Finewater Gems 30% off sale

[whitewave]

what did you buy? Code ICA30

Mods please delete if this isn’t allowed.

 

[Luvallgems]

what did you buy? Code ICA30

Mods please delete if this isn’t allowed.

Help me decide on the oval purple or cushion color change (beautiful)
I wanted just purple , but color change...WOW....

 

[whitewave]

Help me decide on the oval purple or cushion color change (beautiful)
I wanted just purple , but color change...WOW....

Both gorgeous, but I do love that color change one

 

[Luvallgems]

Both gorgeous, but I do love that color change one

Me too, looking at the 2.02 oval unheated also ( color change)

 

[Shijitake]

Thanks for this heads up, whitewave. All the stuff I want are too high in price i like the .97 c t saph but there's another i wa nt :/

 

[Shijitake]

I mean another saph i want with a similar price. It's hard to type on a tablet

 

[MidModMin]

I'm disappointed in how they set this sale up. There is one spinel I've been looking at for months, but can't decide whether I want to buy it. It was a certain price for the 4–5 months I've checked it out on the site. Now that they are doing the sale, it is listed for almost double that price.

With the 30% discount applied, the cost of the stone would still be higher than it has been normally.

Not sure if they did this with all the stones, but still.

 

[voce]

Are you sure about this? Finewater Gems has a number of similar looking products. I know for certain that the 3 sapphires and 1 purple spinel I had been eyeing have stayed the same price throughout the year and were not marked up.

 

[Hivona]

I'm disappointed in how they set this sale up. There is one spinel I've been looking at for months, but can't decide whether I want to buy it. It was a certain price for the 4–5 months I've checked it out on the site. Now that they are doing the sale, it is listed for almost double that price.

With the 30% discount applied, the cost of the stone would still be higher than it has been normally.

Not sure if they did this with all the stones, but still.

My experience was well before this current sale.

I have a habit of taking screen shots of gems I like. Had done that with a Finewater gem and when I went to purchase I noticed the price had increased. I asked why & received the response that it was in regards to market trends or something along those lines. However, Gary honored the lower price as I had emailed a screen shot of the gem as priced. Just saying, might be worth an email to inquire...

 

[qubitasaurus]

I think they routinely mark up according to the recommended pricing every time a new guide is released. So it has nothing to do with marking up before a sale. This could also be seen as fair game in some ways, as he has to buy new rough at the current prices and he needs the money from the current sales to support that (yes I can see this isn't full proof but I am trying to find the other perspective in this. As I know small gem dealers can have it tough).

Over time the mark ups do stack up though. I keep looking at one of the alexandrites which has changed dramatically in price. For what it is worth the wayback machine archives the internet.

This is june last year and already you can see the 2.55 ct. and the 5.3 ct. were considerably cheaper then

https://web.archive.org/web/20180727035204/http://www.finewatergems.com/store/c3/Blue.html

 

[qubitasaurus]

For what it is worth this is june/july last year (appologies if I dont get the date spot on, I am in a hurry to get out the door)



v.s. today



Probably other changes too, I am just a bit short on time so I grasped at the first one I saw. The internet is constantly archived by a number of different services. It is actually quite interesting intellectually to look through the changing records.

 

[simurgh]

i had the same issue that the stone I was looking at went up in price (not 2x thankfully!) - even if it happens regularly I'd guess this round of increases was tied to the sale.

On another note, I don't buy colored stones often, and have seen folks saying you need an AGL for spinels. As far as I know none of his stones come with reports, and the return period isn't long enough to get one. is that something to be concerned about?

 

[whitewave]

i had the same issue that the stone I was looking at went up in price (not 2x thankfully!) - even if it happens regularly I'd guess this round of increases was tied to the sale.

On another note, I don't buy colored stones often, and have seen folks saying you need an AGL for spinels. As far as I know none of his stones come with reports, and the return period isn't long enough to get one. is that something to be concerned about?

My sapphire came with an AGL card

 

[Luvallgems]

Both gorgeous, but I do love that color change one[/QUOTE
I was good... I could of but didn’t, my Money Tree BIG leaves don’t
Sprout until late fall!!!

 

[MidModMin]

My experience was well before this current sale.

I have a habit of taking screen shots of gems I like. Had done that with a Finewater gem and when I went to purchase I noticed the price had increased. I asked why & received the response that it was in regards to market trends or something along those lines. However, Gary honored the lower price as I had emailed a screen shot of the gem as priced. Just saying, might be worth an email to inquire...

Excellent info, thank you.

 

[T L]

Dealers can charge whatever they want for a gem. There is no regulation on pricing, even on synthetics. It’s much more difficult to ascertain the value of a colored gem than a white diamond because there are many more variables. You put a “GIA report - one carat excellent cut F VS2 round brilliant” in a search engine like pricescope has, and you’ll find pricing accordingly.

The colored gem forum is important because people can at least get an idea of pricing because there are many well educated consumers on this forum. I probably wouldn’t advertise a 30% off sale after marking things up substantially, but that’s a typical retailer practice, and it goes for just about every consumer product, from shovels to gems.

Gary is a well respected and highly reputable dealer here. The screenshots however indicate it’s always a good idea to haggle on price, no matter who you’re dealing with.

