Good value items

[historymystery]

100%. It's always heart-warming when there's a "result" like this. The colour of the emeralds in JoJo's silver pendant is lovely.

This happened to me on Gem Collector recently too, which woke me up. Thought I'd buy an amethyst, prasiolite and citrine as a little Christmas present. Nice sizes and different shapes & cuts. Only the amethyst had "Treatment' details - the other two had nothing at all, but the worst was the citrine. Lovely concave cut & yellow on screen but I got - basically - a white quartz with yellow banding.

1.9g? Gosh, you'd be lucky

I like citrines, but like them to look like citrines, so that would have been one I'd send straight back, too. It seems as though since Alex left, they are dealing in mainly poor, washed-out and treated stones on GC now, gone are the days when you could pick up a decent loose gemstone, many of them natural stones, for a good price. And for the gold in rings, in my view you need to be looking at nearer 3 grams for a shank - and I can remember when some of their rings were set in 4 grams of gold - no chance of that now.

What annoys me is that the presenters keep on about 'set in solid gold', and 'you could pay this, just for the gold' as though you have a sizeable shank on the ring, whereas in reality the bottom of the shank that fits under your finger is so thin you could sneeze and it'd bend. It's all smoke and mirrors - and yet supposedly such 'incredible value'. I often wonder whether some buyers even check the metal weight before buying.

 

[Always complaining]

This blue zircon was just reduced to £899 in Jeff’s show. Pretty ****** good for 5cts! I personally prefer gems you can’t mistake for blue topaz but this colour is good.

Thought this was good when I saw it reduced to £799. Over 5 cts and a good weight of gold. Diamonds are tiny but still add sparkle. Design a little bit different to usual.

 

[Jojo1]

I bought this emerald ring after watching for years and always fancying one. I spotted a collection which had very clean stones which is what I like. I received it within 48 hours and I am very happy with it. It was £160 all in and the three emeralds are a beautiful bright green colour and there are no visible inclusions. The card said that there was 2.1 grams of gold but mine was 2.49 grams which is very slightly better I guess lol.It seems to be well made so I hope there’s longevity in it.I found it good value compared with anywhere else offering similar. Even though I don’t particularly like the addition of zircon to most of the designs the tiny size of these was ok. They don’t detract from it.

That’s an elegant ring full of lush green emeralds, and a great price! And I agree about Zircons- would prefer diamonds but if they are I3, no thanks. I just got one of the latest Zambians for around £330. The stone is bigger than I could get for this price in Australia, so i’m happy with that.

 

[Jojo1]

Thought this was good when I saw it reduced to £799. Over 5 cts and a good weight of gold. Diamonds are tiny but still add sparkle. Design a little bit different to usual.

WOW! But look at the colour of that blue zircon! That’s awesome value.

 

[Jojo1]

I like citrines, but like them to look like citrines, so that would have been one I'd send straight back, too. It seems as though since Alex left, they are dealing in mainly poor, washed-out and treated stones on GC now, gone are the days when you could pick up a decent loose gemstone, many of them natural stones, for a good price. And for the gold in rings, in my view you need to be looking at nearer 3 grams for a shank - and I can remember when some of their rings were set in 4 grams of gold - no chance of that now.

What annoys me is that the presenters keep on about 'set in solid gold', and 'you could pay this, just for the gold' as though you have a sizeable shank on the ring, whereas in reality the bottom of the shank that fits under your finger is so thin you could sneeze and it'd bend. It's all smoke and mirrors - and yet supposedly such 'incredible value'. I often wonder whether some buyers even check the metal weight before buying.

I hear you about the gold rubbish. 1g of pure gold bullion is not the same value as 2g of 9ct. I did get one of the idar sugarloaf citrines. It’s on sale at Gemporia now for less than I paid for it 3 weeks ago if you are interested.

 

[Jojo1]

Not really sure I'm the right person to give you an answer but this is what I'll say anyway...

