Gemporia Festive Ball 2023

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So, who wants to spend the evening of Saturday 25th November with assorted Gemporia TV presenters and a busload of their pissed-up fans? Sounds like an opportunity that really can't be missed, doesn't it? 😏

There's going to be a shop (great idea: get the viewers blotto then flog them yet more tat), and a tombola! YES! A TOMBOLA! What more can you want for £100 per ticket?

I think that I shall be worming the cat that evening. And I don't even own one.
 
If they get Dave Troth up on stage as Compère, I doubt there will be much time left for Tombola by the time he's finished mumbling his way through whatever he's saying..........

I think they'll all need more than the 'free' half a bottle of wine they're being given though to get through the ̶t̶r̶a̶u̶m̶a̶ monotone mumblings.
 
TheManWithNoName said:
If they get Dave Troth up on stage as Compère, I doubt there will be much time left for Tombola by the time he's finished mumbling his way through whatever he's saying..........

I think they'll all need more than the 'free' half a bottle of wine they're being given though to get through the ̶t̶r̶a̶u̶m̶a̶ monotone mumblings.
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I'd rather have fish 'n' chips and a coffee in front of the TV than endure that (and for £100 I'd want more than 1/2 bottle of plonk!)
 
Just thinking a little more about this Festive Ball does anyone else find it a bit tone deaf considering the cost of living these days or is it just me.

I for one, if I was so inclined, would find it a little difficult to justify the cost. If, like me, you live a few hours away from this destination you then need to factor in travel costs and overnight accommodation as well as extra drinks (unless you can make half a bottle last a night) and spending money for shop and tombola (because, lets fact it, if you are going to go, you are doubtless going to spend). It could work out to be a very costly night.
 
leslie61 said:
Just thinking a little more about this Festive Ball does anyone else find it a bit tone deaf considering the cost of living these days or is it just me.

I for one, if I was so inclined, would find it a little difficult to justify the cost. If, like me, you live a few hours away from this destination you then need to factor in travel costs and overnight accommodation as well as extra drinks (unless you can make half a bottle last a night) and spending money for shop and tombola (because, lets fact it, if you are going to go, you are doubtless going to spend). It could work out to be a very costly night.
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But the shop will be full of bargains, don'tcha know, and someone exhorting you to....'buy 3, buy 4, buy one for the newspaper delivery lad and one for the cat, these are legacy pieces'. When you factor in the cost of travel, overnight accommodation, drinks and the exorbitant cost of the ticket, then you could probably have a much nicer weekend away - without the pressure to 'buy, buy, buy'. They promote it as though it's a bargain....they have got to be joking.
 
leslie61 said:
Just thinking a little more about this Festive Ball does anyone else find it a bit tone deaf considering the cost of living these days or is it just me.

I for one, if I was so inclined, would find it a little difficult to justify the cost. If, like me, you live a few hours away from this destination you then need to factor in travel costs and overnight accommodation as well as extra drinks (unless you can make half a bottle last a night) and spending money for shop and tombola (because, lets fact it, if you are going to go, you are doubtless going to spend). It could work out to be a very costly night.
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But some of their viewers are so loyal, they'll go regardless (ie, Mirabella in the past).

Some go solely to meet the presenters so that they feel 'friends' with them - which Gemporia must love, because they can then play on the 'friends in your living room' nonsense a little further.
 
leslie61 said:
Just thinking a little more about this Festive Ball does anyone else find it a bit tone deaf considering the cost of living these days or is it just me.

I for one, if I was so inclined, would find it a little difficult to justify the cost. If, like me, you live a few hours away from this destination you then need to factor in travel costs and overnight accommodation as well as extra drinks (unless you can make half a bottle last a night) and spending money for shop and tombola (because, lets fact it, if you are going to go, you are doubtless going to spend). It could work out to be a very costly night.
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If Gemporia is desperate for cash right now, they're really not going to be fussed about potential/repeat customers' financial circumstances. They just want their stock sold.

