Mara by countess mara vs. countess mara ties

[HKnight]

I posted this on Andy's, figured some of you guys could use the heads up as well. Broke down and bought twelve Countess Mara ties on eBay only to find that six are Countess Mara and the other six are Mara by Countess Mara. The latter do not have the reinforced neckband, feel like they're made of slightly cheaper silk, and don't feel quite as weighty as the former. Not all of them have the CM insignia on the backing either. I'm wonder a little if these are authentic. And anyway, I'm posting to let you all know to beware buying Mara ties on eBay that, assuming they're authentic, not all Mara ties are of the same quality advertied on the CM Website.

 

[johnnynorman3]

Mara ties are authentic CMs. They are not as well made, however, and indeed are made in China. Regular Countess Maras are made in Italy.

I quite like CM ties. The Mara ones also aren't too bad, but you shouldn't pay more than $10 - 15 for the Mara ones (they can be found for this price often at discount stores). CM itself can often be hit or miss, but they often have really nice wovens that seam at times unsnaggable.

 

[HKnight]

Thanks for the reassurance, Johnny. I paid < $5/tie, shipped, so I'm still pretty happy with the deal, though I was expecting all Italian-made CM ties.

I am VERY impressed with the CM woven ties--wore one last night to a Student Senate meeting and received two compliments on it. The weave does seem very hard to snag.

 

[regularjoe]

Thanks for the reassurance, Johnny. I paid < $5/tie, shipped, so I'm still pretty happy with the deal, though I was expecting all Italian-made CM ties.

I am VERY impressed with the CM woven ties--wore one last night to a Student Senate meeting and received two compliments on it. The weave does seem very hard to snag.

I think CM is a nice bargain tie. They're not going to stack up to the Kiton/Borrelli/Talbott 7-folds, but at discout prices of $10-15, one would not expect them to.

As a nice touch, some of there are even self-tipped.

 

[johnnynorman3]

Regularjoe, I do have a couple of the self-tipped ones; woven Italian-made CMs. They seem to retail for $85 or so, and I got both for $12.50 on markdown at Filene's basement. They clearly aren't 7 folds, but to be honest I think the ones I have are every bit as good as my Talbott Best of Class.