Would you buy jewellery online?

[*CountessA*]

What are the pros and cons in your opinion?

Do you have hard-and-fast rules, or do you let yourself act on impulse?

If you have rules, do you have exceptions?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As for me, I am deeply reluctant to buy jewellery online. I don't think you can properly see the quality of the stone/s, or check the karat of the gold, etc. I think you are not going to get a true picture of the lustre, the nacre, the cut, the facets, the colour, the depth, the fit, the way the jewellery sits against on your skin and reflects the colour and warmth, etc.

There are exceptions for me. I love antique jewellery, jewellery of beautiful workmanship with a history behind it. When purchasing Georgian rings, or Victorian rings, or early Victorian cameos, or Georgian necklaces, or  - well, anything of that nature - I will rely heavily on the reputation of the seller, the detail with which he's peppered his description of the item, etc. I always communicate beforehand when it comes to buying this sort of stuff, and it helps to reassure me that I'm making a good choice.

Of course the quality of the jewellery can only really be assured once you've received the item... and even then it's a good idea to take it to a jeweller's to have it appraised.

What are your views on this?

[That Varieties Gal]

i only buy jewellery from people i see as 'trusted'
a seller who i can communicate with is the most important
and i like it more esp. if they have an actual store and reputation that they cherish!

[*Brum6y*]

I don't know how I would feel about buying jewelry online.

Some years ago, I went to a jeweller, looking for a gift and he showed me something with a clear stone in it and referred to it as a 'diamond'.  I'm no expert, but I've seen a couple of real diamonds in my time and this just didn't look right, so I pulled out my Swiss Army knife and had a closer look with the magnifying glass.  My reaction was instantaneous "That's not a diamond!".  The salesman jumped into a bit of double-speak to try and save some face, by referring to it as an imitation diamond or some such waffle, but my opinion of him and his merchandise dropped through the floor.

I'd have to be pretty comfortable with a Seller to even contemplate it online....

[callostemma]

I too love old jewellry,however if one was buying an expensive item I would be going to a reputable jeweller
Especially buying gold :thief:

[*FluffyDuckee*]

It depends, but overall no.  This comes from experience.  I have in the past bought quite a bit of online jewellery.

In one case, I bought a little 14k heart set with a diamond.  What I got was a 14k lump that didn't sit straight with a diamond in it.  Fortunately ice.com accepted it back and refunded me, including sending me a cheque in American $ for my return postage to the US to my Australian address.  Another time I purchased a diamond encrusted 14k ring from Diamond.com, a sister company to Ice.com.  The ring was 1/2 inch thick and encrusted with 1 carat of diamonds.  The pattern was beautiful.  Unfortunately, the diamonds were of poor quality and one quickly fell out.  I had bought it for $400 American $.  I got another diamond (they were individually small, about 1 point each) put into it, had the other diamonds checked and secured, cost $50.  Sold it on Ebay on auction for $110.  

I do trust JeGem to provide what they say and I have bought a few beautiful and one of a kind things from them.  They are quite expensive however, and the items when they turn up, seem a little smaller or lighter than you think from the photos.  

Had a couple of bargains here and there such a lovely locket and a lovely pendant from Macys and a couple of times I've gotten things from Amazon that were for example 14 k, encrusted in small diamonds and pink sapphires and cost me $50.  I've bought a couple of nice earrings on Ebay.  On occasions you can pick up a bargain when a private person sells a genuine item they no longer want.

Most most of the other stuff has turned out to be light, hollow, small and with inferior stones.  

I now buy jewellery locally where I can see it and make sure it is what I expected.  I can also put it on lay-by here.  lol

[Liisa-Sx]

I'm in the No camp as has been previously stated there just is no way of checking quality of stones, gold content, weight etc etc, mind you a lot of the 'mainstream' jewellers are selling rubbish these days as well.

For example from a regular chain store jeweller, it is increasingly difficult to get a pair of gold hoop earrings (of any size) that are not "hollow" and at ridiculous prices, I only buy solid gold, this proves to be difficult at times unless I am prepared to sell them my soul lol

Fortunately the majority of my jewellery was purchased before hollow gold became the norm, I do have a penchant for quality dress rings though

[tellomon]

Buying jewellery online is just as
risky as buying used cars.

Want something?
Go downtown and visit the Shops.

[low-enghooi]

My uncle is in jewelry business.

Lesson I learnt:

1. If you want nice stone, fly to Sri Lanka or Nepal. If you want nice carbon (plus tax) diamond, fly to Africa.

2. If you want to own jewelry, buy your gold and your stone, get ready your design, ask the goldsmith to produce. Always cheaper and (hopefully) better than buying from shop, be it online or offline.

3. If you position correctly, jewelry is a luxurious business.

I find it better for my health if I just forget about jewelry.

Btw, I am curious as to how you can see through the gold and tell it is genuine gold and not fake gold. Even gold expert can't do it. As for stone/diamond, probably it is slightly easier, but try to look at top quality fake stone/diamond. 

The worst thing I can imagine is, you go to a shop with eagle eyes and jewelry loupe, and examine the jewelry you want to buy. You are very sure that is your dream jewelry and up to your strictest quality standard. Then months later you were told what you bought are absolute fake.

Sorry I heard too many of this stories now I don't touch jewelry anymore.

[*CountessA*]

Excellent points, Low - it's good to be extremely cautious when it comes to these things.

As far as testing for gold is concerned, it can be ascertained from the physical properties of gold. For instance, the good old magnet test (if it reacts firmly to a magnet, it is not gold; if it reacts lightly, it's impure or possibly just plated); the density test; the nitric acid test... These tests should certainly eliminate doubt.

It's harder to be sure about the stone, if an imitation is a good quality imitation. If you're looking at amethysts, for instance, it's not possible to be sure (with very high quality imitations) unless some quite costly tests are undertaken.

Let us bless the Mohs scale, which does help with most precious stones.

If I have doubts about a stone, I'd be looking for help from a qualified gemologist, not just a jeweller.

[low-enghooi]

No idea why but every time I look at those 1kg gold bar I am thinking of chocolate. Yummy! I think I like chocolate more than the gold bar.

I never like jewelry, diamond, jade, blue, green, red, yellow and those unknown stone. There is a device to check the diamond but the value of genuine diamond lies in the purity and the cutting which the device can't tell. I am happy with $1 fake diamond if I ever need one to show off. Hahaha.

Years ago I was doing the gold (and platinum) electroplating. I can never understand why those rich Chinese people who want to electroplate their 92.5% or 96% gold jewelry and make it looks more golden. It looks ugly to me but they love it. Sometimes we over do it and it looks burnt. Still some people love it this way.

I don't like gold. Not even a gold coin.

[low-enghooi]

My uncle bought the stone, cheap and expensive, from the Sri Lanka and Nepal sellers. These sellers come to Malaysia quite frequently and they do speak very simple Malay language. They just look like beg packer and go to every shop to sell.

They usually come alone or in small group of 2 to 3 persons. It is interesting they carry a bag with so much precious stone and not worry about their personal safety.

I don't know if these people also fly to Australia.

[*CountessA*]

I wish I could get hold of those Sri Lankan and Nepal sellers, Low! Perhaps they feel that they don't attract much attention from would-be muggers because they look humble and - as you say - like backpackers. There is certainly something to be said for keeping a low profile.

I do like the look of gold, but not overdone. I would never electroplate gold jewellery; that sounds so bizarre!