Bitcoin Forum

BitGem is a new service set up by myself and an investor. I am a geologist with a GIA background and have a passion for both gemstones and Bitcoins. I've stated many times that I believe the biggest weakness that Bitcoins have is their dependence on USD. Most things you see for sale from any regular vendor have prices listed in USD and Bitcoins, with the Bitcoin price being current market value for USD.

This isn't what Bitcoin needs to survive. I would like to try and help bridge this gap by offering semi-precious and precious gemstones at a price pegged to Bitcoins no matter how high or low they go. This may mean I take a loss on some stones in the immediate, but I know my Bitcoins will go back up in time to compensate. The only time I will adjust my prices is if Bitcoins go up so high that it would be insane to buy for the customer (for example, if one btc was $100 it would make no sense to buy a garnet from me at my current prices).

Currently I'm offering Garnets (1btc), Peridots (1.5btc), and spessartite (3btc, only one remaining). I have several more gemstones waiting to be added to the list, particularly some relatively small emeralds and some very nice sapphires.

The list will grow over time, and I am happy to look into any stones people would like me to stock. I can't stock diamonds, and mineral samples aren't very likely unless there is high demand and I can find a wholesaler.

Also, your privacy is a big concern to me, so I won't be storing any transaction records or receipts electronically where anyone can find them. Everything will be kept in a physical ledger, which is essentially the ultimate hacker-proof system. If you wish to purchase something, please contact me either over e-mail or here on the forums.

I have a temporary website up while I finish coding the final site:

http://www.bitgem.org/

I have already conducted one sale on these forums and found a happy customer. Please note that I'm out of town right now and any order less than about 2btc is going to be too much for posting for me to deal with until the end of september. To make up for that, any order 2btc or greater in that time will receive a small free emerald. While not the most valuable emeralds I'll stock, they are genuine gem quality emeralds.

I look forward to doing business with the Bitcoin community in the coming months.

-Gilgamesh

The current stock is:

White Topaz 1 btc
http://i51.tinypic.com/2dugsd3.jpg

Garnets 1 btc
http://www.bitgem.org/Images/Garnet.jpg

Peridots 1.5 btc
http://www.bitgem.org/Images/Peridot.jpg

Spessartite Garnet 3 btc
http://www.bitgem.org/Images/Spessartite.jpg

Campaign Topaz 1.5 btc
http://i52.tinypic.com/296jiw1.jpg

Pear Topaz 2.5 btc
http://i53.tinypic.com/fd7wj6.jpg

Round Topaz 2 btc
http://i53.tinypic.com/dwe81u.jpg

Trillion Topaz 2.5 btc
http://i51.tinypic.com/zu5fgw.jpg

Fire Opal 4.5 btc
http://i56.tinypic.com/kck02q.jpg

Sapphire 5 btc SOLD
http://i53.tinypic.com/29y1gyx.jpg

The site looks very interesting!  I will certainly keep an eye on this as it develops and I look forward to new products.

get me a SI H-J flawless roundcut 1 carat diamond with certificate plz =D

What, no coltan and conflict diamonds?

Why would I want to support horrible human rights abuses?

Can you provide a complete list of stock?

Do you have anything over 1ct. in size?

Currently I have what is listed on the website, plus one sapphire I'm working on identifying the nature of any treatments before selling, and one goshenite (colorless beryl) well over a carat.

More will be available at the end of the month. I didn't post the goshenite because I didn't figure there'd be much interest.

I'm in negotiations with my supplier to see if I can get some larger stones, since I've had a lot of requests for those. Don't expect me to have huge sapphires, but I'll see what I can get.

I'm going to hear back Monday from my supplier, are there any requests for specific kinds of large stones?

i know this may not be related... but any chance you would get crystals as a product?

Everything I'm selling is a crystal. :)

To clarify, whether you're interested in crystal structures due to chemical growth or religious/metaphysical properties, these are the same things.

Or were you just looking for roughs?

For those that didn't catch my post in -Discussions (plus a free bump for Gilgamesh). I ordered a stone from Gilgamesh (one of the spessartite) last week and received it 2 days later.
Throughout I was kept informed of progress with my order. Will definitely put in another order.


Bonus info: ran the stone through http://gemval.com where it values in the $40-50 range (paid 3BTC incl shipping).

something like white christal structure for chemical/metaphical property...
http://hk.image.auctions.yimg.com/ac/34/96/b18346249-ac-2425xf10x0600x0400-m.jpg (http://hk.image.auctions.yimg.com/ac/34/96/b18346249-ac-2425xf10x0600x0400-m.jpg)

I could likely track something like that down, anything specific you're looking for?

