Anyone watch Gem tv shows?? Gem Hunt? Game of Stones?

[eos512]

I try to watch every gem show I can find! I've watched most of the ones mentioned, and have probably seen every episode of Gem Hunt. My big complaint is too much drama and not enough stones! I wanna see the eye candy!!

I agree that most of them seem very staged and over dramatized, every episode of Gem Hunt seems the same in that regard - Ron isn't going to get his stone and then he usually does at the last second and they spend the last 30 seconds showing the faceted stuff that I wanna see.
Ron is an entertaining kook and I love when he says "you give friend price". My husband and I say that all the time.

I do like the fact that they show you what it's like at ground zero and what it means to have one of these gems on your hand. In that regard, I'm glad to hear that they overinflate the prices at the end, because I always seemed to have a bad taste in my mouth at the end of Gem Hunt knowing how much money they made from the people who work so hard and in some cases live in pretty poor conditions. I have actually considered going to lab created stones just for this reason, but then I guess that also hurts the miners who work so hard.

honestly they are definitely not making 10-15 times of profit. Based on some experience from friend in the industry, 2-3 times would be a fair guess and this 2-3 times profit does not include their traveling cost and the risk of cutting.

Well in the Nepal episode of gem hunt, they actually talked about what gems SOLD for not what they expected to get. They purchased turquoise for 1k and it sold for 10k, a $600 Tourmaline sold for $1500 and $1200 of Lapiz sold for 20k, they do make pretty great returns but there are always risks. The trip itself probably cost around 7k, cutting (lost from cutting) probably 2-3k,marketing, etc.

I actually doubt the sale price that they claimed to have reached. Who will pay 1500 usd for that deep greenish yellow tourmaline? It is not even close to canary color. But for the cost you mentioned, I dun think it will cost that much. Anyway it is a highly profitable industry, but i think their effort matches the payoff. They have to go to some desolate places carrying all the risks. I think these middle men in this industry do make a lot of contributions to the boom of the gems.

 

[GemAgents1]

Game of stones is highly scripted and way too SciFi for my taste. I mean when the gem hunt gang went to Brazil I do not recall them having to get a decoy car and getting mugged on their way. Its definitely for "entertainment" purposes. Gem hunt is way more realistic, in regards to how the business is actually done. All the negotiation tactics are straight out of the book. They surely do some scripting but at least the right idea is there. I think the shows are entertaining and find it amazing how this"lost trade" is getting some attention. As for pricing on gem hunt, I feel as if sometimes they mix the numbers together. There are many things that they purchase that is not shown during the show. Also usually it says what price they sell it for, but when incorporating the price of the trip and cutting and weight loss etc the numbers can almost make sense. They don't say what the net profit is, just the profit on the stone or parcel.

 

[T L]

Game of stones is highly scripted and way too SciFi for my taste. I mean when the gem hunt gang went to Brazil I do not recall them having to get a decoy car and getting mugged on their way. Its definitely for "entertainment" purposes. Gem hunt is way more realistic, in regards to how the business is actually done. All the negotiation tactics are straight out of the book. They surely do some scripting but at least the right idea is there. I think the shows are entertaining and find it amazing how this"lost trade" is getting some attention. As for pricing on gem hunt, I feel as if sometimes they mix the numbers together. There are many things that they purchase that is not shown during the show. Also usually it says what price they sell it for, but when incorporating the price of the trip and cutting and weight loss etc the numbers can almost make sense. They don't say what the net profit is, just the profit on the stone or parcel.

Do they [Gem Hunt] even buy the stones they're saying they're buying? On a couple of occasions, I saw a stone that Ron said he bought, look quite different than what it looked like in an earlier scene. I think it's fully scripted to be honest, and even the buying is not real, or is funded by the producers. In the end, it's just a show that gives you a scripted look at what gem buying is supposed to be like. It is more realistic than the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" wannabe, "Game of Stones."

 

[GemAgents1]

Game of stones is highly scripted and way too SciFi for my taste. I mean when the gem hunt gang went to Brazil I do not recall them having to get a decoy car and getting mugged on their way. Its definitely for "entertainment" purposes. Gem hunt is way more realistic, in regards to how the business is actually done. All the negotiation tactics are straight out of the book. They surely do some scripting but at least the right idea is there. I think the shows are entertaining and find it amazing how this"lost trade" is getting some attention. As for pricing on gem hunt, I feel as if sometimes they mix the numbers together. There are many things that they purchase that is not shown during the show. Also usually it says what price they sell it for, but when incorporating the price of the trip and cutting and weight loss etc the numbers can almost make sense. They don't say what the net profit is, just the profit on the stone or parcel.

