Ellis unapologetic about jade

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I hardly watch nowadays and I don't see it changing. I cannot imagine the old Gemporia returning, with variety and beauty
I don't even look now at the schedule because even when I tune in to see what's on it is either a Jade show or a show with Jade. I can't see how Gemporia can continue to be honest. It feels to me like a run of shows just to clear what they have and then close down. No new Gem Auras, Charlie Barron and Yianni not seen for ages etc. Just Dave Jade and Primal seeming to have most focus 🙄 All very dull and presenters / actors are just trying to flog as much if the stuff that they can. Nothing like the Gemporia I used to enjoy buying from..
 
I don't even look now at the schedule because even when I tune in to see what's on it is either a Jade show or a show with Jade. I can't see how Gemporia can continue to be honest. It feels to me like a run of shows just to clear what they have and then close down. No new Gem Auras, Charlie Barron and Yianni not seen for ages etc. Just Dave Jade and Primal seeming to have most focus 🙄 All very dull and presenters / actors are just trying to flog as much if the stuff that they can. Nothing like the Gemporia I used to enjoy buying from..
Totally agree. My mother foresaw a couple of months ago that Gemporia would soon close down and that before that they would try to clear their stock without new stock coming in. I think she might have been right
 
Steve was on the other day flogging some ridiculous mask thing - but he's not been on at all with any jewellery - so I think that shows where his interests are these days.

I would have thought he would have had more important things to focus on within the business at the moment - like rectifying everything that has caused their decline over the past couple of years. I think, if he was interested in saving the business, then that would have been a much higher priority than launching new gimmicky products.

Between never ending Jade, constant boring stories from Dave, and ridiculous prices (They've got a 65 carat Clear Quartz on Gem Collector at the moment for £79.99 - something that would have gone for around £24.99 in the not too distant past), I'm done with them.

If / when they go under, they have 100% brought it on themselves. It seems like they have no interest in actually saving the channel(s) now. They're carrying on regardless and ignoring everything that viewers/buyers are telling them they're sick of.
 
Totally agree. My mother foresaw a couple of months ago that Gemporia would soon close down and that before that they would try to clear their stock without new stock coming in. I think she might have been right
yes I agree, it does seem like they are clearing as much as poss. I thought when Steve came back we would see changes but nothing seems to have changed, shame. I've got some lovely pieces and some tat but at least I did buy them at tat prices and knew they were! Not the heirloom pieces I would be told they are now!
 
I have to ask this question I have just had a glimpse on Gemporia and obviously it's jade. My question is this, is Jade being missed sold as we think it is? There are so many people buying it and sending in amazing reviews it made me wonder! If these pieces were being sold by the old Gemporia I would of bought but now I just daren't. The sincerity of Dave and Ellis is mind boggling and if what we think is true how are they getting away with it? As anyone bought it and being blown away by it? Or had a piece valued? Like I said I'm very curious.
 
I have to ask this question I have just had a glimpse on Gemporia and obviously it's jade. My question is this, is Jade being missed sold as we think it is? There are so many people buying it and sending in amazing reviews it made me wonder! If these pieces were being sold by the old Gemporia I would of bought but now I just daren't. The sincerity of Dave and Ellis is mind boggling and if what we think is true how are they getting away with it? As anyone bought it and being blown away by it? Or had a piece valued? Like I said I'm very curious.
I think that Gemporia is selling Type A jadeite, but as TheManWithNoName has previously pointed out, it's probably the stuff that buyers in the Chinese market don't want.

You can see it in the astronomically priced pieces Dave & co. use for online comparisons: those jade pieces are translucent, and vibrantly coloured. Gemporia's jade is generally a wishy-washy, snotty, dirty dishwater hue. I can't see Chinese buyers, for whom jade has a deep cultural, historical and mythical significance, fighting for this "heirloom" material.

So, if anything Dave's jadeite is going to be vastly overpriced. He got this stuff cheap because the Chinese market most likely didn't want it, or wasn't prepared to pay much for it. So the traders were probably very glad to offload it
 
I think that Gemporia is selling Type A jadeite, but as TheManWithNoName has previously pointed out, it's probably the stuff that buyers in the Chinese market don't want.

