Catch all thread - talk or better yet show us

[Arcadian]

thanks.

This was one I took a chance on since I never purchased from them. and according to them the lab is assocaited with GIA but they can''t show me one iota of GIA proof. If its there, I''d like to know about it just to double check

The stone is still ugly though, nothing like the picture I purchased from regardless of the supposed cert.

So let me ask, does that even look like a pad colored stone to you? lol

 

[Indylady]

Date: 6/27/2010 12:01:06 PM
Author: VapidLapid
this one Indy?:


http://www.rwwise.com/products/id|1549


still there for me, but sold.


and I see that amethyst I was eyeing there is gone now too

That''s the one! I wonder if it''ll be set, and how.

 

[Cind11]

Date: 6/27/2010 3:35:38 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 6/27/2010 1:01:56 PM
Author: Cind11
I just received this from Sally at Heart of Water. It''s my blue green tourmaline from Gene. The photos I have taken so far haven''t turned out well. I love the ring.

Cindy,
That''s absolutely lovely. Looking forward to you starting a thread on it, please!!??

TL and baby nurse, I am trying but this tourmaline seems harder to photograph its true color than my tsavorite was!

 

[Cind11]

Date: 6/27/2010 3:51:36 PM
Author: Arcadian
Brandi, thats a beautiful ring!!

I really love the overall design.

Cind, wow!! love it!!

Sally is on my list!


I received one of the spinels...

Color is terrible, looks nothing like the picture
and oh the cert is unverifiable. Address is not traceable, no email, no telephone number and you can''t find them on the web. Asking the seller for any additonal info on the lab has been met with nil.

And the seller ain''t to happy with their neutral (I told them be glad it wasn''t a straight out neg)

3 more yet to come in, we shall see what they look like. I''ll post a picture of this one in a few.

-A

Arcadian, Sally is a delight to work with. You should definitely give her a try.

 

[T L]

Date: 6/28/2010 12:23:37 AM
Author: Cind11

Date: 6/27/2010 3:35:38 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 6/27/2010 1:01:56 PM
Author: Cind11
I just received this from Sally at Heart of Water. It''s my blue green tourmaline from Gene. The photos I have taken so far haven''t turned out well. I love the ring.

Cindy,
That''s absolutely lovely. Looking forward to you starting a thread on it, please!!??

TL and baby nurse, I am trying but this tourmaline seems harder to photograph its true color than my tsavorite was!

Your white balance may be off then. Try adjusting it so that the color of your skin looks normal in the photograph. That''s how I adjust mine.

 

[brandy_z28]

Thank you Cind11, Lovinggems, TL, Freke, chictomato, SS, and Arcadian! I can''t wait to see it in person.

Very pretty ring Cind11. I

the color of your tourmaline. I hope we get to see more pictures of it.

Freke, did you say CADs? Where are they? I wanna see!

Arcadian, wow, hope you can track down the gem lab, or return the stone(s) and you weren''t duped.

 

[brandy_z28]

Date: 6/27/2010 1:10:41 PM
Author: sleepyspinel
VERY nice ring BrandyZ! The pink/red and vibrant green go so well with eachother. I also like the two toned aspect of the design, how many demantoids in total? Looking forward to handshots

Not sure how I missed your question, sorry didn''t mean to ignore you SS! There are 7 demantoids in the ring.

Thanks again!

 

[T L]

Date: 6/27/2010 4:36:41 PM
Author: Arcadian
thanks.

This was one I took a chance on since I never purchased from them. and according to them the lab is assocaited with GIA but they can''t show me one iota of GIA proof. If its there, I''d like to know about it just to double check

The stone is still ugly though, nothing like the picture I purchased from regardless of the supposed cert.

So let me ask, does that even look like a pad colored stone to you? lol

May I ask if the seller is gemsystery-imperial? If so, I two cheapo stones just to try them out. I wasn''t expecting much since they were rather inexpensive. However, the one that was supposed to be violet, turned out to be a brownish pink

. You live and you learn. I ask because that stone looks familiar as far as their cutting is concerned, and they offer a lab certificate, but they never say from where in their listings.

