Ludicrous Prices

[Qwerty123]

I do wonder why Alex McKay moved on - and whether this was anything to do with their diminishing 'clout' with their contacts as things moved lower down the quality food chain and more "in-house experts" seemed to be taking over. It seems to me as though Alex has been thrashing around a bit working out what to do next - from what he said I thought he was intending to broadcast videos as a chef (or maybe it was write a cookery book, I can't remember which), but the next minute he said he was planning to open his own shop. All seemed a bit ad hoc for a planned exit.

I suspect Gem Collector has simply moved in a direction that didn’t suit Alex’s interests and that he felt redundancy was better than appearing on a channel that wasn’t operating in the way he would like it to.
In particular for a long period it felt like Alex was gem collector and that he had the creative control over the channel and could veto anything he didn’t want to do and it certainly didn’t appear regular appearances from faux experts who Alex probably realised knew less than he did (if Alex wanted an expert for whatever reason Matt Bennett would be the one to appear despite having very little to do with the company at that time).

 

[Rose de France]

I suspect Gem Collector has simply moved in a direction that didn’t suit Alex’s interests and that he felt redundancy was better than appearing on a channel that wasn’t operating in the way he would like it to.
In particular for a long period it felt like Alex was gem collector and that he had the creative control over the channel and could veto anything he didn’t want to do and it certainly didn’t appear regular appearances from faux experts who Alex probably realised knew less than he did (if Alex wanted an expert for whatever reason Matt Bennett would be the one to appear despite having very little to do with the company at that time).

Wasn't Matt Bennett his superior?

 

[AndyW]

I suspect Gem Collector has simply moved in a direction that didn’t suit Alex’s interests and that he felt redundancy was better than appearing on a channel that wasn’t operating in the way he would like it to.
In particular for a long period it felt like Alex was gem collector and that he had the creative control over the channel and could veto anything he didn’t want to do and it certainly didn’t appear regular appearances from faux experts who Alex probably realised knew less than he did (if Alex wanted an expert for whatever reason Matt Bennett would be the one to appear despite having very little to do with the company at that time).

I agree. Reasons on air would necessarily have had to be professional. Although there may have been an alignment of the chakras at the time, with the new boat and wanting to spend more time on the McKay estate with his father and maybe the air hostess , the departure was precipitous.

 

[Qwerty123]

Wasn't Matt Bennett his superior?

Matt definitely became the GC manager at some point but I’m pretty sure there was a period during and just after the first lockdown where his only involvement was occasional guest appearances on GC and a little bit of cover presenting and producing in the 11-3 slot which saw one particularly amusing night where he spent most of his shift suggesting buying the pieces and either resetting the stones into nicer pieces of jewellery including giving specific examples of ways in which the stones could be set to highlight their strengths and look better or simply keeping the lose stones.
It’s also questionable how much impact Matt could actually have as manager given he continued to work full time as a pilot whilst supposedly in that role and I wonder if certain other people in management thought Alex would take orders Matt better than he would if they gave them directly.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

maybe the air hostess

Only in a friend capacity. No chance of it becoming any more of that, if you catch my drift.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Matt definitely became the GC manager at some point but I’m pretty sure there was a period during and just after the first lockdown where his only involvement was occasional guest appearances on GC and a little bit of cover presenting and producing in the 11-3 slot which saw one particularly amusing night where he spent most of his shift suggesting buying the pieces and either resetting the stones into nicer pieces of jewellery including giving specific examples of ways in which the stones could be set to highlight their strengths and look better or simply keeping the lose stones.
It’s also questionable how much impact Matt could actually have as manager given he continued to work full time as a pilot whilst supposedly in that role and I wonder if certain other people in management thought Alex would take orders Matt better than he would if they gave them directly.

Matt was channel manager, and, to my knowledge, still is. He certainly was this time last year.

I don't think he has 'day to day' involvement though. Most of his GC work was done remotely.

I suspect part of his role was sourcing stones - and just ensuring that sales targets were met.

Alex wouldn't have any issues with Matt Bennett though. They're very close friends.