Do they [Gem Hunt] even buy the stones they're saying they're buying? On a couple of occasions, I saw a stone that Ron said he bought, look quite different than what it looked like in an earlier scene. I think it's fully scripted to be honest, and even the buying is not real, or is funded by the producers. In the end, it's just a show that gives you a scripted look at what gem buying is supposed to be like. It is more realistic than the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" wannabe, "Game of Stones."

I don't know if they actually buy it. if you look closely though you'll notice that a lot of stones are repeated in various episodes. I think in one of the emerald episodes they show the tourmaline from a previous episode, or when they go for aqua or tanzanite they show the same stones. i don't remember off the top of my head, but a lot of those images are repeats.

 

[CraigMeade]

Hi, I made the Gem Hunt series. You'll see my name in the credits as executive producer. I am happy to give honest answers to any questions about the show. In reference to the discussion above:

- The gem hunters used their money to buy their own stones.
- The production didn't fund any stone buying.
- We did fund a certain amount of the expenses to get to the location and travel around.
- The show was not scripted, though we did need certain things to be said and done in certain ways at certain times.
- So I guess we could say the dialogue and action was coached and crafted but not pre-planned.
- The show is largely authentic.
- We did reuse the 'pack-shots' of some stones - the pretty close-ups. Because the proper stones may not have been available to us at the end of the shoot when we filmed those close-ups. They may have been already shipped, flipped or cut.
- The final prices were not easy to determine due to various factors such as overhead and stones being sold as part of larger packages, but we did our best. They also fail to recognize the number of stones not necessarily in the show that turned out to be bad deals.

As I said, I'm happy to answer questions about Gem Hunt.

 

[psproot12]

I try to watch every gem show I can find! I've watched most of the ones mentioned, and have probably seen every episode of Gem Hunt. My big complaint is too much drama and not enough stones! I wanna see the eye candy!!

I agree that most of them seem very staged and over dramatized, every episode of Gem Hunt seems the same in that regard - Ron isn't going to get his stone and then he usually does at the last second and they spend the last 30 seconds showing the faceted stuff that I wanna see.
Ron is an entertaining kook and I love when he says "you give friend price". My husband and I say that all the time.

I do like the fact that they show you what it's like at ground zero and what it means to have one of these gems on your hand. In that regard, I'm glad to hear that they overinflate the prices at the end, because I always seemed to have a bad taste in my mouth at the end of Gem Hunt knowing how much money they made from the people who work so hard and in some cases live in pretty poor conditions. I have actually considered going to lab created stones just for this reason, but then I guess that also hurts the miners who work so hard.

honestly they are definitely not making 10-15 times of profit. Based on some experience from friend in the industry, 2-3 times would be a fair guess and this 2-3 times profit does not include their traveling cost and the risk of cutting.

Well in the Nepal episode of gem hunt, they actually talked about what gems SOLD for not what they expected to get. They purchased turquoise for 1k and it sold for 10k, a $600 Tourmaline sold for $1500 and $1200 of Lapiz sold for 20k, they do make pretty great returns but there are always risks. The trip itself probably cost around 7k, cutting (lost from cutting) probably 2-3k,marketing, etc.

I actually doubt the sale price that they claimed to have reached. Who will pay 1500 usd for that deep greenish yellow tourmaline? It is not even close to canary color. But for the cost you mentioned, I dun think it will cost that much. Anyway it is a highly profitable industry, but i think their effort matches the payoff. They have to go to some desolate places carrying all the risks. I think these middle men in this industry do make a lot of contributions to the boom of the gems.

I've experienced that retail people pay a much, much higher price per carat then online or through catalog. Based on the premiums charged, I could easily see $1500 being a price for that tourmaline and anyways is they say it SOLD for that price and it didn't it would constitute fraud, why would they want to lose their tv show to give a slightly better price. These gem hunters (middlemen as you call them) are usually the ones who find legendary stones such as the namunyak.

 

[FrekeChild]

Hi Craig! Welcome!

Can you please tell me what a "Double Blue Aquamarine" is? Thank you!

 

[CraigMeade]

Double Blue was the name given by the two guys selling the aqua - Nick the Greek and his partner. They also said Santa Maria Double Blue at one point. They said it was from Mozambique, but weren't very keen on revealing any more than that. When we said we wanted to find the mine they hinted that it was played out now. I was actually left with a suspicion it was coming out of Zambia. I think that's where Nick's African partners seemed to be from. But of course, you know gem dealers, everything is smoke and mirrors.

