Rubies on Gemfix (or somewhere else) - help requested

[Phoenix]

Hello CS folks,

I'd like to reset my 2.656ct diamond into a 3-stone ring (if it doesn't sell any time soon - am getting a bit tired of waiting ). I am thinking ruby (red is my fave colour) sidestones.

What do you think of this pair on Gemfix, the 1.93ctw on the top line, furthest right:

http://www.gemfix.com/ruby.html

I am a bit concerned about the darker red, will it go dark in low light? I really don't like gemstones that go dark. I really like the one right next to it on the left hand side, but they don't seem to have a pair of that same colour and translucency.

What about the colour depiction on Gemfix site? Is it true to life? If anyone has had experience with Gemfix, could you please share?

If anyone comes across another pair you could recommend, I'd love to see also. I think I'd like at least 5.9- 6mm stones.

Thanks.

 

[Phoenix]

Anybody?

 

[iLander]

I'll play!

Looks a little dark, the red seems to be mostly flashes coming out of a burgundy body.

But Gemfix photos seem to vary so much no one can really predict what you're going to end up with. Their photos do tend to look more saturated than what most PSer's seem to receive. But they are sparkly, so your best bet is to call them and discuss it.

If you do decide to take a look at them, please take a pic and post to the vendor pics/owner pics thread to help others in the future. Even if you don't keep them, the photo would be helpful.

Ruby pairs are RIDICULOUSLY difficult to come by, BTW.

 

[Phoenix]

I'll play!

Looks a little dark, the red seems to be mostly flashes coming out of a burgundy body.

But Gemfix photos seem to vary so much no one can really predict what you're going to end up with. Their photos do tend to look more saturated than what most PSer's seem to receive. But they are sparkly, so your best bet is to call them and discuss it.

If you do decide to take a look at them, please take a pic and post to the vendor pics/owner pics thread to help others in the future. Even if you don't keep them, the photo would be helpful.

Ruby pairs are RIDICULOUSLY difficult to come by, BTW.

Thank you, iLander. I really appreciate your reply. Buying online, esp gemstones, is sooooo difficult and I really wanted to hear of others' experience and opinions. Hmmm, so Gemfix photos are not so true to life and are usually more saturated? That's not good. I've actually emailed Gemfix to ask for more pics but haven't heard back from them. I guess they're busy with BF & CM. I will def post them as and when I receive them.

If I decide to buy this pair, I'd need another pair of eyes to look at them for me IRL, as I wouldn't be able to do it myself. They''d be set with my 2.6ct diamond so there'd be no going back.

Yes, I know. And that's one of the reasons why I started this thread to see if anyone could help wt another pair.

 

[Aphrone]

I just bought a stone from Gemfix - actually three, to see how they compared to the website photos. Here's the thread:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/in-search-of-a-montana-sapphire-question-about-extinction.195421/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/in-search-of-a-montana-sapphire-question-about-extinction.195421/[/URL]

My photography was pretty unsuccessful, but in the end I thought their hand shots were close to what I saw with my eyes in mixed lighting, with the stones appearing perhaps a bit darker than their photos. Their descriptions of the stones were quite accurate, I thought, and they were very pleasant to deal with over email.

 

[Phoenix]

I just bought a stone from Gemfix - actually three, to see how they compared to the website photos. Here's the thread:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/in-search-of-a-montana-sapphire-question-about-extinction.195421/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/in-search-of-a-montana-sapphire-question-about-extinction.195421/[/URL]

My photography was pretty unsuccessful, but in the end I thought their hand shots were close to what I saw with my eyes in mixed lighting, with the stones appearing perhaps a bit darker than their photos. Their descriptions of the stones were quite accurate, I thought, and they were very pleasant to deal with over email.

Thank you for posting and for sharing your experience. I have however decided not to buy from Gemfix.

 

[Phoenix]

I'm actually rather upset with Gemfix.

I got an email from Laura of Gemfix, who (after having asked where I am located, and having been given a reply) just told me point-blank that they don't ship to Singapore. WTF!! Is this because they don't consider Singaporeans and people living in SG dishonest?!! Singaporeans and people living in SG are amongst the most honest, most law-abiding citizens in the world. I find this very insulting! There are so many vendors who ship to Singapore, including BGD, WF, IDJ, JA etc...So WTF?!!

