Article - Beware - Gemstone Rip Off Scams, what to avoid?

Gemstone Rip Off Scams, what to avoid?

So you are considering buying some gem stones? It maybe the first time you have ever bought a gem stone and you are not too sure what to look for? What gem stone do you select? What questions should you be asking? After all you don’t want to be riped-off. So how do you know if a gem stone is a fake or...
...genuine stone? How do you know if the stone is natural or synthetic? What does treated actually mean? Is it okay if a gem stone has been heated? How do you select a gem stone and feel confident?

There are so many questions before you select your first gemstone. It does seem an unfamiliar and scary world and these matters are further confounded by the fact that you will probably be selecting your gem stones online. This brings further concerns and worries into the equation. How do I know if the gem stone dealer is legitimate? Maybe he sells fake stones? Maybe I am going to be riped off.

So, let me try and alleviate some of your concerns and make the selection of your gems easier.

Choosing the Gem Stone.

Fake gem stones
There are many fake gemstones out there. You can see them every day in shopping malls, being sold by all sorts of retailers. However, most of these fake gem stones are being sold as fakes. There is no intention to rip you off or fool you. The price is an obvious factor and you can also pick them up, inspect them closely, feel them, it’s quite easy to hazard a guess at what you’re getting. It’s a completely different notion when you’re buying online. But before we get there, let’s describe what we mean by a fake gem stone.

Things to watch out for….

Particular Gem Stones….
If were talking about Corundum then we mean sapphires and rubies. A Sapphire is any color other then red. Red is reserved for a Ruby. There are two types of Corundum, those classed as normal and those that exhibit an Asterism, or "star", effect. Unfortunately there is a high percentage of Synthetic Star Sapphires and Rubies being sold now.
So how can you tell if you’re being sold a fake?

Well it’s down to 2 things. Firstly if the gemstone is super transparent with a very distinct easy to see star in them, in most cases this stone will not be real. Secondly, if it is not a fake, then it will be priced well into many thousands of pounds/dollars. So, if it seems too good to be true, guess what, it probably is a fake.

You should be aware that Natural Star Sapphires & Rubies are also treated though, it’s called Diffusion, and this is a common practice and perfectly legal. It is to enhance the Asterism/Star-effect and make it much more pronounced, but these gem stones will be very dark and more opaque.

Another very common scam involves Alexandrite. Alexandrite can also be synthetic, or lab grown and sold as real. The lab grown Alexandrite can even have natural like inclusions. Another quite blatant scam online, is calling the stone a 100% natural untreated Czochralski Alexandrite. Czochralski is the name of one of the laboratory processes to grow synthetic Alexandrite. So if a description includes the word Czochralski, it is a lab grown and synthetic Alexandrite and therefore a fake. Most Alexandrite you will find for a reasonable price will be either heavily included or have a very poor color change, so if the stone is cheaply priced and has a 90-100% color change then, again, its too good to be true and you are about to be riped-off.

Gemstones that aren't usually treated include garnets, peridot, hematite, alexandrite, moonstone and more. As a rule of thumb, real gemstones naturally have some flaws and color variations. Fake stones are often uniform in color and perfectly even with no bubbles or cracks. The fakes are also available in huge sizes.

Terminology used….what does it mean?....

Diffusion…
Diffusion is normally applied to Star Sapphires to increase the Asterism (star effect). It is also typically done with Sapphires to give them a much deeper blue. The main problem with this type of treatment is that the color is only on a very thin layer at the surface of the stone and can be chipped off. It is very easy to tell a Diffused Sapphire as you can see the layer of color when it is viewed immersed. Again this is a perfectly standardized, accepted and legal treatment.

Heated…
Ruby, Sapphire, Tanzanite, Zircon and Apatite are some examples of gems which are often heated to enhance color and clarity. This is perfectly normal and accepted.

Irradiation…
It is common to irradiate Topaz, Quartz, and Diamond as well as other gem stones. This treatment brings out color and removes imperfections. Most dealers know if the gemstones they are selling have been irradiated. Honest ones will tell you if they are aware of the treatment. Again this is normal standard procedure but has to be disclosed to the buyer.

Most probably you will only have a photo of the gem stone to guide you. So you will be relying on the honesty and credibility of the online retailer. So, its important to check out the retailer before you make any purchases.

Selecting the right online retailer

Customer Reviews
As you will probably be buying online, it’s important to check out the sellers Return Policy and their Customer Reviews. Be warned that some unscrupulous retailers employ staff to sit there and write fake favorable reviews all day long. Yes, really! So again, if it’s being portrayed as the most wonderful online retailer on the planet, warning bells should start ringing. Just use your common sense. Fake "good" reviews are normally short and sweet and repetitive and the retailer will most probably not have any bad reviews. Let’s face it, you can’t keep everyone happy all the time and every credible company, no matter who they are, will have some disgruntled customers some times. Customers can write bad reviews even if the retailer is not at fault. So, a few bad reviews, somewhere on the internet, should be expected. So, use your common sense, read the reviews listed by the retailer and make a sound judgement.

A common complaint from customers after receiving their gem stones is that the colour does not match the colour of the gem stone pictured on the website. In most cases ( if the retailer is honest and has not used software to enhance the color ) this will be because of the different computer monitors the customers are using. Differences in colour and contrast on computer screens will result in different kinds of colour being represented on the screen. Please note: There are no standards in the computer industry to display colors correctly! So, even the most expensive screen may show unnatural colors.

So, in cases such as these there has been no attempt to rip you off, but just a genuine case of an unwanted gem stone. This leads us nicely to the next important consideration before buying your gem stone…

Company’s Return Policy

Always read the retailers Return Policy before you select and purchase your gem stone. This is a common place to spot a rip off!
Things to check are:
What is covered in the Returns Policy and what is not? Some retailers will have a very strict policy and you may find it difficult to return your stone.
How long do you have to return the gem stone if unwanted? A few days? 1 week…2 weeks?
What charges are involved when you return the gem stone? i.e the cost of Shipping charges?

Are the credit card charges raised during the initial purchase refunded by the retailer?

Certification of your stone…
Does the retailer offer Certification of the gem stone?
An experienced gemologist can usually classify a gem stone. So ask for verification from a respected laboratory before paying for your gem. Sometimes this is the only way to be certain of a gem's authenticity. Your chosen retailer should offer this service, so just check out how much it costs and compare it with the other retailers.
If you follow these simple rules when choosing your online retailer you will minimise your risk, safeguard your purchase and feel confident when selecting your gem on-line.
Best of all you can avoid being riped-off!

We hope you found this article useful. Why not email us with your thoughts or any questions? We always like to hear from our customers.