Spectacular Spessartite

Some of our most spectacular gems never get over to eBay, so if you are looking for the ultimate in rarity, quality, and value make sure you drop a note to us and let us know what you are looking for.  Rare collectible stones come and go around here and sometimes we see what we [...]

Really good colorless zircon mined in Cambodia

Wow- it’s supposed to be CLEAR?  And sparkly?!?  And it should be well-cut and show fire similar to a diamond?  Who ever would have thought that zircon could look like this!  The truth is, so much of the zircon that is available on the market is such poor quality that it gets a horrible reputation.  [...]

Colored Stones in Stock! Tsavorite, Ruby, Tanzanite, Beryl, Tourmaline and more!

No ebay fees or bidding hassles. You can buy direct from Tip Top Gem. We have ready for immediate delivery:
Blue sapphire
Ruby
Colorless beryl
Tanzanite
Colorless zircon
Blue zircon
Sphene
Tsavorite
Aquamarine
Spessartite
Almandite garnet
Mali garnet
Rhodolite garnet
Indicolite blue tourmaline
Tourmaline
Bi-color tourmaline
Parti-colored tourmaline
Cuprian tourmaline
Afghan #1 lapis lazuli
We have calibrated and free-size stones. We have large and small stones. We have some exceptional collectible gemstones, some [...]

When gold is $900, how much will a pawnshop or jeweler pay for my gram of 10K, 14K, or 18K gold?

These are estimates based on $900 gold price.  When gold is $900 per ounce, it is about $28.94 for a gram.  But this is pure gold.  You need to bear in mind that 10K gold is 41.7% gold, and 14K is 58.5% gold, and 18K is 75% gold.  Also there is typically some loss in [...]

Ask me or Tell me!!!

Hey viewers! What do you have to ask? What do you want to say? I am not like your typical blog author out there in cyberspace. I am a real colored stone dealer who checks his email and who responds! If you would like, leave a comment on the blog or [...]

Rare stones are our passion

You don’t know hot.

If you haven’t lived in Korea you don’t know what hot soup is. And if you haven’t purchased from tiptopgem.com or the tiptopgem eBay store, you don’t know the hot opportunities on certified blue sapphire, tourmaline, sphene, Mali garnet, tsavorite, spessartite, Burmese ruby, and other fine collector gemstones. Service is not a buzzword [...]

Quality custom cut gemstones

Above: a 2.71 carat Umbalite Garnet
If you are not familiar with Gene at Precision Gem please click on his link in my blogroll in the right margin of this page. I know Gene from some of the gemology forums online and he has built a really stellar reputation as an honest guy who does [...]

What a beautiful Mali garnet!

I can’t resist showing this one off. It is just amazing. Maybe my skills with the camera are getting better as well. Nah, it’s the stone. I really like these cognac-colored Mali garnets and when the cutting is well-done they just come to life. It’s 1.32 carats by the way. [...]

Microscope Repair Video

As promised here is the video that will teach you how to tune-up the focus knob on that old GIA Gemolite microscope… as well as the focus mechanism for many other microscopes. If you have not read the previous post titled “I can’t keep it a secret…” please do so now as it has [...]

Great week for value shoppers

This is a great week for value shoppers who are looking to add some rare, exotic, or just plain beautiful stones to their collection. Also if you are looking for that very special stone for an unusual or rare custom-made piece of jewelry we likely have something for you on auction this week. [...]

Refractometer Tune-up for the masses

If your refractometer is a bit long-in-the-tooth, please take a look at this video. While entertaining and informative, it can also save you some money in a couple different ways!

Where does that buck stop again?

Responsibility is among the most noble of virtues. Nobody wants to be thought of as the weasel or the “slick” fellow or the guy who always passes the buck. Harry S. Truman made famous the quote “The Buck Stops Here” when he displayed that placard on his desk in the oval office. [...]

Testing 123

Maybe this version of the video posted on youtube.com will have better quality than the other one posted on Google. If so, I will host with youtube and get rid of this “Testing” nonsense!

Don’t be Angry- be Practical!

It is easy to get angry about the reaction of the Burmese military government in this time of most desparate need. But there is a better solution to this wide-reaching problem. As an individual you may not be able to change the minds of the military leaders. You may not be able [...]

10 Minutes of FAME? Is that what I am allowed?

Here is a bit of video that I shot while at the gemstone market in Chanthaburi on this past trip.  I am no professional videographer, but it might be interesting to those of you who are crazy about stones and are wondering what the “Mecca” of the colored stone world looks like.
Google Video does a [...]

A Big, Warm Welcome to our Friends in Europe!

This week marks our entry into the European marketplace with auctions on eBay.co.uk. This is designed to make the auctions more interesting for customers who have been bidding from Europe because the auction will end at a reasonable time for them, instead of the middle of the night! We have been regularly [...]

Easy-to-use formula to figure the price of scrap gold

First, here is the formula for those of you who don’t care to read the article.
Price of gold / 31.1 = price of one pure gram
price of one pure gram X purity of your gold (14K=.585, other values below)
result X .98 for a typical 2 percent scrap loss
=the value of your gold per gram
value per [...]

COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!

And now for something completely different. A lot of you have been watching our auctions for a long time. Some of you have been buying for a long time. Right now you are seeing a trial run of a very different type. We want to sell more of the high-quality corundum (sapphire [...]

Happy New Year!!!!!!!

Are you ready with your new year’s resolutions?
What?! Is Dave crazy?

Remember here in Korea we also observe the LUNAR calendar- so it is that time of the year again! We foreigners have our normal parties and resolutions, then when things go bad and we find we aren’t meeting our goals [...]

Oh boy, are we BACK!

It was an amazing month in December and we are well-stocked and ready to meet your demands for great stones! Jenn and Sheldon had a good trip in India and my buying in Chanthaburi, Thailand was most fruitful. You have a lot to look forward to if you watch the eBay auctions. [...]

No more auctions?

Don’t worry- more auctions are coming! Right now Jennifer and Sheldon are preparing for the buying trip to India and Dave is getting ready to go to Thailand. We are excited about what we will find and hope that you will be patient with us for a couple of weeks while we are [...]

99 Cents for tourmaline, spessartite, sapphire, tsavorite!

 

Square Trade member
GIA-Educated Gemologist
100% positive feedback
American and Canadian owned
Toll-free customer support
Fast, secure shipping options
We only sell quality stones
Only pay shipping for your first stone- the rest are free (31 day combining period)

Visit the store!
GO TO THE STORE NOW
Please take a look at our eBay store “tiptopgem”. We specialize in well-cut, high-quality stones [...]

Take a break!!!

Take a break and shop for some great quality, hand-selected gemstones for that someone special this Christmas! Our stones make great gifts because they are hand-selected by ME- the Staff Gemologist here at Tip Top Gem! Take a look at the latest offerings… VISIT US NOW:
~OUR STORE~
 
You will see some amazing gifts [...]

Let’s talk about Burma

With the violent government repression of unarmed, peaceful civilian protesters in Burma has come an extraordinary volume of journalistic pieces on the trade of Burmese gems and proposed solutions to this difficult human rights problem. I believe that we should read carefully, think logically, and act humanely as this situation in Burma continues to [...]