You can see it in the astronomically priced pieces Dave & co. use for online comparisons: those jade pieces are translucent, and vibrantly coloured. Gemporia's jade is generally a wishy-washy, snotty, dirty dishwater hue. I can't see Chinese buyers, for whom jade has a deep cultural, historical and mythical significance, fighting for this "heirloom" material.

So, if anything Dave's jadeite is going to be vastly overpriced. He got this stuff cheap because the Chinese market most likely didn't want it, or wasn't prepared to pay much for it. So the traders were probably very glad to offload it
Yes I think you are right. It's still on now I think! Thank you
 
As lots of us have said, the basic truth is that it would make no commercial sense for Gemporia to sell cheap if the material is really legacy quality. So if customers are happy with their purchases that is great, but Gemporia will be making a profit and so any purchases will have a lower market value than price paid. The ridiculous price comparisons made with clearly superior material are just that, ridiculous. I don't like to see customers being misled, but how can there be a different conclusion.
 
I have to ask this question I have just had a glimpse on Gemporia and obviously it's jade. My question is this, is Jade being missed sold as we think it is? There are so many people buying it and sending in amazing reviews it made me wonder! If these pieces were being sold by the old Gemporia I would of bought but now I just daren't. The sincerity of Dave and Ellis is mind boggling and if what we think is true how are they getting away with it? As anyone bought it and being blown away by it? Or had a piece valued? Like I said I'm very curious.

It's not being mis-sold as such - it is Type A Jadeite. The stone itself is what they say it is.

However, they are massively over exaggerating its quality, colour and worth. It is opaque - whereas their comparisons are based on translucent material. The colour in the Gemporia Jade is almost non-existent. Yesterday, they were flogging a 'Lavender' Jade - which looked grey. They then sold a 'bi-colour' Jade. I'm not sure who decided it was 'bi-colour', but I presume it must have been Stevie Wonder - because it definitely didn't have two colours - and it barely had one colour. It was very much like the so-called 'Lavender' Jade - grey.

I posted a screenshot of their so-called 'Dove Blue' Jade last week - but at best, it was slightly off-white.

The 'normal' light green Jadeite has some colour - but it's a very light green Jade.

The only Jadeite's that really have any colour are the 'Red' Jade (which is more like Orange than Red), the 'Oil-Green' Jade (which is very dark and looks very much like Nephrite Jade - a cheaper variety within the Jade family), and the Black Jadeite (which, when looked at under lighting, is actually a VERY VERY dark green).

Is there anything wrong with it? No - other than the price of it is WAY too high.

If it was £15-£20 in a ring or pendant - fine. That would be about fair. But the prices that they're selling it for - in the hundreds of pounds for 'gold tone' jewellery is ludicrous.

As for its value - If people take any jewellery (regardless of the gemstone, metals, etc) to a jewellers for a valuation, it will almost always be valued at a lot higher than they bought it for. That's because the valuations are insurance valuations - they're valued at the amount it would cost to create an exact copy of the jewellery should it be lost or stolen - so that valuation includes the cost of sourcing a like-for-like stone, labour to design the ring, labour to create the ring, future inflation, etc.

However, Gemporia try to imply that the valuation is the "worth" of the item. It isn't.

If a business knew that they could sell an item for four times what they're actually selling it for, as some of the presenters claim, then they would - obviously. They exist to make money - not to do the public a favour by selling us cheaper priced jewellery for the fun of it.

If any customers got a valuation and then asked the same valuer if they wanted to buy the item off them at the valuation price, they'd probably be told "On yer bike mate" - or they'd be offered less than they actually paid for it.

If a Gemporia customer decided they wanted to sell their "heirloom" piece of gold-tone Jadeite jewellery in a years time and took it to a jeweller to see if they want to buy it off them, I'd be very surprised if the jeweller offered anything more than scrap value for it. At best, they may offer a trade price. They almost certainly won't buy it for the retail price the customer paid though - and certainly not the amount the "valuation" says.

