When did this happen?
Am I the only one who sees ethical issues with this?
https://www.gubelin.com/en/ring-with-padparadscha-sapphire-60g-1937-padp-cs.html
Conflict of interest
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Not only is Gubelin selling jewelry but it has been on the Gem Shopping Network several times over the last six months. One of their European vendors bought a whole collection of new Gubelin to GSN.
One of my staff told me that apparently Gubelin was a gem house BEFORE they were doing certifications.
They started doing certification for their own merchandise, and then continued it as a service to others.
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It’s no conflict of interest. Maybe that argument could be made if they are offering valuation, but I believe they simply offer reports. Gubelin has been around since the mid-19th century in both watches and jewelry. There are other companies that sell and grade as well. Look at Mason-Kay. They are extremely reputable for jade reports.
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Although there is no value attached, if Gubelin says that a gem is: royal blue / cornflower / pigeons blood / Padparadscha, for all intents and purposes it becomes that gem.
For example, someone tried to sell me a 9.94ct near loupe clean sapphire with quite nice saturation certified by GIA as ‘brownish pinkish orange’, but there was very, very little brown in it. Gubelin could buy that for $15k, certify as Padparadscha and sell it for $250k+++
So, I think that saying that because there is no value attached it’s okay isn’t really correct.
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