Have you ever bought from this seller??

[freddy]

Just wondering if anyone has ever purchased anything from the ebay seller gem-earth, and if so what was there experience etc?

Just wondering as I am thinking of buying a sapphire from them, however just the thought of purchasing on ebay is daunting.

Thanks

 

[chictomato]

Date: 6/27/2010 10:00:34 PM
Author:freddy
Just wondering if anyone has ever purchased anything from the ebay seller gem-earth, and if so what was there experience etc?


Just wondering as I am thinking of buying a sapphire from them, however just the thought of purchasing on ebay is daunting.


Thanks

Hi freedy! I had purchased from them before. Once. It was a purple spinel. The color was very different in real life, much more gray. It does not show any gray in the vendor''s photo though. I But I appreciate their fast response and speedy refund. Some of their stones come with a SLP cert, here is a recent thread on it if you wanna know more! SLP gem lab

 

[Upgradable]

My bad. I misread the store name. I purchased from gem-mine. Sorry!

 

[T L]

I know people that have purchased from them in the past and have been happy, but I find some of their listings to be quite shady. For example, they use certs for expensive gems, but those certs don't give full treatment levels, and I feel they are high priced for some gems. I have never heard of some of the labs they use as well. I also once saw them selling a rare violet tourmaline, and the listing came out in a bidding war with someone winning the gem for over $2K. It was later relisted as a violet spinel (much less rare than a violet tourmaline). I don't trust them.

Oh yes, and almost all their spessartites also come from Namibia. Puhlease!!? That mine dried out long ago, and even if they were from Namibia, they would be much more included. Namibia is supposed to have had the finest spessartites, but almost all were included.

 

[niceguyeddie]

Re:

I know people that have purchased from them in the past and have been happy, but I find some of their listings to be quite shady.  For example, they use certs for expensive gems, but those certs don't give full treatment levels, and I feel they are high priced for some gems.  I have never heard of some of the labs they use as well.  I also once saw them selling a rare violet tourmaline, and the listing came out in a bidding war with someone winning the gem for over $2K.  It was later relisted as a violet spinel (much less rare than a violet tourmaline).  I don't trust them. 

Oh yes, and almost all their spessartites also come from Namibia.  Puhlease!!?  That mine dried out long ago, and even if they were from Namibia, they would be much more included.  Namibia is supposed to have had the finest spessartites, but almost all were included. 

I see you have posted several comments regarding ebay seller Gem-Earth in several posts, 99% of them negative in tone. Have you actually purchased anything from them? If so, can you en-lighten us with your bad experience(s). I have purchased many beautiful pieces from them and all have been as described and pictured. I find the lady you have made reference to in many of your comments to be nothing short of professional and polite. If you know and have proof that for example the Pailin sapphires she was selling were indeed diffused please do tell, if not you should maybe choose your words more accordingly. It is people like yourself that cause more harm than good to people trying to ply an honest trade, with all your speculations. The Violet tourmaline may have perhaps been a genuine mistake on Gem-Earths part???? If they were dishonest then why would they relist it as a Spinel knowing that several regular buyers to their site would notice that it was the same gem that they were as you put it "trying to pass off" as a tourmaline previously???? I happen to know for a fact that the BGL up until very recently never had a LIBS therefore making it impossible for them to determine for sure whether or not a sapphire had been heated with beryllium, they state that further testing is required on the certificates as a disclaimer for their company, standard procedure. More speculation on your behalf about their Spessartites not being Namibian, have you actually purchased one and had it checked for origin???? It seems you have a vendetta against Gem Earth for reasons known only to you, i would like for you to en-lighten me and all the other user on this site why you choose to persecute Gem-Earth at every opportunity. When i joined this site i was asked to check boxes with terms and conditions, one stating that there should be no personal attacks towards people, it sure seems to me like your are breaking the rules Tourmaline Lover!!!! A very happy long standing Gem-Earth customer.

 

[T L]

Re: Re:

I know people that have purchased from them in the past and have been happy, but I find some of their listings to be quite shady.  For example, they use certs for expensive gems, but those certs don't give full treatment levels, and I feel they are high priced for some gems.  I have never heard of some of the labs they use as well.  I also once saw them selling a rare violet tourmaline, and the listing came out in a bidding war with someone winning the gem for over $2K.  It was later relisted as a violet spinel (much less rare than a violet tourmaline).  I don't trust them. 

