QuestionMr. Fifer,
In reference to buying loose stones online: My question is mainly about Rubies and Emeralds. I see African rubies in the 20 to 60 carat size, various cuts, many for under $10. Emeralds from Brazil are smaller in size typically, but still under $20. Are these simply throw away stones of little to no value, or are there actually some good deals out there? Most of the dealers offering these stones are from places like India; however, they have thousands of sales on eBay with terrific feedback. I am aware that there are many aspects of quality, and you often get what you pay for, but I have purchased many items online for one tenth of the normal cost. Also, what would be a good online resource for studying precious and semi-precious stones to become more familiar with color, clarity, cut, and grade?
AnswerSorry about the very slow response. I've been moving.
1) Cheap emeralds from Brazil are indeed not worth much. Brazil does produce some good emeralds, but for they rarely come close to the valuations of Colombian emeralds.
2) Ebay Feedback can be inflated artificially. I wouldn't put much trust in it.
3) There are deals online, but usually the seller has a good idea of the value of what they are selling. Rarely will a buyer find a great deal by accident. Keep in mind also that many gems on ebay are notorious for all kinds of unethical treatments, synthetics, and other unscrupulous misrepresentations.
4) Regarding online resources I might recommend some of the gemology forums. We've enjoyed gemology-online.com. There are many reknowned gemologists that participate the forum there. But you really have to look around and judge for yourself. A few easy to read books on the subject are worth the time. I can recommend the extraLapis series which are excellent information about the gems individually. I've also included a link below that we link to from our blog. It's a buying guide for rubies, sapphires, and emeralds that is quite easy to read and well presented. It looks like there is a brand new edition available. I also try to provide information about emeralds on my website, www. embassyemeralds.com.
http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Sapphire-Emerald-Buying-Guide/dp/0929975413/ref=sr_1_...
Best of luck!