I replied to Laura asking why she/ they had made this decision without having asked for clarification from me or doing any kind of due diligence (this after I'd told them who I was on PS). They were presumptuous and assumed that I wanted the rubies shipped to Singapore (mind you, this reply was given to me without them having supplied me with any pics like I'd requested - for all they know, I may have decided that the rubies were not of the colour and saturation I wanted and therefore may not have purchased them at all). In my reply to Laura, I told her that my plan was to have them shipped to Leon Mege, who's based in the US, should I decide to purchase the rubies (again, at this point no pics had been given to me), to have him turn them into a 3-stone ring along with my diamond which is already at LM. Laura replied to say that LM would've had to purchase the rubies directly from them and look at the rubies on my behalf and then the rubies would've been non-refundable. Duh, if I'd had LM/ Perry Chen look at them (assuming I'd asked them and assuming they'd agreed, neither one of which I'd gotten round to asking them, again b/c the pics had not been provided as I'd requested), I for sure wouldn't have returned them, not least because a LM setting is not inexpensive and not least b/c shipping the ring back and forth would have been very costly, not to mention problematic logistically speaking.

I've purchased so many diamonds from other vendors, inclg various diamonds from BGD and JA , not to mention the 5.318ct H VS2 diamond from LM/ PC. Never have I encountered anything remotely like this!

I am incredibly disappointed with Gemfix. The whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. I'd NEVER go anywhere near them again! Thanks, Gemfix (NOT)!!

 

[chrono]

Phoenix,
Please do not make presumptions about vendors without first clarifying why. They also do not ship stones worth more than $1K to Australia or Canada because they prefer to not deal with import tax matters. It has nothing to do with the honesty of Singaporeans.

 

[Phoenix]

Phoenix,
Please do not make presumptions about vendors without first clarifying why. They also do not ship stones worth more than $1K to Australia or Canada because they prefer to not deal with import tax matters. It has nothing to do with the honesty of Singaporeans.

Chrono,

Like I stated in my post above, I told Laura, in my reply to her after she'd told me they do not ship to SG, that my plan was not to have them shipped to me in SG. She was presumptuous in assuming that I wanted the stones shipped directly to me. Even after my having told her, in my reply to her email, that my plan had been to have them shipped to LM, she told me that LM/ PC would've had to inspect the stones on my behalf and that they would have been non-refundable. Again, as I have stated, I've bought many diamonds from other vendors and have had them shipped to LM to have him set them. Never have I encountered anything remotely like this.

Laura had more than one opportunity to explain to me why they don't ship to SG. Anyway, this is a red herring as my plan all along was NOT to have them shipped directly to me in SG. Even after I'd explained to her, her follow-up reply seemed to indicate that they were not willing to do business with me or even open to some kind of dialogue.

 

[Phoenix]

Just to further clarify: Laura told me they don't ship to third parties and that's why she says LM/ PC would've had to purchase the rubies directly from Gemfix.

I find this astounding: so many PS vendors ship to a third part(ies) so the latter can do the setting(s).

Moreover, this is, again, presumptuous, I haven't even asked LM/ PC at all. No pics have been provided and no pricing discussion has even taken place and they point-blank refuse to do business with me!!

Whatever!!

 

[chrono]

Shipping issue aside, I would not purchase gemstones to be set sight unseen. Transactions for coloured stones are very much different from diamonds, especially when it comes to online purchases. As hard as one tries, pictures are often not accurate because coloured stones tend to be shifty. The second issue is also that if the buyer isn't inspecting the stone personally for damage upon receipt, who is to assure the gemstone vendor that the 3rd party isn't the one who damaged the stone? Then it becomes a blame game where nobody leaves satisfied. I think their biggest concern is the liability issue.

I understand your frustration and certainly sympathize with the difficulty of working long distance but I hope you will understand why some vendors have such a policy. Gemfix isn't the only coloured stone vendor who will not ship stones of a certain dollar value overseas and isn't the only coloured vendor who will not ship stones directly to a setter.

 

[VapidLapid]

IT is not always the tax situation either. Some places won't ship to certain countries because of consistently bad experiences with loss, damage or theft in the postal system. At any rate vendors should be polite and helpful and listen to what is being asked before shutting someone down. OP could be in Singapore for a year and then move to the states with a hankering to buy precision cut sapphires. One never knows when simple kindness, a good deed, or a bad one will come back to you.

That pair of rubies was dark, and had large windows.

 

[chrono]

VL,
True, GemFix should have explained themselves better and although not known to everyone, they do not take additional pictures for anyone. I also agree the ruby pair looks dark, not well saturated and is windowed. Might be a good choice for earrings but definitely not for sidestones where they are under greater scrutiny.

