Find your diamond
Find your jewelry
shape
carat
color
clarity

European based colored-gemstone trader?

normanintheskywithsapphires

normanintheskywithsapphires

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jul 25, 2016
Messages
427
Everybody Out There in Europe,

Since it is such a pain to import anything into the EU, I was planing to create a list of vendors based in Europe... but I didn't get very far. I found only:

www.gemfrance,com
www.wildfishgems.com

whom am I missing? There must be others. Assuming the UK is still inside for the time being...
 
Great idea. Only problem is I'd want to know if these vendors were "recommended" or not.

I have no one to add... I just go through the hassle of shopping overseas :wall:
 
There are some that I have found, but they either don't actually sell online like constantinewild.de or they have such a tiny inventory that I didn't consider them like www.k2gemsandminerals.com,, or don't have prices online or such nuisances.

I was planning to make me a bookmark list with professional vendors that have enough gems worth searching and that sell professionally with check-out, and paypal etc etc.
 
There are some European vendors to be found on Facebook, like Johannes Orstadius. I'm sure there are others as well. But I'm not sure if they have websites.
 
Then there is www.topgem.com but they have a very small inventory only.
Question to the Moderators:
Would it be permitted for EU based vendors to raise their hands here?
For the greater good of 500 million Europeans with awkward and costly import regulations?
Example: I bought a 30 euro gem in Thailand but paid nearly 100 euro for clearance plus fee plus VAT and it took me a day to get it out of customs. Total nightmare. It seem Europe is as always 10 years behind the USA. Everything over $20 (incl shipping cost!!!!!) MUST go through customs. The only way around this is to cheat or smuggle. Morals and law aside, I would not smuggle a 10.000 dollar sapphire which is on my shopping list. If one gets caught, the gem is confiscated, best case.
Sad ending: I didn't like the gem at all, but most of my 100 euro would have been lost, not to mention the time I have wasted.
So, I decided to buy only from EU vendors in the future.
 
normanintheskywithsapphires|1476178878|4085545 said:
Then there is www.topgem.com but they have a very small inventory only.
Question to the Moderators:
Would it be permitted for EU based vendors to raise their hands here?
For the greater good of 500 million Europeans with awkward and costly import regulations?
Example: I bought a 30 euro gem in Thailand but paid nearly 100 euro for clearance plus fee plus VAT and it took me a day to get it out of customs. Total nightmare. It seem Europe is as always 10 years behind the USA. Everything over $20 (incl shipping cost!!!!!) MUST go through customs. The only way around this is to cheat or smuggle. Morals and law aside, I would not smuggle a 10.000 dollar sapphire which is on my shopping list. If one gets caught, the gem is confiscated, best case.
Sad ending: I didn't like the gem at all, but most of my 100 euro would have been lost, not to mention the time I have wasted.
So, I decided to buy only from EU vendors in the future.
Click to expand...

If they are merely stating they are here, it's fine. If they are promoting their business asking people to contact them, etc., it's not fine.
 
Thanks Ella.
Found one more: http://www.gemcollector.com/
UK based, so perhaps not EU anymore, who-knows?. Anyways they have not a single unheated ruby and sell black sapphires as blue. uhm?
 
Wilds has a lot of gemstones they go to the European gem shows with them, if you can why don't you try and go to a gemshow or a jewellery show like Baselworld, just be prepared for the fact that a lot of European vendors are NOT cheap. I was going to suggest Johannes as well.

Here is a gemshow called Gemworld Munich coming up link;

https://munichshow.com/en/gemworld/
 
I would second (third?) the recommendation for Johannes Orstadius. I bought a sapphire from him and was pleased with the gem and the customer service. Prices are also reasonable.

Sally from Heart of Water on Etsy is currently based in Thailand but will be moving to France at the end of this year. Her bench and gem suppliers will still be in Thailand and Asia. I believe she can continue to source loose stones and arrange to have them mailed to you either direct from Thailand or from France, but you may want to check with her to confirm this as many arrangements are still in transition.
 
Yes mochiko, I was so happy when Sally said she was moving that little bit closer haha. I've just received my semi black opal ring from her (will update the original thread with pics in a bit) but there were nearly some drama's re customs and everything so I'm just really excited she is moving closer to me :appl:

I'm hoping post from France won't induce so much anxiety in me :lol:
 
arkieb1|1476446959|4086964 said:
Wilds has a lot of gemstones they go to the European gem shows with them, if you can why don't you try and go to a gemshow or a jewellery show like Baselworld, just be prepared for the fact that a lot of European vendors are NOT cheap. I was going to suggest Johannes as well.

Here is a gemshow called Gemworld Munich coming up link;

https://munichshow.com/en/gemworld/
Click to expand...

Yes, thanks, but I want to concentrate on online vendors. If you count the travel cost (flight, hotel, time) into one or two gems it gets really expensive (plus I am tired of travelling). This is only worth doing if you buy 50 gems or so.

If we get a few EU-vendors together, I would like to make a list with basic data and people from the EU can find stuff easier.
 
I think you missed the point, the point was that you can meet online vendors that you don't know about AT the gemshows..... Perhaps if the one in Germany is too far away, look up when there are ones that are local to you.
 
