The Curious Gem Avis 

Perfect little company, brilliant range of silver components & very much within a designer/jewellers remit. Fast despatch time & postage is not to expensive I would highly recommend them 💖

Always beautiful Stones and Jewelry items and a good customer service.

I looked forward to receiving my order from TCG, especially after reading so many positive reviews.

I paid for next day delivery and I received the product before 1PM next day, which is great. Sadly, I am disappointed that the product does not match expectations / description, and I strongly believe that TCG could mitigate this for future customers very easily. Therefore, please make sure you do NOT order based solely on the description on the website, as that can be misleading.

I ordered a pair of 14K 10mm hoops. The description did not clearly state if 10mm is the inner or outer diameter and in my case, they list the outer diameter - which is too small. Also, the thickness on the website is listed as 1mm, where in fact it is 0.8mm at most.

I emailed TCG and instead of offering a replacement and cover the shipping cost, they only apologised and took the feedback away. I, therefore, decided to order from somewhere else.

The impact for me is £20 in delivery costs for a product work £58. The hoops are on the way back to them for a refund.

Invoice # W325555

I ordered both gold and silver carabiner clasps, each listed as 8mm. What I received is shown in the attached images. The silver clasp was around half the size of the gold one and so tiny it was completely unusable. I genuinely don’t know what these would be used for. Both were labelled as 8mm.

I felt there had been an error and contacted the customer service team. This is the response I received (verbatim):

“Regarding the carabiner clasps (CG8667 & CG10377), we do note on our website that, whilst both listed as 8mm Carabiner clasps, the specific dimensions differ slightly, as noted on our products descriptions. Additionally the Gold Filled clasp has an open jump ring attached, adding 3.5mm to its length. I completely understand your surprise when comparing the two products once received and understand how this could disrupt your product planning. We will review the website listings to see if we can add any clarity to this product difference.”

The difference is not “slight” in any practical or visual sense. The two items are not comparable in scale or function, despite being sold under the same size description.

I also ordered turquoise silver-dipped pendants. My expectation was genuine turquoise with a silver-dipped top. What I received is shown in the images: very little turquoise, extremely poor appearance, and frankly the ugliest pendants I have ever seen. They were not fit to be worn and certainly not what I would consider genuine turquoise jewellery. I returned the entire order. The pendants appear to be entirely brown clay!

This is the response I received (verbatim):

“Regarding the turquoise raw pendants (CG13191), we want to assure you that all our gemstones, including turquoise, are sourced from trusted suppliers with whom our owner, Victoria, has long-standing relationships. She holds a gemmology qualification and periodically tests our products to ensure they meet the descriptions provided on our website. It is important to note that turquoise is a naturally porous mineral and often undergoes treatments such as stabilization with polymers or waxing to enhance durability and colour. Some turquoise may also be composite, consisting of natural turquoise pieces bonded with polymers, which can affect appearance and texture.”

I found the tone of the customer service responses cold, patronising, and dismissive. I have worked with gemstones for many years myself and have never encountered material of this quality being sold in this way.

For context, I have previously ordered gold-filled chains and North Star pendants from this supplier. Both went off colour very quickly, before I even had a chance to sell them. They did not last “for years” as good quality gold-filled jewellery should. I had vowed not to order again but, regrettably, did.

I have since been offered a credit note for the £4 return postage. This is not acceptable, as I will not be ordering from this website again and do not wish to waste further time.

Overall, this has been a hugely disappointing experience in both product quality and customer service.

Very satisified with the experience. The gems are cut beautifully and the quality of the gems is impeccable.

I've been purchasing from The Curious Gem for countless years and every time it’s delightful! They offer beautiful gemstones along with a wide array of findings, charms, and chains in both silver, gold vermeil, and gold filled. Their team is incredibly helpful and well-informed, ensuring a pleasant shopping experience. Plus, the delivery fees are fair, and shipments arrive swiftly. I can't recommend The Curious Gem enough!

Great customer care. I'd messed up my order but TCG guided me through the process really helpfully and speedily. They gave me advice on, eg, which jump rings would fit different charms and even directed me to sites demonstrating how to put them together. All incredibly quickly: ordered, processed and delivered in less than 48 hours -just days before Christmas

At the present,I can only attest to the exceptional customer service.
I live in the u.s.a. evidently delivery has been suspended for who knows how long. That was the reply I received from c.s.after sending an e-mail inquiring about deliveries. THEY were quick to respond.and were apologetic. I very much appreciate them for that. I hope to be doing business with them soon.

Disappointing service and gemstone quality

I purchased several rose cut stones, 4 of which were diamonds for an urgent project. Upon getting them ready to set I could see multiple surface issues and after looking through my microscope found one to have a deep crack down one side, another with multiple chips in it and a third with a cleave on the top facet. I've worked with these types of stones for over a decade and have never seen so much damage in one stone parcel (and i've worked with way more fragile gemstones). Only one diamond was usable and even that had a hairline down the back of it.

When I raised this with customer service and expressed that I was concerned that these would break during setting because of the damage, I was told that they don't consider them faulty and that they are as standard, then told me my option is to return them for a refund.

It's a shame as when I found this supplier initially I was quite excited by some of the things they offered, but to be honest the fact they consider such terrible quality to be 'the standard' has put me off dealing with them again.

Good customer service, quick delivery, beautiful item. Thank you!

Always an excellent experience buying from The Curious Gem, which I have been doing for soooo many years! Lovely gemstones and many different sorts of finding and charms and chain in silver and gold vermeil and gold filled. The staff are really helpful and knowledgeable too and the delivery price is always reasonable and the delivery very speedy. I highly recommend them at TCG!

Excellent customer service, Daisy was incredibly helpful and the product ordered was perfect. Will be putting another order in.

Great stones, fantastic quality with a good, detailed provenance that helps my work tell its story. Fast despatch & beautifully packaged. Very happy, thank you.

I was able to get exactly what I wanted in two sizes from this company. Usually I have trouble obtaining different sizes from one company but Curious Gems had a great variety and exactly what I wanted. Quickly delivery and well packaged. Great company will use again.

First time order but not the last! The semi-precious gem beads I received were beyond my expectations. Great range of products and the delivery was very fast. I’m just now working out what else I need in order to make my next order!

This company is so helpful. I forgot to add some items to my order so dropped them an email and they were so accommodating. Items added whilst retaining the bulk buy discount, a separate payment link sent over and everything packaged and delivered promptly. Everything arrived in great condition as well. After shopping around a bit for gemstone beads these guys really do work out cheaper as well.

I do wish they had a slightly larger range of smooth round beads in 4,6 & 8mm. But otherwise these guys are great.

Great quality and fast delivery

Dispatched in acceptable delivery time.Product just what I needed. Look forward to buying from this company again.

The Curious Gem supply a very good range of quality jewellery makers supplies. I always recommend them to any jewellery makers looking for an extensive range of findings, components, gemstones and tools. Ordering is easy and despatch is reliably within 1-2 days of placing an order. Delivery is very reasonably priced too. Their customer service is friendly and very helpful if you need any advice at all.