Is it worth it?

[Huda]

Hi all,

This is my first post! I've been following this forum since Gemporia's Lifestyle channel closed and I was searching to see what was going on. I've got lots of thoughts, similar to what's been said already, but will post on another thread.

For now, I want to take TMWNN on his kind offer that you guys can advise if things are worth buying/ keeping. There's a lot of tat and overpriced stuff. But there's some which looks worth buying/a bargain/ nice pieces/potentially investment (am I being naive?), so wanted to get people's thoughts.

This for example is a piece of Imperial pink/peach topaz on GC. In my limited knowledge natural pink topaz is worth a lot and this seemed like a really good deal?

Also, their bi colour (again natural according to the certificates) tanzanites seem like a good buy? Or golden tanzanites being rare according to what the presenters say.

I have found other stuff cheaper on AliExpress and Gem Select like people on here have said, but not things like the ones mentioned above.

Would appreciate your thoughts

 

[TheManWithNoName]

Beware of buying gemstones for 'investment'. Gemporia, and mass sellers of gemstones in general, such as Gem Select, do not sell investment quality stones. They're commercial grade gemstones that you'll be lucky to even break even on. Don't fall for the Gemporia presenter spiel. I can think of only two gemstones that could be considered 'investable' since Gemporia launched - and that's the original Russian Alexandrite, and the Blue Garnet. At a push, possibly the Pink Diaspore that they've got a small parcel of at the moment. The day-to-day Kyanites, Grandidierites, Diamonds, Tanzanites, etc - they're nowhere near 'investment' quality.

At the end of the day, Gemporia are a business. If they had an 'investment' quality stone in their vault, they'd keep hold of it themselves and gain the rewards in a few years time. They wouldn't be offering it to Fred in Falkirk for a few hundred quid out of the goodness of their hearts if they new they could get thousands for it in a few years time.

Beware of what presenters say about "Golden Tanzanite" being rare too.

For starters, there is no such thing as "Golden Tanzanite." Tanzanite is the blue variety of the mineral 'Zoisite'. Any other colour should be referred to as Zoisite.

So why does Gemporia call it "Golden Tanzanite"? Marketing. People are familiar with the name Tanzanite, but very few know the name Zoisite. Tanzanite also has a perceived rarity, whereas Zoisite does not.

This is somewhat misleading. Calling it "Tanzanite" suggests it is only available in Tanzania. However, only the blue variety is unique to Tanzania - other colours of Zoisite can be mined in other countries.

That being said, Gemporia's Golden Tanzanite (Yellow Zoisite) is fairly priced in my opinion - so if you like it, go for it.

As for the Pink Topaz - I've bought Gemporia's Pink Topaz in the past - and returned it. In all honesty, I found it weak in colour compared to the photos - so much so that it was almost colourless. If you want to buy one, make sure you see it close-up on screen before you commit to buying it. Also make sure that the stone you see on screen is the exact one you're going to get. As for price? I'd say it's about £50 overpriced in my opinion. It's untreated, granted, which is rare these days (most Pink Topaz on the market is heated or irradiated) - so that pushes its price up - but I think you could get Pink Topaz of similar carat weight cheaper elsewhere (with possibly stronger colour too).

As for buying from other sources. Gem Select are great. Very reputable. Good quality stones. Generally well priced on most stones. Customer Service is exceptional too.

Etsy is a mixed bag - there are some dodgy sellers with fakes/synthetics - but there are also some great sellers too. There are some sellers of Pink Diaspore on there - and they're the real deal. They provide a GIA certificate of authenticity (one of the best labs in the world) - and they're cheaper than Gemporia's Pink Diaspore (and Gemporia's does not come with a GIA certificate!).

AliExpress and the Chinese sites such as Temu - proceed with caution. The Chinese are not the most trustworthy, and their certificates of authenticity are not worth the paper they're written on. A lot of the Chinese Jade is synthetic, the majority of so-called 'Baltic Amber' on Chinese websites is fake, their 'Tanzanite' is usually Iolite, and so-called Apatite, etc that they sell is usually dyed Quartzite.

Ebay - see Etsy. Some great sellers. Some REALLY poor sellers. If you're buying from auction sites or Chinese sites, make sure the stones come with certificates from reputable labs. If there's no certificate, or the certificate has an unknown lab logo, then run a mile.

That's just my 2 cents based on my opinion and experience.