seer]

Real Turquoise will also have a defferent feel than fake. I have a money clip with a nice piece and the texture between it and the fake is noticeable.