Probably false, like everything else!
Jake Thompson Tuscon
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Womanwithnoname
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I can and I did
, it hurt my imagination to the point of brain damage! Ouch and ewww!
Thank you for the laugh though
Rose de France
Gemporia's customer
Jeff Hayden's hair would be the best!I can and I did
Ouch and ewww!
Thank you for the laugh though
TheManWithNoName
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They already do it. Not intentionally though.
It's just that by the time Adina has finished sneezing and coughing through a presentation of a ring or pendant, it ends up shooting out of her hands and ending up on her head.
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Jake just appeared on a promo video with Hattie and he looks like Kim Jong Un now, same hairstyle anyway.
Rose de France
Gemporia's customer
The Great Dictator of Gemporia!
And he said that AQUAPRASE is the best investment Steve Bennett has ever done.
TheManWithNoName
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There are similarities.
Kim Jong-Un is a dictator. Jake Thompson is a dic...................
GrahamBristol
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I didn't really understand that. So Steve was buddies with Yani and bought a load of blue rock speculatively. Then 'because when we get a great deal - you get a great deal ' they have been selling Aquaprase 'cheaply' by comparison with the new market. So, assuming that you consider an investment on the basis of the value of the return Vs the original cost, what makes this the best investment that Steve has ever made?The Great Dictator of Gemporia!
And he said that AQUAPRASE is the best investment Steve Bennett has ever done.
TheManWithNoName
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I don't believe that any of these stones are from Steve's personal collection.
They're deluded if they think we're stupid enough to believe that Steve had been paying to store dyed Chalcedony and reconstituted Turquoise in a vault in Geneva.
The storage fees would be more than the crap quality stones would be worth.
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Everything they spout on Gemporia is just marketing, nothing more. It sounds better to make people believe that they’re getting something special. I don’t believe a word of it myself. The Aquaprase that they do sell looks nothing like the stuff LeVian are selling. Most of their high end pieces seem to be set with Peacock Aquaprase which is one bright colour. I think they also do pieces with the multi coloured stuff too though.
Rose de France
Gemporia's customer
I believe that the high-quality opal specimens (set in 18k gold) are from his personal collection. They look gorgeous. Very colourful and twinkling.
This is why I never buy patterned stones from Gemporia. I like to know what I'm paying for.
TheManWithNoName
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Yes, there are a few stones that could be from Steve's personal collection - the opals that you mention, plus perhaps the Csarite and highly likely the Tunduru Colour Change Sapphires that they sold at the weekend.
The Tunduru mine closed years ago - and Gemporia haven't sold it for about 6 years - so that is likely from Steve's vault.
But the dyed Chalcedony, filled Rubies and reconstituted Turquoise? All I can say is, if they tried to tell us that they're from Steve's personal vault to impress us or to imply that they are of a grade worth investing in, then i'd have serious reservations about Steve's integrity and gem knowledge because those stones are the worst quality available in those materials, they have very little worth, they will never increase in value, and they will NEVER be investment stones. If Rubies were not filled, they'd inevitably be scrap. If low quality Chalcedony was not dyed, it would either be bland and unpopular stuff with no colour - or it would be 'dirty' looking junk with loads of inclusions and impurities that make it ugly looking. The dyeing treatment is done to make it look visually appealing and 'sellable'.
Even the stones like Zircon. There's nothing wrong with Zircon. I actually really like Zircon - i'd have that over a Diamond any day of the week. But do I believe its out of Steve's vault? No. I believe its just stock that Gemporia have had for years. Gemporia ALWAYS have Zircon. It's their accent stone of choice on gold. Most gold jewellery has Zircon rather than diamond as accent stones. It's a not a rare stone - it's readily available. It's not expensive either. Will it have gone up in price since 2006 (the date they claimed they bought it) - yes, almost certainly. Will it have gone up by much? Unlikely. Probably nowhere near as much as he's spent on paying to supposedly store it in a vault in Geneva to store it...........
If I was someone like Steve Bennett, with plenty of money in the bank and access to some of the world best stones, I'd be investing in high quality natural or heat treated Rubies, high quality natural or heat treated Sapphires, high quality Emeralds, the very best Tanzanite with genuine 3-way pleochroism where blues, purples and reds can be seen in one stone, and genuinely ultra-rare stones such as Benitoite, Bixbite (Red Beryl), etc.
I wouldn't be interested in dyed Chalcedony or reconstituted stones even for my own personal collection - even if they were free. They're crap quality stones, worthless, visually bland and totally unappealing to me. I wouldn't pay someone to store them in their shed for me - let alone pay to store them in a 'private vault in Geneva'.
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Some of the opals were lovely. I do have a small weakness for the intense colour play in Ethiopian opals (and I don't mind that they're hydrophane - it's just what they are), but some of the 18K Coober Pedy pendants were lovely. Although mainly green & blue, they had a lovely dark body colour and were set in very attractive designs. The Ethiopian ones were just "OK". For how they were priced, I have some nicer, comparable loose ones.
I agree about the Colour Change Sapphire. That was the one Bennett Vault showcase that I thought was believable. The Heliodor was a let down. SI in clarity and, damn it, irradiated. Setting them in 18K just seemed to be a bit of a con, with the huge mark up on them. Not sure I'd want to spend £999+ on a few grams of gold, some quite small - almost melee size - diamonds and an irradiated stone.
Lindsey Carr trotted out the "this is unisex, people have been asking for more men's jewellery" line the other day. Sure but you never do, really. When Steve & Matt were involved, they brought out a few collections. My experience was two-fold.
Firstly, the stones were 100% inferior to the ladies' range. Years ago I bought a nice, wearable bezel set London Blue silver ring. My goodness, I didn't realise until then that you could have a topaz so included. Shook me somewhat.
Secondly, their sizing strategy was off. Men's hands are quite different in that they're not quite so forgiving in size ranges. I have U, V and W ring fingers. Not T-U (which means you take a lucky dip whether the one you get is nearer the T or the U) but a definite U.
Having said that, Matt B once did an overnight show that I happened to wake up to and bought a very stylish pair of red/orange Songea sapphire cufflinks for a silly price. Never saw them offered again.
I agree about the Colour Change Sapphire. That was the one Bennett Vault showcase that I thought was believable. The Heliodor was a let down. SI in clarity and, damn it, irradiated. Setting them in 18K just seemed to be a bit of a con, with the huge mark up on them. Not sure I'd want to spend £999+ on a few grams of gold, some quite small - almost melee size - diamonds and an irradiated stone.
Lindsey Carr trotted out the "this is unisex, people have been asking for more men's jewellery" line the other day. Sure but you never do, really. When Steve & Matt were involved, they brought out a few collections. My experience was two-fold.
Firstly, the stones were 100% inferior to the ladies' range. Years ago I bought a nice, wearable bezel set London Blue silver ring. My goodness, I didn't realise until then that you could have a topaz so included. Shook me somewhat.
Secondly, their sizing strategy was off. Men's hands are quite different in that they're not quite so forgiving in size ranges. I have U, V and W ring fingers. Not T-U (which means you take a lucky dip whether the one you get is nearer the T or the U) but a definite U.
Having said that, Matt B once did an overnight show that I happened to wake up to and bought a very stylish pair of red/orange Songea sapphire cufflinks for a silly price. Never saw them offered again.
Absolutely