 

[Qwerty123]

Matt was channel manager, and, to my knowledge, still is. He certainly was this time last year.

I don't think he has 'day to day' involvement though. Most of his GC work was done remotely.

I suspect part of his role was sourcing stones - and just ensuring that sales targets were met.

Alex wouldn't have any issues with Matt Bennett though. They're very close friends.

I suspect Matt is no longer a formal part of the channel as he was labelled as “Gem Collector Guest” in his very brief video message for the recent birthday celebrations and appeared to play no further role in the celebrations and didn’t appear live at any point.
As you quite rightfully say it’s hard to see that Matt ever had much day to day involvement as the direction in which the channel has moved during the time he was supposedly in charge is the opposite of the way that he did things when presenting himself whether on GC or on the other channels. So whilst Alex and Matt are close friends even Matt wasn’t able to shelter him from the impact of the changes being brought by the wider management.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

I suspect Matt is no longer a formal part of the channel as he was labelled as “Gem Collector Guest” in his very brief video message for the recent birthday celebrations and appeared to play no further role in the celebrations and didn’t appear live at any point.
As you quite rightfully say it’s hard to see that Matt ever had much day to day involvement as the direction in which the channel has moved during the time he was supposedly in charge is the opposite of the way that he did things when presenting himself whether on GC or on the other channels. So whilst Alex and Matt are close friends even Matt wasn’t able to shelter him from the impact of the changes being brought by the wider management.

Going by his Instagram page, I believe Matt has just got a new job abroad - so I suspect that why he wasn't on the screens.

 

[historymystery]

Behind all the over-exaggerated stories and bluster, Alex is a clever bloke. I suspect he went for a number of reasons:

1. He could see the financial problems that Gemporia had and perhaps wondered how much longer the company would be around.
2. He probably though that even if it did survive, what was the long term outlook like.
3. With all the redundancies that had taken place over the past few years, morale must have been low amongst staff with many presenters perhaps wondering 'could it be me next' - particularly when presenters that seemed 'safe' had left (Rod Jinks being one of Steve Bennetts best friends).
4. Gem Collector has switched to having a producer/director waffling in their ear and doing the camera views, etc. Alex has always made it clear that the one thing he liked about Gem Collector was that he didn't have people in his ear, and that GC presenters had 'freedom' - unlike the main Gemporia channel. I imagine he wasn't keen on the switch to that kind of format.
5. The GC prices are now ridiculous. Alex perhaps felt that even he would struggle to shift some of their wares. I always got the impression that Alex worked on commission anyway because he'd often 'try it on' with prices - for example, he'd start at a price that was higher than you'd expect, then he'd talk about it for ages, and if he didn't "get a bite" at that price, he'd say "but I'm not stopping there" - and then crash the price. You could always tell that he was hoping to stop there - but because he hadn't got the bite he was hoping, he'd have to crash the price again.

I dare say voluntary redundancies were offered too when the last round of redundancies took place - so Alex perhaps saw that redundancy payout as an opportunity to put a lump sum of cash into his new business.

Yeah, this makes sense and he's obviously done the right thing for him. i get the impression that he's not hard up, anyway. I'd think that most of the presenters are looking for a sideline or a possible get-out opportunity. I wouldn't exactly feel secure there in the current shambles.

 

[historymystery]

I agree. Reasons on air would necessarily have had to be professional. Although there may have been an alignment of the chakras at the time, with the new boat and wanting to spend more time on the McKay estate with his father and maybe the air hostess , the departure was precipitous.

Gawd, yes, it was all a bit pretentious, wasn't it? He's definitely a bit of a poser - and I agree about the maybe!!! (I found another word that seemed to describe it better than 'poser', and it rhymes with 'that'). And if you've ever had your chakras aligned by Lynn, you'll know how painful it can be.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

I suspect Matt is no longer a formal part of the channel as he was labelled as “Gem Collector Guest”

They still refer to Dave Troth as a 'guest' too - even though he spends more time in Gemporia's studio than I do in my own home

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Yeah, this makes sense and he's obviously done the right thing for him. i get the impression that he's not hard up, anyway. I'd think that most of the presenters are looking for a sideline or a possible get-out opportunity. I wouldn't exactly feel secure there in the current shambles.

