After officially being stung i decided to write this guide:

1.DONT BUY IT you might not want to hear that, but after finding out how to spot a fake, i looked at the listing and the majority of them were fake! if you are going to spend £70 on a bracelet here, why not just cough up the other £30 and buy one from an official jewelers - you will then, and only then know it is real!

2.The BIGGEST give away is the charms, links of london charms should have an OVAL ring to which you would attach to the bracelet/split ring.  Fake ones are ROUND.  Real ones have the hallmark of links of london upon that oval ring.

3.IMPORTANT check if the seller has sold previous similar items.  WHY you ask - well how many people do you know going to links of london, buying up a load of bracelets and then selling them for a fraction of the price on e bay - No you dont! real bracelets/charms are more likely to be sold by people who have had them as a present and they are now unwanted, so are unlikely to have sold similar items before CHECK THEIR PREVIOUS SALES.

4.Dont rely on their so called good ratings! people often recieve the item quickly and give good feedback.  It is only when they take it to have a charms fitted that they are told its a fake!

5.I fell for this one - the item has links of london packaging, so it must be real.WRONG.  This can be bought quite cheaply from god knows where, and my box was even made! it might look good on the screen, but its amazing what can be done with a good camera and an editing package!

6.Always contact the seller well before the bidding has ended to ask if the item is real, by real you mean genuine! use the word genuine. Tell them that you will not be leaving good feedback until you have shown it to a jeweler, no reply?- well its a good indication if you know what i mean!

7.I am told that the real bracelets have a hallmark on the link next to the barrell where the 'links of london' is enscribed.  The links should be smooth and no join should be seen in the circular rings.  The silver should be bright.

8.There should be ribbon attached to the box.  However ask yourself how difficult it would be for a faker to purchase a peice of ribbon!

9.People selling these items do not always know that they are fake, they may have sold it on, not knowing themselves (hense 1.)

Once again, dont buy, its such a dissappointment to receive somethings which you paid alot of money for, that is not what it pretends to be.

sarah

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