 

[airdancer]

Pheonix, I'm so terribly disappointed to read that Gemfix may not be selling to SG. I have been oggling many of their stones!

 

[Phoenix]

IT is not always the tax situation either. Some places won't ship to certain countries because of consistently bad experiences with loss, damage or theft in the postal system. At any rate vendors should be polite and helpful and listen to what is being asked before shutting someone down. OP could be in Singapore for a year and then move to the states with a hankering to buy precision cut sapphires. One never knows when simple kindness, a good deed, or a bad one will come back to you.

That pair of rubies was dark, and had large windows.

Agreed with the bolded part 100%. What really p*ssed me off about the whole thing is how they handled me. Their emails are abrupt, dismissive, presumptuous (did I already say that ) and also condescending/ patronising! They just told me outright they don't ship to Singapore (no explanation given and no attempt on their part to ask me if there was another way we could deal with it). As asforementioned, they refused to ship to third parties - Laura just "simply told [me they] cannot ship to [me]" because "this was in [my] best interests". Seriously, patronising much?!!

I still don't know what is their policy with regard to shipping. (As an aside, after having told me that they wouldn't ship to Singpore or to third parties, Laura then asked me to do them "a great favour" and not post on PS that they do not ship to SG or to 3rd P's. Yeah right! You insult me and then you ask me to do you a favour?!!) Anyway, what does this mean? What is this cloak and dagger stuff?! Don't they know PS is a prosumer site and that PSer's are a bunch of smart people?! This lack of transparency in their policies will not fly, I reckon. Either you ship to certain countries and/ or certain parties; or you don't. Or maybe they simply singled me out for this treatment because they don't like how I sound in my emails? I have to stress that my email enquiries to them were polite and factual. So I see reason why they're so rude and dismissive like this!

As for the tax treatment and return/ refund, again a red herring but I shall discuss it here anyway for completeness sake. Any import tax in SG would've been my responsibility and I'd been ok with accepting the stones without any refund or return to Gemfix (I bought the 5.318ct diamond which is much much more valuable than this pair of rubies, sight unseen, because I trusted Perry Chen and David Wolf to be my eyes;; same with numerous other diamonds I've bought. I know that coloured stones are harder to judge but this was MY risk I was willing to assume, living so many miles away. You might also say a similar risk exists for settings, what if I don't like a particular setting and it looks different IRL than it is on vendors' websites and what if it's a custom-setting which I'd have to completely accept whether or not it turned out to be to my liking. Again, I stress that any import tax/duties in the US should the stones be returned to them would've been a non-issue. I'd have been more than willing to give them a written promise to not return the stones, if i had proceeded with the purchase.

Gemfix lost out big time! I was thinking of also purchasing the single loose ruby, the cushion-shaped one on the left of the pair, to make into a ring for my next b'day. I was also eyeing some sapphires and spinels.

All my purchases long distance thus far have been made with the intention of keeping the goods. I know returning goods to the US would have been a NON-option. This is my risk and MINE to accept and it is the basis for all my PS purchases thus far. IF Gemfix had bothered to ask, instead of assuming and telling me what to do, they'd have known that and I'd have been a happy camper. Now, no fr**king way!!

 

[Phoenix]

Typo. I see NO reason why they're so rude and dismissive. .

 

[deskjockey]

I think it's important to remember that SO MUCH can be lost by communicating via email. What is "rude and dismissive" to one person might be perfectly reasonable (if disappointing) to another. I'm not involved in the gem trade, but I have had to deal with the public a lot for my "second job" which involves finding homes for horses for a nonprofit. It's unfortunate how many times I have explained to people in a straightforward way that I cannot help them, due to our policies, and had them react very badly. I had someone tell me I was very rude because apparently, my sentence structure was too short so it 'sounded' to her like I was being rude. I've had people complain publicly about some of our policies, not understanding that those policies are borne out of experience and our attempts to best serve the most people/animals that we can in an ethical way.

