Gemporia accounts - predictions?

[Ant7t]

Exactly this. They go so in depth with the discussions of Sapphire that even one of their own presenters genuinely thought Nilamani was Sapphire. Elena Stephens was genuinely surprised when it was brought to her attention.

And they pride themselves on updated credentials. All those letters after their names. And that surprises me with her. Before my time, but she started on Gems before JM, said she.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Confess I know virtually nothing about the GIA - I'm wondering whether the accreditation needs to be kept up by regular testing (bit like Gas accredited plumbers have to do)? Or do they just sit the exam. and so long as they pass it, that's it. Assuming, of course, that the person HAS passed the exam....??

I'm fairly sure that a few Gemporia presenters have said that they have to sit an annual 'refresher' exam.

If you look on the GIA website at various courses available, the AJP (Accredited Jewellery Professional) course is one of the more basic courses. It isn't a course in Gemmology, Geology or Mineralogy, and it doesn't cover most minerals. It covers the 'big 5', some of the more common stones, and a few of the minerals that cross over into the gemstone / jewellery industry (stones such as Lepidolite, etc).

One thing I used to like about Alex McKay on Gem Collector was that when someone asked him about the more obscure minerals, such as Kurnakovite, he would openly say that he doesn't have in-depth knowledge as he's not sufficiently trained. He would then tell you the bits that he does know, or bring up more details on screen. However, Emily and some of the other presenters will 'wing it' through - and often give out incorrect details in the process.

The GIA website says: "APPLIED JEWELRY PROFESSIONAL™ ONLINE DIPLOMA - Through three online courses, the Applied Jewelry Professional Online Diploma will cover essential topics for any gem and jewelry professional, including basic information on diamonds rubies, emeralds, sapphires, jewelry design, setting styles and jewelry care. The knowledge you learn can be immediately implemented on the job to help enable effective conversations with customers."

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

Describe how the 4Cs (color, clarity, cut and carat weight) affect a diamond’s value.
Recognize the relationship between size and weight of diamonds.
Explain the differences between treated, laboratory-grown and imitation stones to sell with full disclosure.
Understand the steps of the jewelry sales process.
Translate jewelry design, style and manufacturing features into benefits.
Convey the romance, lore and characteristics of the most popular colored gemstones.

POSSIBLE CAREER PATHS:

Jewelry Sales Professional
Jewelry Assistant Manager
Jewelry Consultant
Jewelry Service Advisor
Assistant Inventory Manager
Television Shopping Host
Pawnbroker


If the likes of Lindsey Carr, Jess Foley and Cheralene Lavery can pass a GIA AJP exam, then I have no doubt at all that it must be fairly easy to pass.

I would imagine that 'proper' gemmologists, geologists, mineralogists and palaeontologists must cringe when they hear some of the stuff that Gemporia presenters say - particularly the line that really annoys me - "this has the same crystal structure as a Diamond" when referring to Fluorite.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

What the Gemporia presenters should say is that they want to educate viewers, but only with their version of the truth. They should perhaps also say that their version may change from day to day, so other versions are also perfectly acceptable.

GIA trained? Qualified? Er....OK, then.

I think you said this slightly in jest - but you're actually spot on.

This is what the GIA page says people will learn as part of the the GIA AJP accreditation:
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

Describe how the 4Cs (color, clarity, cut and carat weight) affect a diamond’s value.
Recognize the relationship between size and weight of diamonds.
Explain the differences between treated, laboratory-grown and imitation stones to sell with full disclosure.
Understand the steps of the jewelry sales process.
Translate jewelry design, style and manufacturing features into benefits.
Convey the romance, lore and characteristics of the most popular colored gemstones.


Now lets see how much of that Gemporia actually do:

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

Describe how the 4Cs (color, clarity, cut and carat weight) affect a diamond’s value. - Only when they're selling VSI/IF diamonds. They won't explain this when they're selling the I3 / low quality diamonds........

