And the Winner of 'The most Naff 'Christmas in July' event is........

[historymystery]

Well, this makes the hat-trick...they've all jumped on the Christmas in July bandwagon, Gems included, and I think they must take the prize for the most naff. Anyone treated to the sight of Adina last night, wearing what looked like Scrooge's nightcap perched as though it was about to fall off at the back of her untidy hair must have laughed as much as I did...and switching over at various times of the day, as from yesterday, has yielded some interesting sizes and shapes of Christmas headgear, from what looked like a policeman's helmet made for one of the Borrowers perched like a large pimple on someone's head, to a Santa Claus hat that looked several sizes too big, and was about to slide down over the presenter's eyes. Do I get the impression they cobbled this event together at the last moment, and made a grab for whatever was in the stock cupboard? And where's the event, may I ask? The prices didn't seem that low to me, about par for the course, so what's so special? Talk about bankrupt of ideas. The sooner these channels stop this farce of Christmas in July, the better.

 

[Anna]

I wish they would all stop with this nonsense of Christmas in July. I find it all depressing and will not watch. The thought of Adina in a Christmas hat, scratching her nose, head, waving her hands around, etc, and not finishing her sentences is all too much to bear.

 

[historymystery]

:grin:The nose picking (sorry, scratching) and waving hands are optional extras.

I wish they would all stop with this nonsense of Christmas in July. I find it all depressing and will not watch. The thought of Adina in a Christmas hat, scratching her nose, head, waving her hands around, etc, and not finishing her sentences is all too much to bear.

 

[Anna]

:grin:The nose picking (sorry, scratching) and waving hands are optional extras.

I was too polite to say nose picking :mysmilie_17: But you are right that is what it is.

I switched on this morning just after 8.30 and there was a blonde girl on with a high pitched voice, and santa hat, who vaguely looked like Jill Franks if you screwed your eyes up and did not rub the sleep away. Anyway she was mighty annoying too, her voice was making my ears bleed. I don't think I have seen her before, nor wish to again. It was the same ole thing, 'we can't do these deals again, blah, blah, blah'.

 

[historymystery]

I know the one you mean, Anna, although I don't know her name (they all 'merge' into one, if you know what I mean). She's so 'in yer face' she makes Amanda Holden look shy and retiring. What can you say about this channel, other than it's like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic? This afternoon a new promo. advert flashed up - "The Rarity of Tanzanite". RARITY? Are they joking? The blurdy stuff's on every day, every other hour, so what a load of horse hockey that is. Flicked over for 2 minutes this afternoon, and Angeline is also telling us you won't get these deals in future. They should have these words recorded and running on a loop.......Come back, Peter Simon, all is forgiven....

I was too polite to say nose picking :mysmilie_17: But you are right that is what it is.

I switched on this morning just after 8.30 and there was a blonde girl on with a high pitched voice, and santa hat, who vaguely looked like Jill Franks if you screwed your eyes up and did not rub the sleep away. Anyway she was mighty annoying too, her voice was making my ears bleed. I don't think I have seen her before, nor wish to again. It was the same ole thing, 'we can't do these deals again, blah, blah, blah'.

 

[missmarple]

i think her name is Jessica Foley,she started off working on The Lounge, she was irritating then and is even worse now,she has been at gems about a year but no sign of her gia yet.
Personally i dont watch anymore and i cant stand the presenters too much tosh, hype and shouting. Gems have had complaints about the Christmas in July carp on their facebook page, but doubt they will take any notice and carry on regardless as normal.I think the schedule is awful, one boring showcase after another,if the metal weight and the stones get any smaller you will need a magnifying glass to even see them, they seem to be morphing into Rocks and co and seem to be taking the same line as marks and spencer by taking no notice of anything the customers are telling them, until presumably they sink slowly into the mire.