Oh yes, and almost all their spessartites also come from Namibia.  Puhlease!!?  That mine dried out long ago, and even if they were from Namibia, they would be much more included.  Namibia is supposed to have had the finest spessartites, but almost all were included. 

I see you have posted several comments regarding ebay seller Gem-Earth in several posts, 99% of them negative in tone. Have you actually purchased anything from them? If so, can you en-lighten us with your bad experience(s). I have purchased many beautiful pieces from them and all have been as described and pictured. I find the lady you have made reference to in many of your comments to be nothing short of professional and polite. If you know and have proof that for example the Pailin sapphires she was selling were indeed diffused please do tell, if not you should maybe choose your words more accordingly. It is people like yourself that cause more harm than good to people trying to ply an honest trade, with all your speculations. The Violet tourmaline may have perhaps been a genuine mistake on Gem-Earths part???? If they were dishonest then why would they relist it as a Spinel knowing that several regular buyers to their site would notice that it was the same gem that they were as you put it "trying to pass off" as a tourmaline previously???? I happen to know for a fact that the BGL up until very recently never had a LIBS therefore making it impossible for them to determine for sure whether or not a sapphire had been heated with beryllium, they state that further testing is required on the certificates as a disclaimer for their company, standard procedure. More speculation on your behalf about their Spessartites not being Namibian, have you actually purchased one and had it checked for origin???? It seems you have a vendetta against Gem Earth for reasons known only to you, i would like for you to en-lighten me and all the other user on this site why you choose to persecute Gem-Earth at every opportunity. When i joined this site i was asked to check boxes with terms and conditions, one stating that there should be no personal attacks towards people, it sure seems to me like your are breaking the rules Tourmaline Lover!!!! A very happy long standing Gem-Earth customer.

When shopping on ebay, the first place I look at is toolhaus.org. These are very negative comments here, some accusing gem-earth of selling fake stones. Her comments toward the people leaving negative feedback is definitely not what I would call polite either.
http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=gem-earth&Dirn=Received+by&ref=home

Secondly, yes, they did sell a spinel which was formerly a tourmaline. Highly suspect if you ask me. I actually posted a thread about it a while ago on Pricescope. It makes me suspect because I can't trust that I'm getting the right species of stone from this seller. That's not a very good mistake to make when you're in the gem trade. It could have been an honest mistake, but it gives me little confidence.

Thirdly, there is no way that a spessartite can come from Namibia perfectly clean, so orange, and large. The nature of these gems, before the mine dried out many years ago, were small and included. Gemologists will agree with that summation. Ask around for yourself. I've been collecting spessartites for a long time. If a large, vivid orange, clean spessartite came out of Namibia, I don't think someone would put it on auction for 99 cents, and so many of them. I highly suspect the stones are Nigerian due to the color and the clarity, unless Gem-Earth holds the world's monopoly on very clean, saturated and sizable Namibian mandarin spessartites. See the comments about clarity in Namibian spessartites in this link. I have also had several conversations with gemologists on this subject.
http://www.palagems.com/spessartite_buyers_guide.htm

Fourthly, this is a consumer forum and we are allowed to express opinions, even if we have not purchased from the seller. That is very different from a personal attack which means I'm verbally attacking another member of this forum just to get my anger and frustration out. Gem-Earth isn't even a member of this forum, and as a vendor, they are under the scrutiny of the consumers that post here. Opinions of their practices are not personal attacks. I have been ebaying for 15 years or so, and have come across almost every gem deception there is, and I'm sorry, but I find some of Gem-Earth's practices to be deceptive. For example, they provide lab reports on expensive sapphires with no indication of testing for diffusion. I'm sorry, but if they're selling a sapphire for a great deal of money, send it to a lab with an LIBS. Sending it to a lab without an LIBS or LA-ICP-MS is not a very good excuse, and does not make me want to buy the said gem, or give me confidence it's not diffused. I believe this gives the customer false security. That is not to say that no one has never had a good experience with Gem-Earth, but I choose not to buy from sellers who use deceptive practices.