The Gemporia of the past may have had a set of vaunted ethics, like providing new and interesting gems and jewellery for sale at affordable prices, buying at source and not from sellers at trade fairs etc, and providing viewers with enough detailed information to make informed decisions about their purchases.

But today's company is nothing like the past one, and it's currently relying very hard on its past reputation to help flog its current stock.

Many people turn up on this forum every now and again who are wildly incandescent with rage at any criticism of Gemporia. Mostly because they have excellent memories of it in the past, and over the years have bought lots of brilliantly priced, beautiful jewellery that they love.

The hardest thing to do is to remove those rose- and nostalgia- tinted glasses of the past, and really see Gemporia as it truly is today. Nobody wants to feel like they've been taken for a fool by people who they've trusted. Especially with their money.

Then there are those who want to believe that they're truly friends with those nice people off the telly. Like the person who used to post regularly on this forum who made a point of buying some stuff from Ellis' first Gemporia shift because they wanted to help her first day "go well". Or those who have bought items presenters were selling and went overboard with saying how much they loved them, then mailed them in to the presenters. I know Ellis stated more than once in shows that viewers had sent in Destello scarfs she'd allegedly liked but "couldn't buy as they'd sold out on air".

There are people out there who really do take the "friends on the telly" crap at face value.
 
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VapidStoat said:
If Gemporia is desperate for cash right now, they're really not going to be fussed about potential/repeat customers' financial circumstances. They just want their stock sold.

The Gemporia of the past may have had a set of vaunted ethics, like providing new and interesting gems and jewellery for sale at affordable prices, buying at source and not from sellers at trade fairs etc, and providing viewers with enough detailed information to make informed decisions about their purchases.

But today's company is nothing like the past one, and it's currently relying very hard on its past reputation to help flog its current stock.

Many people turn up on this forum every now and again who are wildly incandescent with rage at any criticism of Gemporia. Mostly because they have excellent memories of it in the past, and over the years have bought lots of brilliantly priced, beautiful jewellery that they love.

The hardest thing to do is to remove those rose- and nostalgia- tinted glasses of the past, and really see Gemporia as it truly is today. Nobody wants to feel like they've been taken for a fool by people who they've trusted. Especially with their money.

Then there are those who want to believe that they're truly friends with those nice people off the telly. Like the person who used to post regularly on this forum who made a point of buying some stuff from Ellis' first Gemporia shift because they wanted to help her first day "go well". Or those who have bought items presenters were selling and went overboard with saying how much they loved them, then mailed them in to the presenters. I know Ellis stated more than once in shows that viewers had sent in Destello scarfs she'd allegedly liked but "couldn't buy as they'd sold out on air".

There are people out there who really do take the "friends on the telly" crap at face value.
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That is really sad about the scarves. I don't think they have ever been "worried" about customers getting into debt. The original set-up was designed to be addictive with the online auctions ticking down. And really it was pot luck whether you got a "bargain" or not. The gold was always hollowed out unless, I expect, you spent a lot of money which I could never afford. The main selling point was all the unusual gems which no one else was selling at the time.

There have always been some viewers who took everything literally. I remember Steve saying on air years ago that people shouldn't take him seriously when he said they couldn't afford to sell items so cheap as "it was just a bit of fun". Some customers had been posting online not to buy certain things because Steve "couldn't afford it".
 
I notice the advert plays on the "chance to meet former presenters" too - almost suggesting that there's going to be some surprise faces of old appearing on the night.

In reality, its fairly obvious that those 'former presenters', are going to be Ruth Linnett, Drew Nicholls and his wife that used to present on Jewellery Maker, Lucy Nicholls. Those three are almost certain. It doesn't need Sherlock Holmes to work out why.

Rod Jinks will highly likely also be there by default being Lynn's husband and one of Steve Bennetts best friends.

Anyone thinking they're going to get a 'blast from the past' visit from a presenter that left 10+ years ago (such as Scott Worsfold, Ali Defoy or Rae Carpenter) will be in for a shock. It won't be happening.
 
