WHO is paying $11,189+ for an F2, windowed, pale green emerald?!

[Adam95]

After T L and others brought my attention to the laughably awful gemstones of Skyjems in the Gemstones Hall of Shame thread, I started to do some digging. From flooding his stones with insanely bright studio lights to glossing over major weaknesses in the stones' cut, clarity, etc., Mr. Saad's horrendous offerings are making me Mr. Sad!

He has been selling on eBay since 1999, so I guess he is surviving up until now thanks to his first-mover advantage? He must have some loyal customers to have made it this far...Well, it turns out he has a customer who spent $11,189 on a 4.43 CT cloudy, pale green, windowed, emerald with moderate clarity enhancement.



I wouldn't even pay $2,500 for the entire stone, let alone $2,500/CT! In the video, He tries his best to use the studio lights and white background to make it look okay, but as soon as he lifts up the stone, the massive window becomes apparent and the light green color looks extremely washed out.

Please complete the poll and let me know what you would pay for this "heirloom" quality emerald that is going to be around for "generations and generations" (his words).



Don't worry if you missed out! You can still grab this 2.13 CT Mozambique SI purple ruby for only...


$30,000!
I need to hear your thoughts on this!

 

[LilAlex]

I don't know this vendor. For lower-quality stones, some vendors list a wacky price and then lure you with > 50% off, etc.

And then, as we all know, there are the less knowledgeable folks (been there) who buy based on a report (unheated, etc.) and pay too little attention to how appealing the actual stone is. They may be refugees from the diamond world where it is easier to "buy the paper."

 

[Adam95]

I don't know this vendor. For lower-quality stones, some vendors list a wacky price and then lure you with > 50% off, etc.

And then, as we all know, there are the less knowledgeable folks (been there) who buy based on a report (unheated, etc.) and pay too little attention to how appealing the actual stone is. They may be refugees from the diamond world where it is easier to "buy the paper."

I think you might be right, but I mean just looking at the stones, they have such major flaws with cut, color, and clarity, and are not even a massive carat size either. I feel bad for the individual who purchased that emerald; I just can't picture the person who would actually pull the trigger on that.

 

[T L]

Well this is exactly the reason why consumer education forums like this exist. There is no law saying you can only charge X amount for a gem. I can sell a cz for $10000 if I wanted. However, the nuances of colored gems are far more vague to the general public than a cz, so determining the price/quality of any gem is far more complex than a cz. Some vendors use this lack of knowledge to their advantage. I’m afraid Skygems is one of them.

 

[Adam95]

Well this is exactly the reason why consumer education forums like this exist. There is no law saying you can only charge X amount for a gem. I can sell a cz for $10000 if I wanted. However, the nuances of colored gems are far more vague to the general public than a cz, so determining the price/quality of any gem is far more complex than a cz. Some vendors use this lack of knowledge to their advantage. I’m afraid Skygems is one of them.

Right, but it's shocking to me because you can go on YouTube and watch full GIA lectures for free and there are so many reputable vendors now. Just a shame that so many beautiful stones could've been purchased for $11,189!

 

[PinkAndBlueBling]

Maybe people message him and offer 1/10 the asking price, which he then accepts? Guys got balls, that's for sure!

 

[Bron357]

Hmmmm.
That Emerald has so much underneath it faces up small.
F2 isnt suprising, most emeralds are oiled, but the price is way too high for that stone.
It’s a huge risk in a ring setting, so many crystal imperfections and it will sitting really high on the finger is just asking for trouble in my opinion.
The Ruby, yikes. It’s more purple than red in my book and looks really dark.

 

[Adam95]

Hmmmm.
That Emerald has so much underneath it faces up small.
F2 isnt suprising, most emeralds are oiled, but the price is way too high for that stone.
It’s a huge risk in a ring setting, so many crystal imperfections and it will sitting really high on the finger is just asking for trouble in my opinion.
The Ruby, yikes. It’s more purple than red in my book and looks really dark.

Exactly, the stone is so many issues you have somebody still paid over 10 grand for it. It is possible they negotiated a lower price but I wouldn't touch this down with a 10 ft pole let alone thousands for it.

You're right, moderate clarity enhancement/f2 isn't that bad but it's ridiculous for the price.

 

[T L]

Right, but it's shocking to me because you can go on YouTube and watch full GIA lectures for free and there are so many reputable vendors now. Just a shame that so many beautiful stones could've been purchased for $11,189!

After being a colored stone enthusiast for years, nothing shocks me anymore.