If you have Instagram, you may realise that Instagram recognises what you search and gives you ads accordingly. I’ve recently been into jewellery and thought I would try out one of those Instagram jewellery brands out there to see if it was really worth the money and hype.
I kept seeing Cali Tiger pop up and was really sold on their ‘high quality’ jewellery and flash sale.
Cali Tiger is a jewellery brand that boasts almost 86K followers on Instagram and are known for their 18K gold plated jewellery. Looking through their website, it seems that they are an Australian brand which I find super weird because it automatically has prices set to US dollars.
It took about 2 weeks to arrive and I was heavily suspicious it was dropshipping because the courier looked like it shipped out of China but the parcel says it was from Sydney so-. I watched this video as I am writing this review and I am pretty convinced it’s a dropshipping company because she likens the packaging and products to another company, Biella Vintage. It is like the exact same- it’s not a coincidence.
However, I was impressed by the packaging. The box was super cute and actually very sturdy and it came with some care instructions and a thank you card which I appreciate.
Cali Tiger recommends you remove items before exercising, swimming or showering and that you should exercise caution with contact with harsh chemicals, perfumes, lotion and hair products as these may damage the layer of gold plating and cause discolouration.
I got a pair of earrings and a necklace. I also realised they gave me a free bracelet which was really nice. We love a freebie.
Zelda Necklace // 59 USD // 86 AUD
I don’t wear necklaces. Ever. However, I was really drawn to this simple pendant design and I think it just elevates a simple, everyday look. I love it. The chain length was perfect. I don’t like necklaces that are really long. I don’t think I could ever pull off the layering look. However, I’ve also had necklaces that were too short for me as well so this is a nice length.
I love how unique these earrings are shaped. They look really elegant and sophisticated and overall, really happy with these as well. I don’t think I’ll get much wear out of them just because I go to the gym very often and they aren’t gym approved sadly but they would look SO good for a night out. Definitely a really nice unique statement piece.
The bracelet was really cute but I was disappointed that it didn’t look as dainty as the other two pieces I bought. I wish it looked ‘lighter’. I also thought this was a bit poorly made as there was a kink in my bracelet which i can’t tell if it’s supposed to exist or not. Definitely would not have paid for this. However, I thought it was a nice bonus item to receive so I am happy with it.
Conclusion? Cali Tiger has nice products and I am happy with everything I got. However, I am convinced it’s a dropshipping company which I don’t love and will not purchase in future. They also always have flash sales so this further convinces me it’s a dropshipping company. I wouldn’t pay full price for these products but 50% off why not. This is a sales tactic to convince you that you need to buy these products right now before the prices go up again (but they never do).
If you know dropshipping you know that usually these products sold are a massive markup to what is being priced at distributer platforms such as AliExpress and Amazon. So even if you are getting a discount, you’re still paying a very inflated price to what it’s really worth. For example, say a company prices a product for $50. With 40% off, you only pay $30 but the product is only $10 on AliExpress. Do you see the problem?
I am not convinced it’s 18K gold either but the jewellery still looks very nice (mainly because of the possible dropshipping). I’ll have to update on the wear of these. I’ll have my eye on Australian-based jewellery in the future. I think this also agrees with my hypothesis that most Instagram hyped jewellery/clothes are just hyped and not worth the price or quality.
Okay these are definitely owned by the same people (based in Sydney). They both say it is green shipping, which basically means it comes from China. Look tbh, it’s the same mark up as Pandora, Swarsovki and all those other brands have, most people just dont notice
Very sneaky indeed. I’m all for people creating small businesses but dropshopping just urks me because of its practices.