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While i'm not an expert, i have done a lot of research into loose gemstones and have made many successful purchases. From the first, i strongly suspected that the list prices quoted by hosts on this network were outrageously inflated to make their final prices seem like a great bargain. Just today, i got something solid to go on: lying outright to the viewers. Both hosts made the claim that their high price for a ring containing a tsavorite garnet was justified, since, "as you all know, tsavorite garnets over one carat are extremely rare. " in a casual search, i found 72, in sizes up to and over 4 carats on one website alone, all good quality and none over a few hundred dollars. I find many more listed on ebay from a variety of reliable sources, all good quality, over one carat and very reasonably priced. "extremely rare" is not just a little exaggerated; it's a bald - faced lie. To all gemstone buyers, do your research; if sellers lie about one thing, they will lie about many. Combine such lies with complaints i've read about this network's failure to honor their own refund promises and you're likely to be ripped off.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Gem Shopping is a first rate company, and what their host said was absolutely true. Anything over one carat is considered rare, and now that commercial mining is haulted prices are skyrocketing. Some commercial designers are getting $6000 per carat on four carat and larger sizes. Be careful with what you see on Ebay. The Tsavorite is in the grossularite family, but if it's light in color is just an inexpensive Grossularite Garnet. Ebay sellers are notorious for making the stones look darker in their ads and then shipping out garbage. Let the buyer beware! Here is a great article from The International Colored Gemstone Association.
http://www.gemstone.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107:sapphire&catid=1:gem-by-gem&Itemid=14
IF YOU ARE ENTERING INTO THE WORLD OF GEMSTONES, i WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU FIRST DO YOUR RESEARCH, AND THEN INVEST IN A FEW TOOLS, SUCH AS A REFRACTOMETER, A GEM MICROSCOPE, AND PERHAPS A DICROSCOPE AND SPECTROMETER.ALL OF THE TOOLS THAT I'VE MENTIONED WILL HELP YOU FERRET OUT SYNTHETIC/SIMULANT GEMS, AND KEEP YOU FROM MAKING EXPENSIVE MISTAKES.SHOWS LIKE THIS ARE FILLED WITH DOUBLESPEAK, AND THEY ARE FAR MORE INTERESTED IN MAKING THE SALE, THAN PROPER REPRESENTATION OF THE GEMSTONE THAT THEY WANT YOU TO BUY-ALSO, IF YOU ARE PAYING A SIGNIFIGANT AMOUNT FOR A GEMSTONE/JEWELRY, MAKE SURE THAT IT IS 'GIA' CERTIFIED.THIS MEANS THAT IT HAS BEEN TESTED AND GAURANTEED TO BE REAL BY THE GEM INSTITUTE OF AMERICA.I SUGGEST THAT YOU CHECK OUT SELLERS ASSOCIATED WITH 'THE VUG.COM', OR BUY LAPIDAIRY ROUGH AND HAVE IT CUT TO YOUR SPECIFICATIONS.
I agree gem shopping is a top rate company, you need to learn & research before you say silly things that you do not really have much knowledge about. Tsavorite gems over 1ct. are very rare and the larger the ct. weight the price goes up a lot. 2cts. are not double the price of 1ct. more like 5 times the price.
The fact of the matter is that all retail prices given y gemshopping are overstated. Furthermore, they do lie about the rarity of all types of gemstones. They inflate the price so that prospective buyers will offer more than what the piece is worth. An example is the rarity of jadeite because of the restriction placed on Burma. There is not a single show host that will not harp on how difficult it is to purchase jadeite in thIs country, when in fact jadeite is readily available because the restriction has not been infored and the material comes into this country via Thy land and China. So although I do agree that a buyer should be aware and knowledgeable regarding gemstones they plan to purchase, gemshopping should curtail being deceitful about the items the sell to the public.
They make false statements all the time and their prices are more expensive than any other sources to buy jewelry. It's just that the people who buy from them believe everything they say. And they push Item's so badly that people believe they better act quickly to get a high quality item when they are paying twice the retail for the item. I wish there would be more control put on these companies. But it is the consumer that should be more aware before spending money most really can't afford to spend.