 

[psproot12]

Hi, I made the Gem Hunt series. You'll see my name in the credits as executive producer. I am happy to give honest answers to any questions about the show. In reference to the discussion above:

- The gem hunters used their money to buy their own stones.
- The production didn't fund any stone buying.
- We did fund a certain amount of the expenses to get to the location and travel around.
- The show was not scripted, though we did need certain things to be said and done in certain ways at certain times.
- So I guess we could say the dialogue and action was coached and crafted but not pre-planned.
- The show is largely authentic.
- We did reuse the 'pack-shots' of some stones - the pretty close-ups. Because the proper stones may not have been available to us at the end of the shoot when we filmed those close-ups. They may have been already shipped, flipped or cut.
- The final prices were not easy to determine due to various factors such as overhead and stones being sold as part of larger packages, but we did our best. They also fail to recognize the number of stones not necessarily in the show that turned out to be bad deals.

As I said, I'm happy to answer questions about Gem Hunt.

Holy cow, this is amazing!! The executive producer of a Travel Channel show is a PSer. WOW!! You cannot believe how starstruck I am that you commented on my topic!! I'm the biggest Gem Hunt fan, it's my favorite non scripted show of all time!!

1. In the Madagascar episode, Ron talked about how he used to do business in Madagascar. What did he mean?
2. Is there ANY hope for a season 2??

I am extremely honored to be talking to you!!

 

[GemAgents1]

Aquamarine, for the most part, used to come in a smaller color range than it does today. Years ago they found the Santa Maria material in Brazil, which has a more steel color to it, and later the double blue in Zambia and Madagascar. Double blue just means more intense or deep blue than typical aqua.

Gen hunt is great and I hope you guys have a second season. If you don't mind me asking.. Did Ron not buy any emeralds at all in Zambia? (besides the small parcel they managed to get in the end) I would have thought that grizzly would sell him some rough, if not the local market. There seemed to have been no shortage of rough at the February auction.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi Craig,

I have wondered why Bernie and Ron never discuss treatment in stones. They buy them and cut them without checking to see if they are treated or not. It does matter as to final value, and is a very important part of the gem business.

I have enjoyed the locales you choose to film in and only have one comment on going to the Columbian mines, which was why didn't they take the helicopter they were offered. Any reading I have done says that the roads to the Columbian mines are very dangerous. Seemed a bit reckless to me.

I hope you make more episodes, as I enjoy them, flaws and all. Good luck to you, and thanks, as I am a fan.


Annette

 

[CraigMeade]

"Holy cow, this is amazing!! The executive producer of a Travel Channel show is a PSer. WOW!! You cannot believe how starstruck I am that you commented on my topic!! I'm the biggest Gem Hunt fan, it's my favorite non scripted show of all time!!

1. In the Madagascar episode, Ron talked about how he used to do business in Madagascar. What did he mean?
2. Is there ANY hope for a season 2??

I am extremely honored to be talking to you!!"

Thank you! I'm glad you liked the show.

Ron part owns a sapphire mine south of Ilakaka in Madagascar.

And no, there's no hope of a season two I'm afraid. And it will be a couple years before I am able to pitch Ron et al to another network.

Does anybody here know somebody that would be great on TV?

 

[CraigMeade]

Hi Craig,

I have wondered why Bernie and Ron never discuss treatment in stones. They buy them and cut them without checking to see if they are treated or not. It does matter as to final value, and is a very important part of the gem business.

I have enjoyed the locales you choose to film in and only have one comment on going to the Columbian mines, which was why didn't they take the helicopter they were offered. Any reading I have done says that the roads to the Columbian mines are very dangerous. Seemed a bit reckless to me.

I hope you make more episodes, as I enjoy them, flaws and all. Good luck to you, and thanks, as I am a fan.


Annette

Hi Annette, we showed zircon being heat treated in Ratanakiri Cambodia. We filmed it a few other times but it didn't make the show. Ron and the team did talk about it from time to time, but not often really, though I'm sure the calculation was going through their heads as they appraised each stone.

The roads going to Muzo are dangerous, and I can't say why Ron didn't elect to use the chopper. Perhaps he didn't want to get that far into bed with the Don. Victor Caranza's guys followed the team throughout the trip and checked up on them making sure 1) we weren't being naughty and 2) making sure we were safe.

 

[CraigMeade]

Aquamarine, for the most part, used to come in a smaller color range than it does today. Years ago they found the Santa Maria material in Brazil, which has a more steel color to it, and later the double blue in Zambia and Madagascar. Double blue just means more intense or deep blue than typical aqua.

