Buying sapphires online?

[newgembuyer]

I was wondering about the pros and cons about buying a sapphire online. Is this a desirable route to go, or generally too risky? Several sites seem to have much lower prices on a loose gems than my local jeweler, but I wonder if that is because they are predominantly selling lesser quality stones.

One site seemed particularly interesting to me, because the appraisal prices they cite far exceed their asking prices. When I asked the jeweler running the site how this is the case, he said "The low prices are because we are wholesalers that are selling to dealers, then the dealers sell to the jewelry store and THEN the jewelry store makes a jewel out of it and triples the price, and sells to the end customer." I don''t see how this logic plays out though because my local jeweler buys all of his stones directly from manufacturers on his visits to Thailand. What might account for this discrepancy?

The main site I looked at was: http://www.twin-diamonds.com/ by the brothers Avi and Peled Ben-Yair. Is anyone familiar with these jewelers? Are they reputable?
This site is run out of Israel. Does anyone see pros and cons from buying gems online from sellers overseas, particularly Israel?

I would also love to hear of other websites that people know to be very good or are well-respected. I am not at all sold on buying from a particular site.

 

[cflutist]

Check out Palagems.com

They have some beautiful colored stones are are well respected in the industry.

 

[chrono]

Here are a few recommended vendors for coloured stones which include sapphires.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-gemstone-links-add-your-favorites-please.11093/

The quality is quite good and they are honest and reputable. Or you can buy from Wink of Winkjones who has a presence here on PS. I am in the process of buying a pair of matching blue sapphires from him myself.

 

[chrono]

My link didn't work for me. Try typing this in:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-gemstone-links-add-your-favorites-please.11093/

I'm new to using all the bells and whistles of this forum. I hope someone can point out what I did wrong in the global link. I clicked the green globe with the chain then entered the URL. Technically, it should work but when I clicked on the link in my own post, I got an error.

 

[Cave Keeper]

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On 7/23/2004 8:25:37 AM chrono wrote:

My link didn't work for me. Try typing this in:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-gemstone-links-add-your-favorites-please.11093/

I'm new to using all the bells and whistles of this forum. I hope someone can point out what I did wrong in the global link.
----------------

The actual link repeats 'http://' twice while the viewer sees only the 'http://' written only once on his screen. So when he clicks on the link, it didn't work. To see this is so, just move your mouse cursor over the link (without clicking on it), then look at the bottom bar of your web browser and you'll see the text for the actual link. You'll see the 'http://' repeated twice.

 

[chrono]

Thanks Cave Keeper. I've fixed it. I'm now officially semi forum literate!

 

[WinkHPD]

Yes you are! And I thank you for the nice words. You are going to be very pleased when you see the deep rich color of your sapphires!

Wink