A WARNING ABOUT BUYING LOOSE GEMSTONES

At Sell-My-Diamonds /Joden World Resources, where we purchase antique and estate jewelry, diamonds, rings, and high quality watches from consumers, we are approached several times a week with an offer to sell us loose gemstones purchased overseas. We are writing this article in hopes of warning individuals so that they might avoid this financial trap.

What is Wrong with Some Middle Eastern Gems?

The most common problems we see with these loose stone purchases are two-fold. First, the quality of the stones tends not to be good. There are flaws in the stones, many of which are of low grade, poor color, or poor quality overall. Because these stones are of low quality, there is no resale market for them. Many of the rough, uncut stones cannot be cut in such a way as to increase their value. In addition, the cut stones are not cut to the high quality proportions we expect from modern gem manufacturers.

The second problem is the actual value of the stones. While the good news is that the gemstones are indeed real gems, the price being paid, at what seems to be a discount, is actually the retail sales value in the USA. In other words, anyone could buy these loose or uncut stones in the United States for the same price paid in Afghanistan. They are not a bargain and not a way to get rich quickly. Too many people, namely our service men and women are being taken in by these overseas scams. It saddens us to realize these fine men and women are being taken while they are risking their lives to protect us all.

We feel a responsibility to the general public to share this knowledge in hopes of preventing what we have been seeing so much of in the recent years. It would be very beneficial for anyone considering buying gemstones from overseas to proceed with extreme caution or preferably, not to consider it at all.