Getting a valuation does not indicate an items worth - so it's misleading for Gemporia to imply as such.
 
When I had a look in today they were selling one of their cheap carved pendants and I noticed at the top of the description on screen they had “estimated retail value £2260. Surely this is illegal . Maybe someone with a better memory could correct me if it was a different channel but weren’t they warned about making out the starting prices were the real worth of what they were selling.
 
When I had a look in today they were selling one of their cheap carved pendants and I noticed at the top of the description on screen they had “estimated retail value £2260. Surely this is illegal . Maybe someone with a better memory could correct me if it was a different channel but weren’t they warned about making out the starting prices were the real worth of what they were selling.
I bought a Jade pendant last year for £35 from a gemstone shop with some silver work on it. This was way before all the fairy tales from gems. Im no expert but my pendant seems a superior piece compared to their market stall offerings for boutique prices
 
When I had a look in today they were selling one of their cheap carved pendants and I noticed at the top of the description on screen they had “estimated retail value £2260. Surely this is illegal . Maybe someone with a better memory could correct me if it was a different channel but weren’t they warned about making out the starting prices were the real worth of what they were selling.
I saw the est. retail value quoted a few days ago and couldn't believe it, a piece est. ret. over 4k and they were selling for £149!! That wasn't the only piece either. How can they do this?
 
I saw the est. retail value quoted a few days ago and couldn't believe it, a piece est. ret. over 4k and they were selling for £149!! That wasn't the only piece either. How can they do this?
I've noticed that surprise surprise ... it is Dave and Jake who are particularly fond of this tactic and they use it unashamedly. When Jake was selling a paraiba ring recently which went for just under 2k, the starting price was in the 10s of thousands (I think it might have been 60k!!) It is the one where Jake was sitting by the fireside clutching a look book like about to tell a bedtime story ..fairy story that is !!
 
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That’s what really gets me. People who can’t really afford it in these difficult times. Thinking they are building a valuable “portfolio” for their children . Have you noticed how “portfolio” is another word they are slipping into their presentations now. . Don’t know how they can sleep at night. Ruthless people ..
 
Steve was on the other day flogging some ridiculous mask thing - but he's not been on at all with any jewellery - so I think that shows where his interests are these days.

I would have thought he would have had more important things to focus on within the business at the moment - like rectifying everything that has caused their decline over the past couple of years. I think, if he was interested in saving the business, then that would have been a much higher priority than launching new gimmicky products.

Between never ending Jade, constant boring stories from Dave, and ridiculous prices (They've got a 65 carat Clear Quartz on Gem Collector at the moment for £79.99 - something that would have gone for around £24.99 in the not too distant past), I'm done with them.

