SLP Gem Lab..??

[arjunajane]

I see certs from this lab with almost all of the ebay thai gem sellers, however I cannot find any info of them online..

Has anyone any knowledge of SLP Gem Laboratory in Thailand? Have you bought something with one of their certs and had it verified?

I would be very grateful to hear of any experiences or knowledge at all,

many thanks
aj.

 

[T L]

For Thai certificates, I would stick with AIGS. If you can't find anything online, I wouldn't bother. GIT and Burapha are good as well, but AIGS has so much going for it as far as cost, easy online verification, the lab is sophisticated, and it comes with a photo.

My rule of thumb with lab certificates is that they should be verifiable. I typically stay away from Burapha because of that, even though they are respected, I heard you have to call them to verify the cert/memo, and typically no photo. I think GIT is verifiable online, but their memos never have a photo

 

[chrono]

I’ve never heard of this lab nor dealt with them. I wonder if it is like the IGI of the diamond grading lab where it is very common and usually worthless... Like TL, why not suggest AIGS to the vendor since this lab is also in Thailand and is far more reputable with full testing?

 

[ruffysdad]

Never heard of them and agree with TL and Chrono. They sound like a "Big Bob''s discount gem certs and used cars" type of thing.

Pete

 

[chictomato]

Yes heard of them on ebay. I do not know if it is consider a proper report. The report is a simple piece of card size paper with photo (laminated). I had bought a purple spinel from Ebay and its came with this SLP report. I had it returned though as its very gray, unlike what was described. I did run a search on the internet and there is no info whatsoever. Hope it helps! I did request for an AIGS report instead and their reply was that the lab is too far from them.

 

[T L]

My second lab of choice over there would be GIT then.

 

[arjunajane]

Thankyou TL, Chrono, Pete and Chic for relaying your experiences and opinions.

I have had one seller give the same excuse as Chic mentioned (AIGS too far away), however the second seller
said they will happily send to AIGS.

One more question, more of a general one - if the stone was processed by AIGS, and came back with info very different than the listing (for example, heated, synthetic, whatever it may be) - would you still feel you were responsible for paying the cost of the memo? (obviously, it would be a scenario which causes you not to follow through with buying the stone, not a small discrepancy).
For anyone wondering, this is all hypothetical - just looking for others'' feelings on the matter

I am fairly confident buying diamonds and other jewellery on ebay, but CS tend to be more tricky.

 

[T L]

I would pay the cost of the memo if I still wanted the stone, had it come back from AIGS with different remarks than the SLP. AIGS won't grade a synthetic stone, so if it came back as synthetic, there would be nothing to pay, as you would receive no memo.

Yes, CS are tricky to buy on ebay. It takes a lot of experience, and if you have a slew of favorite vendors, you still need to weed through their offerings to get something decent.

 

[morecarats]

I thought I knew nearly all the gem labs in Thailand, but I''ve never heard of SLP. If someone can post a copy of a certificate that would be helpful or, failing that, the address of the lab. I would be glad to check on it.

As far as the other comments on gem labs in Thailand are concerned, I think some of them are less than accurate.

The top labs in Thailand are GIA and GIT. AIGS is also very good, but they don''t have the equipment for doing beryllium testing (which both GIA and GIT can do). Burapha is reputable, but definitely second rate, since they don''t have advanced instruments such as FTIR and EDXRF spectrometers. Burapha cannot detect synthetic quartz, for example, and they seem to lack the skill to certify an unheated sapphire.

 

[T L]

Date: 5/29/2010 9:47:11 AM
Author: morecarats
I thought I knew nearly all the gem labs in Thailand, but I've never heard of SLP. If someone can post a copy of a certificate that would be helpful or, failing that, the address of the lab. I would be glad to check on it.


As far as the other comments on gem labs in Thailand are concerned, I think some of them are less than accurate.