At the same time, I highly recommend gemstones if you're into crystals. It's still the same thing, still the same chemical structure, crystal system, etc. but with the added advantage of having the best qualities of light brought out in them. Remember, even Egyptian preists had gemstone necklaces, they're still the raw stuff of the earth. Just a bit shinier. :)

I can't find anything in the truly massive range, but I'm looking at some >1ct stones which might satisfy your gemlust, stay tuned!

yeah - I'm basically looking for Quartz (hopefully i'm getting more specific... ) I'm usually online due to the fact that I log on from my home and work computer but let me know if I need to give more specific as I'm new to gemstones/crystals/quartz...

Question...It is my understanding that once a gemstone crosses the 1 carat weight threshold, it's proportional value goes up significantly.  In other words, a .5 carat gemstone is NOT usually worth half of what a 1 carat gemstone is worth because its much harder to find 1 carat of a particular gem and have that entire carat be free of inclusions.  Is this true?

the joint: Prices tend o be exponential, but not in an easily quantifiable way. I know that a act peridot in my collection cost almost $60 wholesale, that's not to say a half carat is straight up 30, it depends on a lot of variables. For some ecxtremely rare gems, the carat threshhold might be 0.1 ct.

dovewing: are you interested in fax eyed, or just rough stone? Quartz is easy for me to find even in larger sizes. What colour quartz?

I've done a bit of digging, and frankly if you're just looking for quartz crystals there isn't much reason for you to go through me. If you really want to spend bitcoins for this I could probably help you but it'd be a special order so it could be a bit of a bother for you.

If you'd like, I could help you track down good quartz crystals that would suit your needs in a manner that would allow you to purchase them yourself. Since all you're looking for is quartz, eBay would actually be a pretty safe bet. With pretty much any gemstone the risk involved is too high, but for quartz the material itself is so cheap that it's rarely counterfeit. That's not to say that it doesn't happen, glass is frequently substituted and sold as "crystals", particularly to the market you seem to be in.

I do recommend gemstones though, both because their value is more inherent and frankly they're nicer looking. Think of them as small crystals you can bring with you places, they're no different from the full-sized things except in how they look.

Finally, I'd like to offer you some advice. The metaphysical market for crystals is utterly saturated with horses hit. There are no "frequencies" that crystals vibrate at that makes them more in tune with anything. If you treat your belief like a religious one, then you're okay, you're not likely going to have people pulling wool over your eyes at every turn. If you start tying scientific mumbo-jumbo into the mix, you're going to be a victim to someone selling snake oil because "Only THIS crystal vibrates at the right frequency!"

Walk down the road you're heading with a bit of caution, just to avoid people taking you for all you're worth.

If you would like some help tracking down quartz crystals, I'd be happy to lend my services free of charge and point you in the right direction. If you'd like to buy some gemstones, I'd also be happy to help with that. Feel free to send me a PM. Good luck finding what you're seeking, be it quartz or yourself.

Hey Gilgamesh,

Thanks for the advise - I'm not the science type just basically buying quartz for the "feel better" reason ... I'll try to earn a few more btc and definitely will take your advise about gemstone and may be an order (gf kinda scolded me to get my rigs profitable first... but soon i should be able to spend them accordingly to get her a surprise and buy gemstones...).

I'm confirming that fairly soon I'll be stocking a VERY SMALL quantity of quite large stones (>1.5ct.), these are blue topaz, which while stunningly pretty don't actually cost that much. I know lots of people wanted to see some larger stones, but stones over a carat tend to be quite expensive outside of a handful of gems, and since I figured not many people would be willing to drop the kind of money nessecary for some of these gems that this would be a nice balance between size and price.

Here's a unique offer for users of these forums! This is a .77 ct treated sapphire, measuring 6x7mm. It's a stunning orange colour and would look good either mounted or in your collection. I'll send it out for 5 BTC shipped.

http://i53.tinypic.com/29y1gyx.jpg

Up top for a new timezone.

I'm confirming that I've got some new stock coming in, the full storefront will be online in a week, which will include emeralds, various larger stones as requested, and sapphires shortly after.

I have returned, and with me I bring new items. Pictures will be up soon, but here is a teaser:

I have one parcel of seven emeralds, these are small but attractive, and the entire parcel will be 3btc shipped

I have white topaz, these will be 1btc each

I have a sample of the large blue topaz I've been talking about, the sample was good and I have more for sale arriving in a couple of days.