Are you affiliated with Gem-Earth somehow? You seem rather upset. If you're happy with Gem-Earth, it still does not erase some of the deceptions I noted above, and some suspect details. I believe someone recently posted a lab report from Gem-Earth here and no one could even verify the lab existed, including someone who is from Thailand and deals in colored gems over there.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/slp-gem-lab.143681/

Do you know anything about SLP gem lab? Does it exist? I see it's being used for many stones listed under Gem-Earth.

I do not have a vendetta against Gem-Earth, but if they did rectify some of these practices, it would make me very happy.

 

[niceguyeddie]

Re: Re:

I know people that have purchased from them in the past and have been happy, but I find some of their listings to be quite shady.  For example, they use certs for expensive gems, but those certs don't give full treatment levels, and I feel they are high priced for some gems.  I have never heard of some of the labs they use as well.  I also once saw them selling a rare violet tourmaline, and the listing came out in a bidding war with someone winning the gem for over $2K.  It was later relisted as a violet spinel (much less rare than a violet tourmaline).  I don't trust them. 

Oh yes, and almost all their spessartites also come from Namibia.  Puhlease!!?  That mine dried out long ago, and even if they were from Namibia, they would be much more included.  Namibia is supposed to have had the finest spessartites, but almost all were included. 

I see you have posted several comments regarding ebay seller Gem-Earth in several posts, 99% of them negative in tone. Have you actually purchased anything from them? If so, can you en-lighten us with your bad experience(s). I have purchased many beautiful pieces from them and all have been as described and pictured. I find the lady you have made reference to in many of your comments to be nothing short of professional and polite. If you know and have proof that for example the Pailin sapphires she was selling were indeed diffused please do tell, if not you should maybe choose your words more accordingly. It is people like yourself that cause more harm than good to people trying to ply an honest trade, with all your speculations. The Violet tourmaline may have perhaps been a genuine mistake on Gem-Earths part???? If they were dishonest then why would they relist it as a Spinel knowing that several regular buyers to their site would notice that it was the same gem that they were as you put it "trying to pass off" as a tourmaline previously???? I happen to know for a fact that the BGL up until very recently never had a LIBS therefore making it impossible for them to determine for sure whether or not a sapphire had been heated with beryllium, they state that further testing is required on the certificates as a disclaimer for their company, standard procedure. More speculation on your behalf about their Spessartites not being Namibian, have you actually purchased one and had it checked for origin???? It seems you have a vendetta against Gem Earth for reasons known only to you, i would like for you to en-lighten me and all the other user on this site why you choose to persecute Gem-Earth at every opportunity. When i joined this site i was asked to check boxes with terms and conditions, one stating that there should be no personal attacks towards people, it sure seems to me like your are breaking the rules Tourmaline Lover!!!! A very happy long standing Gem-Earth customer.

When shopping on ebay, the first place I look at is toolhaus.org. These are very negative comments here, some accusing gem-earth of selling fake stones. Her comments toward the people leaving negative feedback is definitely not what I would call polite either.
http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=gem-earth&Dirn=Received+by&ref=home

Secondly, yes, they did sell a spinel which was formerly a tourmaline. Highly suspect if you ask me. I actually posted a thread about it a while ago on Pricescope. It makes me suspect because I can't trust that I'm getting the right species of stone from this seller. That's not a very good mistake to make when you're in the gem trade. It could have been an honest mistake, but it gives me little confidence.

Thirdly, there is no way that a spessartite can come from Namibia perfectly clean, so orange, and large. The nature of these gems, before the mine dried out many years ago, were small and included. Gemologists will agree with that summation. Ask around for yourself. I've been collecting spessartites for a long time. If a large, vivid orange, clean spessartite came out of Namibia, I don't think someone would put it on auction for 99 cents, and so many of them. I highly suspect the stones are Nigerian due to the color and the clarity, unless Gem-Earth holds the world's monopoly on very clean, saturated and sizable Namibian mandarin spessartites. See the comments about clarity in Namibian spessartites in this link. I have also had several conversations with gemologists on this subject.
http://www.palagems.com/spessartite_buyers_guide.htm