 

[Cind11]

Date: 6/28/2010 11:55:51 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 6/28/2010 12:23:37 AM
Author: Cind11

Date: 6/27/2010 3:35:38 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 6/27/2010 1:01:56 PM
Author: Cind11
I just received this from Sally at Heart of Water. It''s my blue green tourmaline from Gene. The photos I have taken so far haven''t turned out well. I love the ring.

Cindy,
That''s absolutely lovely. Looking forward to you starting a thread on it, please!!??

TL and baby nurse, I am trying but this tourmaline seems harder to photograph its true color than my tsavorite was!

Your white balance may be off then. Try adjusting it so that the color of your skin looks normal in the photograph. That''s how I adjust mine.

I am not sure how to adjust this. And this is the camera that we have that is fairly old, so I wonder if this is even an option.

 

[FrekeChild]

Date: 6/28/2010 1:16:49 PM
Author: brandy_z28
Freke, did you say CADs? Where are they? I wanna see!

They are hiding!

 

[packrat]

Methinks they be shy?

 

[baby nurse]

Shy or not, please coax them out soon. I love looking at CADs!

 

[FrekeChild]

Lol. They are kind of boring.

 

[Agnesg]

Isn''t padparadscha a color use to describe a sapphire color..it can use use on a spinel?

 

[chrono]

Date: 6/29/2010 5:34:47 AM
Author: Agnesg
Isn''t padparadscha a color use to describe a sapphire color..it can use use on a spinel?

Some vendors call it whatever they want just to make a sale or to tack on a higher pricetag.

 

[Arcadian]

Date: 6/28/2010 4:39:42 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 6/27/2010 4:36:41 PM

Author: Arcadian

thanks.


This was one I took a chance on since I never purchased from them. and according to them the lab is assocaited with GIA but they can''t show me one iota of GIA proof. If its there, I''d like to know about it just to double check


The stone is still ugly though, nothing like the picture I purchased from regardless of the supposed cert.


So let me ask, does that even look like a pad colored stone to you? lol

May I ask if the seller is gemsystery-imperial? If so, I two cheapo stones just to try them out. I wasn''t expecting much since they were rather inexpensive. However, the one that was supposed to be violet, turned out to be a brownish pink

. You live and you learn. I ask because that stone looks familiar as far as their cutting is concerned, and they offer a lab certificate, but they never say from where in their listings.

Yep they''re the one. The lab certificate is.... lol laughable. You can''t verify the lab at all nor will they give you the info to do so.

So they''re off my list.


They did refund the shipping + stone price which was nice of them to do.

-A

 

[Lovinggems]

Date: 6/27/2010 11:54:12 AM
Author: IndyLady

Date: 6/26/2010 6:11:49 PM
Author: klewis

Date: 6/26/2010 10:31:53 AM

Author: Chrono

I think the markup will vary per the middle person. When I asked for the price of a particular gemstone, John gave me an approximate price, leading me to think that he ''sells'' to the jeweller at a certain price and it is up to the jeweller to charge the final price within a certain range. This seems to follow the selling practise of places like Pala.

Although with the retail prices listed I would think it would tend to standardize prices.


I see Richard Wise is having a sale with 25% off all loose stones! There are a couple of stones on his site I have been eyeing for ages, and this is not a good time for me to be buying more stone. Bad timing!

The two stones I''d had my eye on for some time are both gone.

Am I missing something? I can''t seem to find a lot of their inventory. There was a freeform cabachon emerald that I remember distinctly, along with quite a few other emeralds and rubies. Many of his sold gems still appear, so I imagine if they were sold somewhat recently I''d still be able to see them.

Has the sale started? Do we need to phone/email Richard to get the sale price?

 

[Arcadian]

Date: 6/29/2010 7:28:25 PM
Author: Arcadian

Date: 6/28/2010 4:39:42 PM

Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 6/27/2010 4:36:41 PM


Author: Arcadian


thanks.



This was one I took a chance on since I never purchased from them. and according to them the lab is assocaited with GIA but they can''t show me one iota of GIA proof. If its there, I''d like to know about it just to double check



The stone is still ugly though, nothing like the picture I purchased from regardless of the supposed cert.