Gen hunt is great and I hope you guys have a second season. If you don't mind me asking.. Did Ron not buy any emeralds at all in Zambia? (besides the small parcel they managed to get in the end) I would have thought that grizzly would sell him some rough, if not the local market. There seemed to have been no shortage of rough at the February auction.

It does come from Zambia!? I knew it!

I can't say why Ron didn't buy more emerald in Zambia. I don't think there was ever a shortage of rough, but Ron likes the personal touch so auctions aren't for him. He wants to deal with a person face to face and hopefully that person is very close to the mines. The more hands the material has travelled through, and the more the other guy is a businessman as compared to a lover of stones, the less Ron wants to know them. So in Zambia when we were there, the kind of guys we would like to deal with didn't have much emerald to speak of.

 

[CraigMeade]

To everybody here...

I would love to make more TV about the gem world. I am talking to a couple people we met at Tucson a couple months ago, but if anybody here knows a gem person that would make great TV, I would very much like to be put in touch with them.

cmeade(at)nhnz.tv

 

[OreoRosies86]

To everybody here...

I would love to make more TV about the gem world. I am talking to a couple people we met at Tucson a couple months ago, but if anybody here knows a gem person that would make great TV, I would very much like to be put in touch with them.

cmeade(at)nhnz.tv

I don't know if you can answer this, but why no season 2? Poor ratings? Too expensive to film?

 

[CraigMeade]

To everybody here...

I would love to make more TV about the gem world. I am talking to a couple people we met at Tucson a couple months ago, but if anybody here knows a gem person that would make great TV, I would very much like to be put in touch with them.

cmeade(at)nhnz.tv

I don't know if you can answer this, but why no season 2? Poor ratings? Too expensive to film?

Hmm, I'm not sure what I am able to say here. The show rated well enough I think. But not enough to really excite the channel. It was stable but not really catching on fire, if that makes any sense. Also a channel's direction will change and I think over the two years it took us to make the shows, the channel's interests moved on.

 

[psproot12]

To everybody here...

I would love to make more TV about the gem world. I am talking to a couple people we met at Tucson a couple months ago, but if anybody here knows a gem person that would make great TV, I would very much like to be put in touch with them.

cmeade(at)nhnz.tv

I don't know if you can answer this, but why no season 2? Poor ratings? Too expensive to film?

Hmm, I'm not sure what I am able to say here. The show rated well enough I think. But not enough to really excite the channel. It was stable but not really catching on fire, if that makes any sense. Also a channel's direction will change and I think over the two years it took us to make the shows, the channel's interests moved on.

So, Craig what are you professionally? Are you in the gem business or is it just a hobby? What other projects are you working on?

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,


There is one person I can think of, and she knows Bernie. My problem is I can't remember her name, but she travels to these places to buy rough and I think does the cutting as well. She lives in Canada, has a nice appearance(from photos on another website) and is well liked.

She and her husband were in computers before and retired(they are youngish) and choose gems as a second career.

Her name is Lisa Elser. Her website is www.lisaelser.com

I'd like to see more shows on gems.

Annette

 

[gemandjewelrylover]

I'd like to see more shows on gems too! I do enjoy Gem Hunt and am sad there won't be a season 2. So I'll be looking forward to more shows like it.

 

[T L]

I'd like to see more shows on gems too! I do enjoy Gem Hunt and am sad there won't be a season 2. So I'll be looking forward to more shows like it.

I just don't get how they struggle to find a gem throughout the whole show, especially Ron, and he ends up with some mediocre piece. For example, in the aqua show, he went all over the place to find a good piece of aqua, and in the end, he ended up with some really awful pale thing that didn't even have the color of aqua (it was silvery greyish white if I remember correctly).

That's why I always thought it was staged because the gems he usually ends up with are the kind you can find on ebay from the inexpensive Thai dealers. Why bother traveling half across the world for that kind of material? I mean bags of black spinel too?

I was always hoping he would end up with some magnificent pieces for all that work/travel/danger, and he never really did. I guess he did end up on one show with a nice emerald, but that was about it.

In future, for these shows, I wish they wouldn't underestimate the intelligence of the audience, because some of us really know what we're talking about, and I wish they would discuss treatment too. I know its not a consumer show, but these show do affect people looking to buy.

That being said, I did enjoy "Gem Hunt" way more than "Game of Stones." I couldn't even watch "Game of Stones" as it annoyed me to no end.

 

[psproot12]

TL, perhaps you're forgetting those stunning rubies? The gigantic rough sapphire (55 cts I think) was nothing to scoff at either. Also, there are stones on ebay for millions!

