35 carat GIA certified paraiba tourmaline... Buy it???

[shaunrice]

Ok, thought I'd get some opinions on this stone BEFORE I buy it lol! I have no clue at all about tourmaline, but this one seems absolutely amazing... It's on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110355581935

 

[Gailey]

Shaun,

Personally I would never buy anything from an e-bay seller who has that low of a feedback score. Having said that, you do seem to be able to pick out good stuff.

Have you checked out your seller on Toolhaus

 

[T L]

Scary.
http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=gems-bank&ref=home

 

[shaunrice]

ahh geez...

 

[Gailey]

I have something in the back of my mind that tells me you can got to GIA and verify their reports.

That being said, I also read on another gemology site about how people are getting around GIA by swapping the stone out after it has been submitted for certification.

If it was me Shaun, I''d be walking away from this one.

 

[shaunrice]

enough said

I just sent my 2 alexandrites to GIA, and a couple of sapphires, and an unknown... Are you saying GIA isn''t secure? That is beyond terrifying

 

[T L]

Date: 2/27/2009 8:14:34 PM
Author: shaunrice

enough said

I just sent my 2 alexandrites to GIA, and a couple of sapphires, and an unknown... Are you saying GIA isn't secure? That is beyond terrifying

It may very well be a tourmaline with copper in it, but it may be a very light one, and the photo is probably enhanced (the dark background is a giveaway). Therefore, the GIA (if the cert isn't forged or swapped to another stone) would have correctly stated this is a natural tourmaline with copper in it. However, that doesn't mean it's worth a great deal. The only thing that this particular GIA lab report can tell you is that it is a natural stone with copper in it. It doesn't tell you anything about tonality, color, clarity, or the prime factors that help you to determine if it's a stone of good quality.

Did you see the feedback remark where the lady paid around $3000 for a GIA certified "paraiba" from this dealer, and she said it looked nothing like the color in the photo.

As far as your stones, you don't have to worry about your own GIA certs that you have requested for your own stones. It's a bit more tricky when you get certs from non-reputable dealers like this one.

 

[azelismia]

My Collecting area is officially art glass and art pottery from the 1800-early 1900''s... This means I play with blacklights a lot.

to me this pic looks like it was taken with a blacklight.

 

[purrfectpear]

No one is going to spend the money on GIA certification and start an auction for a supposed $100K stone at 99 cents with no reserve. Do you really have to ask

Not only is the feedback iffy, you need to actually READ the feedback. Several people went ahead and left positive, but in their comments they said "not as described", "stone substituted", "OK for the price" (.99 cents)

 

[chrono]

I have my doubts on that stone. It appears shallow and probably is much lighter in person.

 

[shaunrice]

I sent a message asking for the GIA #, and for a photo of the stone, with a white background, lit in the front. He wrote back telling me it was an extremely light stone. You guys were dead-on! He offered to sell it to me @ a laughable price. So...