So let me ask, does that even look like a pad colored stone to you? lol

May I ask if the seller is gemsystery-imperial? If so, I two cheapo stones just to try them out. I wasn''t expecting much since they were rather inexpensive. However, the one that was supposed to be violet, turned out to be a brownish pink

. You live and you learn. I ask because that stone looks familiar as far as their cutting is concerned, and they offer a lab certificate, but they never say from where in their listings.

Yep they''re the one. The lab certificate is.... lol laughable. You can''t verify the lab at all nor will they give you the info to do so.


So they''re off my list.



They did refund the shipping + stone price which was nice of them to do.


-A

BTW, TL, This morning after much conversation (they didn''t want to refund me really but admitted to me that ebay told them they should) They told me the cert is an in house one. Had they told me that before I bid I wouldn''t have even bothered!

Oh and they told me that I had some nerve to expect a nicer looking stone for the price I paid.

You know where that took the conversation.

Nonetheless, I see a pattern emerging about their stones, all of them pretty yucky so they''re on the never explore them again list.

-A

 

[mastercutgems]

Arcadian;
That looks like a gem mystery imperial to me

Do not feel bad it takes a few years of buying from him to know which ones are going to be a good color when they come in.
As for that certificate I really do not know the worth or trust it... I do not know where they are generated but I got 3 of which I did not care about as I test my own and the certificate will be worthless when I re-cut them; but the gems did not match the certificates. The picture was right even up to the facet count on the crowns; but the weights and measurements were off; really off. They did pass all the tests under 100x microscope and also the digital scanning spectrometer ( challenger ) from Nick at imperial gemological instruments; also got some second and third professional opinions ( GIA GGs) to make sure I was correct in my evaluation. They (GMI)are basically good people but their pictures are off and that Burma report I really do not know how they are generated; as we all know any report can be duplicated in this day and time???

But I only bought the ones that are lighter in body color and are in the red-pink zone or orange pink as the purples tend to go brown/grey and to put a true brilliant design on a overly saturated gem is like a horrible mistake; it will surely darken the gem. I also use paypal with a credit card and ALWAYS test before I give feedback of any kind; I do not trust any vendor these days from any place; I can not afford to I have to test everything...


Can I say they sell natural spinels; yes; can I say everything about them is correct in color, weight, etc. no...

But if you buy from them in the future; look for the depth of the gem and if it is not 75 percent of the width leave it alone and if the color looks the least bit dark; also leave it alone; a lighter or less saturated gem can be salvaged with a brilliant cut if the depth and lightness in color are present.
Nothing meant to insult anyone and their ebay buying practices; I will help you if you ask.

Most Respectfully;

 

[Arcadian]

Date: 6/30/2010 8:15:08 PM
Author: mastercutgems
Arcadian;
That looks like a gem mystery imperial to me

Do not feel bad it takes a few years of buying from him to know which ones are going to be a good color when they come in.
As for that certificate I really do not know the worth or trust it... I do not know where they are generated but I got 3 of which I did not care about as I test my own and the certificate will be worthless when I re-cut them; but the gems did not match the certificates. The picture was right even up to the facet count on the crowns; but the weights and measurements were off; really off. They did pass all the tests under 100x microscope and also the digital scanning spectrometer ( challenger ) from Nick at imperial gemological instruments; also got some second and third professional opinions ( GIA GGs) to make sure I was correct in my evaluation. They (GMI)are basically good people but their pictures are off and that Burma report I really do not know how they are generated; as we all know any report can be duplicated in this day and time???

But I only bought the ones that are lighter in body color and are in the red-pink zone or orange pink as the purples tend to go brown/grey and to put a true brilliant design on a overly saturated gem is like a horrible mistake; it will surely darken the gem. I also use paypal with a credit card and ALWAYS test before I give feedback of any kind; I do not trust any vendor these days from any place; I can not afford to I have to test everything...


Can I say they sell natural spinels; yes; can I say everything about them is correct in color, weight, etc. no...