Recognize the relationship between size and weight of diamonds. - Nope - they'll price compare a cluster of diamonds totalling 1ct to a 1ct solitaire.

Explain the differences between treated, laboratory-grown and imitation stones to sell with full disclosure. - Not a chance! They'll tell you over and over again when a stone is 'untreated' - but they never disclose verbally when stones have been treated - apart from the odd occasion when they refer to heat treatment on Sapphires - but even then they'll say it's had "a little bit of heat", when in reality, stones are heated to almost melting point.

Understand the steps of the jewelry sales process - Not unless saying "Absolutely" 100 times a show, or "get as many as you can" or "its got a gorgeous amount of gold" is included in this - which I very much doubt!

Translate jewelry design, style and manufacturing features into benefits. - Only when it suits them!

Convey the romance, lore and characteristics of the most popular colored gemstones. - They'll do this all day long because this is the easy bit. It doesn't involve 'technical' speak about the stones.

 

[Marietta]

Sorry! My last paragraph looks like it was dictated by Lindsay Carr

What I was possibly trying to say (I've slept since then), is that the intentional and deliberate bamboozling of customers into buying something worth far less than what presenters are almost calling it, ie. Kashmir sapphire, is worse than just lying and calling it sapphire.

Especially when most of Gemporia's viewers appear to be ladies of a more mature age.

We all have those 'moments.' There is no way you could ever be mistaken for Ms. Carr -
you just don't have her brains!

 

[Marietta]

And that is one reason I initially watched Gems TV before I became a buyer. It was interesting and informative. They used to have those DVDs of their Mines visits and 'break them up' into little VT segments whenever they played a 'stone'. You learnt stuff. Even if you didn't buy.

The beloved DT lectures probably were interesting to begin with, but same items, same lectures, same stories. Couldn't they just leave that in the online 'library' they have onsite? As I said elsewhere: 'this is that and that is this' and if you want to learn more go here. Much easier that way. And you might actually take it in. Your own pace, not bombarded with it.

Oh, but Dave likes his screen-time, didn't you know? He's not trying to 'educate' us, oh no, He wants us to experience his charm, wit, warm personality and all-round greatness.

 

[Marietta]

Sorry! My last paragraph looks like it was dictated by Lindsay Carr

What I was possibly trying to say (I've slept since then), is that the intentional and deliberate bamboozling of customers into buying something worth far less than what presenters are almost calling it, ie. Kashmir sapphire, is worse than just lying and calling it sapphire.

Especially when most of Gemporia's viewers appear to be ladies of a more mature age.

Regarding your reference to 'ladies of a more mature age' -
they're not all doolally!!

I think you said this slightly in jest - but you're actually spot on.

This is what the GIA page says people will learn as part of the the GIA AJP accreditation:
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

Describe how the 4Cs (color, clarity, cut and carat weight) affect a diamond’s value.
Recognize the relationship between size and weight of diamonds.
Explain the differences between treated, laboratory-grown and imitation stones to sell with full disclosure.
Understand the steps of the jewelry sales process.
Translate jewelry design, style and manufacturing features into benefits.
Convey the romance, lore and characteristics of the most popular colored gemstones.


Now lets see how much of that Gemporia actually do:

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

Describe how the 4Cs (color, clarity, cut and carat weight) affect a diamond’s value. - Only when they're selling VSI/IF diamonds. They won't explain this when they're selling the I3 / low quality diamonds........

Recognize the relationship between size and weight of diamonds. - Nope - they'll price compare a cluster of diamonds totalling 1ct to a 1ct solitaire.

Explain the differences between treated, laboratory-grown and imitation stones to sell with full disclosure. - Not a chance! They'll tell you over and over again when a stone is 'untreated' - but they never disclose verbally when stones have been treated - apart from the odd occasion when they refer to heat treatment on Sapphires - but even then they'll say it's had "a little bit of heat", when in reality, stones are heated to almost melting point.

