Paraiba Tourmaline Q

[satine112]

so, i am having trouble posting links to my photobucket account...

so -

maybe go to photobucket and search for xxxxx

i don't know why PS won't let me post links.

 

[T L]

Upload the picture to the server from your link.

 

[LD]

You can''t post links to Photobucket unfortunately

Save them onto your computer and then resize them so they''re 600x400 or something like that and then you can post one photo per post on here (you can''t do multiple photos in one post unless you do a montage in Paint).

Are you considering buying stone 1, 2, 3 or 4?

 

[satine112]

sorry, i''m sure you are all as frustrated as i am.

the pics are so small now, so hopefully u can still see what needs to be seen.

 

[satine112]

another

 

[satine112]

and another

 

[satine112]

*sigh* i''m sure i''ll regret posting these, but that this point, i''m so tired i''m not sure i care. lol

 

[satine112]

and to loving diamonds - i''m not sure. the last 3 in this post seem glowy but i''m not sure if that is ebay and camera tickery or not.

 

[LD]

Ok, well go back and delete your Photobucket account name in the thread above as you probably want that private!!!

First up - they''re all good colours which immediately make me suspicious. Especially if they''re selling cheaply. What are the carat sizes? Approximately? 1ct or thereabouts?

One or two of those, from what I can see, have inclusions that I wouldn''t necessary say are ones that you would see in a Tourmaline and stone 1 looks suspiciously like Apatite. I reckon they''ve all been photoshopped. Hang on, going to have a better look - will be back in a mo but I''m sure TL will also chime in to help.

 

[RockHugger]

Date: 1/28/2010 6:20:34 PM
Author: LovingDiamonds

Date: 1/28/2010 6:15:56 PM
Author: RockHugger

Date: 1/28/2010 5:49:40 PM
Author: LovingDiamonds
Apologies to Rock Hugger as I know she has recommended this seller but this has to be one of the worst ''Paraiba Tourmalines'' I''ve ever seen. Trust me, this is not worthy of even being buried in the same soil as a PT!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320476510097

I''ll email TL and ask her to pop along to help you.

oh wow! That is crappy looking. He usually has alot better stuff on there. Like I said though, he is selling his own personal collection so maybe thats one of his discount stones LOL.
He has had some paraibas in the past that were AMAZING, and sold for quite a bit.

Yes, the minty tourmaline I got from thaigemstore looks better then most of my paraibas, and has a nice ''glow'' about it. I bought that for 24$. There are tourmalines that arnt paraiba that still have the glow and general color of a paraiba for MUCH cheaper.

Well I''m glad you didn''t buy that because it''s truly awful and I''d be recommending a sanity check if you thought that was a Paraiba!!! Actually some of his/her other stuff is seriously seriously iffy as well. Check out the ''Padparadscha'' sapphires!!!! Unfortunately some people hide behind the ''I''m selling my own private collection'' to sell tat that they''ve picked up along the way and either now know better or seriously believe their own hype lol!

I have had quite a few lengthy conversations with him, and I honestly believe him saying he is selling his own stuff. I know what you are talking about though. My avatar tanzanite was from him a few months ago. Picked it up for 40 something dollars...so he has had nice stuff. I scan his store every so often and I do have to admit his stuff is getting pretty

.

Yeah his sapphires are either lab or BE treated to the max. I wouldnt recommend his sapphires at all.

 

[T L]

The top one looks like an apatite, and the other three look photoshopped.

 

[RevolutionGems]

SATINE-

I don't mean to yell but AVOID ROCKandGEM like the plague. There was quite a big discussion about their goods on here a few days ago. There is something VERY FISHY about their product.

As far a BDevaney, I bought a BE treated Pad from him and it is BEAUTIFUL. He is an honest seller and ships quickly.

 

[satine112]

yep, all about 1ct or more. none are 2 or 2+.

prices are $150-400

ETA: thanks Jeff. will do!

 

[RockHugger]

3 and 4 look like tourmaline. 1 looks a bit too glassy to be tourmaline. Are they all from the same seller? They all have a very uniform color.

 

[RockHugger]

Date: 1/28/2010 6:46:03 PM
Author: Revolution
SATINE-

I don't mean to yell but AVOID ROCKandGEM like the plague. There was quite a big discussion about their goods on here a few days ago. There is something VERY FISHY about their product.

As far a BDevaney, I bought a BE treated Pad from him and it is BEAUTIFUL. He is an honest seller and ships quickly.

They in canada? If so I agree!!! I actually exclude them from my searches. VERY uniform colors for paraibas and they just look....funny.

I have two BE sapphires as well (one Pad) from him. What I dont like about his sapphires is he doesnt disclose BE treatment (or at least didnt). Thats why I dont recommend them.

 

[satine112]

yep - the rest are all the same seller, gemsjgems

and yeah, that one seller was in canada. i've removed the stone from my watch list.

shame - that's the one i was probably going to buy. thanks for saving me!

 

[LD]

Reasons to stay away from those:

1. The colour is uniform and photos almost definitely photoshopped.
2. If those were the actual colour of the PTs then they would be selling for much much much more.
3. The seller doesn't disclose treatment (have a look at his Rubies)
4. Even if these are Tourmalines I suspect the colour won't be what you get
5. You're potentially throwing money away

Reasons to buy:

1. Can't think of any other than he gives you a free box! When the emphasis on selling a Ruby is that you get a free box that kinda tells you how good the gemstones will be!

