Ho Hum

Ho hum and feeling hood winked!

I haven't bought for ages but I am very much in the market to buy a pendant and ring.

I see on Gems TV a 0.50ct diamond ring in 18k white gold.

The presenter tells her audience that the diamonds are EGL certified F-G colour VSi clarity. Heavy gold weight . I quote" This is seriously heavy gold weight"

So I bid and pay way more than the usual 1ct diamond 9k ring...........because I know I would not like the diamond clarity in those rings . But horses for courses.

DPD text me a delivery option , I text straight back and delay the delivery a day , this is ignored and the parcel is left with a neighbour anyway , leaving me wondering why text in the first place , if you are going to ignore it?

I find my DPD package/ring amongst the neighbours log pile. Open the parcel and box.....................

And on dear, the ring has the usual lightweight Christmas cracker feel , the diamonds are H-I in colour , SI2 in clarity , except for the centre stone which is 0.13ct and is as the presenter said.

Another £1 + down the drain in postage as it goes back special delivery . Just wish I hadn't been told porkies about the gold weight and the diamond quality and I would have made my own mind up if it was what I wanted or not!!

Yup, feeling I've been hoodwinked !!

Flipside, I think I noticed that auction because it's unusual for them to offer diamonds. I noticed especially that central stone was spoken of as if it was part of the Crown Jewels. It immediately made me wonder what was wrong with the surrounding stones. Cynical, moi, I couldn't possibly say!!!!

Hi Flipside,

I am sad to hear of your disappointment, you are completely justified to have a good moan. Perhaps we should name and shame the offending presenters as well in future? It will give obvious pointers to the most frequent offenders, just a thought. The GemsTV diamonds can be truly awful quality, especially when they don't bang on about them, or just say "certified". Certified as what? Even fidelity rejects can be certified and in my opinion, a lot of what they sell are the calibre of Fidelity or HMV rejects ) They will often rave about the colour of a diamond but are totally silent about the clarity, that's always a red flag too. You should ask for your return postage as well, what a rip-off. I hope you will find something beautiful and decent to spend your pennies on.

Inge xx

So sorry to hear this. A couple of words of caution if I may?

1. No laboratory actually "certifies" anything. They produce a report based on an evaluation of the diamond.

2. EGL typically grade much softer than other laboratories i.e. GIA/AGL etc. An EGL F-G colour is probably, if graded by GIA for example, more likely to be H-I in colour and the same for clarity. If I'm buying a diamond with a report, if it's EGL I assume it's not what it says. I always use GIA for diamonds.

3. If you pay a low figure for a diamond then you pay for what you get (unfortunately). It's very rare I see a "deal" now for a diamond. There are some but you seriously have to be in the right place at the right time with funds ready to be burnt! I don't see them so much on GemsTV now.

4. Unfortunately the diamonds at GemsTV are on the whole awful. It's such a shame because years ago they had some wonderful (and I mean wonderful) diamonds - good colour/clarity etc. In fact, it was only 2-3 years ago that I bought a pair of diamond bezel set earrings (half a carat each I think) that knocked my socks of when they arrived. Just before Christmas I dabbled and bought a Thomas Rae diamond bracelet that was truly dreadful. The diamonds were dull, had no fire or brilliance and I was seriously deflated when I opened the package. I really should have listened to my own advice

5. GemsTV specialise far more in coloured gemstones (and are honest about the treatments applied) and have a good selection. I would be far more inclined to buy coloured stones from them.

6. The price of metal (silver included now) means that shanks are becoming more and more lightweight. It's a shame but I guess it's the only way they can keep pieces affordable.

I really hope you find something lovely soon.

Well to be fair..............I returned the ring straight away by special delivery and I was refunded today . Thank you Gems TV, I appreciate the quick refund but I am still £11.00 out of pocket all because the presenter was economical with the truth to her audience about the quality of the diamonds.
I realise the presenters must be on commission or targets but please just tell us the truth and lets us make our own minds up whether to buy it or not.

Hi all,

I agree with Meeshoo and what she says makes perfect sense. The trouble with Gems / Coloured Rocks specialising in coloured stones is that will so often spoil a very pretty piece by accenting it with terrible chips of diamonds. I wish that they would do more stand alone pieces. I am also not over enamoured with the accent stones when they are white topaz and zircons, although the zircons tend to better.

Inge x