A Genuine Fake

Like a preacher from the pulpit, I have tried to inform, warn, and hopefully educate the naïve about the pitfalls of buying fine jewelry; I think it is safe to say if the price is really cheap, then so is the “not so fine” jewelry you just purchased.

It can begin with poorly informed salespeople. For instance, the great-grandmother selling her wares from a horse blanket on the ground will probably result in the 18-karat gold ring you purchased for 100 pesos not exactly being real gold. But then you can get the exact result from a fancy jewelry store in Cancun that makes millions by fleecing the tourists. If you are not jewelry aware, you are susceptible to being … I’ll come to the point. Swindled! Call what you like, a bad mistake or an extremely poor purchase - bottom line…the seller got your money and kept the gold, and you got the shaft.

Rarely a month goes by I’m not the giver of bad news when assessing someone’s overseas purchase(s). There are many scams throughout Europe where street sellers attempt to con you into purchasing very heavy, high-polished brass rings stamped “18kt gold” they “found!” I watched the scam from my table at a café in Paris - it was highly entertaining. The ploy is the scammer places the brass ring on the sidewalk in plain view to anyone walking by when the unsuspecting “mark”(aka Naive Tourist) notices it lying on the sidewalk. Only before they can bend down to scoop it up, suddenly out of nowhere, the con artist swoops in and snatches the ring before the mark knows what happened! Taking advantage of the tourist’s misfortune of not picking it up first before the swindler did, the con- person (both men and women do this con!) then shows the mark it’s a heavy gold ring and offers it to the tourist for whatever they can get for it, and that is anywhere from 25 to 50 to even 100 Euro’s. I watched them perform the scam numerous times from across the street. They appeared to have an unlimited supply of “Gold Bands,” and believe me, some folks fell for it! I have several in the store from people who fell for this scam overseas and tried to sell them to me.

These same scammers retrieve used water bottles in the rubbish and fill them with water from the fountains or who knows where in Paris or Rome place them in a bucket of ice and sell for a Euro to unsuspecting tourists! Make sure the seal is not compromised when you buy water off the streets, here or over there!

While these examples may seem small time to many, some con artists get more and more daring and can involve thousands of dollars of your money. Be wary of all these so-called highly recommended companies offering gold and silver coins or bullion on T.V. I know of several people who lost thousands by not getting what they expected or, besides that, their investment falling far short of being worth the money they paid. Make sure you physically get the actual gold or silver coins or bullion, a fancy document saying they are holding your metal for you in some undisclosed location is a sure way of knowing you will never see that metal or any of the money you invested. 

The same goes for these so-called jewelry auctions, which offer jewelry confiscated from drug dealers or tax cheats. Avoid purchasing high-quality looking rings, bracelets etc. They are usually set with dismal quality diamonds or treated gemstones that are worth only a fraction of their proposed value. These so called jewelry auctions at major hotels come to mind - avoid them like the plague. I have yet to see a single bargain from these medicine shows, and once you get burned, it is near impossible to get retribution for your mistake, and worse, it’s all legal when it clearly states no refunds, no returns, right there on the sales slip.

I once appraised an auction purchased heavy gold diamond tennis bracelet they paid $20,000 for right here on the island. While the bracelet itself was of the highest quality, the diamonds (and I use the word diamonds loosely!) were the most atrocious quality I had ever laid my eyes on. To me, diamonds this bad have zero value, next was the $10,000 emerald ring the seller said was worth $20,000 and that ring was more hideous than the diamonds. Imagine paying 30K for a lot of nothing. I doubt they got their money back.

There are so many imitations for diamonds, and now we have the market being flooded with Lab Created Diamonds. Lab grown gems have been around for decades and they mimic the most precious gemstones. They are near impossible to identify unless you are knowledgeable or better, a gemologist - they have a very low resale value. So, you really have to beware of so-called bargains. Remember that large-sized red ruby stone in the old school ring of yours, with the beautiful red stone is synthetic or glass (man-made) and worthless.

I recently purchased some “treated” rubies that are visually quite beautiful and in large sizes, only the thing is, they are really, really cheap. Why? Because the gem dealer informed me as to what I was actually buying - glass infused rubies. I bought them inexpensively and will sell them inexpensively when I make rings out of them. And the buyer will be informed why they cost thousands less than non- treated. Information is a valuable tool when spending hard-earned money on diamonds and gems. Most importantly, dealing with a trusted jeweler is paramount to the whole experience. Lots of jewelers sell imitation gemstones. Heck, have you noticed the large diamonds many of the island’s ladies are sporting on their fingers lately? What if I told you almost a third of them were cubic zirconia (aka fake diamond). 

So just send a stamped self-addressed envelope and I will send you a current list of all the island imposters and who the real diamonds wearers are. Please don’t… I’m kidding you! They would burn me at the stake for sure! 

Buying certified diamonds may cost a bit more, but they have been examined by a professional gem lab and the description and quality of the diamond is plainly written in black and white. Many important colored gemstones also come with certification papers. Even then, one must be careful - I have seen these documents can also be bogus or counterfeited.  

The whole gist of this column is to know what you are buying and from whom and make sure it is in writing and clearly states what your recourse is if there is buyer’s remorse.