Fourthly, this is a consumer forum and we are allowed to express opinions, even if we have not purchased from the seller. That is very different from a personal attack which means I'm verbally attacking another member of this forum just to get my anger and frustration out. Gem-Earth isn't even a member of this forum, and as a vendor, they are under the scrutiny of the consumers that post here. Opinions of their practices are not personal attacks. I have been ebaying for 15 years or so, and have come across almost every gem deception there is, and I'm sorry, but I find some of Gem-Earth's practices to be deceptive. For example, they provide lab reports on expensive sapphires with no indication of testing for diffusion. I'm sorry, but if they're selling a sapphire for a great deal of money, send it to a lab with an LIBS. Sending it to a lab without an LIBS or LA-ICP-MS is not a very good excuse, and does not make me want to buy the said gem, or give me confidence it's not diffused. I believe this gives the customer false security. That is not to say that no one has never had a good experience with Gem-Earth, but I choose not to buy from sellers who use deceptive practices.

Are you affiliated with Gem-Earth somehow? You seem rather upset. If you're happy with Gem-Earth, it still does not erase some of the deceptions I noted above, and some suspect details. I believe someone recently posted a lab report from Gem-Earth here and no one could even verify the lab existed, including someone who is from Thailand and deals in colored gems over there.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/slp-gem-lab.143681/

Do you know anything about SLP gem lab? Does it exist? I see it's being used for many stones listed under Gem-Earth.

I do not have a vendetta against Gem-Earth, but if they did rectify some of these practices, it would make me very happy.

You first state that there have been some buyers (plural) leaving feedback for Gem Earth selling fake stones, i only see one from over 2 years ago for a listing which was for a CERTIFIED gemstone, you nor i no anything about the specifics of the negative feedback. The other NEUTRAL feedbacks are merely for discrepency of color. If a person has left a negative feedback stating a certified gem is synthetic i think Gem Earth has everyright to be less than polite under those circumstances in their reply to the comments left, taking into account that the gem was indeed natural and certified as so.

To answer your second paragraph, maybe only you have never made a genuine mistake and due to this fact anyone that does arouses suspicion in your mind, this is only one incident out of thousands of positive sales, i'll let you work out the percentages TL......

I too have been in the industry for many years and can accept your valid point regards Spessartites but it does not mean you are correct and it certainly does not give you the right to out right state that they are not Namibian gems, not all Namibian gems were heavily included and whatever was mined has to still be out there somewhere so whats to say that Gem Earth could not of purchased a good sized parcel of gems from perhaps a collector or dealer some time ago? Or even that there are still smaller gems circulating now, they could of been purchased anywhere. You quote links continuously in your postings, they are guidlines and opinions not cast iron.

Gem Earth are not obliged to have to prove to you or anybody else that posts on here that their sapphires are anything other than as stated in their listings, if a buyer asks once they have purchased for a gem to be tested eslewhere then that is for the trading partners to take care of. But for you to state you SUSPECT Gem Earths sapphires to be diffused simply because they have listed them either without a certificate or with a certificate that states further analysis is required is ridiculous, it is up to Gem Earth how they run their business and if they do not feel the need nor wish to supply a certificate that states no diffusion etc etc.....so what, that does not give you the right to spread your venom on here. Maybe you should turn your attentions to the thousands of sellers that are blatantly listing 5-10ct sapphires as natural that are obviously blatant synthetics selling for $10.00, now thats what i would call suspicous!

I see you made a reference to the 1.70ct Emerald they have listed and another comment about the lab used, i know this lab exists in the JTC tower in Silom Bangkok which is also where the AIGS and GRS are both located, i have used the Hallmark lab myself and found them to be very accurate and helpful. The gemologist there has all of his diplomas on view for everybody using the lab to see. I travel to and from Thailand at least 5 times a year on business in the gemstone industry and yes the SLP lab does also exist in Chanthaburi, it is in the gem town there. Because the members of this site have never been to Chanthaburi in person and therefore cannot verify the lab exsists does not mean it does not. So to taint sellers such as Gem Earth and Gem Cove as suspicous because they list gems with lab reports from the SLP lab again is ridiculous. Thailand is not the U.S etc...and things operate very different there, maybe if you understood how the industry works for the Thais and people that take the time to visit there you could appreciate it more rather than posting unfounded borderline slanderous comments on forums such as this. You stated in one of your posts that you find it hard to believe that some seasoned gemstone dealers buy from Gem Earth, why???? Obviously that is reassuring, well to an un-paranoid mind it is TL.