But if you buy from them in the future; look for the depth of the gem and if it is not 75 percent of the width leave it alone and if the color looks the least bit dark; also leave it alone; a lighter or less saturated gem can be salvaged with a brilliant cut if the depth and lightness in color are present.
Nothing meant to insult anyone and their ebay buying practices; I will help you if you ask.

Most Respectfully;

Hi Dana, what you''re saying is true, the certs can be faked pretty easy which is why I always tend to check. It wouldn''t have been a big deal if they had told me prior to me bidding that the cert was inhouse instead of saying it was GIA Cert. That type of knowledge does help because I always like to make the most informed decision I can.

I also tend to not ding on a whim and always talk to the seller first. However, I''ll be the first to say that if a seller wants to start treating me like I''m stupid or beneath them, I won''t take kindly to it. Thats lousy customer service which does dim the customer on your products. Given I pride myself on the service I give to my own customers, I think its key.

I ask for 2 things; if there''s a cert, make sure you tell me what kind it is and that I can do a traceback. And please make sure the stone looks close enough to the picture. The stone I purchased was completely opposite IRL than their picture; the cert I couldn''t trace back to Kevin Bacon if I had tried. (for those who don''t know what I''m talking about, google 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon..lol)

I really don''t think I ask for a whole lot from sellers on ebay; be honest, factual, and treat me with the same respect I treat you with. I did ding them on this stone with a neutral with doesn''t affect their score.


-A

 

[T L]

Date: 6/30/2010 10:03:44 AM
Author: Arcadian

Date: 6/29/2010 7:28:25 PM

Author: Arcadian

Date: 6/28/2010 4:39:42 PM


Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 6/27/2010 4:36:41 PM



Author: Arcadian



thanks.




This was one I took a chance on since I never purchased from them. and according to them the lab is assocaited with GIA but they can''t show me one iota of GIA proof. If its there, I''d like to know about it just to double check




The stone is still ugly though, nothing like the picture I purchased from regardless of the supposed cert.




So let me ask, does that even look like a pad colored stone to you? lol

May I ask if the seller is gemsystery-imperial? If so, I two cheapo stones just to try them out. I wasn''t expecting much since they were rather inexpensive. However, the one that was supposed to be violet, turned out to be a brownish pink

. You live and you learn. I ask because that stone looks familiar as far as their cutting is concerned, and they offer a lab certificate, but they never say from where in their listings.

Yep they''re the one. The lab certificate is.... lol laughable. You can''t verify the lab at all nor will they give you the info to do so.



So they''re off my list.




They did refund the shipping + stone price which was nice of them to do.



-A

BTW, TL, This morning after much conversation (they didn''t want to refund me really but admitted to me that ebay told them they should) They told me the cert is an in house one. Had they told me that before I bid I wouldn''t have even bothered!


Oh and they told me that I had some nerve to expect a nicer looking stone for the price I paid.

You know where that took the conversation.


Nonetheless, I see a pattern emerging about their stones, all of them pretty yucky so they''re on the never explore them again list.


-A

An in house certificate is worthless as far as I''m concerned. It''s important to get a neutral third party certificate from a reputable lab. I''m very surprised how good their feedback is. I wouldn''t be surprised if there was some shill bidding and bogus feedback.

 

[mastercutgems]

Arcadian;

I think you were more than fair as I too do not like someone making light of my intelligence in colored stones or anything else for that matter

You are right; this group has been around for a while and has good feedback; mainly because they do sell natural material; poorly cut for sure and their photos are less representative than mine for sure

But that gives them no reasons to belittle your knowledge of gems.The only reason I ever dealt with them as back a few years ago they offered big natural Burma spinels that I could not buy in the rough and they made great preforms for re-cutting.
But I will be the first to agree with you that the pictures and the "certificates" leave a lot to be desired or taken seriously. I do not buy from them now as I like many got tired of the pictures not even being close to the color of the gem and a dead purple-grey gem is a very hard gem to re-cut and make into something a lady or gentleman would want to wear.

Keep up the good eye for the gems and never let someone take your knowledge for grated and not respect you as a client.
You are right; not good business if you want to stay in business..

Most Respectfully;

 

[chrono]

Regardless of vendor, an in-house cert is worthless to me as there is potentially a conflict of interest in my eyes.