I think Alex follows in the footsteps of his grandparents. He once said that his grandparents only lived in a house for two or three years at a time before selling up and moving on. His grandad was also an antiques trader too.

Alex has had a few moves in a short space of time too. He's a clever chap. For anyone brave enough, and willing to put up with the upheaval of a move every few years, buying a house, spending a few quid modernising it and then selling up again at hefty profit can be quite lucrative.

I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of it personally - but if you can flog three houses in 6 years with £25,000 profit on each (not suggesting I know anything about Alex's finances - I'm just throwing a random example out there), having a job almost becomes a 'side project' rather than a necessity for income.

I quite liked Alex. I don't think he was a poser. I think he's just generally naturally outgoing and bubbly. He's very much a people person.

One thing is for certain - Andy is spot on - Alex WAS Gem Collector. If it wasn't for him, I doubt very much that Gem Collector would have got to where it was. He was very enthusiastic and proud about it. His annoyances at times (long drawn out stories, repetitive jokes, etc) were also his likeable points. Alex talked to viewers as individuals rather than an 'audience' - he generally showed an interest in people as individuals - and I think that made people want to watch him - even if they were not buying.

Could he bluff and bluster a bit? Absolutely. I think he actually liked to play on that too. But I also think off camera, he was genuine and sincere. I genuinely believe that if Alex thought someone had Cancer or a very serious illness that put them into hospital, if he thought he had that persons blessing to do so, I think he'd go out of his way to visit them in hospital or make some sort of donation if they needed money for treatment abroad.

I remember Alex being very emotional on-air once and dedicating his entire show to an American viewer that he hadn't heard from in a while. He said he'd made a phone call to check that she was OK - and a family member said she'd passed away. It genuinely seemed to hit him.

I thought taking the time out to phone someone to check how they were, was an incredible thing to do for someone he'd never met.

I hate the whole Gemporia 'friend in your living room' nonsense - but to give Alex his credit, he actually did treat people that way rather than saying it to prey on the vulnerable.

 

[Ant7t]

It's because Jadeite should be a kind of Apple Green colour - but this is barely green and more 'grey'.

It's not a desirable colour of Jadeite - and the people that they claim "can't get enough of it" (the Chinese), don't want it.

The only way they can get a desirable colour is by dyeing it - but then people still don't want it because it then becomes Type B / Type C Jadeite at that point.

Slight off-topic, but related. Years back I'd heard that wine that is exported abroad is 'stuff' the natives wouldn't drink themselves: whether that's true still, I have no idea. But it obviously applies with rocks, gems and minerals too, it seems.

 

[AndyW]

Just a reminder that it sometimes pays to wander to the back of the shop and ignore what's in the front window display (both Gemporia's '999' range):

- Image 1, Ellis' first hour this morning: 24" slider 10.17g, £69.99
- Image 2, Gemporia website now: 24" slider, 11.32g, £39.99

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Ironic that it's called the '999' range when some of their prices are criminal......

 

[Autisticat]

I’m a new, young shopper and have been hooked on the channel for a couple of weeks due to being bed bound from injury atm. I’m autistic and so I have special interests and start collections (i.e I have a huge miniature glass animal collection) and watching over the weeks has cemented my need to now collect gemstone rings. (Within my price ranges) I was about to buy some amber pieces as I was just watching, and I actually brought something the other night, a midnight opal, I love opals. I was very excited having never used shopping tv like this. The app makes it convenient. So started googling reviews while I wait for it to come, excitedly, I am glad now I found this forum. I know nothing about gemstones, but they make it seem like that everything is well informed, very knowledgeable & even bringing up other items as comparisons. It is worrying I could have fell into a trap of buying things without correct information, as I now now from reading it probably isn’t a proper opal and I will think twice now while I watch them sell the amber. I shall read more on the form and on the tv listing which i didn’t really get til now, I’m glad so I am correctly informed on things before buying anything now, so I appreciate your comments and findings as it is helpful to someone like me.