I have no business interests involing Gem Earth but have dealt with them on numerous occasions and found them to be nothing short of brilliant, very forthcoming and indeed a lot better than many sellers on ebay and elsewhere in the industry. As you pointed out you are entitled to your opinion and therefore so am i, and i just thought i would give you and the rest of the doubters on here something to think about rather than sitting back in your chairs speculating. Everytime someone has started a topic on here about Gem Earth all you have done is rubbish their name and this is from someone that has never even had any business dealings with them, i just find it incredible, maybe someone needs to burst your ignorant/arrogant bubble TL. You seem to closely scrutinise Gem Earths ebay site so take a look at their return policy. Buy one of their gems, get it tested, if it is not as described send it back to them and then your will have a VALID reason to spread your nonsence in these forums.

 

[Arcadian]

sorry eddie, but you're much more suspect that TL is.

You sound like you got issues.

-A

 

[m00sie]

I'm inclined to agree with Arc...

I am awaiting several stones from gem_earth. Should hopefully receive them in a few days.

Once I receive them, I will post my thoughts and my pics along with the seller pics.

I have noticed they coordinate the backgrounds on all their pics to match the colour of the stone. I really hope the colours aren't too different IRL.

 

[Arcadian]

M00sie, I'll be very interested in seeing what you think of your purchases. I had them on my list for a while but some of their auctions to me looked suspect. I'm more than happy to be proven wrong if they are what they are, but at this point I'm going off of instinct.

-A

 

[niceguyeddie]

Sorry guys, but i do feel strongly about the subject, the issues i have is some people thinking they are the Judge, Jury and Executioner. Seeing how TL hows never even purchased from the company i find the remarks out of order. I have however dealt with Gem Earth many many times and found the company to be completely accurate with gem desriptions and most of all honest which is what seems to be in question in most of TL posts. I suppose seeing as i am new to here my views count for nothing

 

[JewelFreak]

Sorry guys, but i do feel strongly about the subject, the issues i have is some people thinking they are the Judge, Jury and Executioner. Seeing how TL hows never even purchased from the company i find the remarks out of order. I have however dealt with Gem Earth many many times and found the company to be completely accurate with gem desriptions and most of all honest which is what seems to be in question in most of TL posts. I suppose seeing as i am new to here my views count for nothing

Eddie, whew, you do come on awfully strongly. This forum is a wonderful resource where experiences & views can be exchanged -- and where members ask for them. Personally, I think TL stated good reasons for caution; you recounted your positive experiences. Readers can make up their own minds. Now chill.

--- Laurie

 

[Arcadian]

Sorry guys, but i do feel strongly about the subject, the issues i have is some people thinking they are the Judge, Jury and Executioner. Seeing how TL hows never even purchased from the company i find the remarks out of order. I have however dealt with Gem Earth many many times and found the company to be completely accurate with gem desriptions and most of all honest which is what seems to be in question in most of TL posts. I suppose seeing as i am new to here my views count for nothing

Every post counts, but your font was ugly and uncalled for. Everybody has their e-frustrations, but never take it where you took it because that wasn't cute.

Her opinions is based off of what she knows, just as yours is, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Personally I don't get emotionally attached to a vendor. If they do great then fantastic, I tell it. If they don't, I tell that too. If I have some questions about a vendor I post it here because I know I'm going to get both sides of that vendor's story (unless they're a crap vendor)

Its because we do knowledge share that this board is what it is.

This is first and foremost a consumer site. There are vendors that do participate here which is great because so many bring an amazing amount of of knowledge to the table, but they can and are disagreed with as well...all you gotta do is check some of the threads.

So please feel free to participate, and I hope you continue to do so. We love it when people do, but please leave the ugly font out of it.