- Priced at just £59.25, add on P&P (if only purchase on day) so call it £64.
- Just 1.5g of silver total, across the pair including push backs
- Declared as I3 clarity, H/I colour.
- Shape: baguette, Cut: Step

Because of the clarity and colour, I'm not sure you should assume too much by the baguette shape. Not even sure that the step cut will forgive those gradings.

I expect they would be disappointing for what they are. but I dare not order! Maybe they will air one day.

 

[Marietta]

1/4ct Diamond Sterling Silver Earrings

1/4ct Diamond Sterling Silver Earrings

www.gemporia.com

What do you think about these? Hard to say without seeing them in person. Baguette cuts usually need to be quite clear. Seem to have good reviews.

Diamonds, a quarter carat in total? Diamonds would be very small.

 

[Marietta]

I like citrines, but like them to look like citrines, so that would have been one I'd send straight back, too. It seems as though since Alex left, they are dealing in mainly poor, washed-out and treated stones on GC now, gone are the days when you could pick up a decent loose gemstone, many of them natural stones, for a good price. And for the gold in rings, in my view you need to be looking at nearer 3 grams for a shank - and I can remember when some of their rings were set in 4 grams of gold - no chance of that now.

What annoys me is that the presenters keep on about 'set in solid gold', and 'you could pay this, just for the gold' as though you have a sizeable shank on the ring, whereas in reality the bottom of the shank that fits under your finger is so thin you could sneeze and it'd bend. It's all smoke and mirrors - and yet supposedly such 'incredible value'. I often wonder whether some buyers even check the metal weight before buying.

One of the things that annoys me is the way they call 9k gold 'solid gold.' So much for their GIA qualifications!

 

[AndyW]

I just got one of the latest Zambians for around £330. The stone is bigger than I could get for this price in Australia, so i’m happy with that.

Very pretty emerald. I do prefer the slight blue, leaning into turquoise colour of Zambian emeralds.

 

[Marietta]

Noting that many of you still watch Gemporia, even though you may not purchase, have you seen anything that you consider good value - even if purchased some time ago? Alternatively, are there any items that you think don’t present any value?

I have two which i have purchased that have impressed me. Both emeralds. The earrings are large for emerald studs 5mmx7mm and are a lovely colour with reasonable clarity. Price is very good, even for midas silver. The pendant is also impressive and on sale. I’m waiting on one of the larger 1.7ct emerald rings in 9ct gold to arrive.

Personally, the items that don’t present value to me are any of the filled, coated or diffused gems, and the Lehrer carvings. Happy to be educated.

Well Jojo, I hate to disillusion you, but nothing is as it seems!
If it's cheap, it's either filled, diffused, coated or otherwise tampered with!

 

[historymystery]

100%. It's always heart-warming when there's a "result" like this. The colour of the emeralds in JoJo's silver pendant is lovely.

This happened to me on Gem Collector recently too, which woke me up. Thought I'd buy an amethyst, prasiolite and citrine as a little Christmas present. Nice sizes and different shapes & cuts. Only the amethyst had "Treatment' details - the other two had nothing at all, but the worst was the citrine. Lovely concave cut & yellow on screen but I got - basically - a white quartz with yellow banding.

1.9g? Gosh, you'd be lucky

I was staggered to see a 9ct gold yellow sapphire ring with what was claimed to be average of 2.5 grams gold on the Kate & Toby hour this morning - £249 I think was the final price.

 

[Jojo1]

I was staggered to see a 9ct gold yellow sapphire ring with what was claimed to be average of 2.5 grams gold on the Kate & Toby hour this morning - £249 I think was the final price.

Some of it was filled sapphire!

 

[AndyW]

TGGC has just become another retailer, really. It has no USP. "Cutting out the middlemen" can't be true any longer for most of what they offer. You really really have to look at the item details carefully and do comparisons.

