Watch out for Thaigem.com!!

[Acanthus]

I have recently done some business with thaigem.com, a thailand based reseller of cut gemstones of varying quality.

I have ordered the following:

1 2.0ct green saphirre
2 0.5ct rubies
1 0.7ct bi color sapphire
1 1.1ct color changing sapphire
1 0.5ct color changing sapphire

The 0.5ct color changing and 0.7ct bi color were both bought through thaigems website, and the others were bought through ebay auctions.

I paid extra to have certificates of authenticity sent with the gems information displayed on the card, for $3 more i couldve included appraisal values on the card as well, but for safetys sake i was going to get them appraised locally.

The website and ebay both explicitly list fake and real stones, and i only ordered stones that were NOT marked as created (or controversial).

I took them to a local appraiser and had all 6 stones tested for authenticity and appraisal. I took off all evidence of what i paid or what stones they were from the box, and told the jeweler what i expected the stones to be.

I come in the next day, and he tells me that all 6 are fake/created stones!! Which came a suprise to me, becuase the 2.0ct green saphirre clearly had a large inclusion in the stone, (which was marked as a clean stone on the site, grrrrr). I'm contacting thaigem monday to see what they have to say about all this, but im pretty sure im just gonna get the finger.

 

[moshquerade]

wow, there are some real crooks out there.

 

[Acanthus]

Im nuking them on resellerratings no matter how they resolve this, i hope i at least get my ~$150 back.

Edit: weird part is, they have over 27k positive feedback on ebay, doesnt anyone get their stones checked?

 

[SunnyD]

And you're expecting something different from Thailand and the largest scam on earth (aka: ebay)?

Edit - mean comment retracted regarding price.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: SunnyD
And you're expecting something different from Thailand and the largest scam on earth (aka: ebay)?

Well thailand is an area where saphirres and rubies are mined, if you actually travel to thailand you can get tons of nice saphirre jewelry dirt chap, and i figured with the enormous amount of positive feedback, and the number of auctions they move (literally hundreds a week) that authenticity wouldnt be an issue.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: SunnyD
Edit - LOL, you paid $150 for that many stones of "decent" weight and expected natural?!

The only stone of significant value was the 2.0ct. These arent diamonds...

The retail value of the stones if they were legit was about $345 combined. Unset stones are relatively cheap as compared to stones set in jewelry.

(Edit: im a collector)

 

[Eli]

Get a second opinion.

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: Eli
Get a second opinion.

I agree. Even professional gemologists get tired and can be mistaken.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: Eli
Get a second opinion.

I was thinking of doing that as well, the jeweler claimed the way he could tell they were fakes was with a chronoscope. Its some kind of tube they set the stones and can tell from the refracted light whether they are real or fake. I'm trying to find another jeweler in town that can do on site appraisals. Most of the places send them away and it takes weeks to get an accurate appraisal back (in my area, NW PA).

 

[Acanthus]

I found a jeweler in town that does on site appraisals with a certified gemologist. So i'll take it out there on monday and see what happens.

 

[aircooled]

This reminds me of a comedian I saw that talked about brides magazines. He said if there was ever a magazine called "Groom" the cover would say "cubic zirconium, she'll never know the difference." I thought it was funny...

 

[Acanthus]

Very legit looking COAs

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

Will be interesting to find the results from the 2nd appraiser, would like to see your update.

I found a couple of other complaints against thaigem.com, from google - http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive/200301/msg00578.htm, http://chris.cc/goodnbad.htm.

 

[randumb]

More complaints about Thaigem.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: randumb
More complaints about Thaigem.

404

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

Originally posted by: Acanthus

Originally posted by: randumb
More complaints about Thaigem.

404

works fine for me. try again.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: GtPrOjEcTX

Originally posted by: Acanthus

Originally posted by: randumb
More complaints about Thaigem.

404

works fine for me. try again.

worked 2nd time, thx. reading.

 

[Acanthus]

I would say this would very accurately describe my situation if this turns out that the gems are artificially colored. While Thaigem claims that it doesnt "reasonably alter the value of the stone" well all know a verneil treated sapphire isnt worth crap compared to a unheated stone. And that a clean stone doesnt have large visual inclusions. Especially when their system consists of this:

Clean: no inclusions even under magnification
Eye Clean: no inclusions to the naked eye
Slight inclusion: small visable inclusion to the naked eye
Included: Large visable inclusion to the naked eye
Translucent: Whole stone is included / crystal quality