-A

 

[chrono]

Niceguyeddie,
Welcome to PS and thank you for letting us know that you are in the trade. I’m not backing anybody up or attacking anyone but would like some clarification since both you and TL have rather strong convictions about Gems Earth.
1. It is entirely possible that GE could have purchase a good sized parcel of Namibian spessartites from a collector or dealer a while ago but will they really sell such large, clean and well coloured specimens for so little? It seems so contrary when even included less orange and more included smaller ones are being sold for more.
2. I’d love to know more about SLP laboratory and Hallmark(?). It is always good knowledge to know more about labs that aren’t as well known. Being very far away and these labs do not have an online presence makes it difficult for others to verify their presence and read about their skills/testing methods. When looking for a reputable lab, I like to read about what methods of testing they use, what equipment they have and use, if the memo can be easily forged, if it is traceable for future reference, ease of contact with the lab for verification and etc.

Another important point for me personally is also the accuracy of the gem being sold. If the picture looks better than the stone advertised, it may not a synthetic stone but it’s still not right either. While a person is free to return the stone and receive a full refund, there is still the matter of shipping the stone all the way back across the ocean. I am always leery of pictures where the background matches the colour of the stone because it implies to me that this is done to further enhance the colour of the stone in the picture. I hope to be proven incorrect when m00sie receives his/her package from GE.

 

[T L]

Eddie,
Welcome to Pricescope, and thank you for your views on Gem-Earth.

You are entitled to your opinion about Gem-Earth, and so am I. There's nothing wrong with you coming on here and telling us about your good experiences with them, and you should. I have noted that some people seem to be happy with Gem-Earth in some of my posts if you read all of them. When I see suspect things, like a lab report without the testing for diffusing on a sapphire being sold for several thousand dollars, an incorrect listing, suspect gem briefs that no once can verify, or a high amount of Namibian spessartites being sold by one vendor, those are red flags that I feel a responsibility telling consumers about. I feel any upstanding vendor should be giving full disclosure of all possible treatment on an expensive gem. I apologize if you feel I'm attacking Gem-Earth. I'm really just trying to disclose some red flags that I see with this vendor, and it's not just Gem-Earth I do that with. It is my hope that we keep on top of vendors that do have many red flags so that consumers are protected and vendors take more responsibility for their practices.

ETA: I have heard Hallmark Gem Lab exists, but it would be nice if we could verify that SLP exists. If you or anyone can come back with verifiable proof, that would be nice. I think Morecarats found the phone number to not exist. He is situated in Thailand.

 

[T L]

Personally I don't get emotionally attached to a vendor. If they do great then fantastic, I tell it. If they don't, I tell that too. If I have some questions about a vendor I post it here because I know I'm going to get both sides of that vendor's story (unless they're a crap vendor)

I agree. If I have a great experience with a vendor, I'll be the first person to post that experience, but if others do not like that vendor, or have had a bad experience with them, I respect their opinion. In my opinion, I feel it's very important to separate yourself emotionally from a vendor so that you can buy without preconceived notions and make the appropriate judgments.

 

[arjunajane]

Seeing as the thread referencing SLP gem lab was started by me, I will chime in and say I am glad I asked that question when I did and that More Carats (who does have local knowledge of the Thai industry and labs) was able to verify that in her opinion and experience, it very possibly does not exist. I believe the phone number on the cards is not accessible, and something about the address is also suspect.

I had asked Maureen from Gem Earth on various occasions about sending stones to more reputable labs both in their local area and in Bangkok to be certed, I would pay the cost if I won the gem and it checked out- and of course if it came back different to the listing, it would be their problem and I would not carry through with the sale (of course I worded it a bit more politely than this)
Each time I received an excuse or refusal.
In the end, I was told if I purchased over $1000 of gems in one transaction, they would have them certified at the lab of my choice - ahh..no thanks.

I bought that one red spinel from them, which in most likelihood is either fake or treated. However for the hassle and cost to send it back, I chose not to.
Gem Earth did give me a partial refund on it as there was a small chip just above the girdle when the stone arrived that wasn't represented in the photos. This gem came with an SLP Cert, imho for what its worth and from what I learned from the SLP thread, this paper is meaningless. With the discount, the gem ended up costing me a pretty cheap lesson

 

[T L]

If a gem report is unverifiable, it is not worth the paper it is printed on IMO. It is just a selling tool, and nothing more.

 

[arjunajane]

If a gem report is unverifiable, it is not worth the paper it is printed on IMO. It is just a selling tool, and nothing more.

agreed!. I am glad that thread about the various Thai labs carried over to PS2 - it has a lot of useful reference info.