The top labs in Thailand are GIA and GIT. AIGS is also very good, but they don't have the equipment for doing beryllium testing (which both GIA and GIT can do). Burapha is reputable, but definitely second rate, since they don't have advanced instruments such as FTIR and EDXRF spectrometers. Burapha cannot detect synthetic quartz, for example, and they seem to lack the skill to certify an unheated sapphire.

Morecarats, thank you for your response. I was under the assumption that AIGS can test for beryllium based on the HT treatment comments on their website (see below link). I did not realize that GIA was in Thailand either. It's not the same GIA as the one in the States, is it?

http://www.aigslaboratory.com/AIGSPage.aspx?mID=3&sID=66&type=NewDisclosureCommentsforHeatProcess

Based on your comments, I wouldn't use Burapha for much.

ETA: Here's a listing with SLP lab report from Gem-Earth.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VVS1-CERTIFIED-UNHEATED-ROUND-PINK-CEYLON-SAPPHIRE-/380236109327?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item5887d6960f

 

[morecarats]

AIGS has a treatment classification for beryllium treated stones, but as of yet no equipment such as LIBS for testing for beryllium.

The GIA lab in Bangkok is part of the Gemological Institute of America. They do excellent work, with prices to match.

Thanks for the link to the SLP certificate. It looks rather suspicious to me, for several reasons: I couldn''t find the address (71 Mahesak Road in Bangkok) in Google maps, though Mahesak is a well-known street in the gems district in Bangkok. The phone number given on the certificate is a mobile phone number (starting with 081) while the fax number is in Chanthaburi (039 area code). This lab could possibly be entirely fictitious.

 

[T L]

Date: 5/29/2010 10:36:42 AM
Author: morecarats
AIGS has a treatment classification for beryllium treated stones, but as of yet no equipment such as LIBS for testing for beryllium.


The GIA lab in Bangkok is part of the Gemological Institute of America. They do excellent work, with prices to match.


Thanks for the link to the SLP certificate. It looks rather suspicious to me, for several reasons: I couldn't find the address (71 Mahesak Road in Bangkok) in Google maps, though Mahesak is a well-known street in the gems district in Bangkok. The phone number given on the certificate is a mobile phone number (starting with 081) while the fax number is in Chanthaburi (039 area code). This lab could possibly be entirely fictitious.

So if you get a stone from AIGS that has the HT only classification, it could be be-treated? Can GIT test for be-treatment?

My concern is that they should include something on the memo that should indicate "testing of a foreign substance undeterminable" or something akin to that.

 

[morecarats]

Date: 5/29/2010 10:55:14 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 5/29/2010 10:36:42 AM

Author: morecarats

AIGS has a treatment classification for beryllium treated stones, but as of yet no equipment such as LIBS for testing for beryllium.



The GIA lab in Bangkok is part of the Gemological Institute of America. They do excellent work, with prices to match.



Thanks for the link to the SLP certificate. It looks rather suspicious to me, for several reasons: I couldn''t find the address (71 Mahesak Road in Bangkok) in Google maps, though Mahesak is a well-known street in the gems district in Bangkok. The phone number given on the certificate is a mobile phone number (starting with 081) while the fax number is in Chanthaburi (039 area code). This lab could possibly be entirely fictitious.

So if you get a stone from AIGS that has the HT only classification, it could be be-treated? Can GIT test for be-treatment?

As I noted in my earlier message, both GIA Bangkok and GIT have the equipment to test for beryllium treatment.

If AIGS tests a gem that they suspect may have been beryllium diffused, such as a heated yellow sapphire, the report will contain the note "Not LIBS tested." (LIBS is an acronym for Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, one of the devices that is used to detect light elements such as beryllium).

 

[ruffysdad]

Date: 5/29/2010 5:29:49 AM
Author: arjunajane
Thankyou TL, Chrono, Pete and Chic for relaying your experiences and opinions.

I have had one seller give the same excuse as Chic mentioned (AIGS too far away), however the second seller
said they will happily send to AIGS.