Understand the steps of the jewelry sales process - Not unless saying "Absolutely" 100 times a show, or "get as many as you can" or "its got a gorgeous amount of gold" is included in this - which I very much doubt!

Translate jewelry design, style and manufacturing features into benefits. - Only when it suits them!

Convey the romance, lore and characteristics of the most popular colored gemstones. - They'll do this all day long because this is the easy bit. It doesn't involve 'technical' speak about the stones.

I've even heard Steve Bennett say that some heated stones have just had 'a little bit of heat' and Emeralds have had just 'a little bit of baby oil.'

 

[user 17461]

Regarding your reference to 'ladies of a more mature age' -
they're not all doolally!!

No, but many worry that they're starting down that path. Which makes the bamboozling and gaslighting especially cruel

 

[TheManWithNoName]

I've even heard Steve Bennett say that some heated stones have just had 'a little bit of heat' and Emeralds have had just 'a little bit of baby oil.'

He was one of the worst culprits for those ludicrous lines!

 

[Marietta]

No, but many worry that they're starting down that path. Which makes the bamboozling and gaslighting especially cruel

Yes, I agree, you're quite right.

 

[gems]

Despite his long speech this time last year, I've seen nothing over the past 12 months that makes me think "Ah yeah, that'll be Steve Bennett's input".

Literally nothing has changed from a viewers/customers point of view in the past 12 months other than much quicker refunds.

If anything, it has got worse. The levels of misleading from presenters have certainly ramped up a lot - and they were bad enough before!

Yes the misleading has got worse

Regarding your reference to 'ladies of a more mature age' -
they're not all doolally!!


I've even heard Steve Bennett say that some heated stones have just had 'a little bit of heat' and Emeralds have had just 'a little bit of baby oil.'

They did do rings with nice amounts of gold they should use Platinum as this is far cheaper than gold as it being as cheap as gold was when they started, another thing you hear from them a lot is mines in Burma have run dry not the case

 

[gems]

I'm not sure what others think about this but it got worse with the partnership, 24-hour presenting stopped.

For those who don't look on other pages quartzite jade is not jade the term is given to most stones that can be carved Burma, China and other countries have jade jadeite

 

[AndyW]

He was one of the worst culprits for those ludicrous lines!

I heard Jim use the phrase "a little bit of heat and irradiation" the other night. Most people might understand the concept of a "little" bit of heat (however misleading it is) but irradiation always sounds apocalyptic . I was surprised but he fell into it somewhat because he trapped himself into it by some preamble on the stone he was showing (can't remember what, sadly). So it must have been on the latest cue card from the House of Thompson.

 

[Ant7t]

Platinum as this is far cheaper than gold as it being as cheap as gold was when they started, another thing you hear from them a lot is mines in Burma have run dry not the case

This I didn't know.

And I thought it was due to the current politics in Myanmar that the mines had 'dried up'. No access rather than run dry.

 

[TheManWithNoName]

I heard Jim use the phrase "a little bit of heat and irradiation" the other night. Most people might understand the concept of a "little" bit of heat (however misleading it is) but irradiation always sounds apocalyptic . I was surprised but he fell into it somewhat because he trapped himself into it by some preamble on the stone he was showing (can't remember what, sadly). So it must have been on the latest cue card from the House of Thompson.

They make 'a little bit of heat' sound like Jake Thompson has taken it out the back and held it over a tealight for 5 minutes - so they probably make irradiation sound as though Jake plonked a couple of stones in the microwave while he was heating his lunch.

 

[gems]

This I didn't know.

And I thought it was due to the current politics in Myanmar that the mines had 'dried up'. No access rather than run dry.

Myanmar, New Zealand, Canada, Taiwan, Guyana, Surinam, southern Europe, Russia and China.7 May 2024

When it come Myanmar they should not be using it anyhow due to political issues and mine workers are treated awfully most of them are made to use Heroine the pile of needles is disgusting HIV AIDS is high.