 

[AndyW]

...and I actually brought something the other night, a midnight opal, I love opals.

Hello! You'll be fine. It'll be lovely to look at, if nothing else. Gemporia's "Midnight" opals are Smoked to give them a black body colour, a common treatment across the industry. The one thing about their app is that it does give you access to the full details of the item being auctioned and the 'Treatment' section should have declared this.

You can get natural black opals from Ethiopia but, apart from the Stayish mine, they're too fragile to cut without stabilisation (a bit like the Blue John fluorite from Derbyshire). You can get opals from Stayish online but they're uncommon and pricey, partly because dark opals are desirable in the market and partly because the Stayish mine produced stable stones but was depleted a while ago, I think. You can get opals with different natural body colours right across the spectrum from Ethiopia, all the way from totally clear (like the Mexican 'contraluz' variety) to yellow/brown ("honey") to grey to black.

All are lovely, in my opinion. I love the grey body colour ones, particularly. I have just a couple of smoked ones too that have a pin prick pattern so they look like a disco ball. Lovely to get out in the sun and roll around in the hand to lose yourself for a few moments. Australian opals, especially doublets and triplets of course, tend to be more stable but are not bulletproof and not consistent across all mining locations there either.

The centuries-old wives tale about opals being "unlucky" is derived from opals just drying out and cracking. Any opals set into jewellery that you intend to wear, treat them as if they were pearls; last thing on, first thing off and keep away from perfumes, detergents and the like. Wipe with a damp cloth, don't store in direct sunlight or next to a radiator and you'll be fine.

Hopefully it wasn't too expensive and you enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Autisticat]

Hello! You'll be fine. It'll be lovely to look at, if nothing else. Gemporia's "Midnight" opals are Smoked to give them a black body colour, a common treatment across the industry. The one thing about their app is that it does give you access to the full details of the item being auctioned and the 'Treatment' section should have declared this.

You can get natural black opals from Ethiopia but, apart from the Stayish mine, they're too fragile to cut without stabilisation (a bit like the Blue John fluorite from Derbyshire). You can get opals from Stayish online but they're uncommon and pricey, partly because dark opals are desirable in the market and partly because the Stayish mine produced stable stones but was depleted a while ago, I think. You can get opals with different natural body colours right across the spectrum from Ethiopia, all the way from totally clear (like the Mexican 'contraluz' variety) to yellow/brown ("honey") to grey to black.

All are lovely, in my opinion. I love the grey body colour ones, particularly. I have just a couple of smoked ones too that have a pin prick pattern so they look like a disco ball. Lovely to get out in the sun and roll around in the hand to lose yourself for a few moments. Australian opals, especially doublets and triplets of course, tend to be more stable but are not bulletproof and not consistent across all mining locations there either.

The centuries-old wives tale about opals being "unlucky" is derived from opals just drying out and cracking. Any opals set into jewellery that you intend to wear, treat them as if they were pearls; last thing on, first thing off and keep away from perfumes, detergents and the like. Wipe with a damp cloth, don't store in direct sunlight or next to a radiator and you'll be fine.

Hopefully it wasn't too expensive and you enjoy it for what it is.

Ooo thank you I appreciate this, I learned a lot of information and that’s really important to me so much appreciated, especially the care part. Thank you I’m happy with it even if it isnt what I thought but it does mean I have the knowledge to shop properly and what to look for!

 

[AndyW]

Ooo thank you I appreciate this, I learned a lot of information and that’s really important to me so much appreciated, especially the care part. Thank you I’m happy with it even if it isnt what I thought but it does mean I have the knowledge to shop properly and what to look for!

And these, which Lindsey Carr is flogging right now are totally, 100% dyed, declared or not but, if you love opals, you probably knew that

 

[Autisticat]

And these, which Lindsey Carr is flogging right now are totally, 100% dyed, declared or not but, if you love opals, you probably knew that

View attachment 28307

I saw this and I was like what the heck. They were so bright!