One more question, more of a general one - if the stone was processed by AIGS, and came back with info very different than the listing (for example, heated, synthetic, whatever it may be) - would you still feel you were responsible for paying the cost of the memo? (obviously, it would be a scenario which causes you not to follow through with buying the stone, not a small discrepancy).
For anyone wondering, this is all hypothetical - just looking for others'' feelings on the matter

I am fairly confident buying diamonds and other jewellery on ebay, but CS tend to be more tricky.

If it came back with a minor discrepancy like slipping a clarity grade or something like that, I''d go through with it and pay for the cert. But if it returned with a big one then I''d assume that the seller was either trying to scam me or didn''t know what they were talking about. In either case I''d not feel obligated to pay for the cert or the stone. If a used car dealer were selling a "creampuff" that was owned by a little old lady that only drove it back and forth to church and a carfax report came back with it having been stolen and stripped twice, totaled once and the odometer read 100,000 miles less that the last record of service, would you feel obligated to pay for the report, let alone the car? Same thing in my book. Good luck, it''s pretty, whatever it turns out to be.

Pete

 

[T L]

Date: 5/29/2010 11:00:27 AM
Author: morecarats

Date: 5/29/2010 10:55:14 AM

Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 5/29/2010 10:36:42 AM


Author: morecarats


AIGS has a treatment classification for beryllium treated stones, but as of yet no equipment such as LIBS for testing for beryllium.




The GIA lab in Bangkok is part of the Gemological Institute of America. They do excellent work, with prices to match.




Thanks for the link to the SLP certificate. It looks rather suspicious to me, for several reasons: I couldn''t find the address (71 Mahesak Road in Bangkok) in Google maps, though Mahesak is a well-known street in the gems district in Bangkok. The phone number given on the certificate is a mobile phone number (starting with 081) while the fax number is in Chanthaburi (039 area code). This lab could possibly be entirely fictitious.

So if you get a stone from AIGS that has the HT only classification, it could be be-treated? Can GIT test for be-treatment?

As I noted in my earlier message, both GIA Bangkok and GIT have the equipment to test for beryllium treatment.


If AIGS tests a gem that they suspect may have been beryllium diffused, such as a heated yellow sapphire, the report will contain the note ''Not LIBS tested.'' (LIBS is an acronym for Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, one of the devices that is used to detect light elements such as beryllium).

I just find it odd that they have specialized heat treatment codes on their website if they don''t have the equipment to test for these treatments. In the meantime, I emailed them about this, so hopefully they''ll respond back. If they do, I will report their response.

 

[T L]

MC,
I also asked some gemological experts about AIGS and they do think that the lab has the "Laser Ablation–Inductively Coupled Plasma– Mass Spectrometry" machine that tests for the presence of beryllium. I asked for verification. We'll see.

As for the SLP memo, I don't trust it, and I don't trust Gem-Earth for many gems, so it figures.

. Thanks again for the info about SLP.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/29/2010 9:47:11 AM
Author: morecarats
I thought I knew nearly all the gem labs in Thailand, but I''ve never heard of SLP. If someone can post a copy of a certificate that would be helpful or, failing that, the address of the lab. I would be glad to check on it.


As far as the other comments on gem labs in Thailand are concerned, I think some of them are less than accurate.


The top labs in Thailand are GIA and GIT. AIGS is also very good, but they don''t have the equipment for doing beryllium testing (which both GIA and GIT can do). Burapha is reputable, but definitely second rate, since they don''t have advanced instruments such as FTIR and EDXRF spectrometers. Burapha cannot detect synthetic quartz, for example, and they seem to lack the skill to certify an unheated sapphire.

Date: 5/29/2010 10:36:42 AM
Author: morecarats
AIGS has a treatment classification for beryllium treated stones, but as of yet no equipment such as LIBS for testing for beryllium.


The GIA lab in Bangkok is part of the Gemological Institute of America. They do excellent work, with prices to match.


