eBay

gaeila · ‎04-01-2017

I don't know if I really need to post this warning here, because most members are pretty knowledgeable, but, nonetheless, here goes:

As we all know, there are a LOT of phony emerald sellers on ebay. Buyer Beware! In particular, right now (04/2017) there is a Sri Lanka 5.80 carat emerald for sale for between $20-$30. They are FAKE. The stones are only zircons, which can be bought for a dollar or two. They are not even lab created emeralds--Chatham, etc.--which cost more and are higher quality. I am certain of this, because I bought one, complained when I got a zircon instead of an emerald, and the seller didn't even deny it was a zircon, but tried arguing with me about the price of zircons! ebay refunded my money. This phony seller is still using the same photo he used to sell me the fake. You are NOT going to find a 5+ carat transparent quality emerald for less than thousands of $$. (Unless you get really lucky at an estate sale run by uninformed owners.)

gaeila · ‎04-01-2017

In fairness, I should mention there are a FEW very reputable emerald sellers on ebay; in fact, over the years, I have bought a few hundred genuine great emeralds from them--as well as some of the nicest Tanzanites ever. Not gonna say who they are; don't know if that's against the rules.

whering660 · ‎04-01-2017

I'm sure you are meaning to say zirconia instead of zircon. Zircon is one of the oldest gems known to exist. Please don't confuse the two if you are going to post about warnings. There are Cambodian zircons that are quite valuable.

Diane

evelyb30 · ‎04-02-2017

And IMHO, anyone who thinks they're getting a high quality precious gemstone for pennies on the dollar, or the Euro or whatever, deserves to get taken. Precious gems are not cheap no matter where you get them. You get what you pay for, at least if you get it from a reputable source.

She who dies with the most toys still dies; when's the estate sale?

gaeila · ‎04-04-2017

Nope. I DID mean zircon, which is a mined stone; NOT zirconia aka cubic zirconia aka CZ, which is a man-made stone. ebay has a listing for zircons under loose gems, and they are VERY cheap and good for practicing novice jewelry making skills or just fooling around with--they're the only gem stone I'll let my husband play "pirate treasure chest" with :). There are far more nice-looking very inexpensive zircons on ebay than rare, costly ones. Zircons have their own category under loose gems. I bought several dozen or so for about $1 each just to play around with. They ranged from about 4 to 10 carats, are very well cut, and in just about every color. That was in 2015, and I haven't seen any sign of a zircon price jump.

I'm not a novice to ebay, (been a customer/seller for many years) nor to certain gems and also Edwardian - Art Deco and Transition jewelry. And wow, there sure are a lot of fake antique jewelry pieces advertised as from those eras on ebay; sometimes for startling prices. ebay has really turned into a jungle in certain fields, compared to some years ago.