Example 1: Akoya pearl in gold today. £99.99 South Sea rose gold 2022. £49.99
Example 2: Akoya strand today, 16" £999. Akoya strand 34" 2022 £149.99

Images attached, 2022 prices were what I paid.

 

[Jojo1]

TGGC has just become another retailer, really. It has no USP. "Cutting out the middlemen" can't be true any longer for most of what they offer. You really really have to look at the item details carefully and do comparisons.

Example 1: Akoya pearl in gold today. £99.99 South Sea rose gold 2022. £49.99
Example 2: Akoya strand today, 16" £999. Akoya strand 34" 2022 £149.99

Images attached, 2022 prices were what I paid.

It depends on the grade and size of the pearl, too, which Gemporia and others don’t educate on. Not sure if Charlie did on tv but his uncle David Norman does on Australian shopping tv (tvsn). Yesterday, the golden pearls were good and the ones in 18kt gold were really good buying- not investment. Dave showed 16mm perfect round AAA on sale in Hong Kong for $22k which doesn’t compare to what Gemporia has- but what Gemporia has is not bad at all, just not top stuff. If people looked on the Gemporia website they could find some ripper south sea Australian white pearls in silver starting at £30. They probably aren’t perfect rounds, A to AA grade and around 7mm, but you are getting it set in silver for the price of the loose pearl. I have a south sea Australian AA button (i estimate) pearl ring from Gems ($130 AUD) and am happy. Pic of it next to a 13mm circle pearl AA from David Norman ($180AUD).

 

[Jojo1]

For all of his droning about jade, Dave does talk straight. I have heard him say that you can get real gems for the price of a diffuser (seed pearl show i think) and yesterday he did say that the dyed freshwater are a dime a dozen. So it does help people to make more savvy choices with their pensions.

 

[Jojo1]

David Norman is on tvsn now with his crazy huge south sea pearls. Necklace is $20k AUD. Ring is $9k and bracelet is $12k.

 

[AndyW]

It depends on the grade and size of the pearl, too, ...

To be fair, my 34" £149.99 Akoysas are 6-8mm and not all perfectly round. Personally, I'm not exercised by the "roundness" and quite often prefer a bit of irregularity. At least it guarantees that they're not sanded and then coated/bleached. But the 16" £999 ones in this morning's repeat auction are the same and only white. That's where the difference is between Gems TV then and now. The David Norman ones look lovely but, for me, a bit rich at that price. I have a single, very large South Sea as a pendant but it's imperfect in shape and not uniform in colour - but I love it for that.

 

[Jojo1]

To be fair, my 34" £149.99 Akoysas are 6-8mm and not all perfectly round. Personally, I'm not exercised by the "roundness" and quite often prefer a bit of irregularity. At least it guarantees that they're not sanded and then coated/bleached. But the 16" £999 ones in this morning's repeat auction are the same and only white. That's where the difference is between Gems TV then and now. The David Norman ones look lovely but, for me, a bit rich at that price. I have a single, very large South Sea as a pendant but it's imperfect in shape and not uniform in colour - but I love it for that.

I like the irregular ones too. They look better as a single pearl in a bracelet or pendant. Round are good for stud earrings (which i have but don’t wear because they are a hassle to take out every day). Did you see the baroque that Dave Troth put £20k on? Three of them, two look like bird poop and one like a snail shell. Only the snail shell shape i feel is worth anything major because it’s a novelty.

 

[historymystery]

Some of it was filled sapphire!

I'm not a bit surprised that some of the sapphires were filled - I'd be surprised if they were otherwise, - but I was quite surprised at the gold weight. Nearly every time I've seen a Gemporia hour lately the gold weight for rings has been well under 2 grams, (or cheesewire, to be precise). And the prices are usually off the wall, whatever the stone.

 

[Ant7t]

It has no USP. "Cutting out the middlemen"

Yup, that went by the board when they started buying from fairs. They may go to 'source' (the market stall), but they are full of middle men.