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ebay demantoid

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daniil

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 11, 2005
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17
I''m in need of an advise. I won a demantoid garnet on ebay from seller "goryll" ( he has very good feedback record, 99.8% positive) but when I got the stone it had a lot of damage, most of the facet edges were chipped, worn out. there was no mentioning about it in the listing " This is a great stone! A 4mm by 4mm square demantoid garnet that weighs about 0.59-carats. The cutting is very fine, polish is extremely fine, and the color is great." I know that demantoid is pretty soft stone 6.5 but I was surprised to see so much damage. I read that glass immitations often have facet edges abraded because glass is soft. I asked the guy why he did not mention the damage in the listing and how sure he is about identity of the stone. he tells me he is in business 40 years and published 200 articles and that stone is demantoid, but nothing about abraded facets. I told him that i do not accuse him of selling a fake but will try to check out the stone with a gemologist and mention that I was not happy that he still does not admit his omission of the damage. I said in my emails that i will not leave any feedback until i have all the facts in but if stone turns out to be NOT demantoid I expect full refund. his responce was "Return the stones and will refund your money. You really have not business buy in ebay. you have accused me of fruad. I since that you do not have enough gemstone knowledge to make such a statement. Maybe you would like to speek with a lawyer." I really don''t know why he is so heated up. I''m really not trying to screw anybody up or leave any bad feedback until I am certain that I am right. i don''t think i said anything offensive i was just trying to make sure that i was not being screwed. I have to admit though, i find his responces odd, which makes me more suspicious. so my questions to you guys are:
1. do you think I''m wrong insisting that he should have disclosed damaged facet edges?
2. have you dealt with this seller "goryll'' before or do you know a gemologist or gem dealer named Gordon Goryll (i could not find any publications by him, though I understend that not everything showes up on the internet)?
3. since the stone was only $40 should I bother with trying to find a gemologist to get it checked out, since that could cost more than the stone or should I just send it back for a refund? here is the link:
stone:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5060719656&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Fcgiurl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fcgi.ebay.com%252Fws%252F%26fkr%3D1%26from%3DR8%26satitle%3D5060719656%2509%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1
 

sylvesterii

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Nov 3, 2002
Messages
295
Give him poor feedback and send it back right away (well hold off on the feedback until you get your money back).

There is no reason for that type of non-disclosure. If it is that damaged, it should have been disclosed. Want to talk about fraud...

Judging from his reaction, and stating that you are accusing him of fraud, and his reference to his credentials scream rip-off all the more. If he truly cared about clients and satisfaction. From what I can tell you didn''t accuse him of fraud, you just asked if he was sure of the stone.

On a side note. 4 mm demantoid with a weight of .59 carats...that just sounds really funny. I happen to know, since I am looking for a 4mm round, and have seen carat weights hovering right around .3-.35 depending on how deep. That sounds like an immense amount of wasted carat material...plus the color seems rather lacking. Though, I guess for $40.00, it isn''t going to be the highest of quality demantoid in history.

Either way, send it back, and fight for S&H for the very horrible description that completely lacked any reference to damage.

I''d say when a seller is calling a stone that is chipped and damaged as "fine cut" and "very fine polish" you''ve got yerself some sneaky-handed dealing any way you slice it.
 

valeria101

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 29, 2003
Messages
15,809
I wish he had mentioned where the articles were published as well...

As far as I know, abrasion does not make this one glass - demantoid or any other gem can be chipped as well. And you might need to show it somewhere for an ID.

Why the seller has to be so obnoxious we''ll probably never know
7.gif
I am sure he is aware that Ebay is not a gemologists'' only venue.

Yiks!

Re. weight and size - it is possible that this one is smaller and heavier than round cuts, same story as for square step cut versus round diamonds.
 

daniil

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 11, 2005
Messages
17
Thank you guys for your input. I have an update. Took the stone to a gemologist today. he identified it as demantoid, though could not see any "horsetail". as far as i understand not all Russioan demantoids have "horsetail". he also agreed that stone has a lot of wear damage, it will cost $60 to repolish the whole stone. do you guys know that is a fair price for for repolishing?

Thanks for your help, Daniil
 

MJO

Brilliant_Rock
Trade
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
861
Hi Daniil,

First let me say not all Russian Demantiod have horsetails ad some Pakastani stones do. Second this stone is probubly from Namibia since they are the most common without horsetails.

You can find some that will charge more than $60 for repolishing and some much less. I have paid $60 - $1,500 to have an entire stone cut depending on the stone and artist.

Regards,
Maurice
 

PrecisionGem

Brilliant_Rock
Trade
Joined
Jul 27, 2004
Messages
1,906
$60 is not a bad price for "repolishing" However note that the stone is not just repolished, but it will be recut. This means you will loose some size and weight. If the there is enough girdle thickness, the overal size width wise may not have to change, but the crown will be lowered down. It''s very difficult for a cutter to fish around for a facet to just polish a bit. And polishing can not get past chips, only smooth out the cutting surface. Sounds like the stone will end up with the crown being recut and then polished. It may not be worth the expense of cutting, and the loss in weight.
 

daniil

Rough_Rock
Joined
Dec 11, 2005
Messages
17
Thank you for your input. I used wrong term. You right, stone needs to be completely recut not just repolish, since most of the facet edges abraded. lapidarist who saw the stone said that it should not lose much weight, according to him only few points and will retain same general cut. i think it is all worth it. right now when you look down on the table it looks like there is a white cross becase facet edges are so worn out. I was trying to take a picture to show you guys what i mean, but my camera has pretty poor zoom so you can''t really see anything in the picture.

thanks a lot for your input, daniil.
 
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