Gemstone show - the best option?

[arglthesheep]

Normally the bigger the show the bigger is the choice you can make there. I would always visit shows to get a feeling of what color you like, what the prices are and which stones you like more. You can talk to dealers and get a feeling who sounds trustworthy and who not. You have to start somewhere. Online is a very good medium to gain knowledge about stones, but you have to see them personally to understand in the end, what all the theory is all about. So in my opinion visit as many fairs as you can to teach your eyes what you are looking for. As I wrote above you have to start at least somewhere, which means if you want to buy a stone you have to trust someone in the end. And have in mind, that many of the dealers who are selleing online are also visiting fairs, so these are a good starting point if you have a recommendation here. And always compare as much as you can as in gemstones the prices can differ very much even for the same quality. The more seller you know and get trustworthy with the easier it will be. But I always look at all sellers if possible as not only the known sellers sell good stones
Many established sellers demand higher prices in my experience, as they can do so new sellers often have some nice offers.
And have in mind: On the bigger shows there are often also many labs present and can test your potential stone. On the munich show, there where also labs with booth like GIA, GRS and many others, so buying a stones without a certificate isnt a real problem. You just have to negotiatie with the seller, that if the test gives a negative result to what was promised, that he will take back the stone and refunds you the stone and the testing costs. Most of the honest dealers will do so as my experiences are. So dont be afraid but be careful.