Indicolite Tourmaline...Worth price?

[gwcynthia]

yep that’s the one. Hate looking at the ring I bought as every time I see it I feel sick at how I was ripped off. Live and learn.

Wow, that's crazy to me that the government prohibits gemstone shipping out of the country (yet allows them to export via courier) but will allow them to be shipped back in. Thanks for the info!



Yup, I don't think any of the Pakistani IG accounts I have interacted with are shop/stone owners. They are usually young people and IMO the ideal situation is when they are young relatives employed by the shop owner. I think you can tell by how easily they have access to the stones, are they able to make new videos after store hours, can they have stones custom cut etc. I am pretty sure that Stylogems and Haris are relatives of shop owners as Stylogems had stones custom cut for me without a deposit, and Haris has been able to make new stone videos late in the night Peshawar time. There are others I have bought from where I had just an OK experience and the color was not the same or the stone had some chips, but these vendors I was personally happy with.

I can not thank you enough for all of the information and time spend responding!

 

[gwcynthia]

@Polyhex I can not thank you enough for all of the information and time spend responding!

@Ionysis did not mean to start this for you. Thank you for speaking to your experience with the seller. I am so new at this and don’t want to overpay if I can avoid it.

@gemobsessedsingapore did tell me that they were a retailer and were not a cutter nor get stones from the rough. They did say the pricescope was a great resource for other less expensive options.

I love this community and can not thank everyone enough for sharing their knowledge and reputable sources with me. I did look at the recommended sellers thread, just didn’t see many Instagram accounts listed there. Thank everyone again!

 

[gwcynthia]

Actually, you can ship stones back to Pakistan, not India. But it is very pricey. DHL is around $85.00 to ship back Fed Ex much more.

Also, beware of the white backgrounds they use. This can hide white and colorless inclusions on pastel colored stones and pastel bi-colored stones. It also can make them appear more vivid than they are in real life. Always ask for finger videos or videos without a white background. Beware of some dealers there, they will refuse a return or make it such a stressed-out affair that it just is not worth it. Many are selling other dealers stones they see in the market in Peshawar and have no money to refund.

From past experience

Thank you for all of the specific things to ask for. I am taking notes! Again thank you for taking so much though and time in responding.

 

[minousbijoux]

@gwcynthia: you were smart to come here and ask before purchasing. Like many vendors who don't source rough and have it cut, this vendor is on the high side. With due diligence, you can find more direct sources with gems for much less. The caveat is it depends on what you're willing to pay for - if you want service, and help sourcing, then you might be willing to accept higher prices.

My only other comment is to caution you not to fall for the "rare gem" moniker some sellers seem to use quite loosely, including for bright greenish blue tourmaline such as the one you referenced.

 

[qubitasaurus]

Youre also getting some super strange advice about jewelers in Singapore. Theyre not all expensive. You can find great ones really.

Singapore is a very expensive city (quite consistently rated number 1 in the world although really that title should go to hong kong) mainly these costs are driven by rent. So jewelers with huge shops in upmarket locations do have costs tacked on to cover this. Its only reasonable, theyll have to find the money to pay the rent. And if you live in singapore and want to stop there after your morning coffee, then in part your paying for the level of service and experience this offers. This is essentially just 'expat tax'. I see it bring great happiness to many. It is not a bad thing.

There are a bunch of jewelers who occupy less ritzy shopping centers where this isnt neccessarily true. They may also set stones in hong kong or overseas. Same goes for the taylors and most other services. There are a bunch of others selling online through IG who dont have these costs at all and then its not really neccessarily part of their business model, so honestly I dont think the advice your getting about SG is quite right. Its pricing is only going to be expensive if your expecting a 5* service in an expensive downtown store. And then like I said above -- its expat tax and thats postively normal and reasonable as the rent on that shop front will easily be 100k-250k a year (most likely to be right at the top of that range).

 

[gwcynthia]

Youre also getting some super strange advice about jewelers in Singapore. Theyre not all expensive. You can find great ones really.

Singapore is a very expensive city (quite consistently rated number 1 in the world although really that title should go to hong kong) mainly these costs are driven by rent. So jewelers with huge shops in upmarket locations do have costs tacked on to cover this. Its only reasonable, theyll have to find the money to pay the rent. And if you live in singapore and want to stop there after your morning coffee, then in part your paying for the level of service and experience this offers. This is essentially just 'expat tax'. I see it bring great happiness to many. It is not a bad thing.

There are a bunch of jewelers who occupy less ritzy shopping centers where this isnt neccessarily true. They may also set stones in hong kong or overseas. Same goes for the taylors and most other services. There are a bunch of others selling online through IG who dont have these costs at all and then its not really neccessarily part of their business model, so honestly I dont think the advice your getting about SG is quite right. Its pricing is only going to be expensive if your expecting a 5* service in an expensive downtown store. And then like I said above -- its expat tax and thats postively normal and reasonable as the rent on that shop front will easily be 100k-250k a year (most likely to be right at the top of that range).

Thank you!

 

[gwcynthia]

@gwcynthia: you were smart to come here and ask before purchasing. Like many vendors who don't source rough and have it cut, this vendor is on the high side. With due diligence, you can find more direct sources with gems for much less. The caveat is it depends on what you're willing to pay for - if you want service, and help sourcing, then you might be willing to accept higher prices.

My only other comment is to caution you not to fall for the "rare gem" moniker some sellers seem to use quite loosely, including for bright greenish blue tourmaline such as the one you referenced.

Thank you!!

 

[icy_jade]

A lot of Singapore sellers (retail and online) seem to benchmark to mad prices but if they don’t have mad cachet then maybe the mad prices are not worth it.

Ok honestly I think the original mad prices aren’t worth it anyway (they seem to charge at least double what is reasonable) but then again I am not the sort of person who will buy diamonds from Tiffany’s so I’m not the target market I guess.

 

[Ibrakeforpossums]

This is one of the vendors that I suspect is buying the stones from Pakistani IG vendors and immediately adding a huge markup.

If you want to go on an adventure for a lower cost but hard to return stone, I have been VERY happy with my purchases from these Pakistani vendors who are mostly cutting Afghan material.

Editing to reformat the IG names
@finestonespk
@stylogems_pakistan
@haris_gems_93 (mostly sells much larger stones)

I strongly recommend requesting indoor videos in normal, dim lighting before you buy. They are happy to make them quickly.

Some of them will take a return but it's complicated to do because gems cannot be shipped to or from Pakistan, they have to go to or be received from another country via a courier and then ship.

This might be a dumb place to post this but I saw this on Etsy. A group of 4 blue-ish green stones and one really lights up.

This item is unavailable - Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

www.etsy.com

 

[T L]

Tourmalines always looks nice under the sun, but tends to be more disappointing indoors. To be honest, how tourmaline looks under different lighting condition has made me a lot more selective of the tourmalines that I will buy. And I’m in the tropics as well so that’s usually a lot of sun.

For indicolites, I’ll advise to get the “neon” ones. I have a stone like that and it has not disappointed. I have another “normal” indicolite that only performs well in a specific range of lighting.

The “neon” indicolite

I had an indicolite that blacked out in sunlight, and looked better indoors.

There are some that look great in all lighting though.

 

[icy_jade]

I had an indicolite that blacked out in sunlight, and looked better indoors.

There are some that look great in all lighting though.

Oh can you share pics? Always good to learn more re: gems

 

[T L]

Oh can you share pics? Always good to learn more re: gems

I sold it a long time ago. I would post pics, but someone else owns it, and they might see it here.