 

[Arkteia]

I think I once bought a pair of amethysts from them. Not a bad pair for $ 10.00, and I, of course, did not certify them (even if Amguy states that most amethysts on ebay are synthetic). For such a price, even synthetics will do. I would be careful with more expensive stuff, though, if they can not provide a certificate through a decent lab.

 

[digitaldevo]

First off, this says enough of all I need to know about Gem-earth to say, IMH & educated O, to avoid them.
http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=gem-earth&v=70


Here's what I know from a simple investigation into their auctions:
•They appear to have enhanced their pictures to make the stones look better via an editing program, Adobe Photoshop CS2 to be exact.
•They appear to have used an improper white balance setting of "cloudy weather" manually, which would further enhance the colors and saturation of the image, which the User Feedback reports on Ebay do back up this finding and the first one as well.
•Pics were taken with this camera, Ricoh R10 http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/R ... oh_r10.asp
•They shot at above a stock ISO, which, considering the strong overzealous noise reduction of the Ricoh R10, this could account for the overly "smooth" appearance of the stone, as it likes to blur out and "smooth" any finer details as it reduces the noise.
•Has sold synthetics as natural in the past
•Has sold stones with undisclosed easy to ID treatments
•There seems to be NO web presence at all for SLP Gem Labs, which would lead me to believe they either do not exist or are owned by the same company as the seller, are the seller, or just some tiny little "lab" that may or may not even have the proper tools to do the testing.
•Constant reference of gemstones being Certified. NO reputable labs CERTIFY ANY stones whatsoever! They merely write reports on them. Certifying something proves an implied warranty and therefore makes the issuer totally liable for everything and anything, so legit places just don't do it, a report merely insinuates their best guess via education and experience backed testing on proper equipment, nothing more.
•SLP states Heat Treatment found on reports yet never clarifies if it was super high heat like that used in diffusion, if any further testing has been done, no mention of Be Diffusion or other substances being diffused into the stone not being conducted or done, like most labs place on a report if they didn't or couldn't test for Beryllium or other diffusion methods.
•SLP states no heat enhancement found, yet does not mention other treatments, are they possible? I know from personal experience when the Thai refer to a specific treatment they mean that one and no others even if they involve the same method, i.e. heat. They seem to only mention heat treatments or lack of but nothing else, seems odd to me personally.
•No information on SLP Gem Labs can be found in any Thailand Business Directories either, at least I could not find it anywhere!
•SLP Gem Labs has NO website that I can find, odd for a Biz, especially a Lab!
•Gem-Earth is selling their products on a Hydroponics website as well:
http://www.hydroponicsonline.com/store/ ... 12133.html
•Seller's website is non-existent, just a cgi-bin
•Seller's business address is a small what appears to be one floor trailer or modular type home inside of a rather large development of houses crammed together in GB http://www.who.is/whois/gemearth.com/ , may or may not mean something/anything, no idea
•JPL's address is in the gem district area in Thailand, but there appears to be NO records for it. Actual address shows the middle of an intersection on sat map. *shrugs*
•If JPL is actually in existence then they are right next to the Imperial Emporium Ltd. which is in the same building if there is a room with the number JPL claims is their suite number. If someone wishes to call Imperial Emporium Ltd. and inquire, here is their publicly listed information:
Tel: (662)237-8181, 238-2463, 267-1064-5
Fax: (662) 237-8182, 235-4540
•gemearth.com web host is http://www.odsol.com/
•The Namibia Spessartine looks very much like Lolindo to me with those nice yellow hues, which is pretty much now played out and only producing gemstone rough mainly in SI-I, next to nothing, if anything, in VS2 or higher now really.
•I don't know anyone that would put a heat only Pad sapphire for auction on Ebay over 3cts with an OK cut, for a starting price of $4.99 with NO reserve! No one would be quite that stupid IMHO.

A bit on Be Enhancements.

Pailin region sapphires are currently the most commonly Be diffused sapphires on the market. Second only maybe to Songea region. Also Be diffusion can be ID'ed in many instances without expensive equipment, or at least within a very high probability by a trained and experienced gemmo who keeps current with treatments. Color pockets, orange rim effect, blue dot/bubble clouds, immersion cell, evidence of high heat on internal inclusions, etc. 100% fact Be? No, 95% probability? Yes! Especially with certain colors and locales! Even in Be Blues now they found telltale inclusions, but if they are not present doesn't mean the stone still hasn't been Be Treated. Some stones are just too clean and show no signs of anything, sadly.

