1.31 Pink Morganite in Chinese Ebay setting

[danielxlin]

I got a 1.31 carat Brazilian pink morganite from "caratsgems" on Ebay. I believe they are a Thai gemstone dealer. I love the strong shade of pink (not too peachy). No visible inclusions, and a pleasing cut to my eye.

The 14k gold setting with lots of tiny poor quality diamonds (from Chinese seller "el*jewelry" on Ebay) was supposed to be cheap fun. Then the bad quality head had to be replaced by a local jeweler. At least the stone is secure now.

I think it turned out well enough for a birthday gift. Probably would have saved a lot of money buying a complete ring.

 

[austinj]

Well you would never know it was a cheap ring by looking at it! I love the color and the setting very beautiful!

 

[T L]

I think the Chinese ebay settings are a good buy for those on a budget. Congrats, very pretty and feminine ring.

 

[minousbijoux]

Sorry for the troubles, but it looks like you ended up with a very nice present indeed! I'm sure the recipient will love it.

 

[Acinom]

It looks really nice.

 

[danielxlin]

Thanks for the comments! Very comforting to know it turned out okay.

Replacing the head cost a whopping $225, more than half the original price of the setting. But every jeweler I brought it to said it had to be done.

 

[dk168]

danielxlin,

How would you rate the vendors please, as I have been eyeing some stones from caratsgems and refrained from purchasing from them as they are not currently listed in the List of Vendors for Reference.

Not sure if I would purchase from the setting vendor though.

Your feedback will be much appreciated, thanks in advance.

DK

 

[danielxlin]

Definitely don't purchase from "el*jewelry". (I think this Ebay handle may be related to the lan.bo4 group of sellers, not sure, but they offer some suspiciously similar items and communication styles.) When I tried to return the ring I ran into trouble because there are restrictions on shipping gold/diamonds to China. Chinese import restrictions. I probably could have mismarked the customs form, but I didn't feel like risking it.

I was happy with the stone and service from "caratsgem". His video on the Ebay listing accurately portrayed the real life color of the stone. Fair price and speedy, secure delivery.

The only other colored stone I've purchased was a blue topaz precision cut by Doug Menadue. I can definitely see the difference between the precision cut topaz and the ordinary cut morganite. Still, I happy for what I paid. Would buy from caratsgems again.

 

[T L]

I think I've purchased from them before. I never had a problem with the head of the rings though, very odd, and I have a bazillion of these Chinese ebay settings from lanbo4 and their counterparts. Sorry you had to pay so much to have it fixed.

 

[dk168]

Thank you both for your feedback.

I checked out caratsgems and they have a number of precision cut gems on offer that look rather nice.

DK

 

[EvangelineG]

Thank you both for your feedback.

I checked out caratsgems and they have a number of precision cut gems on offer that look rather nice.

DK

I recently purchased a Mali garnet from caratsgems, and I am happy with the stone for what I paid, and feel the photo/video representation was reasonably accurate. I did take note that their labeling of inclusions seemed over generous to me, and tried to be careful of that. In all, I will likely try them again for inexpensive stones.

To the OP, your ring turned out very pretty! Enjoy!

 

[lilmosun]

Good to hear some feedback from caratsgems..I actually have one of their stones on my watchlist but was reluctant to pull the trigger because I couldn't find any feedback here. (Congrats OP on the nice ring!)

 

[dk168]

I took the plunge earlier this morning without seeing EvangelineG's post and made an offer on a 11mm round white topaz that was listed as precision cut, and shall provide feedback when it arrives.

I have a 10.1mm round white topaz cut by Jeff White, hence I went for the stone above, as I shall be able to compare the two using a loupe.

If all goes well, then it is highly likely that I shall be making more purchasing from this vendor.

DK

 

[dk168]

OK, I have just sinned, and bought another stone.

DK

 

[danielxlin]

I think I've purchased from them before. I never had a problem with the head of the rings though, very odd, and I have a bazillion of these Chinese ebay settings from lanbo4 and their counterparts. Sorry you had to pay so much to have it fixed.

I got too ambitious and ordered a setting with tiny diamonds in the prongs. Should have known, the prongs looked pretty flimsy. Jeweler consensus (Wink's bench jeweler included) was that trouble was certain. I'm sure the more typical styles are all fine.

Caratsgems has some nice gem pairs for earrings. Now that Daniel M is off the scene (he did a beautiful job setting my Doug Menadue topaz) who do you use on Etsy for custom settings?

 

[ejacobson]

I do not see "Caratsgems," "Caratgems," OR "Caratsgem" when doing a store search on Ebay. I'm in the US...am I missing something?

 

[dk168]

I do not see "Caratsgems," "Caratgems," OR "Caratsgem" when doing a store search on Ebay. I'm in the US...am I missing something?

Try this link: http://stores.ebay.com/caratsgems/

DK