"A Sucker Born Every Minute"?

I feel fascinated with the current jewelry and stones coming out of Thailand lately.  There are some GORGEOUS looking stones, some set in rings or bracelets etc., and they are SO pretty.  I mean, there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a beautiful CZ or simulated gemstone. At. All.  These pieces are available all over ebay, on Thai auction sites, and even etsy (sadly) and nearly all the pictures are the same ones used for all kinds of sellers everywhere----the same, terrible looking cadaverous fingers holding a ring, for example.  (see my previous post HERE)  And doesn't everyone know about "google images search"??  I just right click on an online picture and select "search image on google" and many times, I'll see other sellers offering that ring.  Price differences are astounding----the same ring for $100 on etsy is $25 on ebay or $9.99 on an auction site.

Image from Auction--and found elsewhere

So this morning, I came across this ebay auction for a "tanzanite" ring with "white topaz" in sterling silver and there are 16 bids which drove the price up to $154.50 as I write this (with 25 minutes left to bid).  It's a really pretty ring, isn't it?  Odd, non-tanzanite color though...  I love it -- except it's NOT tanzanite at all.  This same stone can be found elsewhere, or even by this very same seller, using google image search, marketed as "Ceylon sapphire" (which it's not), "blue tourmaline" (Nope), "amethyst" (not even close!)  and even "blue purple ametrine (???)" (again, not).  I can't be sure what it is exactly, but it's not a gemstone----could be glass, a colored CZ, a coated CZ, quartz, doublet, I don't know for sure.  It's being marketed as different "gemstones" so we can all use our brains to know that it's NONE of them.  Not a gem---otherwise, it would be sold as the gem that it is, right? Right.

What I do know, is that it's fraud.

Sad there are at least 15 bidders on ebay who have been fooled.  Sadder that the Thai gemstone market is now totally saturated with these phony stones.  It ruins it for everyone---we should ALL be outraged.  Thailand has been known for it's rubies and sapphires and other gems---but lately it's known for the fakes being sold, worse than China nowadays.  And that says a lot!

 Besides, a tanzanite that is 6-carats would be about $6,000.  AND it would be a different color because quality tanz is a deep vibrant blue-purple, not this washed out blue stone that looks like, well, glass.

People seem to always try to find a "deal", like they're thinking they're getting a $6,000 gem for $150.  So do they think they are pulling a fast one on this Thai seller on ebay?   Other way around people!!!

HERE is a link to a real, legit tanzanite dealer, with stones to compare color.  Also, I like their tagline: "Tanzanite--a thousand times rarer than diamond."  True.  And it's very expensive too.

You should really check out that ebay seller's other items, especially the emeralds!  Neon green!!  haha!  Also they are very poorly cut, and you can really see that when you look at their list of "emeralds"---see the windowing at the center of each?  Bad.  No genuine gemstone would be cut like that.
The "inclusions" are probably cracks caused (on purpose) by heating the stones then rapidly cooling them, like anyone can do with glass marbles for example.