 

[RockHugger]

That round ruby is deff fracture filled.....

And the box isnt even a nice box! Its a stupid square gem box.

 

[T L]

But LD,
That free box is so enticing!!!

LOL!!

Gemlininc.com, and they have an ebay store as well, sells indicolites that sometimes have an open c-axis, and can be pretty. They''re not neon, but bright and nice. He also gives you a 30% discount if you mention Pricescope. I would scout their site from time to time for some pretty lighter blue tourmalines On ebay, it is almost impossible to find a neon PT for an affordable price.

This particular ebay store charges more, but even their tourmalines are not neon, but some are pretty and bright with decent native cuts. Nothing that I would consider a true paraiba color though. Please note that I have never purchased from them, so I cannot offer a detailed review, but their stones appear to be real tourmalines. I would also check toolhaus.org for ebay feedback on any seller.

http://shop.ebay.com/big99al/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=50

 

[satine112]

ok. all deleted. thanks for your help guys.

back to ground 1.

 

[satine112]

there is an ebay seller from Thailand with some pieces that caught my eye, but all the feedback comes from a few people, over and over again.

starts with a Taksin, ends in gems
there is another seller in the US, name starts with jewels, ends in roughgems

are either of these sellers ok??

eta: what about paraibadealers.com?

 

[T L]

Date: 1/29/2010 3:50:50 PM
Author: satine112
there is an ebay seller from Thailand with some pieces that caught my eye, but all the feedback comes from a few people, over and over again.

starts with a Taksin, ends in gems
there is another seller in the US, name starts with jewels, ends in roughgems

are either of these sellers ok??

eta: what about paraibadealers.com?

I purchased this minty cuprian from Taksin about a year ago. They do not offer refunds, but the photos was reasonably accurate. No GIT certs, but you can see this has needles (which are not easily visible to my naked eye) that indicate it''s a true Mozambique tourmaline. It was around 2 carats and $89. You can try them out, but as always, buyer beware.

 

[satine112]

ok, thanks!

 

[RockHugger]

I always avoid sellers with the same 3 or 4 people posting feedback over and over again. It makes me wonder if they are friends or family pretending to buy just to boost feedback score. It costs the seller 1$ or so each 'purchase' made by these people, but usually the more feedback you have the more people are willing to spend on your items...so it pays to fake feedback.

Not saying thats what they are doing...but when I see it I get VERY suspicious.

 

[satine112]

that''s what i was thinking too - but at the same time, the stones are pretty

i kinda wish i never knew about this stone now. it''s causing me much frustration

 

[T L]

Date: 1/29/2010 5:14:19 PM
Author: satine112
that's what i was thinking too - but at the same time, the stones are pretty

i kinda wish i never knew about this stone now. it's causing me much frustration

Taksin has been around for a long time, and they only have one negative in toolhaus.org. Their stones aren't the greatest on earth, but I am happy with my purchase. Out of a bunch of duds, it stood out to me, and the pictures didnt' look photoshopped. It's a very bright stone and well worth what I paid and then some. It has a window, but most of these stones do. I can't vouch if any are fracture filled, but you get what you pay for. If you've never seen a true vivid neon paraiba before, these stones will probably make you happy. Too bad they have a no refund policy, I do not like that.

The above stone is a true slightly bluish green minty tourmaline with very bright color. It lacks the grey modifier which plagues so many Afghan indicolites. The cutting throws people off, but it's really difficult to find true minty green tourmalines, especially for $89. My photo is not that great.

 

[RockHugger]

I think you cought the paraiba bug! I LOVE them. I am up to 4 now and will have many more soon when I get my lot in. They are just interesting stones and I am drawn to them like I am my tanzanites.

Paraibas 99.9% of the time have windows. Not many people want to sacrafice the price per ct to cut a perfect stone because in the real world (not ebay world) they sell for 1000/ct at least.


I dont like the no return policy either...IMO if they dont take returns there is a reason, and that makes me wonder about the stone quality and if they are just trying to ''dump'' the stones on buyers.

Although yours looks like a pretty stone TL. Can we get s shot of it further away?

 

[T L]

Date: 1/29/2010 5:47:45 PM
Author: RockHugger
I think you cought the paraiba bug! I LOVE them. I am up to 4 now and will have many more soon when I get my lot in. They are just interesting stones and I am drawn to them like I am my tanzanites.

Paraibas 99.9% of the time have windows. Not many people want to sacrafice the price per ct to cut a perfect stone because in the real world (not ebay world) they sell for 1000/ct at least.


I dont like the no return policy either...IMO if they dont take returns there is a reason, and that makes me wonder about the stone quality and if they are just trying to ''dump'' the stones on buyers.

Although yours looks like a pretty stone TL. Can we get s shot of it further away?

Thank you RockHugger (I still want to call you Tropic though). I will try to attempt to photograph it with my lousy photography skills, sure. I don''t know if they had that "no return" policy when I purchased my stone, but I do agree with you, that seems fishy.

 

[satine112]

they take returns, but there is a 15% restock fee

 

[T L]

Here it is from further away. It looks really awful in this picture. My camera doesn''t do green well. The above photo was taken in indirect sun. This one indoor lighting.