 

[simurgh]

My sapphire came with an AGL card

Thanks @whitewave! did the description note that it came with a report? the spinel I'm looking at doesn't say anything. I can't figure out whether to be concerned.

 

[ShinyPink]

I find it interesting that a gem isn't selling at a given price, but the price is later increased. I would expect a decrease if a gem isn't moving.

 

[qubitasaurus]

I find it interesting that a gem isn't selling at a given price, but the price is later increased. I would expect a decrease if a gem isn't moving.

Yes I have always found that part counter intuitive. I have no idea though how people place personal value on gems -- I doubt it is a logical process. And yes I have been using myself as a case study for the basis of this opinion . Sometimes I think the more they charge for it the better I think it must be........ I know my husband is laughing at me for this one.

 

[T L]

Yes I have always found that part counter intuitive. I have no idea though how people place personal value on gems -- I doubt it is a logical process. And yes I have been using myself as a case study for the basis of this opinion . Sometimes I think the more they charge for it the better I think it must be........ I know my husband is laughing at me for this one.

Not me. I’ve seen some awful overpriced gems, and some gorgeous underpriced ones, although the latter is much rarer these days. There are also certain gems which I think are horrifically high priced for even hideous specimens, but they’re marketed a. certain way, like they’re mystical magical crystals. I cringe every time someone comes on this board looking for such a gem. I will not say which ones, as to not offend. Likewise, there are certain gems that I think are a great value right now, but who knows how long that will be.

In any case, Gary is an honest upstanding guy. I think it was great he honored the lower price on that one sapphire, and people seen very happy with their purchases from him.

 

[Shijitake]

How often does this sale happen? Still want the .97 span but I defo can't afford it right now.

 

[Curby311]

For what it is worth this is june/july last year (appologies if I dont get the date spot on, I am in a hurry to get out the door)



v.s. today



Probably other changes too, I am just a bit short on time so I grasped at the first one I saw. The internet is constantly archived by a number of different services. It is actually quite interesting intellectually to look through the changing records.

Thanks for posting this. I was about to pull the trigger on a spinel and hadn't realized the price had increased so much. I do think a vendor has the right to adjust it however they need to according to the market but that increase was a bit more than I am comfortable with. He does have really impressive cutting so someday I hope to find the right gem match. For those that bought, can you share which ones you purchased? I'm curious to see what people end up with and what projects will be created.

 

[MidModMin]

Dealers can charge whatever they want for a gem. There is no regulation on pricing, even on synthetics.

Not to quibble, but there are FTC regulations related to "fictitious" pricing used in sales, as raising the price of an item solely to mark it off dramatically for a sale is illegal in the United States (though how it is regulated differs on a state-by-state basis, I think).

That said, I do want to make it clear that my observation was about one spinel, only, as it was the only one I was following long-term. When the price was raised, I did think, "I wonder if this is going on sale soon...?" When the sale took place shortly after, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

However, It is not like I had been checking out that spinel literally every day for weeks until the sale started, so I am making no claims about when the price was increased or why, because I can't tell you precisely when the price hike occurred or if other gems went up in price, as well.

I don't want to assume or claim ill intent on the part of the owner and I think many of the stones at Finewater Gems look lovely. I do think the price hike is something to take note of, especially if it becomes a recurring pattern or more people notice the same thing, but I'm not calling for people to avoid the sale or anything, especially as regular Pricescopers are probably more price aware than I am when it comes to gemstones.

 

[whitewave]

Gary is an honest person, so I don’t believe he would mark up to mark down for a sale. I do believe it was likely from market changes, which diamonds do also. You can set price alerts on diamonds to alert you when prices go down, etc.

I really think Gary would honor the lower prices if you emailed to discuss it with him (as someone else mentioned).

 

[ShinyPink]

I have purchased several stones from Gary, and I've met with him a couple times when he's been out here for GIA classes. He is super nice, very easy to work with, and will give you a fair price--but he is a businessman, so he's not going to underprice anything. I would just talk to him about what the price was and what you expect to pay based on that price, then let him help you come to a price that works for both of you. It certainly can't hurt.

 

[T L]

Not to quibble, but there are FTC regulations related to "fictitious" pricing used in sales, as raising the price of an item solely to mark it off dramatically for a sale is illegal in the United States (though how it is regulated differs on a state-by-state basis, I think).

If this is the case, it’s definitely not regulated at all. Going out of business sales are a good example. They often mark a price way up in order to give you that “magical” 80 to 90% discount. By the way, these comments do not apply to Gary.

 

[voce]

I observe that some logically minded people are a bit idealistic in thinking how things should be according to the law, but a lot of laws are not really enforced because lawmakers' priorities are elsewhere. Reality is much different and also more nuanced than what the law states.

 

[T L]

I know the gem and jewelry shopping channels used to quote outrageous retail prices, and then say they’re selling a jewelry piece or gem at a significant savings. I think that was cracked down on because they’re obviously being watched by a gazillion people. A private seller or small retail outfit is not, and that’s where the problem arises.

 

[leslie1956]

Very useful conversation. The only person I follow closely is Yvonne and I've never seen her raise her gem prices once they are set. I really like the Finewater spinels, but will be sure to track the pricing carefully if I ever get serious about buying one.

 

[MidModMin]

I agree that Yvonne's prices are very steady. I've spent a lot of time looking at Dana Reynold's site and find his prices steady, as well.