Thanks for the link to the SLP certificate. It looks rather suspicious to me, for several reasons: I couldn''t find the address (71 Mahesak Road in Bangkok) in Google maps, though Mahesak is a well-known street in the gems district in Bangkok. The phone number given on the certificate is a mobile phone number (starting with 081) while the fax number is in Chanthaburi (039 area code). This lab could possibly be entirely fictitious.

More carats,
thankyou for entering the discussion and providing your local perspective and info - this has been a very interesting thread, and I''m glad I asked.
You are correct, based on what you found on SLP lab, it is entirely possible they are completely fictitious - no wonder I couldn''t find a thing when googling them

Thanks for your breakdown on the different Thai labs - so it sounds like GIT are certainly the one to ask for.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/29/2010 11:19:52 AM
Author: ruffysdad

Date: 5/29/2010 5:29:49 AM

Author: arjunajane

Thankyou TL, Chrono, Pete and Chic for relaying your experiences and opinions.


I have had one seller give the same excuse as Chic mentioned (AIGS too far away), however the second seller

said they will happily send to AIGS.


One more question, more of a general one - if the stone was processed by AIGS, and came back with info very different than the listing (for example, heated, synthetic, whatever it may be) - would you still feel you were responsible for paying the cost of the memo? (obviously, it would be a scenario which causes you not to follow through with buying the stone, not a small discrepancy).

For anyone wondering, this is all hypothetical - just looking for others'' feelings on the matter

I am fairly confident buying diamonds and other jewellery on ebay, but CS tend to be more tricky.

If it came back with a minor discrepancy like slipping a clarity grade or something like that, I''d go through with it and pay for the cert. But if it returned with a big one then I''d assume that the seller was either trying to scam me or didn''t know what they were talking about. In either case I''d not feel obligated to pay for the cert or the stone. If a used car dealer were selling a ''creampuff'' that was owned by a little old lady that only drove it back and forth to church and a carfax report came back with it having been stolen and stripped twice, totaled once and the odometer read 100,000 miles less that the last record of service, would you feel obligated to pay for the report, let alone the car? Same thing in my book. Good luck, it''s pretty, whatever it turns out to be.


Pete

Thanks Pete,
this is a good analogy, and exactly in line with the way I felt about it.
When you say "it''s pretty" are you referring to the ebay stone I posted about in another thread?

Based on morecarats info here, I would suspect that stone to certainly not be spinel..tbh, I suspected it all along, however decided the cost and hassle of sending it back to THI was not worth it and chalked it up to a learning experience.

I am asking the questions in this thread as I have seen numerous sellers using this SLP "lab", so wanted to learn more about it.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/29/2010 5:17:09 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
MC,

I also asked some gemological experts about AIGS and they do think that the lab has the ''Laser Ablation–Inductively Coupled Plasma– Mass Spectrometry'' machine that tests for the presence of beryllium. I asked for verification. We''ll see.


As for the SLP memo, I don''t trust it, and I don''t trust Gem-Earth for many gems, so it figures.

. Thanks again for the info about SLP.

Date: 5/29/2010 9:17:58 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
I would pay the cost of the memo if I still wanted the stone, had it come back from AIGS with different remarks than the SLP. AIGS won''t grade a synthetic stone, so if it came back as synthetic, there would be nothing to pay, as you would receive no memo.


Yes, CS are tricky to buy on ebay. It takes a lot of experience, and if you have a slew of favorite vendors, you still need to weed through their offerings to get something decent.

Cheers TL for your input - please do follow up with what you find out about AIGS, I am sure many of us would like to know for sure.
Gem-Earth is not the only seller listing stones from SLP, I have noticed it with 3 or 4 others, hence the thread..of course, it is entirely possible they are the same seller, using different stores. The photography styles did vary somewhat..

