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 Post subject: synthetic "Color Change Spinel" on eBay
PostPosted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 10:19 pm 
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Well some color change spinel's on eBay made me curious so I thought it’s worth to spent a few dollars and do a small testing, two stones with color change were obtained another fine deep blue saturated spinel as well.

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4,58 cts synthectic corundum (verneuil) sold as Burmese color change spinel

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deep blue 2,27 cts synthetic corundum (verneuil) sold as blue Burmese spinel

Seller claimed all are found in Burma….

The stones are pretty clean and reveal tiny inclusion, which turned out to be bubbles slightly arranged in a curved banding…all stones show typical Verneuil characteristics and are in fact synthetic corundums and reveal typical corundum RI.

All stones mostly appear in relatively small size (2 - 7 cts.) considering the synthetic nature….


Haven’t found something with photos in the forum so it might be interesting to share….

Kind regards and happy holdidays

Ziggi

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 Post subject: Re: synthetic "Color Change Spinel" on eBay
PostPosted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 6:37 am 
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Thank you for sharing!
Knowledge and more knowledge is never wrong!

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 Post subject: Re: synthetic "Color Change Spinel" on eBay
PostPosted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 10:08 am 
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I hope you left negative feedback with the scam artist that was passing these off as natural. You should also demand your money back from the seller - not so much because it matters to you, but because it will make the seller's life harder and increase the cost of him doing (scamming) business thru ebay and paypal. You may at least save some less well-informed buyers a few dollars and some grief.


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 Post subject: Re: synthetic "Color Change Spinel" on eBay
PostPosted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 4:05 pm 
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If you learn quickly,may be confusion with your name on pictures :oops:


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 Post subject: Re: synthetic "Color Change Spinel" on eBay
PostPosted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:51 pm 
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Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 5:21 pm
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Location: california
The seller has other examples still for sale and still falsely advertised. I'm interested in acquiring a specimen, and considered buying one and leaving negative feedback. However, I found sellers who advertise them for what they are, and that's the route I'll go (no ethical problems).

I'm not sure how effective negative feedback and complaints to eBay are for this sort of thing. It's not hard to find examples of misrepresented gems on eBay, but most of the time, you have to actually buy and examine the thing to be certain enough to complain. Once I noticed a seller based in Asia who was using pictures of a hauyne that I recognized as pictures from the ad of a legitimate seller in Germany. Because the sale of the German seller had ended, the scammer probably thought no one would notice. The size of the stone advertized by the scammer was too large and the price way too low. I reported it to eBay, and the ad and the seller disappeared within a day. Apparently infractions against other sellers are taken much more seriously than infractions against buyers.

If it could have a beneficial effect, an organization with a small amount of funding could buy inexpensive, but dubious, stones, examine them, try to get a refund, leave negative feedback and complain to eBay. It's a big "If", and I would participate if I thought it would do any good.

Mike


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 Post subject: Re: synthetic "Color Change Spinel" on eBay
PostPosted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 1:39 pm 
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Well there are still enough listed on eBay, partly with Tanzania as origin, I guess they have huge lots of that stuff but list them only piece by piece .
I have sent emails no answer yet, I wanted to give the seller at least a small chance to explain or offer refund…nothing happens! Even new ones have been listed after my complains!

Now I guess he deserves all punishment from eBay and buyers side.

@ Mike if you want to buy for a few bucks and make an example, go ahead, prices should not climb that high, I guess you can get it for 30 USD but some have sold for nearly 200 USD.

I haven’t posted photos from the curved lines of the “color change spinel” here it is, also bubbles are visible as well:

Image
Bubbles


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curved growth lines


Well I wanted to give the seller a chance and asked a few times for a statement…I thought some may not know what they are selling, no I have to assume it’s all on purpose…I was more curious to find out and I haven’t spend much for those stones … I am fine… but I will ask for refund as a matter of principle, I think PayPal will do if he doesn’t.

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=color+change+spinel&_sacat=0&_sop=1&_odkw=color+change+spinel&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313


Here he is:

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-08-CT-FANTASTIC-BLUE-PINK-COLOR-CHANGE-SPINEL-/170580460835?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27b7634523


The problem is other buyers may pay 200 USD for synthetic which is worth a few pennies …

Kind regards

Ziggi

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 Post subject: Re: synthetic "Color Change Spinel" on eBay
PostPosted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 1:35 pm 
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Location: california
OK. Here's one with a high probability of being synthetic:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VIVID-2-46CT-VVS1-8mm-TRILLIANT-COLOR-CHANGE-SAPPHIRE-/180602370539?pt=Loose_Gemstones_1&hash=item2a0cbd79eb

The ad is very clever. It doesn't claim that it is natural (or synthetic), but they use "natural" in their selling name though. They do say it's heat treated, which would not be a lie for a synthetic because all synthetic processes for corundum use heat. As for being from Tanzania, I don't know if synthetic sapphires are made in Tanzania, but of course, it could have been purchased from a dealer in Tanzania even if made elsewhere, and it would be hard to disprove such a claim. So, this one might no be a good one to pursue.

I'm not going to start buying these things in order to go after the dealers on eBay until I can set-up a second eBay account. I don't want any kind of retaliation via my regular eBay account. I don't know if it's possible to set-up a second eBay and PayPal account. I have more than one credit card, but only one name.

Mike


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 Post subject: Re: synthetic "Color Change Spinel" on eBay
PostPosted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 1:51 pm 
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Mike -- As long as you have two separate checking accounts you can have two separate eBay accounts. I have a "business" account and a personal one.

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 Post subject: Re: synthetic "Color Change Spinel" on eBay
PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 12:29 am 
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Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2010 3:22 am
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Do you really think the buyers believe they are genuine with such massive price disparity?

Don’t forget the Far East are very different from us culturally, it’s a scam to us in the West but to him it’s good business, your planned lesson for him will be beyond him, if you aren’t aware the Thai ‘Authorities’ are the biggest scamming crooks out – how can you expect normal everyday Thai’s to be any different with that as an example?

It’s terrible that people take advantage of uninformed customers but it happens on the high street in the West as well as eBay. :roll:


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