When you think of the really good presenters that have walked away from presenting on Gemporia, it just beggars belief that they are long gone and yet this bloke is still giving it large on the screen. What does he bring to the channel? He doesn't 'educate' anyone, he talks/rants at you like a dictator.
I think someone else on this forum hit the nail on the head a while ago when they said that DT probably 'hires' air-time to flog his Jade. It also probably explains why its nearly always DT's shows that are repeated again in the 11pm hour when Gemporia switches from the 'non-live' hours. It's probably part of the 'deal'.
I cannot see what else he 'brings to the table' because:
a) As much as him, Toby and Jake call themselves 'gem experts', they don't appear to have any gemmological qualifications. They have no letters after their names.
b) He MUST be detrimental to viewing figures. I've seen hundreds of people say they find him boring and an instant "switch-off" - but I've yet to see anyone say they find him entertaining or informative.
c) He doesn't tell us anything informative. He tells us what HE wants to tell us - which usually consists of misleading information, dubious claims, over-exaggerated price comparisons and, to be blunt, complete bulls**t at times (he's still saying that his Jadeite is 'completely natural', despite the lab certificate saying "Untreated - except for waxing".
c) He has all the charm and charisma of a plank of wood. He's not funny. He's not knowledgeable. He's not likeable. His presentation style is completely boring (constant waffle with 30 second clocks galore).
The whole channel is general hasn't been 'informative' or 'educational' for a VERY long time. Gone are the days when they used to tell us how gems formed underground, how stones were mined, what certain treatments did to stones, explained about different crystal structures, and even told us what various parts of a faceted stone were called (ie, the girdle, the culet, etc).
Now, they only tell us what THEY want to tell us. They are evasive about treatments - telling us only when something is natural, but rarely when its treated. They only refer to crystal structure when something "shares the same crystal structure as a diamond". They'll suggest something is rare by saying "there's nothing coming out of THIS mine now" - but what they won't tell you is that there are umpteen other mines around the world that are still producing the particular stone they're selling.
They deliberately mislead - and I can say that because they've had adjudications made against them by the ASA for misleading - so it's official, not an off-the-cuff slanderous comment.