This will bring the current state of my inventory as of right now:

Pear Garnets: 1btc
White Topaz: 1btc
Peridot: 1.5btc
Emerald Parcel
Spessartite Garnet: 3btc
Orange Sapphire: 5btc

Large blue topaz is coming in the next couple of days along with some campaign topaz, followed by some other very high quality sapphires. Finally, I will be stocking one gem that is over 18ct to satiate some people's desire for large stones! As always, shipping is included and I can attempt to track down anything you're looking for.

Sale parcel!

To celebrate the expansion of my inventory and to help get the word out, I have decided to put together a special sale parcel available to the first person on these forums who wants it. I will not be offering this deal through my site, because I'm looking to get more feedback than I already have from these forums. This is a one time offer, since one of these gems I only have one of left in stock.

For 4 btc I will send a parcel shipped containing the following gems:

1 White Topaz
1 Pear Garnet
1 Peridot Round
1 Spessartite Garnet

This parcel normally would be 6.5 btc, so get it while it's hot!

I believe at the time the value of btc was 1 btc to 8.5~ USD, that's roughly though.

No takers?

I had a lot of requests for big gems, and now I can finally deliver on what I've said would be coming for a while now! I picked up some blue topaz, which has the wonderful trait of being both beautiful and relatively cheap. Two of them are 1.5 and 1.7 and one is 2.3, those are absolutely massive gemstones. Each of these topazes is unique, with only one available.

I also have two more items in stock besides those stones, I have beautiful campaign topaz brilliants, the same size as the peridot, and the crowning jewel (literally!) of this new update is a MASSIVE yellow fire opal, this opal is 3.3 carats, with a beautiful golden colour.

Campaign Topaz 1.5 btc
http://i52.tinypic.com/296jiw1.jpg

Pear Topaz 2.5 btc
http://i53.tinypic.com/fd7wj6.jpg

Round Topaz 2 btc
http://i53.tinypic.com/dwe81u.jpg

Trillion Topaz 2.5 btc
http://i51.tinypic.com/zu5fgw.jpg

Fire Opal 4.5 btc
http://i56.tinypic.com/kck02q.jpg

Bump!

hmm can we get some pics of them?

Sure thing!

The parcel includes:

White Topaz:
http://i51.tinypic.com/2dugsd3.jpg

Pear garnet:
http://www.bitgem.org/Images/Garnet.jpg

Peridot Round:
http://www.bitgem.org/Images/Peridot.jpg

Spessartite Garnet:
http://www.bitgem.org/Images/Spessartite.jpg

Also, all orders placed right now will include a small surprise!

The sapphire has been sold!

I'll take it - PM me the address to send to and i'll PM you with my address? I'd like tracking number if possible ...

Payment of 4btc sent to 1LW1KcDQKn8TPZ4NYnD2nGpz3m5AHHmThV and address PMed.

btc confirmation needs to be instant... waiting for the last 2 confirmation.... grrrr

confirmed btc sent! thanks.

I'll have it out in the morning, I hope you'll be happy with the gems!

Bitcoin prices are going down? That means it's time for a sale! Remember, I'm here because I have faith in Bitcoin, my prices are pegged to a Bitcoin rate, not a dollar.

So, I have another parcel for sale which I'm calling "Rounds"! This parcel includes one of every Brilliant cut stone I have in stock, which means you get the following:

One peridot
http://www.bitgem.org/Images/Peridot.jpg

One champagne topaz
http://i52.tinypic.com/296jiw1.jpg

And the one and only pear topaz! (The brilliant cut sold)
http://i53.tinypic.com/fd7wj6.jpg

And in addition to all this is the bonus gem all orders over 2btc are getting, which incidentally is a round.

This parcel is being sold for 4 BTC, where the regular price for these gems individually would be 5.5.

The Sapphire and the parcel for dovewing were sent off today, from where I am the sapphire should arrive in a week, the parcel in around a week and a half.

Bump!

Bitcoins have now dropped so much that I'm losing far too much money on each sale, and it looks like they're not going to recover from here. All orders placed already have been shipped out as planned and everyone should receive their gems in the coming week or two. If you still wish to purchase any of my gems, I will be around and we could possibly work something out.

err what's going on - this thread's poster changed to Anonymous ????

the OP author had his account deleted. this is how it looks like afterwards.

it's not advertised but it's an option (to have account canceled)

Ugh.  Hope my order shows up...

i got mine.. if he said he posted yours then you should be good to go...

I'm in contact with the OP.

"KGO's order has been sent and anyone who has any questions (or wishes to order more) is free to get in touch with me at Gilgamesh@hushmail.com"

He also wanted to assure everyone that no one is getting ripped off, but he is using the profits to run off to Barbados with his mistress for two weeks.