Lyndsay doing a diamond clearance this morning, not sure what’s wrong with her. She said the diamond elephant was gold - when it was precious metals. Then said an internally flawless ring was 1ct, when the graphics clearly said .52 ct !!
 
I can’t stand the deep, brassy coloured yellow gold overlay that they’re using on the amazonite pieces.Now Trot is waffling on about it’s exquisite translucent qualities and I’m surprised that he didn’t produce a torch to shine at it.Because of course we all walk about with torches in case anyone might ask about our rings, don’t we?Lindsey has declared that it’s very difficult to find a heart shaped piece.That doesn’t even make sense.
 
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Ostrichkeeper said:
I can’t stand the deep, brassy coloured yellow gold overlay that they’re using on the amazonite pieces.Now Trot is waffling on about it’s exquisite translucent qualities and I’m surprised that he didn’t produce a torch to shine at it.Because of course we all walk about with torches in case anyone might ask about our rings, don’t we?Lindsey has declared that it’s very difficult to find a heart shaped piece.That doesn’t even make sense.
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Nothing she says ever makes sense if you ask me. In fact just to be controversial, I think I'd rather watch Jess Foley than Ms Carr.
 
VapidStoat said:
I'd rather watch paint dry than either. Watching either of that pair should be considered "extremely cruel and unusual punishment".
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I turned off. Was annoyed she was making such basic mistakes - and big mistakes. If someone hadn’t read the graphics they would think what she said was was true, ie they would buy a diamond ring thinking it was 1ct when actually it was only .52 🤨
 
Carsc said:
Lyndsay doing a diamond clearance this morning, not sure what’s wrong with her. She said the diamond elephant was gold - when it was precious metals. Then said an internally flawless ring was 1ct, when the graphics clearly said .52 ct !!
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She's as thick as mince.

You'd think she'd be extra careful of what she's saying at the moment considering she / Gemporia has already had a slap on the wrist for a claim she made on air a few months ago.
 
I saw them actually selling tickets on the show - where you can add to your basket, I don't think I've ever seen them selling them like that before. I was wondering if they aren't selling well. I'm pretty sure they sold out in the past.
 
I don't think they're selling very well either. They seem to be playing the VT more often, and they used to sell out really quickly. £100 seems very steep to me. I'm sure they used to be something like £40 in the past?

I noticed the VT seems to have changed too. I'm sure it said something about "your chance to meet your favourite past and current presenters" - now, it seems to be just referring to seeing current presenters (they'd have to pay me £100 to put up with any of the current shower of presenters!)

It's supposed to be an event that's "going to be the talk of the town" - but for £100, you get half a bottle of wine, the chance to play tombola (you can do that in your local working mans club / social club for a fiver), and you're paying for the privilege of Gemporia giving you the chance to flog something to you in their pop up shop - probably with Jess Foley screaming 'absolutely' down your ears every 2 seconds, or Lyndsey Carr describing something totally different to what she's actually selling.

No thanks!
 
TheManWithNoName said:
I don't think they're selling very well either. They seem to be playing the VT more often, and they used to sell out really quickly. £100 seems very steep to me. I'm sure they used to be something like £40 in the past?

I noticed the VT seems to have changed too. I'm sure it said something about "your chance to meet your favourite past and current presenters" - now, it seems to be just referring to seeing current presenters (they'd have to pay me £100 to put up with any of the current shower of presenters!)
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Personally, I would rather stick pins in my eyes... but maybe that's just me.

When everything went down the plughole. When refunds took over a month and Steve appeared promising to resurrect Gemporia from the ashes - like some kind of Messiah - I thought: "I'll wait until Christmas, I won't buy anything until then in case they fold and I don't get my money back." Well, here I am, staring up the nostrils of Christmas. Nothing has changed. Steve's promises have turned to dust and the presenters have resorted to stretching the truth ever-thinner. Pay £100 to meet them all? Pay to visit their shop full of low-quality Temu, Ali-Baba and Ebay Chinese Tat? I wouldn't even pay 100 pence - and I dread to think where they will get their wine from! Do Temu sell alcohol?
 

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