To be honest, speaking for myself, I am feeling like ebay gems just may not be worth it..Like you mentioned, one needs a lot of time - both to find the right gem, than have it verified, than potentially send it back if it isn''t what they thought. Personally I don''t have this kinda time

Experience is great, but even that can only get you so far when it comes to different treatments and so on, right?
Even with vendors that many here trust such as Tan - considering what morecarats has posted in this thread, if I had a sapphire with an AIGS memo from them it would give me cause for concern..


I am by no means disparaging those who buy their gems on ebay, I hope no one takes it that way! I am sure there are very nice stones to be had for good prices - but it is seeming like the odds are quite heavily stacked.

And next time, if I post an ebay gem that you folks think could be BS, please feel free to tell me so! I would never be offended, I have a thicker skin than that

 

[ruffysdad]

Hi Arjunajane,

I was refering to the ebay stone. I followed TL''s link to it. I love the color but think it one of those "if it''s too good to be true then it probably is" things. Time to rack out, the fuzzy one and I gotta get up at 4:30 tomorrow so he can get his jollies herding the ducks and sheeps.

Pete

 

[T L]

Date: 5/30/2010 1:41:47 AM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 5/29/2010 5:17:09 PM

Author: tourmaline_lover

MC,


I also asked some gemological experts about AIGS and they do think that the lab has the 'Laser Ablation–Inductively Coupled Plasma– Mass Spectrometry' machine that tests for the presence of beryllium. I asked for verification. We'll see.



As for the SLP memo, I don't trust it, and I don't trust Gem-Earth for many gems, so it figures.

. Thanks again for the info about SLP.

Date: 5/29/2010 9:17:58 AM

Author: tourmaline_lover

I would pay the cost of the memo if I still wanted the stone, had it come back from AIGS with different remarks than the SLP. AIGS won't grade a synthetic stone, so if it came back as synthetic, there would be nothing to pay, as you would receive no memo.



Yes, CS are tricky to buy on ebay. It takes a lot of experience, and if you have a slew of favorite vendors, you still need to weed through their offerings to get something decent.

Cheers TL for your input - please do follow up with what you find out about AIGS, I am sure many of us would like to know for sure.

Gem-Earth is not the only seller listing stones from SLP, I have noticed it with 3 or 4 others, hence the thread..of course, it is entirely possible they are the same seller, using different stores. The photography styles did vary somewhat..


To be honest, speaking for myself, I am feeling like ebay gems just may not be worth it..Like you mentioned, one needs a lot of time - both to find the right gem, than have it verified, than potentially send it back if it isn't what they thought. Personally I don't have this kinda time

Experience is great, but even that can only get you so far when it comes to different treatments and so on, right?

Even with vendors that many here trust such as Tan - considering what morecarats has posted in this thread, if I had a sapphire with an AIGS memo from them it would give me cause for concern..



I am by no means disparaging those who buy their gems on ebay, I hope no one takes it that way! I am sure there are very nice stones to be had for good prices - but it is seeming like the odds are quite heavily stacked.

And next time, if I post an ebay gem that you folks think could be BS, please feel free to tell me so! I would never be offended, I have a thicker skin than that

AJJ,
The verdict is still out on whether AIGS can check for be-treatment. I and someone else is currently finding out for sure. I just find it very strange that they would have these HT codes on their website if they can't determine the foreign elements. Many gemological experts believe it to be a very sophisticated lab, as I did.

As for ebay stones, yes, most people will not find good deals unless they really know what they're doing. Tan is one of my favorite ebay vendors, and he also uses GIA certs if you want to pay the extra cost, so if you're concerned about AIGS, he uses five labs, that, GIA, Burapha, GIT and GRS. I continue to buy from him because none of his stones were ever disputed to be anything different than what he advertised (ie: a natural tsavorite is actually a natural tsavorite and not something else like green YAG, or otherwise), even on toolhaus.org. I also like that he provides a multitude of lab certs. For my part, I not only find his values on gems to be very high, but you get a lot for your money, and that's more than I can say about a lot of dealers, even those not on ebay. Ebay has a bad rap, but he chooses to sell on there, and I'm grateful for it because the auctions can be a great value. However, even with Tan, not all his gems are superior. You do need to know how to weed out the good ones from the not so good ones, but I don't know of any seller, even some that we know and love, that have all 100% superior stones. They all have duds mixed into their selections as well.

