Rocks TV

I would prefer the hosts not tell us about their personal purchases. I had to hear several times during The Lounge show how one of the hosts purchased a 6 carat Zambian Emerald for three figures, yet when I am watching GemsTV or RocksTV there is no way I would be able to purchase a 6 carat Zambian Emerald for three figures. There was one I saw that was $999 but it was only a 3 carat stone. And today (8/28/2014), there was a 7ct Zambian Emerald and the final price was $1,936.00 Yet these same hosts keep telling us how they cannot get the same low prices we get during their clearance and outlet shows, even with their employee discount. I knew that could not be true. Trust me. I worked in retail a long time ago. Employees get even better bargains with their employee discounts. So please don't tell me about your 6 carat Zambian Emerald you purchased for three figures if you are not allowing us to purchase a 6 carat Zambian Emerald for three figures.

I finally went to my jeweler. I needed to ask him if the emerald ring I purchased during a "Refurbished" hour on The Lounge program could be repaired. I realize that when I purchase an item on The Lounge, that it will be damaged/flawed in some way. But, I also expected that the flaw or damage could be repaired by me if I should decide to take it to a jeweler.

The Lounge host represented the ring as having a nick in the table. When my jeweler looked at it, he told me the "nick" went down from the table to the rim and down the pavilion of the stone. The amount of gem they would have to take away in order to make the stone perfect, would change the carat weight so much that it would no longer fit into the gold setting. I also asked him about the ruby bracelet I purchased on The Lounge. The ruby bracelet was not bought during a refurbished program so I thought I was safe in purchasing it. My jeweler looked at it and then took me and the bracelet outdoors in the sun and you could see right away that the stones were mismatched. Some were cloudy and some were clear and he even pointed out several stones that had black inclusions in them. So, to my disappointment, I will be returning the items. I also took a Chrome Diopside sterling silver ring to him that just needed a little smoothing out along the table edge, but he said he was afraid the silverwork would not hold up if he had to remove the stone and then replace it. Unfortunately, that ring I cannot return because it is past the 30-day return policy.

I tell you these things, not to stop you from purchasing, but to inform you of what you may be buying and to make sure you take it in to a jeweler to be sure any flaws can be repaired by you. Especially, if you are purchasing during a REFURB hour and it is in gold. You don't want to be paying for something that you cannot fix later.

I just received my AAA, 14k yellow gold Tanzanite ring. It was the "last one" on The Lounge program, so I will probably keep it because I don't intend on buying any more Tanzanite. They want too much for their smaller carat weight stones. The color is "okay" but the band width is laughable and almost non-existent. It is SO THIN I think it will break at the first opportunity. I cannot believe that they would do this thin band on an AAA, 14k ring. It is unconscionable. I would be embarrassed as the president of this company to agree to make it this way and then to actually sell it this way. Keep your eyes on the pictures and compare the picture of what you are buying with the others around it. Have them place two rings together and see the difference in bands to possibly get an idea of what you're buying.

Once again I would like to remind you to be careful when buying BI-COLOR Tanzanite. I have just seen a 3 stone, bi-color Tanzanite in Sterling Silver that was just a poor watered down version of the stone. This won't be worth anything in the future if that's what you're purchasing it for. Just like pale A grade Tanzanite won't be worth anything in the future. The Triple As and higher will be the ones people will want to buy. To me, the bi-color Tanzanites are just natural tanzanite stones that did not get that extra "something" mineral in them to make them turn a lovely blue when heated. Now, they are trying to sell a new "GREEN" Tanzanite stone. REALLY? Another piece of rock that you're calling tanzanite because it has most of the composition of Tanzanite, but again, probably missing some key ingredient that makes it green instead of the blue we are all looking for. It was a 1.80ct "Green" Tanzanite and they placed it in a 14k gold setting and wanted $599.00 for it. If I had $599, I would not be buying a "green" tanzanite. I would be buying a real Tanzanite.

I still watch in awe as I see the programs bring out their 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and even 10 carat Tanzanite solitaire ring items in 14k and 18k. Before Tanzanite went up in price, they hardly ever showed these carat weights and even told the buying public how difficult it was to find these high carat weight stones. Now that the price of Tanzanite has gone up, it's amazing how many of these high end stones they have...Coincidence? I think not.

The Triple As (AAA) they put in 10k are NOT the same quality and deep color that they place in their 14k and 18k.

I was watching a Tanzanite "Avalanche" program on RocksTV, but it was funny because they were trying to use "The Lounge" format which is ridiculous. They brought up a whole page of Tanzanites and if you don't have a computer you would not be able to see them all anyway and you would still have to wait to see them one by one. So they started with the highest priced item and went lower on the next item and so on. The prices are not negotiable and all the prices go back up after the show is over. They won't be on the website for an hour like on their regular auction shows. And the thing is, that the prices they are screaming about being so low are not lower than they have been previously on their regular auction shows. So what is the point? Leave The Lounge format on The Lounge where it works. It doesn't work on a program where people are expecting the prices to be a "falling auction" format.

I also think they've lowered the lighting their studios, especially The Lounge which makes the items seem darker than what they are. Point in fact, an AA tanzanite piece that I purchased which was nothing like the color on the screen...and I have 3 different televisions in my home, you would think one of them would be accurate as to what I am looking at.

BE CAREFUL with buying Mongolian Andesine. There was a huge controversy several years ago as to treated Andesine being thrown into the market and being sold as natural. There was also a controversy regarding its origin. I believe RocksTV's Andesine is heated and diffused. When I tried to ask two different hosts on The Lounge regarding RocksTV's Andesine, I was completely ignored through the whole show.

CSARITE shows its color shift the best in 3 carat or larger stones. I have several (under 1.34 carat) Csarites which I like for their clarity and being natural, but in all honesty, the color shift is almost non-existent. I have returned several step/octagon cut stones that didn't show any color shift. The best is the princess cuts, cushion or brilliant cuts...

GLEN LEHRER pieces are priced way too high. There were 2 rings in the REFURB collection where the rings were resized and the serial numbers were missing and they still wanted $318 for the rings. Gold per gram in Europe is only $10.50 per gram. The rings only had 4.5 grams of gold in them. Even if they have to pay a higher premium to purchase the gold (i.e. $25 per gram) that would only be $100 for the gold content. The Amethyst was only a 2.5ct stone. I don't care who made the ring, it certainly isn't worth $318 for one that has the serial number missing and has already been resized once.

During a weekend The Lounge Clearance Show, they were auctioning a 4.40ct AA Tanzanite bracelet in Sterling Silver for $171.41. I purchased my 7.3 ct bracelet for $99. I am happy I paid the lower price, but in all honesty, I should have sent it back since it was not an AA color. When compared to rings I had previously purchased, it was very pale and should only have been graded a single A Tanzanite grade.

REMEMBER, for those of us who watch RockTV across the pond, when they say the RSVP will never be lower, it's not true. They may play it on GemsTV and it may come down to a lower price or if any are left or returned after a period of time, you may see it on The Lounge. Just remember, you are taking that chance that it may be sold out before it gets to The Lounge.

Good Luck and Happy Shopping.