Game of Stones on Discovery Channel

[indigoblue]

Did anyone watch it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JUhfAaY3kU

I guess it's the Discovery Channel's answer to Gem Hunt. I was getting tired of the hyperactive curly headed guy on that show. This one is similar but has more testosterone. It was interesting but obviously contrived. Even I recognized the minefield before they did.

 

[T L]

Did anyone watch it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JUhfAaY3kU

I guess it's the Discovery Channel's answer to Gem Hunt. I was getting tired of the hyperactive curly headed guy on that show. This one is similar but has more testosterone. It was interesting but obviously contrived. Even I recognized the minefield before they did.

I heard about it, but I so lost my enthusiasm because of "Gem Hunt," that I forgot to record this one on my DVR.

How was it in comparison to "Gem Hunt?" Better, worse, the same?

 

[indigoblue]

Right now I like it better, but that's mainly because I am tired of that obnoxious guy on Gem Hunt and his purse-making sidekick. The main guy on Game of Stones says that he grew up on the streets in Thailand and speaks the language. He also claims to know the secret recipe for heating stones and wouldn't let the cameras film him doing it. Here's a story about the show:

No, it’s not “Game of Thrones.” It’s the new discovery series “Game of Stones,” which debuts Friday night, and focuses on the adventures of America’s most extreme gem hunter Don Kogen – the CEO of Gem Guys, Inc.

Kogen routinely risks his life in his travels to all corners of the earth to locate rare and valuable gems.

The Texas-native first got into gem hunting when he left America at 14 years old to travel to Thailand with his father. After the two had a falling out, he soon found himself left to his own survival devices and started selling stones on the streets of a Thai gem trading town.

The rest is history.

“I am lucky I found my passion so early. My ignorance at that time was bliss. I didn’t have a father figure and one of the top gem heaters in Thailand didn’t have any children and wanted someone to teach so he took me under his wing,” Kogen told FOX411. “I just wanted to know more and more about gems… The story behind them, how you can turn something not that beautiful in its natural form to this spectacular, shining thing.”

Each episode of “Game of Stones” features Kogen and his team in a variety of countries – from Thailand and Turkey to India, Tanzania and Brazil – knuckle-deep and fighting fierce competition to be the first to collect the rare stones. But it’s not just a competition to get to the goods. Sometimes, it’s also a fight to stay alive and safe. Over the past 25 years in the industry, Kogen has had his share of near-death experiences.

“I go with the intent to get that stone, and I go deep. So I do come across not the friendliest of people. You have to have a feel for it, to know the gem you want is there,” he said. “I carry a lot of cash with me. There is no ATM in these places. You trade right then and there and I’ve been in the wrong places at the wrong time.”

Take Nigeria in 2004 when their vehicle came to a road block. With AK-47s pointed at them from all directions, they were asked who they supported in the government. But it seems the hairy adventures are worth the reward.

“I wasn’t made [for] the office. For me, gems were about survival and I have had a lot of down moments. But I stuck to it. I’m a driven individual,” Kogen added. “Sometimes the journey is complicated, but when you get those stones, everything changes. All the pain and suffering goes away. And when they are cut, that is the moment.”

“Game of Stones” premieres on Discovery February 28 at 10PM

 

[FrekeChild]

Well, it was full of BE treated rubies. I laughed a lot throughout.

 

[smitcompton]

Hey All,

I sort of saw the show while I was taping it without the sound on. I thought the guys looked like mercenaries, eating bugs and running into the jungle after what looked like a buy of rough rubies.

Sat morning I told my son I wasn't much intered in watching it, even after i had recorded it, because of what I saw thye night before.
Of course, since I made it sound like they were mercenariesw, my son wanted to watch it. So I tagged along. He liked it alot. I did agree it was more exciting than the other show, but i did have a few laughs when he went in secret to heat treat the rubies. But, it is true that the burners do keep their recipies secret.

So who pays 150.000 in cash and carries it through the jungle. Sounded crazy to me. I perfer the other guys just getting some currency changed in the alleys.

All in all, i enjoy both shows, sometimes I try to show off to my son on what I know, and sometimes I make fun of them. But, as the saying goes, "They are laughing all the way to the bank". Notie, i read, their website is just now going up. If you watvh these reality shops, you realize the cast is getting paid, and soon they either open up a shop, or expand what they have. Nice gig if you can get it.


Annette

JTV used to sell sunset rubies. We probably can expect a new batch soon.

 

[chrono]

They surely made diffused sapphires appear very rare, exotic and expensive.