You mean they are physically on a show but NOT on google?
 
No, you can meet vendors that you don't know about online. It's a place where many vendors frequent so you will see everyone there in front of you, rather then random googling. Random googling will not present you with ALL vendors, or as many as going to a gemshow will. After you see them, you will have learnt of more online vendors you can shop from whilst home.

It's just like networking, you go to events to reach/find a bigger selection of vendors (in this case).
 
OK. Basically Google & Co don't do a good job. If one searches for 'European gemstone shops' or variances of it, not much comes up, or what comes up is in Asia or US.

Anyways, here are a few more I found searching in Germany, Idar Oberstein:

www.edelsteinschleiferei-shop.de

http://www.kraft-des-steines.de

http://www.mineraliengrosshandel.com/

http://www.janni-shop.de/

http://www.edle-steine-online.de/

http://www.arcis-minerals.de/index.php

http://www.eurogem.biz/

and one in Sweden: http://www.riddgem.se/

and UK: https://www.kernowcraft.com/

Others?
 
The problem I have with a list like the above is you have no idea what is what. Who is reputable who is not? Which website is a scam and only up for this month and which is not?

I would never ever ever randomly google sites and spend any amount of money on something like fine jewellery or gems....way to easy to get scammed. I don't even click on unknown links!!! (After being a victim of bank fraud and countless times coming close to Internet fraud I know now to be careful with what I click on...and even then I sometimes forget :wall: )

I like what you're trying to do and I agree it would be hugely helpful but I would prefer a list of recommended (tried and trusted vendors from multiple people over many years) vendors then just eu based vendors.

Paying the tax on that $50 stone from the US for eg, might prove to be the cheaper alternative to clicking on a website that clears out your entire bank account in one go...
 
I understand. I looked through these above and they are at least real companies with addresses and webmasters etc not malware.

I thought we would simply collect vendors first, without saying there are 'recommended', and after that we filter to come to a list that can be 'recommended'.

How would you suggest I go about it? In the 'recommended list' we have there are only a few EU companies.

How was the first international list initiated? I can to do the foot-work and follow any given protocol.
 
I agree with trs. It is no small undertaking to create a list of reputable sellers. The recommended vendor list we have was created over multiple years by regular PSers who bought from various vendors and shared their experiences. Stones would be purchased, compared to vendor photos and descriptions for accuracy and often sent to labs for verification. Typically, when several PSers had positive experiences with a vendor, they would be added to the list.

If you want to add to the vendor list, my advice would be to start by finding one or two European vendors, and then purchasing from them and encouraging others to purchase from them. If the feedback is positive, ask that they be added to the list. Doing a google search and coming up with a bunch of names really doesn't tell us much about their quality or reliability, but first hand experience does. Good luck with your efforts and thanks for helping out European buyers.
 
I would say that the only ones I am comfortable recommending are Johannes Orstadius who I've bought from, and maybe Nomads and Constantin Wild (more high end and prices to match) but I haven't bought from these latter two but seen their booths are the HK gem shows.
 
OK. Understood. Will do.

From the current 'recommended list' there are only three vendors in the EU:

Constantin Wild - www.gemstone.de and http://www.constantinwild.com/en/
Edward Bristol of Wild Fish Gems - www.WildFishGems.com (Unheated Sapphires and other untreated gemstones)
www.topgem.co.uk (UK gemstone dealer specialising in unheated sapphires and rubies)

plus now newly proposed:
https://www.facebook.com/johannes.orstadius (does he have a sales site?)

I will start buying from EU-vendors as I go and share my experience. Perhaps, if other do so as well, over time, we can get to a longer list and get it as a 'sub-pin' under the recommended list. Is that to everybody's OK?
 
Newly found:

www.edelsteine.at

no judgement as for the vendor, but it is a real site, no risk or spam. I been there.
 
Other criteria should include customer service when there are issues, ease of return and refund, and verification that the gem is as stated (correct treatment, type, description, etc).
 
Thought I would, hopefully in accordance with Ella's reply, raise a hand to confirm that I am EU based and that qubitasaurus got it right. :))
 
Here is another website I found on the weekend:
https://earthlygems.com/
They are save to visit (me Guinean-pig), have not only gems but some interesting rarities, not-so-good photos and based in the UK.
 
I am currently looking again for an emerald cut cornflower blue sapphire as the ring I made to celebrate the birth of my third child was stollen 3 months ago in my house.
I live in south of France and I visited www.diamprest.com in Paris in August. They were very friendly and OK to get the stone certified by an external lab if requested.
Unfortunately I didn't find any equivalent stone to the stollen one .
We agreed we would get in touch again after the HK gem trade fair.

Here is the stollen (dirty) ring: platinium, 0.5ctw trillion diamonds, 2.79ct heated only blue sapphire ( 9.55 x 7.03 x 4.23 mm)
7 photo 5 gros plan.jpg FullSizeR.jpg
 
Another very European fair with a list to explore:

SMM

No particular recommendation ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
GET 3 FREE HCA RESULTS JOIN THE FORUM. ASK FOR HELP

Featured Topics

Jewelry Blog
PriceScope-Concierge-Ad
Find prime cuts.
Top