If / when they go under, they have 100% brought it on themselves. It seems like they have no interest in actually saving the channel(s) now. They're carrying on regardless and ignoring everything that viewers/buyers are telling them they're sick of.
I absolutely agree with you all about the current monotony of Gemporia’s broadcasting and the lack of jewellery tempting me to buy. Instead of the faceted, transparent, unenhanced (not coated) gems I have tuned in for for 10 years, the channel is now dominated by carved, often dyed (though this is no longer mentioned by the hosts) translucent to opaque quartz, chalcedony and agate manufactured in China for their local market. (Chicken-blood stone anyone? And what on earth is the ‘Legend of Langgan’ bead set whose stones have apparently already been donated to a museum, yet which seems to feature Chinese azure malachite that Gemporia has been selling more cheaply for ages - Lindsey’s unprepared and non-sensical presentation the other day didn’t enlighten me). Put that together with the constant screechy over-promising by the presenters and under-delivery of anything I do succumb to buying (?!) and it’s clear that sooner or later, as a jewellery-focussed shopping channel Gemporia is heading into oblivion.
Where my opinion differs is that I do have some sympathy with their current problems. I’m not sure it’s that they’re not listening, it’s that in today’s market they can no longer buy reasonable quality, facet-able coloured gemstones outside of the Big 4, and set them into decent amounts of now hugely expensive gold or silver at the relatively low price long-term customers like most of us have come to expect. When I started watching and buying 10 years ago, the market was very different. Most people globally didn’t know about the beauty of chrome diopside, tourmaline or kunzite, so there was room for Steve Bennett to ‘cut out the middle man’, and do a deal directly at the mine. That’s no longer the case. Ironically, the vast Chinese market in particular can now afford so is now buying most of what I’m still after at Gemporia, while selling to us container loads of their unfaceted beads (no need to add much precious metal), nuggets and gold-tone tat. And who can blame them? Especially after Covid, when gem-mining ceased, even the big-budget Western designer jewellery houses can’t get the gems and are now working with malachite and lapis and bigging up newcomer aquaprase, but they have the name so can still get the sales and the mark-up.
Steve obviously returned only out of necessity to try and save the company and his heart is now elsewhere, especially as there is no longer room for his Indiana Jones thrill-of-the-chase routine at remote gem mines. I suspect after his time away from Gemporia he himself is quite shocked by just how out-of-date his originally innovative and highly successful business model has become. So, although it takes months for new product to come through, so far we’ve only had some already made £1,000+ close out items and new diamonds bought by Sarah Bennett revisiting her contacts, plus very short lines of down-the-back-of-the-Jaipur-safe kyanite, tanzanite, (irradiated) Brazilian kunzite, (filled) Malagasy ruby and chrome diopside - with at best cheese-wire gold, or gold plate and silver and many more tiny gems in clusters. I’m not sure we can hope for a lot more. Plus I’ve had all of these stones cheaper and better quality from Gemporia and elsewhere already - another problem with keeping long-term customers happy.
Which brings me to the endless jade, one of very few stones Gemporia still has plenty of, and which, as type A, they feel can occupy the middle ground of price. This is vital as a stepping stone to tempt new customers to spend more, between the non-legacy (at its politest!) £20 buy and Cavill one-of-a-kind £2,000+ pieces, which only a tiny minority can afford, especially in the cost of living crisis (surely these items are brought to air largely for brand prestige, as they are very definitely not the mass sales the business model requires). Gemporia is offering us all this jade because it’s got little else to sell us. (And what an excellent point was made here the other day. Type A means unenhanced only, but that’s no guarantee many of Gemporia’s lumps of jade are even pretty, let alone ‘legacy’ - unlike the Qing Dynasty antique objects or imperial colour stones they constantly and misleadingly compare it to).
The one really valuable business asset Gemporia still has is an army of loyal customers - even I’m still watching and occasionally buying, as it seems are some of you. I suspect this is really what Steve Bennett doesn’t want to lose, because he calculates he can also sell us box loads of collagen, CBD oil, IMO shapeless Destello sacks in artificial fibres and hideous glass animal ornaments while we are waiting for better jewellery to come along. Sadly I’m not sure how much longer I for one will be waiting. Even more sadly, I’m not sure Gemporia has any real idea what to do about it.
 
Whereas I sympathise with their business difficulties I have no sympathy at all with their shameless targeting of a particular group. This they do with their mantra “Put it away for your children and grandchildren”. I have heard a very sad story on this site about one of their victims. I think her name was Mirabelle. Surely it’s not too much to expect a small measure of ethics from a company always blowing about their high standards. They could get a decent profit without charging 150 for an item worth just a few pounds. They may stay just this side of illegal although I find that difficult to believe on occasion And I wonder how they get away with putting “estimated retail value” when they are not supposed to imply that their starting price is what the item is actually worth. Surely that is doing more than just implying. Ruthless tactics.
 
I think as the falling sales continue to impact their bank balance, the pressure on the presenters is resulting in these increasingly hard sell tactics. I don’t watch or purchase much from Gemporia because of all the reasons stated by the members of this forum. To be honest, I caught about five minutes of Hattie’s show the other evening and she was so manic, it was excruciating. I’ve been watching some of Ellis’ CBD show today and it occurred to me that there is absolutely no necessity to have any of the Prolife stock in an auction? Why not simply declare the final price and then go through the benefits. It seems odd to me that something that is so specialist is treated like the endless strings of beads produced for the mass market that is their bread and butter.
 

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