Mistaking a spinel as a tourmaline? Could be an honest mistake, yes, but a rather large one imho! The stones are not even close with ri alone!

Also, for the record, many unscrupulous sellers use fake or their own created "labs" to do "certifications" and or values on their products! Especially on Ebay. Look at the rather large Canadian seller on Ebay, won't mention the name here. Lab certs are signed by one of the biz owners, oops messed that link up a bit didn't they... so much for CYA..lol, and values are highly inflated at about 10x or more of the actual value of the materials, most of which was total junk that we received during our investigation of them! Same thing can be seen by lots of other sellers as well, especially on Ebay! Sadly!

We only buy sapphires/rubies now that show either no heat or little heat. Anything with high heat she won't even touch anymore unless a lab report from a reputable Lab with testing for Beryllium and other "additives" accompanies it! Not worth the hassle anymore, especially since Beryllium treatment can now yield any color pretty much, blues, greens, yellows, golds, pads, purples, pinks, etc. Or we buy rough that has not been heated either and then have them cut or cut the stones from the rough ourselves. Getting tough out there. Find a trustworthy dealer who knows the source of their stones from out of the ground to in your piece of jewelry or into your collection.

 

[gsellis]

Nice dissection there Jamie.

 

[T L]

Nice dissection there Jamie.

Yes, ditto on that.

 

[chrono]

DD (J),
Excellent sleuthing!

 

[minousbijoux]

Eddie,
Welcome to Pricescope, and thank you for your views on Gem-Earth.

You are entitled to your opinion about Gem-Earth, and so am I. There's nothing wrong with you coming on here and telling us about your good experiences with them, and you should. I have noted that some people seem to be happy with Gem-Earth in some of my posts if you read all of them. When I see suspect things, like a lab report without the testing for diffusing on a sapphire being sold for several thousand dollars, an incorrect listing, suspect gem briefs that no once can verify, or a high amount of Namibian spessartites being sold by one vendor, those are red flags that I feel a responsibility telling consumers about. I feel any upstanding vendor should be giving full disclosure of all possible treatment on an expensive gem. I apologize if you feel I'm attacking Gem-Earth. I'm really just trying to disclose some red flags that I see with this vendor, and it's not just Gem-Earth I do that with. It is my hope that we keep on top of vendors that do have many red flags so that consumers are protected and vendors take more responsibility for their practices.

ETA: I have heard Hallmark Gem Lab exists, but it would be nice if we could verify that SLP exists. If you or anyone can come back with verifiable proof, that would be nice. I think Morecarats found the phone number to not exist. He is situated in Thailand

Hi all:

I am a long time lurker who finally registered. You are an impressive group - a bit intimidating, but wonderful to read. I sure wish I had found you all a long time ago, before I bought from tv (yup, I actually did), but I'm not here to whine!

I want to say that I found you all to be polite and enjoyed the way members jumped in for support; to someone new you seem to have relationships with each other that make it a community. TL, I also want to say that your responses, particularly the above quote (I hope I figured out how to do it), were really diplomatic; it makes me as a newcomer finally feel that I can participate without fear of being patronized to or shamed for being a newbie. Thank you.

 

[T L]

Hi all:

I am a long time lurker who finally registered. You are an impressive group - a bit intimidating, but wonderful to read. I sure wish I had found you all a long time ago, before I bought from tv (yup, I actually did), but I'm not here to whine!

I want to say that I found you all to be polite and enjoyed the way members jumped in for support; to someone new you seem to have relationships with each other that make it a community. TL, I also want to say that your responses, particularly the above quote (I hope I figured out how to do it), were really diplomatic; it makes me as a newcomer finally feel that I can participate without fear of being patronized to or shamed for being a newbie. Thank you.

Minousbijoux,
Thank you for the kind words. As a group, I think we are a very diplomatic bunch. That's one of the reasons I enjoy Pricescope so much. I personally love newbies. It's always fun to share my love of colored gems, jewelry and the like, and it's fun to help consumers. I'm sure many of us feel the same way.