It is another experience during my holidays

GEM STONES


Gemstones compensate weak planets and bring progress and prosperity to one’s life.

Gemstones cure some diseases. Tales on the precious stones go on.


Warning is also associated with gemstones. Right gems at right time and on right

finger are said to be important. Gem specialists through their columns and astro-

gemologists all often suggest these, when consulted.


I had few Bengali, Telugu and Tamilian friends who wore gemstones. They all said

that they wore them as suggested by astro gemologists or gem specialists.


Once, when I consulted an astro gemologist, he suggested me to wear blue sapphire

and topaz stone as the Saturn is adversely affected me in my path of progress. Since

then I was looking for these items. Friends too were asked to gather information such

as quality, availability, price and others.


When catchy advertisements seen in classified advertisement columns, enquiries were

floated straight away. Some of my enquiries were responded. They helped me to

know the price of gem. Yet I kept my desire to have gemstones in abeyance.


One advertisement in a leading Malayalam language daily stuck on me. I contacted

the advertiser through letter and asked about the price and others of the precious

stones. Since then he started writing to me regularly and persuaded me to purchase

gemstones from him.



Price was negotiated. He said that I would not get such a lowest rate from anywhere.

He said that usually he ‘takes stones from North India, particularly from Rajasthan’.

After meeting all expenses, normally he ‘does not get much profit’. Still he ‘does it as

a business just to pull on’.


I had read that there were original and duplicate in gem as well. I asked the advertiser

about this and he said that he had been in the trade for a long time and he always

traded in original gem only. He nagged his competitors who gave duplicate stones for

the originals’ price with discount and cheated the customers. I appreciated his

proclaimed honesty in the trade and promised him that I would definitely buy gems

from him during my vacation which was scheduled almost a year ahead of our

contact.


Very often he enquired about my vacation. It appeared that he was more serious than

me about my vacation. He insisted me to give him a tentative date of my vacation.

So that he could procure and keep special and good quality gem exclusively for me. I

gave him a date. He often wrote me about his North Indian sojourn. We became

acquaintances.


I had to postpone my trip due to one or other reasons. Yet he kept in touch with me at

my work and home addresses. At last when I arrived at home on vacation, I was told

that he just telephoned for me. Letters and post cards of him were waiting for me at

home.


He cordially invited me to visit him. Alternatively he suggested me to let him know

the day and time of my availability at home. I was on busy schedule. Nothing took

place as planned. He continued writing and ringing me up. I could not give him an

appointment as he had to travel hours to meet me and in between I experienced

sudden changes in my schedule.


Actually, by then I almost gave up my desire to buy gemstones. My interest in them

was faded. Moreover, house construction had almost emptied my purse. At the same

time, I thought of his regular contact through letters and over telephone for more than

a year. A file was filled with his letters.


‘When the contact reached to such an extent, how to break the promise given to him’?

I thought for a while. He informed me that he kept the stones exclusively for me.

Many people had asked him for the stones with advance payment, but he did not give

to them. I was in a dilemma.


At last, it was decided to meet him on December 13, 1999, at my home, as my

presence was confirmed because my house warming was scheduled on that day.

He came from Thrissur in the evening with a suitcase containing varieties of

gemstones of different colours and carets.


Although we discussed cordially, I was not in a happy mood of purchasing precious

stones. Some money that I reserved for him was unexpectedly spent in the morning,

as house warming was celebrated grandly.


He spread out a number of gemstones in front of me and explained its merits. He

showed some paper cuttings and articles published in magazines about the stones.


I wanted to keep up the promise. But, how? The finishing work of my house

construction, house warming and other expenses left me in imaginative additions and

deliberate subtractions. I told him: “Actually, for the time being, I don’t want any


gemstone or any thing of that kind. Any way, promise is promise. Now, I don’t have

that much cash to give. I can give you cheque, which can be presented after two days.

Because, I needed a day to arrange money in my account. Alternatively, if you wait

for a day, I can give you cash tomorrow.”


He told me that he had some work in the town where he regularly supply to big

businessmen and he would stay there and would come the next day. The next day I

went to bank and pledged some ornaments and got money to buy the precious stone –

Blue sapphire and Topaz stone, the wonder lamp!


He came home at the scheduled time. The deal was concluded. He weighed the stone

in a small balance that he carried in his suitcase and confirmed the carat. A half-carat

was waived off as discount. I gave him thousands of rupees and bought the precious

stones. He read out the prescription of wearing from a book on gems.


All family members were against buying gemstones at that critical time. Moreover,

they too had heard of its adverse affect, if not it is the right one.


The Gem specialist left. I kept the gem in the almirah. No one in my house was

happy in the expensive gem deal. 13th and 14th passed. On 15th I took the stones to a

small jewellery shop in the town to fix them on my rings. The owner suggested me

to contact the nearby goldsmith who does such job works.


I went to the gold smith and assigned the work. The goldsmith gave a delivery date

and he kept the stones in his box. Before leaving, I asked the goldsmith whether they

were original or duplicate. He then carefully checked them and said: “It does not

appear as original. I don’t have the testing machine. In the next town there is a

Jewellery having testing machine.”


I noted down the address and location of the Jewellery and went there with the stones.

The goldsmith there took the stones one by one in his hand and said: “There is no

need to test it. It is not original. It is synthetic, costing a couple of ten rupee notes!”


I went home with great disappointment. The guarantee letter that he wrote, signed

and dated and money receipt in his letterhead were mocking at me.


I did not get him on telephone. I sent him a telegram, informing about the test reports

of the goldsmith. In reply to it, he telephoned and told me that his North Indian

supplier cheated him with the duplicate stones.


I gave him a final warning to replace the duplicate stones with originals or return the

money or face legal proceedings.


Later he apologized and promised me that he would send a demand draft for the

money that I paid to him for that I would have to return the duplicate stones on getting

the DD.


After a couple of days I got his draft and I returned him the gemstones.

He may be after his new prey with synthetic stone masqueraded as original

gemstones.


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