Ring, worthless or valuable?

[Creative]

Hi,

I bought a Tanzanite ring from R&C, it was very late at night and I thought I'd give it a go. The problem is I have no clue about Tanzanite and do not know if I bought somthing valuable or worthless?

I was watching again the other day and realised that the original price they start with is a made up number and has no bearing on the rings actual value and some of the rings/jewellery are utter rubbish anyway.

Does anyone have a rough idea what these rings should be worth or where I could find out?

The item code is 227538

Does anyone know where I can get quality rings for reasonable prices.

Many thanks

 

[SUPERCOOLWILLOW]

hi Creative and a massive warm welcome

enjoy your time here

i`m sure Meeshoo will be along shortly to advise

 

[MissMagpie]

Hi Creative, and welcome to the Forum!

Tanzanite is a valuable gemstone, so you would not get a ring like that for pennies. Until recently, Rocks & Co's tanzanite was very overpriced, but they have now dropped their prices back to the right sort of level. Someone more expert than me will probably be able to give you an estimate of what it should have cost.

If it's specifically tanzanite you're after, a lot of people recommend The Jewellery Channel as the best place to get it in terms of quality and price. If you're not really sure what you're after, then you could take a look at all the channels (Gems TV, The Jewellery Channel, Rocks & Co and Coloured Rocks/Rocks TV) - they all have websites where you can browse through a selection of items, and all of them offer much better deals than the High Street.

Hope that helps - and good luck!

 

[Tabs]

Creative i've just had a quick look at your item (on the website). It looks from the picture there a lovely colour Tanzanite, and if your ring is that colour when it arrives you should be very pleased. However, i think much will depend on the price you paid for it too.

As mentioned earlier, i'm sure Meeshoo, our resident bling expert will be along to offer her advice too

 

[Creative]

Hi,

Thanks for the warm welcome. I paid £589 for it, it looked bigger when I saw it on tv but that is probably due to my naivety. The colour changes in the light, but i would describe it as purple with tinges of blue. I have read that purple tanzanite stone is not as valuable as blue and so I am thinking I have paid over the odds for it.

Thanks for all the help

 

[Sacha]

Hi Creative and welcome from me as well.

I tried doing what Tabs said but I can't get a link or the product code to come up with a picture of your ring. Would be grateful if someone else could? Are you able to post a photo of your ring (and its specs) then it would be easier for the Tanzy experts (of which, sadly, I am not one) to give you a truer opinion...if they so wish.

 

[sweetpea]

Sacha.....as requested

http://www.rocksandco.com/index.php?task=eCertificate

Mmmmm......specs info doesn't show!!! grrrrr


2.71 gms gold
1.53ct tanzanite
0.085ct diamond

 

[Meeshoo]

Hi Creative and welcome!

Can you post up a photo of your ring please? With an octogon or emerald cut, it is essential to have a well cut gemstone and this will affect the value. Unfortunately R&C's cutting leaves a lot to be desired

The price you've paid (if it's a great top colour/cut Tanzanite) is ok. A little on the high side and quite light in goldweight but you haven't massively overpaid. However, if the Tanzanite isn't well cut or is too light/dark etc., the value will be affected.

 

[Sacha]

Thanks Sweetpea for the pic and details.

Now I can see that it is an Octagon cut, just for comparison, I will just try and post a link of the same shaped ring I returned previously to R&C.

It was AAA Tanzy (from a collectors stash..we were told) costing £399, but it didn't compare favourably to a AAA Tanzy (mentioned in another thread) that I also bought from TJC. As Meesh says, it wasn't the best of cuts and had a noticeable window....through which I could read the small print on the tag!


However, Creative, yours could be and hopefully is much better and bigger than my last purchase and has a good saturation of colour throughout. Just a point though as I've heard it said on TJC also, that Octagon cuts are less common than many of the other cuts of Tanzanite and so if it is this shape you are really after then.......

 

[Creative]

Hi,

How can I post pics on here so the experts can have a look?

I have been inspecting the ring and from some angles you can see right through it, to the back of the ring...not looking good

 

[Creative]

 

[MissMagpie]

Hi Creative,

To post a pic, if you're in "quick reply" mode, click "Go Advanced" (at the bottom). You'll then see a box with "Additional Options", and one of these is to "Attach Files". You can attach your photos from there.

The important question is, can you see right through the stone when you look at it face on? If you can, that's a problem. If you can only see through it when you tilt it at an angle, that's normal and is OK.

Would still be good to see your pics, though, in order to get an idea of the colour... good luck uploading them!

