They mislead about their mahaleo rubies though. They go on and on about how these are “real” rubies. They kind of aren’t. They are more like ruby chips glued together with red glass. They are more glass than ruby and they are ridiculously fragile, unlike real rubies which are very hard and sturdy. You have to baby the heck out of those glass things.
If you want a real ruby that is actually clear, get a lab created one. Those are real 100% corundum rubies. They are gorgeous, no inclusions and will last a lifetime.
Actually, you have to be very careful purchasing any of their gems that have a trademark name (like the Mahaleo). Is some cases, it just means the gem comes from a particular mine, but in others, they have doctored the gem in some way. Two that come to mind that I know are doctored are their trademarked tanzanite and their trademarked peridot. If you dig deeply into their website, you can find writte explanations of what the doctoring consists of. But its definitely buyer beware if you are picky about getting the real deal in gemstones.
I’ve tried to join twice so far and apparently been turned down both times. I tried joining again this morning. I wonder how they decide who gets into the group and who doesn’t??
Honey - No, I didn’t get a message saying “no.” What happened was that the box that I clicked to join went from “Pending” back to “Join” again after a day or two, both times that I tried to join the group. It said “Pending” for a day or two, then reverted back to “Join.” I clicked it to try joining again a couple of days ago and, as of this morning, it still says Pending. So I guess I haven’t been rejected for a third time - yet! I’m giving up if it doesn’t work this time.
I knew about the limitations of the Mahaleo ruby, because the hosts have said on air that it has glass fillings to smooth out the inclusions. I haven’t seen any Mahaleo ruby pieces I want because they use such big stones that it looks fake. Same problem as jewelry with great huge cubic zirconia stones. No one will think that is a real diamond.
Also knew about the Kutamani tanzanite being included and color treated because I looked it up on the JTV gem information section. The hosts sometimes grudgingly mention its limitations. I did buy a pair of their Kutamani earrings. The color is okay but you can tell it’s not high grade tanzanite. I wasn’t expecting high grade for the low price I paid for the earrings.
JTV’s Sakota emeralds are very cloudy; some are opaque. They look more like celadon jade than emeralds. I think they’re a pretty color, as long as you weren’t expecting a fine emerald color. I would wear Sakota with my green jade jewelry.
I agree that the brick-and-mortar jewelry stores have some beautiful lab-created precious stones. Their lab rubies, sapphires and emeralds look great.
Over on HSN tonight they are selling Herkimer Quartz jewelry. Jeez, the prices are high! They cost $90 to $150 for sterling or vermeil. I know Herkimer is a rare type of quartz crystal, but it’s still just clear white quartz, and it should be cheaper than that.
Colleen was really gushing over the $99 TSV, a 45-inch long Herkimer and colored gemstone necklace. She said she loves those really long necklaces. You could see on the model that the necklace falls below the waistline. I wouldn’t wear a necklace that long. It would swing way out every time I bent over. I can just see women getting those super-long necklaces tangled in car steering wheels or getting caught on the edges of furniture. I would have to wear that necklace doubled up.
I forgot to mention that people on the other forum said Liquidation Channel has been sending their customers emails notifying everybody that they’ve changed their returns policy. Previously, you could not return any jewelry that cost under $200 unless it was defective. Under the new, unconditional returns policy, you can return any jewelry no matter what the price was.
I think that the CEO of Liquidation Channel posted on this thread a few months ago, trying to defend their highly restrictive returns policy, and some of us argued with her. I’m glad to see that she decided to adopt a policy that is in line with those of the major online retailers. I think it will help LC’s sales.
The administrator of the FB QVC Uncenored page just added more new members today. I hope all of you have gotten approved. It’s fun over there with some very witty posters.
I added yesterday. I wish I knew who was from here and the PT shopping thread. It’s definitely much more livelier over there. Thanks to whoever suggested it!!