As for Gem-Earth, I know some people that have bought from them and are very happy, but I highly suspect that some of their gems are not as 100% advertised as they should be, and the SLP memo is a cause for concern. I think they're safe for some gems, but you really need to do your homework with them.

BTW, the three or four stores using SLP could all be Gem-Earth. I suspect they have more than one store on ebay because the photo style is pretty much identical. I suspect Gem-Cove is owned by Gem-Earth, and there could be others.

 

[arjunajane]

hey Pete- just to clarify, that stone is not mine, I believe it was just a general example TL was posting for morecarats

I had purchased a spinel though from the same seller a month or two ago. I agree, many of the gems seem too good to be true, hence my trepidation.
Good luck with the early start! Is Ruffy by chance a boarder collie? I grew up with a mix as our family pup for over 12yrs, they are fabulous dogs.

 

[T L]

Here's another gem lab I never heard of. This emerald is totally clean too, very suspect.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-70CT-VVS-CERTIFIED-AAAAA-GREEN-EMERALD-CUT-EMERALD-/380234972307?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item5887c53c93

ETA: There is a website for that gem lab, but I doubt they have super sophisticated equipment.

http://www.ghi.co.th/

As for Gem-Earth, here's a useless Burapha certificate that shows they can't tell the presence of a foreign element in the sapphire listed. If you can't do that, then why even bother with a certificate for a sapphire, unless it's to give the buyer a false sense of credibility.

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-87CT-CERTIFIED-AAA-CORNFLOWER-BLUE-CEYLON-SAPPHIRE-/380236115494?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item5887d6ae26

That's always been a big source of contention for me with Gem-Earth, and why I refuse to buy from them, no matter how much people clamor for their auctions.

 

[arjunajane]

Hey TL-cheers for your response. Yep I do understand there is still contention about the AIGS question, so it would be great if you can post about it when the verdict is in. Its kinda a shame this thread likely wont make it to PS2.0, as I think the info on the different Thai labs is very useful.. Cheers for your thoughts on gem-earth-I agree the info (or lack thereof!) on SLP is very concerning for any customer past or future. I may ask them about doing a GIT memo out of curiousity - I will update after the conversion, and perhaps a comprehensive thread on the differences between these labs (with your AIGS update) could be useful for others at that time

 

[T L]

Yes, this is a good thread AJJ. We should probably reopen it with all these comments when 2.0 is up. It would be a shame to lose all this information.

ETA: If I get a verdict on AIGS, or even no verdict, I will post the information.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/30/2010 11:26:26 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
Here''s another gem lab I never heard of. This emerald is totally clean too, very suspect.


http://cgi.ebay.com/1-70CT-VVS-CERTIFIED-AAAAA-GREEN-EMERALD-CUT-EMERALD-/380234972307?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item5887c53c93


ETA: There is a website for that gem lab, but I doubt they have super sophisticated equipment.


http://www.ghi.co.th/


As for Gem-Earth, here''s a useless Burapha certificate that shows they can''t tell the presence of a foreign element in the sapphire listed. If you can''t do that, then why even bother with a certificate for a sapphire, unless it''s to give the buyer a false sense of credibility.


http://cgi.ebay.com/3-87CT-CERTIFIED-AAA-CORNFLOWER-BLUE-CEYLON-SAPPHIRE-/380236115494?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item5887d6ae26

ha ha yeah I saw that emerald listing-even I knew that gem must be BS,and I have no interest in emeralds. I wasnt fond of Burapha certs before this thread due to lack of photos..but to be fair gem-earth are certainly not the only ones using them in listings.. Anyhow, I am by no means defending gem-earth, I think that is clear, right? Perhaps this is an ebay crusade case in the waiting for AMguy?lol..

