"I wasn't expecting it to go there" and faux shock faces

[SnowMoon]

I remember the occasional viewer questioning things like this with Alex, and also questions like "why are these cheaper on Gems TV despite them being set into jewellery on there" - and you could tell he looked slightly awkward and got around it by saying things like "It depends when we bought them, the quality of the cut, the saturation of the colour, etc - you can't just say well if a 1ct stone is £100, this 0.5ct stone should be £50", etc. He'd try to suggest that one may have been bought 5 years ago, and the other one 5 months ago, etc.

Which is nonsense really because when they sell quantities of more than one, they have a 'studio sample' in a bag - with the rest kept in the vault. I suspect that the 'studio sample' is the best from the bundle and cherry picked for that reason. They once used to deny having a 'studio sample' - But I know for a fact that they do (plus i'm sure I've spotted one of the bags slip into view on screen with a label on it clearly saying 'studio sample')

This is why if I want something I always try to buy the last one (or two - and send one back). That way I know what I am getting and, hopefully, it is the studio sample. I did buy a couple of bits this December for Christmas. I have not ordered for a year before. But I am still nervous so everything goes on the credit card. Then, if I return it - and then the company folds before I get a refund - I will hopefully be covered. I've always sent everything back next day signed for anyway. It's a shame I have lost so much trust in their solvency that I have to think about these things in a way I never worry about for QVC - but that's the way it is for Gems now.
As an aside, Jeff's early morning shows used to great for "last one and this is the one you will get" pieces. I miss those shows. They had good prices too.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

This is why if I want something I always try to buy the last one (or two - and send one back). That way I know what I am getting and, hopefully, it is the studio sample.

Yeah that's the best way of ensuring you're going to get a good stone - especially with stones like Aquamarine, Morganite or Kunzite, where the colours can be anything from really strong to really weak.

That's why I prefer GemSelect now. You're guaranteed the stone that you see in the photo.

But I am still nervous so everything goes on the credit card. Then, if I return it - and then the company folds before I get a refund - I will hopefully be covered.

I must admit, since the 2008 credit crash, I pay for everything by card now for that very reason. Who'd have thought, ten years ago, that the likes of Thomas Cook and Wilko would no longer be with us. It's a real eye opener now - and there's no guarantee that ANY company is as safe as it appears to be from the outside.

 

[AndyW]

Hmmm...last night's 8pm billing on GC was what was labelled as "AAAA Morganite". Image attached was the top item, final offer price, approx 22 x 17.5mm in size. Lots from two deposits were on offer; Madagascar (the AAAA) and Brazil (Gallilea) - nothing from Yianni's deposit in Nigeria.

In the spirit of being as scrupulously evenhanded as possible, I did some digging around for pricing comparisons, the results (for someone who doesn't have logins to specialist sites) were disappointingly inconclusive. My sadness is that both selections were Irradiated and the AAAA stones were additionally Heated. Was the treatment mentioned during the sales pitch? B***** was it.

How can this treatment to a stone still warrant a AAAA rating? Is this type of beryl so much scarcer than topaz to warrant this price?

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Yeah I had a look in at that hour, saw the AAAA, looked at the treatment, then closed the browser straight away.

I don't touched irradiated stones - it's one of the harshest gemstone treatments. I wouldn't have bought one even if they had been £30.

As for the "AAAA" grading - that sort of thing annoys me anyway. Just another nonsense made-up grading system to justify charging a high price. Stones are generally graded on clarity - yet that information in often missed out - such as the White Zircon's in this hour. The 'clarity' line has been left blank.

 

[AndyW]

As for the "AAAA" grading - that sort of thing annoys me anyway. Just another nonsense made-up grading system to justify charging a high price. Stones are generally graded on clarity - yet that information in often missed out - such as the White Zircon's in this hour. The 'clarity' line has been left blank.

It was great when Steve got an A grading system standardised for Tanzanite, all those years ago. Now, even with this stone, it's meaningless. With the Tanzanian government mandating the heating of everything, AAAA doesn't exist anymore unless the stone is pre-2017 (roughly), it can only ever be AAA. And I've noticed that Gemporia can be a bit weasely about it now; for example AAA in the item description but 'AAA colour' or 'AA clarity' in the item details.

 

[AndyW]

.... such as the White Zircon's in this hour. The 'clarity' line has been left blank.

As you do, I love zircon; diamonds leave me cold. Clarity is key, as you say. I bought, returned and stayed away from the Singida deposit when it first came out. It was oddly "flat" and non-dispersive. Somehow veiled at a microscopic level. I have some lovely unheated, precision cut white zircon from Nigeria ("champagne" in colour) - but not from Gemporia.

 

[Carsc]

Yeah that's the best way of ensuring you're going to get a good stone - especially with stones like Aquamarine, Morganite or Kunzite, where the colours can be anything from really strong to really weak.

If they it’s the last one, and it turns out to be one that’s been returned it’s likely to be poor quality

 

[TheManWithNoName]

If they it’s the last one, and it turns out to be one that’s been returned it’s likely to be poor quality

No. If it's the last one, then it's the one they show on-air - so you know exactly what you're getting.

That the only way of ensuring that you're not going to get one of poor quality because you can actually see it before it arrives, whereas the others are picked at random.