 

[T L]

Dana,
I can understand buying from them to obtain some cutting material. I have two stones from them. One is a greyish blue spinel that looks more like the photo and is 2.5 carats and very poorly cut, and the other is the one I mentioned above to Arcadian. The first one looks more representative of the photo and I paid $15 for it. It''s 2.5 carats, and so I wasn''t expecting much. I saw those negative crystal inclusions in both stones, so I had a feeling they were natural. Most of their stones have these inclusions, so I suspect they don''t sell synthetics, but as always, buyer beware. Since they sell very large preformed gems, I can see them being good candidates for recutting, and I thought, what the heck. They do have some lower priced auctions. Unfortunatley, I''m not going to bother recutting either. The greyish blue looks nicer in sunlight, but really greys out in other lighting. Blue spinels are so difficult to buy online, and I just thought I''d take a chance with them since they had some large and inexpensive gems, with great feedback.

 

[mastercutgems]

Chrono; I agree with you as an in house or even generated forged document is always a bad thing whether you are selling a genuine natural mineral or not... I guess that is why I test everything; even if it had an AGTA or a GIA certificate; as I do not know if they forged it or not; it really is easy to do; if they can forge a dollar bill they can forge a gemological report with ease. Especially one that does not have an online method of relating a number to the certificate.


TL; You think smart on gemstones as i have watched and read your posts for some time. It pays to check all these vendors out as I too have gotten very nice gems for a song; especially the new vendors; but there is always that gamble; but there are safeguards for that to a certain degree also. You are correct for a cutter many of these vendors have excellent preforms; you just have to be diligent on your testing skills and do the math on the dimensions.

I guess it still boils down to this; only buy from someone that has a great return policy; no restocking fees and all that mess. If you can test the gem before the time limit is up and also make sure you are happy with the gem and it will not be something that just gets stuck in a drawer never to see the light of day again.
That is a unhappy experience. If you do not like it; send it back. I had rather the gem I sell come back home to me than my client be unhappy with the purchase and never do business with me again; I like making friends with my clients.

Arcadian; Unless it is more costly to send it back than to keep it; always tell them what you think and return it; I can tell by your posts you are a kind soul and only want what you think you are being sold. And that is just good business; you were being kind to them and I am sure your kindness will be rewarded in some manner someday

Most respectfully;

 

[T L]

Re: Catch all thread - talk or better yet show us

I'm very excited about getting two new LOGR's for my 3.01 carat chrysoberyl and my 1.82 mint garnet. The mint garnet is going to be in a rose gold setting with sparkling single cuts. I like how much bluer it gets here. Sorry for the fuzzy photo. The chrysoberyl would not cooperate and focus. Both are at the jewelers and will post hand shots. Kismet's vanadium chrysoberyl in rose gold was the inspiration for me to do this stone in rose gold, and it really glows in there. Thanks Kismet!!

 

[FrekeChild]

Re: Catch all thread - talk or better yet show us

I got a setting today for my white tourmaline (achroite) cushion from Barry. I am SO excited!

 

[PrecisionGem]

Re: Catch all thread - talk or better yet show us

I was making out a type of "cert" a year or two ago with every stone. I quit doing since I was running low on time, and filling it out, then printing it up was kind of a pain in the neck. The intention was NOT to replace a third party lab cert, but to show the measurements of the stone. This included the weight, dimensions, optical character, refractive index, and spectrascope readings. Most people seemed to like it, and I thought it was rather informative. I have been toying with doing it again on everything, lately I have only done it on the more expensive stones. (expensive in my eyes, not everyones).

What's the consensus here? Would you care for this or not?

 

[baby nurse]

Re: Catch all thread - talk or better yet show us

I think that's a great idea, Gene. After a month or so, I'll look at one of my stones and have a hard time remembering basics like how many mm it is!

 

[Cind11]

Re: Catch all thread - talk or better yet show us

Gene,

I would like that also. I would like to have had it on the big tsavorite I got from you. Seems like a neat idea to have all that info. about your stone. I tried to quote your post. Hmm, not sure how to do that now.