Buying a Gemstone Online: The 6 Traps to Avoid
Buying a gemstone online has become commonplace — and it is an excellent way to access gems from all over the world. But the web has its pitfalls too. Here are the 6 most common traps, seen from inside the trade.
1. Photos Too Beautiful to Be True
Boosted saturation, unrealistic studio lighting, videos under intense LED lamps... A stone can look electric on screen and dull in daylight. The reflex: ask for photos in natural light, on a neutral background — and if possible a handheld video.
2. Ambiguous Terms
"Created sapphire", "cultured ruby", "hydrothermal emerald": all elegant ways of saying synthetic. Conversely, insist on the words "natural stone" on the product page and the invoice.
3. Treatments Passed Over in Silence
A heated sapphire is legitimate — but it must be disclosed, because it is worth less than an unheated one. The same goes for glass filling in rubies ("fissure filled"), which should make you walk away, or beryllium diffusion. If the product page says nothing about treatment, ask the question in writing.
4. Fanciful Certificates
A home-made PDF or an unknown laboratory commits to nothing. The serious references: LFG, GIA, SSEF, Gübelin, GRS... and check the certificate number on the laboratory's website.
5. The "Too Good a Deal" Price
A 3-carat unheated sapphire for €200 does not exist. An abnormally low price is the market's most reliable warning signal: synthetic, heavily treated, or quite simply not the stone described.
6. The Untraceable Seller
No address, no telephone, no possibility of seeing the stone or returning it? Walk away. A serious professional has a physical presence — even when selling online — and is willing to receive you.
How We Do Things
We photograph our stones ourselves, disclose every treatment, provide recognised certificates on important pieces — and above all, you can book an appointment in Paris to see each gem before deciding. Start with our latest arrivals.