 

[Anna]

I know the one you mean, Anna, although I don't know her name (they all 'merge' into one, if you know what I mean). She's so 'in yer face' she makes Amanda Holden look shy and retiring. What can you say about this channel, other than it's like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic? This afternoon a new promo. advert flashed up - "The Rarity of Tanzanite". RARITY? Are they joking? The blurdy stuff's on every day, every other hour, so what a load of horse hockey that is. Flicked over for 2 minutes this afternoon, and Angeline is also telling us you won't get these deals in future. They should have these words recorded and running on a loop.......Come back, Peter Simon, all is forgiven....

I am so sick of Tanzanite. Then there are the whole days of Tanzanite. Just all so boring.

Peter Simon - he did make me laugh!

 

[Anna]

i think her name is Jessica Foley,she started off working on The Lounge, she was irritating then and is even worse now,she has been at gems about a year but no sign of her gia yet.
Personally i dont watch anymore and i cant stand the presenters too much tosh, hype and shouting. Gems have had complaints about the Christmas in July carp on their facebook page, but doubt they will take any notice and carry on regardless as normal.I think the schedule is awful, one boring showcase after another,if the metal weight and the stones get any smaller you will need a magnifying glass to even see them, they seem to be morphing into Rocks and co and seem to be taking the same line as marks and spencer by taking no notice of anything the customers are telling them, until presumably they sink slowly into the mire.

Thanks for her name missmarple. I have not looked at their facebook page lately, think I will go and have a peep. There seems to be a lot of shows lately with very expensive gems on. I agree about M&S too they just don't listen to customers at all.

 

[Mommabear]

I used to love watching this channel for a change but not any more, it's gone really downhill imo. They used to show, on screen, the gram weight of the gold but I don't see that any more, only the carat weight of the gem. They do still do some nice pieces but the waffle is too much for me.

Has Adina only the one top?

Couldn't believe all the Christmas hats and even a tree!......and as you say, for what? Nothing special in any way that I could see. Same old stuff, different day, but with a hat and tree!

 

[donna255]

The do show the gold weight but blink and you miss it.:mysmilie_17:

Yes Adina only has the one top/dress. Oh and hair like the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz.

 

[missmarple]

I used to like their chunky modern silver rings they used to do sometimes,but they dont seem to do those anymore,so coupled with their awful courier service they have been doing for the last seven months within europe, in which its a case of whichever so called courier service turns up for the job that day i just dont buy anymore, after the last nightmare gems actually told me to sort it out myself, i blew my stack at that and told them they inistalled the stupd system and they could sort the mess out themselves,what a damn cheek.

 

[historymystery]

I'm beginning to wonder if Steve Bennett actually wants this channel to go to the wall. He seems to have abdicated responsibility for it, as it sinks into the abyss, and he rarely puts in an appearance (and his wife, Sarah, is non-existent these days). Perhaps Steve's got his eyes on yet another business venture - he's had plenty in the past!! It's sad to see this, as when I started watching, years ago, they had some brilliant presenters & management (Scott, Derek, Fiona, Steve Ashton) and they sold some good quality, reasonably-priced pieces with excellent silver and gold weights - I've got rings from them with very high weights of metal, all fully hallmarked, including the silver ones.

Husband used to work in insurance before he retired, so I'm well aware of how cautious you have to be about insurance valuations, and remember things are only worth what someone will pay for them, but I've had a couple of my old pieces valued by a jewellery valuer, and have been very pleased with the valuations (and jeweller has made a point of commenting on the high quality of the stones). Would this happen today? Hmm, I don't know: carat sizes are small, metal weights are just a joke. I'm sorry to see this channel deteriorate and morph into almost a Bid lookalike, but like you, I just flick over to the channel a couple of times a day, mainly to laugh at the rubbish they talk. This woman wouldn't have got through the door 8 years ago, let alone present a show.

i think her name is Jessica Foley,she started off working on The Lounge, she was irritating then and is even worse now,she has been at gems about a year but no sign of her gia yet.
Personally i dont watch anymore and i cant stand the presenters too much tosh, hype and shouting. Gems have had complaints about the Christmas in July carp on their facebook page, but doubt they will take any notice and carry on regardless as normal.I think the schedule is awful, one boring showcase after another,if the metal weight and the stones get any smaller you will need a magnifying glass to even see them, they seem to be morphing into Rocks and co and seem to be taking the same line as marks and spencer by taking no notice of anything the customers are telling them, until presumably they sink slowly into the mire.