 

[minousbijoux]

I'd like to see more shows on gems too! I do enjoy Gem Hunt and am sad there won't be a season 2. So I'll be looking forward to more shows like it.

I just don't get how they struggle to find a gem throughout the whole show, especially Ron, and he ends up with some mediocre piece. For example, in the aqua show, he went all over the place to find a good piece of aqua, and in the end, he ended up with some really awful pale thing that didn't even have the color of aqua (it was silvery greyish white if I remember correctly).

That's why I always thought it was staged because the gems he usually ends up with are the kind you can find on ebay from the inexpensive Thai dealers. Why bother traveling half across the world for that kind of material? I mean bags of black spinel too?

I was always hoping he would end up with some magnificent pieces for all that work/travel/danger, and he never really did. I guess he did end up on one show with a nice emerald, but that was about it.

In future, for these shows, I wish they wouldn't underestimate the intelligence of the audience, because some of us really know what we're talking about, and I wish they would discuss treatment too. I know its not a consumer show, but these show do affect people looking to buy.

That being said, I did enjoy "Gem Hunt" way more than "Game of Stones." I couldn't even watch "Game of Stones" as it annoyed me to no end.

Bingo! I agree completely. At least I could watch Gem Hunt; I turned on Game of Stones and could not bring myself to watch that ludicrous, unrealistic and self-aggrandizing show - it was like watch a skit from a comedy bit.

 

[TristanC]

I caught quite a few episodes of gem hunt.

Love the stones and the locations. Am I the only one that thinks Ron is needlessly abrasive and not a great ambassador for America?

He also throws around these tiny piddly sums and speaks as though he is the only money to ever grace the mining town. That is the only portion of the show I find excessively tiresome.

 

[T L]

TL, perhaps you're forgetting those stunning rubies? The gigantic rough sapphire (55 cts I think) was nothing to scoff at either. Also, there are stones on ebay for millions!

I don't remember the sapphire.

I do remember the rubies, but since they never discussed treatment and diffused stones are all over those marketplaces, I just rolled my eyes.

 

[psproot12]

Ron is Canadian! I don't really feel that way because Ron often is the first Westerner to come to some of the mines for gems, few people are willing to risk it and that's why middlemen stand to make so much money. It's rare that local dealers pay a fraction of what Ron is willing to pay.

 

[psproot12]

The sapphire was stunning, and as Craig mentioned Ron and Bernie did talk about treatments but travel channel chose to cut it out of the show. The Thailand episode had stunning jade and rubies but to each their own. I found most of the gems quite stellar.

 

[OreoRosies86]

Ron is Canadian! I don't really feel that way because Ron often is the first Westerner to come to some of the mines for gems, few people are willing to risk it and that's why middlemen stand to make so much money. It's rare that local dealers pay a fraction of what Ron is willing to pay.

I ask this question without snark, but are you a plant? Do you know Ron personally, or are you a tradesperson? I only ask because you come across as more than a "fan"... Like, how would you know the local market or are you just assuming based on what Gem Hunt said?

 

[T L]

The sapphire was stunning, and as Craig mentioned Ron and Bernie did talk about treatments but travel channel chose to cut it out of the show. The Thailand episode had stunning jade and rubies but to each their own. I found most of the gems quite stellar.

I guess I'm a bit more cynical than you. I expect everything to be treated to the nines, especially corundum, so I didn't take those stones very seriously. Jade is usually dyed too. It perturbed me that they didn't discuss treatment, and I'm a bit miffed those scenes were cut out. I am glad they were discussed though.

 

[minousbijoux]

Am I the only one that thinks Ron is needlessly abrasive and not a great ambassador for America?

He also throws around these tiny piddly sums and speaks as though he is the only money to ever grace the mining town. That is the only portion of the show I find excessively tiresome.

Well said, Tristan, exactly right. Ron is full of it, full of himself, and makes these sweeping generalizations about the places and the people that are cringeworthy. His "great negotiating abilities" are about as subtle as his ahem, cravats (I'm sure he wouldn't call them neck scarves, lol)

Ron is Canadian! I don't really feel that way because Ron often is the first Westerner to come to some of the mines for gems, few people are willing to risk it and that's why middlemen stand to make so much money. It's rare that local dealers pay a fraction of what Ron is willing to pay.

I ask this question without snark, but are you a plant? Do you know Ron personally, or are you a tradesperson? I only ask because you come across as more than a "fan"... Like, how would you know the local market or are you just assuming based on what Gem Hunt said?

Really good question Elliot, but I'm hoping that it is only because he is just younger, less cynnical and perhaps more naive than most of us here...