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/30/2010 11:37:47 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
Yes, this is a good thread AJJ. We should probably reopen it with all these comments when 2.0 is up. It would be a shame to lose all this information.


ETA: If I get a verdict on AIGS, or even no verdict, I will post the information.

sound good TL- late here so goodnight for now!

 

[T L]

Date: 5/30/2010 11:49:20 AM
Author: arjunajane

Date: 5/30/2010 11:26:26 AM

Author: tourmaline_lover

Here''s another gem lab I never heard of. This emerald is totally clean too, very suspect.



http://cgi.ebay.com/1-70CT-VVS-CERTIFIED-AAAAA-GREEN-EMERALD-CUT-EMERALD-/380234972307?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item5887c53c93



ETA: There is a website for that gem lab, but I doubt they have super sophisticated equipment.



http://www.ghi.co.th/



As for Gem-Earth, here''s a useless Burapha certificate that shows they can''t tell the presence of a foreign element in the sapphire listed. If you can''t do that, then why even bother with a certificate for a sapphire, unless it''s to give the buyer a false sense of credibility.



http://cgi.ebay.com/3-87CT-CERTIFIED-AAA-CORNFLOWER-BLUE-CEYLON-SAPPHIRE-/380236115494?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item5887d6ae26

ha ha yeah I saw that emerald listing-even I knew that gem must be BS,and I have no interest in emeralds. I wasnt fond of Burapha certs before this thread due to lack of photos..but to be fair gem-earth are certainly not the only ones using them in listings.. Anyhow, I am by no means defending gem-earth, I think that is clear, right? Perhaps this is an ebay crusade case in the waiting for AMguy?lol..

Burapha is at least a known lab and is respected, but they do lack the sophisticated equipment to determine synthetics and diffusion. I personally wouldn''t mind a Burapha on a spessartite garnet since they are not synthesized gems, and they are not dyed (to my knowledge of course). There is a Gem-Earth listing on a spessartite heart and the Burapha claims it''s a natural "YEllOW" spessaritite, although Gem-Earth claims it to be fine mandarin color. Yes, you are realizing that you not only have to be leary of gems on ebay, but on the certifications and memos that dealers use as well. Many of them give the buyer a false sense of credibility rather than the actual intended purpose of giving the stone credibility itself. Burapha is okay, but there are some gems I would never use it for.

 

[VapidLapid]

This is a great thread. Thanks to all who contributed to it. I just copied it in entirety and emailed it to myself to repost if it doesn''t make it to PS2.

 

[colorluvr]

I got this info on SLP labs for what it's worth, from two different ebay sellers that I have purchased from in the past. This is not an opinion for or against the lab, but only to pass on information I received.

"They are just a small independent lab in Chanthaburi, Thailand that we use as they are very close to where we are based. They do not have a website yet but we have been usuing them now for the past few months and have never had a problem with them. I fully understand that their certs don't hold too much respect in the U.S. and a few of our customers have had their gems checked again once they have received them without any problems."

and this from a different seller...."they are one of only two labs in my area (Chanthaburi) and also one in Bangkok but are the only one open during the week. BGL (Chan gems) are open only on Friday and Saturday."

so, it appears that this lab is being used over the BGL lab in some cases for convenience sake, due to the fact that the BGL lab is only open two days a week and AIGS is hours away from Chanthaburi.

Once again, no judgement on the quality of the lab.

BTW, gem_cove and gem-earth are not the same seller. I do not know if gem-earth has other ebay auction sites under different names, but my emails have always been answered by a woman named Maureen who writes in very clear English. I do not know however, if she is American or English or just has an excellent command of the language.

gem_cove is owned/run by a man who is a British citizen and lives with his family inThailand and it is my understanding (from someone who knows him and speaks with him often) that gem-cove is his only ebay auction site. They are both located near Chanthaburi.

HTH