I'm not saying your irritation is unjustified, but that this may simply be a matter of a communication mismatch. I can understand why a vendor might not want to send a stone to a third party, but only to the person actually buying it. If something happens to the stone between the vendor and the final customer, who exactly is responsible? If the buyer gets the final product and is unhappy, what is their recourse? If the vendor sells a lot of stones and is used to dealing with customers who may return several stones in search of the perfect one, their perspective may be that it is very risky to do a third-party sort of deal. By asking that the third party buy the stone directly, it takes them out of the equation if you are unhappy with the final product. At least, that's what I'm assuming. Policies like this don't happen because people are poor businesspeople, they happen because of repeated problems with that scenario. Everyone has a different limit for risk-taking in this regard, that theirs is different from other vendors doesn't mean they're somehow fundamentally worse.

If anything, I think they need to be clearer about this on their website, before people get invested/interested in specific stones, by having international shipping policies spelled out, and the third party issue spelled out. That way it's right there for people to see so they don't end up in this situation.

Really sorry this didn't work out for you

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,


Just to put my 2 cents in here I would like to say i'm glad you didn't buy the pair of rubies. I see , not so much red, but orange in them. unless its because of the color of the cushion ruby next to it. I do like the cushion color.

They dismissed you too quickly, no matter what. Some better vendor will get your business.

Sorry,

Annette

 

[minousbijoux]

Phoenix: that is disappointing to hear and they certainly should treat you with respect and courtesy and hear you out completely before dismissing you. Call me crazy, but I think perhaps something else was going on here. I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that vendors might shy away from someone who announces themselves as an active PS member and actually provides their PS name (I believe you said you had done this) for fear that the individual might have higher expectations than the normal buyer, or expect some sort of special treatment. I don't know if this was at play at all, but people occasionally come on here and make claims about the bad reps we PSers have with vendors.

Again, I'm sorry this happened. Fwiw, it has happened to others as well.

 

[MollyMalone]

This failed transaction could have been handled better, but I don't think that Gemfix's responses were fueled by the fact that Phoenix made it known that she is a PS-er. Gemfix's Order page does sets forth its policy on international deliveries & Singapore is not among the few countries outside the US to which they will mail:
http://www.gemfix.com/order.html

fyi: the US Postal Service alerts its users that jewelry is among the items that should not be mailed to Singapore & mailing loose gemstones to Singapore requires *prior approval* from the postal authorities in that country, which seems like a big hassle (I couldn't find an online version of the necessary application for approval). See the paragraph that begins with Coins in the first section -- re Prohibitions -- on this info page from the International Mail Manual on the US Postal Service web site:
http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/ps_027.htm

Good luck in your quest!

 

[minousbijoux]

This failed transaction could have been handled better, but I don't think that Gemfix's responses were fueled by the fact that Phoenix made it known that she is a PS-er. Gemfix's Order page does sets forth its policy on international deliveries & Singapore is not among the few countries outside the US to which they will mail:
http://www.gemfix.com/order.html

fyi: the US Postal Service alerts its users that jewelry is among the items that should not be mailed to Singapore & mailing loose gemstones to Singapore requires *prior approval* from the postal authorities in that country, which seems like a big hassle (I couldn't find an online version of the necessary application for approval). See the paragraph that begins with Coins in the first section -- re Prohibitions -- on this info page from the International Mail Manual on the US Postal Service web site:
http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/ps_027.htm

Good luck in your quest!

No, you are right, Molly! I know that is their policy and they have had it in place for years to multiple international locations. But I was talking about the way they appeared to handle it, as indicated by Phoenix, as if they didn't have much enthusiasm for making it work.

 

[VapidLapid]

This failed transaction could have been handled better, but I don't think that Gemfix's responses were fueled by the fact that Phoenix made it known that she is a PS-er. Gemfix's Order page does sets forth its policy on international deliveries & Singapore is not among the few countries outside the US to which they will mail:
http://www.gemfix.com/order.html

fyi: the US Postal Service alerts its users that jewelry is among the items that should not be mailed to Singapore & mailing loose gemstones to Singapore requires *prior approval* from the postal authorities in that country, which seems like a big hassle (I couldn't find an online version of the necessary application for approval). See the paragraph that begins with Coins in the first section -- re Prohibitions -- on this info page from the International Mail Manual on the US Postal Service web site:
http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/ps_027.htm

Good luck in your quest!

No, you are right, Molly! I know that is their policy and they have had it in place for years to multiple international locations. But I was talking about the way they appeared to handle it, as indicated by Phoenix, as if they didn't have much enthusiasm for making it work.

Yes and yes, They could have been more polite and positive in their exchange with OP, and while it is all there when you scratch through USPS recommendations they shouldn't have left it to Molly to inform the OP of the reasoning.

eta: but thank you Molly for finding that info and sharing it!