What looks like yet another tanzanite scam

[Price Plunge]

Earlier this evening, Mikey Mason was selling some tanzanite items but it was the way they were sold that reeked of scam, even though there were only 2 in the quantity. At least to his credit he said that they were "graded tanzanite stones" but that should have set alarm bells ringing as to how good these items actually were.

Let's consider the evidence:

1. Isn't tanzanite supposed to be blue? Only a few stones in the centre of each piece looked to be a pale blue colour.
2. 2.82ct is the quoted carat weight. Is that per item or across the whole set?
3. Lots of small stones = Tanzanite sweepings off the mine floor.
4. "Graded tanzanite stones" - Totally meaningless phrase in itself.

So what we have here are a few tiny stones that perhaps just about scrape the Bid Shopping AA criterion, with the rest essentially being worthless stone chips probably worth something like £1 in total. The start price was a totally ludicrous £300-something before being immediately dropped to £25, and both sets were sold in a matter of seconds when the phone lines were opened.

Another one for the ASA perhaps? (I can't realistically complain having not bought anything from these channels and never will by the looks of things.)

 

[aqua]

View attachment 9096
Earlier this evening, Mikey Mason was selling some tanzanite items but it was the way they were sold that reeked of scam, even though there were only 2 in the quantity. At least to his credit he said that they were "graded tanzanite stones" but that should have set alarm bells ringing as to how good these items actually were.

Let's consider the evidence:

1. Isn't tanzanite supposed to be blue? Only a few stones in the centre of each piece looked to be a pale blue colour.
2. 2.82ct is the quoted carat weight. Is that per item or across the whole set?
3. Lots of small stones = Tanzanite sweepings off the mine floor.
4. "Graded tanzanite stones" - Totally meaningless phrase in itself.

So what we have here are a few tiny stones that perhaps just about scrape the Bid Shopping AA criterion, with the rest essentially being worthless stone chips probably worth something like £1 in total. The start price was a totally ludicrous £300-something before being immediately dropped to £25, and both sets were sold in a matter of seconds when the phone lines were opened.

Another one for the ASA perhaps? (I can't realistically complain having not bought anything from these channels and never will by the looks of things.)

I can attest from personal experience that you do not have to have purchased from these channels in order to have a complaint investigated by the ASA.

 

[Wirral70]

That picture sums up Mason perfectly. He looks like nothing more than a dodgy street trader.

I know he has really awful teeth but that makes him look like he has forgotten to wear his dentures

(PP, I would maybe like to use that pic as an Avatar at some point, is that ok?)

 

[Price Plunge]

That picture sums up Mason perfectly. He looks like nothing more than a dodgy street trader.

I know he has really awful teeth but that makes him look like he has forgotten to wear his dentures

(PP, I would maybe like to use that pic as an Avatar at some point, is that ok?)

Normally I would choose a more flattering picture of a presenter to illustrate something, but he was shouting a lot at this point so it seemed very appropriate. Also it's rather amusing as well :grin:

Anyway, even though I don't yet have an avatar, well, go on then, you can use that picture :nod:

 

[Wirral70]

Normally I would choose a more flattering picture of a presenter to illustrate something, but he was shouting a lot at this point so it seemed very appropriate. Also it's rather amusing as well :grin:

Anyway, even though I don't yet have an avatar, well, go on then, you can use that picture :nod:

PP you use your pic as an Avatar, it's just such a bad pic of that wideboy that somebody has to!

 

[MrMobo]

I like Tanzanite & so does my partner so we have a few pieces, buying it in mens jewelry can be hard and good quality is always expensive. I purchased my favorite piece from ebay (I actually saw the seller recommended on here) http://stores.ebay.com/Mikaelians-J...t.x=0&submit.y=0&LH_TitleDesc=1&_sid=17543112

You can see from that link what good quality tanzanite should look like in regard to colour. A lot of the cheaper Tanzanite looks more like cheaper amethyst as it lacks the deep colour. When I was in the states I saw some Tanzanite for sale (A+++) and it was very cheap but what they had done is just take a slice of Tanzanite and added a clear topaz on top so it still retained its colour and looked a lot bigger than it actually was. Another example of how you have to be careful is some sellers actually spray the Tanzanite with some sort of chemical that makes the gem look darker than it actually is. Theres just so many horror stories in regard to Tanzanite that it really is worth only buying it from a specialized dealer/jeweler imo.

Some dodgy sellers sell Iolite as Tanzanite as its very similar in colour (most people wouldn't tell the difference), I bet there's loads of it on ebay. You can even get cz tanzanite that looks very much like the real thing: http://www.pehnec.com/cz_tanzanite_round.htm

I've never purchased any from Bid so can't comment on the quality they offer.