 

[Creative]

Hi,

Thanks for the help MissMagpie. I have uploaded a couple of pics for you to look at.

Thanks for the help

 

[Sacha]

Hi again Creative, well done for posting the pics!

The colour of your Tanzy looks a lovely purplish blue, particularly in the first photo. A good test for checking for windows is to hold the tag....if there is one....and see if you can read clearly the small print through the centre of the stone. I could with the octagon cut I returned....it was also a much lighter blue!

How do you feel about the ring, do you love it or are you having some reservations?

 

[Creative]

Hi,

I liked the ring at first nice colour and shape. But having scrutinised it I am not so sure now. If you look at it under electric lights you can't really see a window. However in natural light there is a window. The writing on the tag can be seen but not read clearly or easily its more of a black smudge/blur.

Thanks for all the help guys, this forum is so informative for us novices keep up the good work.

 

[Meeshoo]

Hi again Creative.

The white balance is off in your photos so I suspect that the photos are showing a darker colour than you're seeing in real life?

The picture with the ring off your finger shows that the facets aren't placed well so the tilt window you're seeing is shown when you only slightly tilt the ring. For me (but I'm an incredibly fussy bugga) that would bug me to the point that I wouldn't wear the ring BUT this may not be a problem for others.

Ask yourself this:-

1. Do you absolutely LOVE the ring? Do you look at it and go "OMG that's stunning"? If not, send it back. Don't settle for second best.
2. If you think about sending it back do you think you'd be running after the Post Van trying to get it back? If no, then send it back.
3. Is the colour the shade that YOU want?
4. How do YOU feel about the price? Do you feel you've overpaid?
5. You mention seeing a window in some lights. Is that going to annoy you?

You should love a ring in most lighting conditions - because let's face it, it'll be worn in those. So you should only buy a ring that you love to look at all the time.

Sometimes it's best to live with a ring for a while and see how you feel then. If you find you're not constantly looking at it OR when you are you're seeing the faults then you know what to do - and I'm sure we can help you spend your refund!!!!!

If you can, take a photo of the ring on a white piece of paper in strong light (don't put it on your hand) and take the photo head on, looking straight into the gem. If you have a macro mode on your camera, get as close as you can without it blurring but don't use your flash.

 

[Meeshoo]

Added note:

Creative if you upgrade your membership (I think you press the "donate" button at the top of the screen and for £6 you have unlimited access to all parts of the forum), I'll post a picture of a few octagon cuts that I own in the "bling" section of "the drop" - which you won't be able to access at the moment. That'll give you a good indication of what a good cut should look like. Let me know if you want me to do it.

 

[Tabs]

From your fiest picture it looks to have a reasonable depth of colour, but for the price you paid i personally would like a stone that is window free.

 

[genuineshopper]

Hi Creative! Welcome to this wonderful forum which I too only recently joined. I've posted my experiences with R&C in the last few threads or so. I have bought a number of items from R&C, spending quite a bit over the last couple of months or so before realising maybe I was being a bit naive about it all. My only excuse is I was blinded by the bling!! That said I love nearly all of the pieces I bought even if some of them might not necessarily have been wise buys.

I love your ring and I can well understand why you bought it. I'm sure you'll get lots of very good advice here on it's true value. But I must say I love Meeshoo's advice on how to decide if you really want to keep your ring, especially this one: "if you think about sending it back do you think you'd be running after the Post Van trying to get it back? If no, then send it back". I just bought a kunzite ring from GemsTV and have been wobbling over keeping it. Meeshoo's made me make up my mind. It will be posted back on Monday.

I hope you have the option to send yours back if you need to. Just to say, I've been sent rings from R&C that don't have tags on when they've arrived but they have still taken them back without question. It worried me a lot when it first happened but I've never had a problem getting a refund - just a long delay on one return (where it DID have a tag) which I've written about in another post, but that has been an exception. Generally, R&C take their exact 30 days as per their T&C to refund your money. I usually see what I've returned being sold again a week or so out from my money being refunded so I know roughly when the money's due!!!!!

I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do. But rest assured, if you do return the ring, don't regret it. Tune into The Jewellery Channel and you'll soon fall in love again.

 

[Creative]

Hi,

I'm glad you like my ring genuineshopper, I was just looking at the TJC site and they give certificates with their jewellery which I did not get from rocks and co is this something to worry about? Is this normal practice with rocks and co.

I have learnt a lot about Tanzanite in this forum, it has made me much wiser on the subject. Thank you all.