Fused Quartz, Sold as "Gems" From Thailand -- Buyer Beware!

I've written about this a couple of times here on my blog, because I find this so amazing!  There are some REALLY beautiful rings (and earrings) with utterly fantastic settings being sold on ebay (and etsy).  These pieces are coming from Thailand, sold by a variety of sellers on ebay from Thailand, but all feature the same, err, distinctive-looking fingers holding the rings.  And at first glance, it's like bidders are getting AMAZING deals on huge carat-weight gemstones, like BIG aquamarines and gigantic sapphires, with colors that are dazzling.

"Morganite" (what??)  ring for $25

This all started when I sincerely considered buying an aquamarine ring from one such seller on etsy--it was spectacular, and I do love aquamarines and emeralds.  I've been an aquamarine collector since I was 18 and have purchased many pieces from jewelers in Chicago's Jewelers' Row Landmark District, and in Los Angeles.  But one person left feedback at the etsy seller's shop that said their jeweler told her the stone was fake AND the sterling wasn't really silver--it was plated!!

But sometimes buyers are wrong, and that was just one out of almost 100...yet, it did seem too good to be true!  So I started doing some research online and that is how I've discovered that the etsy buyer was absolutely RIGHT.  The stones ARE fake!!!  I don't need to see a stone in person, or have it tested at my (VERY reputable) jeweler to know when something is not right.  Plus, using "google image search" has led me to the same ring sold elsewhere for $9.99, not $100!  So totally glass.

It's one thing to sell a "simulated" gemstone, or CZ, or man-made stone when you say upfront that it is indeed man-made.  There are so many gorgeous simulated gemstones---I'm all FOR lab created or simulated.  It's another thing altogether to claim the stone is "from Africa" and "heated" and so forth, when that's a total LIE.  It's fraud.  People are being defrauded by the hundreds every single day!

Fused Quartz - 100 Carats for $10.  Pretty!

I've found a website that sells "fused quartz" and "fused silica" rough as well as CZ rough crystals.  HERE is their website. You might think, "Oh, quartz, at least it's a gemstone..." but you'd be wrong.  Fused quartz is GLASS, not quartz crystals. You can see that, for example, the "emerald fused quartz" looks incredibly like a real emerald, like perhaps a "treated" or glass-infused emerald.  And that's just a piece of rough! I can imagine how beautiful it would be when faceted and polished. This is sometimes cut and sold as "hydro quartz".  If you look up fused quartz, you can read for yourself that IT IS GLASS.  Despite the "quartz" word in the name, it is a form of GLASS.  It is melted and poured into bars, as opposed to crystals that are grown.  That same website offers all sorts of simulated gems for the jewelry industry, including fused silica which they call "jeweler's silica" and the ruby and sapphire are very good fake corundum and, of course, there is beautiful simulated aquamarine.  (It's also glass.) Note the Mohs hardness--5.5 to 6 which is the same as plate glass!

These 8-17 Carat "Padparadscha" Rings for $24.99.  REAL Padparadscha is $16,000 and Up

These sellers on ebay are selling GLASS as various gemstones.  This glass is faceted and polished and sold as gemstones---THEY ARE NOT!   This "fused quartz" glass is NOT to be confused with lab-created gemstones:  lab stones ARE gemstones, just created by man (rather than mined from the earth).  These Thai stones do not possess the same chemical and physical properties of gemstones---these are WORTHLESS glass stones.   Here is a list of just some of the sellers with nothing but FAKE GLASS GEMSTONES being sold as Aquamarine, Tanzanite, Emerald, Ruby, Morganite, Kunzite, White Topaz, Blue Topaz, London Blue Topaz, and other gems----ALL GLASS.  And these sellers are so easy to find--they all begin their titles in listings with certain words, such as "splendid", "amazing", "alluring", "astonishing" or "sumptuous" or my favorite, "bewitching", and many others.  Just add the word "ring" in the search box and TONS of jewelry is there to see---thousands of listings!  Here are just 11  sellers on ebay...check it out:

•   blessingyou (391 results)
•    k.t.t.shop (271 results)
•   lay-25 (21 results)
•   bigandgems (71 results)
•   lermang (493 results)
•    p.j.chanthaburee*  (504 results)
•   zen-24 (428 results)
•   egenduanind (654 results) - they offer some different styles!  Fake though
•  *bulran (402 results)
•   rulpang (434 results) 
•   paruay (211 results) 
•   maitree10 - 570 total items on ebay as of 10/10, many the same as on etsy

$35 direct from Thailand, or $109 on etsy!

All of these stores have the same jewelry, the same hand holding it in most pictures, the same "spinning" turntable pictures, the same descriptions ("heated" "Africa" and luster described as "dazzling" or "astonishing" etc. etc.).  All jewelry made with glass stones by some Thai manufacturer, and then sold under a number of different seller names.

I see a U.S. seller on etsy who is now offering the same "padparadscha sapphires" and other rings----same hands holding them, same weird descriptive words----but for BIG prices, like over $300.  It's still NOT a sapphire (because a 10-ct.  Padparadscha sapphire of that size would be staggering -- TENS of thousands of dollars!) and it's still a scam, regardless of the seller.  The sad part is that this particular seller has some possibly genuine vintage gemstone rings, and a few of these "ravishing" and "enchanted" obvious fakes.  (The phony "paraiba tourmalines" are definitely NOT "refreshing", and are the same hands holding them as pictured above.  Sad.) 

Here's an auction site in Thailand that offers some loose gems (maybe real?) but most items are the same exact items (rings, etc.)  found on ebay, same hands holding the pieces, etc.  The website is very slow to load.  One main seller is someone called "allgem" and prices are cheaper, in general.  But still WAY too expensive for glass. A picture of their "aquamarine" earrings is here, above right.

I'm sure it's all a numbers game for the Thai manufacturer:  sell as many pieces of jewelry as possible, with a LOT of different seller names in case they are closed down by ebay one by one, then take the money and run!  Before people find out that the "sapphire" they purchased is glass.

It's awful, isn't it?  I'd think Thailand as a country would put a stop to this, because it's REALLY ruining the entire country's reputation as a source for fine gemstones. There are even warnings to American travelers to avoid buying the fake gemstones there.  Read the U.S. Travel consular website and in particular the very long paragraph describing fake gem scams---to buyers who see the gems in person and are still fooled:

   "The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) receives over a thousand complaints each year from visitors who have been cheated on gem purchases...You can find detailed information on gem scams on numerous websites..."

Ridiculous!

It's perfectly GREAT to buy non-gemstone jewelry.  Seriously, the rings from Thailand are GORGEOUS and if having something beautiful is what makes a person happy, go for it!  But be aware that you aren't getting a gemstone at all.  If you love it, that's what matters.  But DON'T buy these as "investment pieces" because they're only worth about $25---if the sterling is genuine!