 

[missmarple]

Yep totally agree Historymystery, i guess some newbies must think we are the angry bunch, but it is sad to see what was once a good business providing what the customer wanted and better quality and price go down the pan, let us not forget that Steve Bennett has had 27 businesses, which maybe par for the course for business owners, but to me it smacks of either bad business sence or an inability to stay on course.

 

[puffin48]

Ive been watching Gems on and off for many years. When I look back at the pieces I bought years ago, they bear no resemblance to what they are selling today I have some lovely rainbow sapphire pieces set in white gold. I don't buy Tanzanite because I have a ring I bought in the Caribbean which is set in platinum and its far better than anything they sell. When they are showing pieces with gold bands, they never show underneath because you just know that it is very thin. I haven't bought anything for a while but I now only buy sterling silver and the piece has to be under £20. £30 if its something I really like. Ive never bought diamonds from them so I cant comment on the quality

As Ive said before, many of the presenters get on my nerves so I cant watch when they are on. The bad ones outweigh the good ones in my opinion.

 

[historymystery]

I also can't make up my mind which it is, but I'm inclined to think it's the bad business option - he's just not listening to his customer base. Many of us have learnt a lot from the channel, and I for one know I am much more well-read and knowledgeable about jewellery and gemstones now, and I give credit to the channel over the years for 'educating' me. But he's forgetting that it's because we are more knowledgeable that we know the channel is deteriorating. The fact that this afternoon, I've seen them desperately trying to flog candles AND some 'pulse point Chakra oils' (oh, er, missus!) shows they are losing their way - this is the bloke who used to say they would ONLY do genuine gemstone jewellery, so he's made himself look an eejit there. In my view, the channel will go, it's just a matter of when it will happen. PS: Re: diamonds, my advice would be don't go there! Many of the reviews on their website, and on review websites are not good - people complaining about chipped and scratched, also cloudy, diamonds.

Yep totally agree , i guess some newbies must think we are the angry bunch, but it is sad to see what was once a good business providing what the customer wanted and better quality and price go down the pan, let us not forget that Steve Bennett has had 27 businesses, which maybe par for the course for business owners, but to me it smacks of either bad business sence or an inability to stay on course.

 

[historymystery]

puffin, see my reply to missmarple - be cautious if you are tempted, some not very flattering comments about the diamonds have appeared on websites. Complaints of chips, cracks, missing stones/cloudy stones.

Ive been watching Gems on and off for many years. When I look back at the pieces I bought years ago, they bear no resemblance to what they are selling today I have some lovely rainbow sapphire pieces set in white gold. I don't buy Tanzanite because I have a ring I bought in the Caribbean which is set in platinum and its far better than anything they sell. When they are showing pieces with gold bands, they never show underneath because you just know that it is very thin. I haven't bought anything for a while but I now only buy sterling silver and the piece has to be under £20. £30 if its something I really like. Ive never bought diamonds from them so I cant comment on the quality

As Ive said before, many of the presenters get on my nerves so I cant watch when they are on. The bad ones outweigh the good ones in my opinion.

 

[Anna]

Yep totally agree Historymystery, i guess some newbies must think we are the angry bunch, but it is sad to see what was once a good business providing what the customer wanted and better quality and price go down the pan, let us not forget that Steve Bennett has had 27 businesses, which maybe par for the course for business owners, but to me it smacks of either bad business sence or an inability to stay on course.

Wow! 27 businesses. Had no idea.