I have been purchasing jewelry from JTV for about 2 1/2 years and overall I am very pleased with the jewelry. The purchase price of a few pieces I had appraised indicated that I purchased them for about 1/3 of their appraised value. I am probably one of hundreds of thousands of individuals who purchased the andesine-labradorite jewelry/gemstones thinking the stones were "natural and untreated".
Early this year, JTV announced that the stones were heat-treated to achieve their color. Since that announcement, two class action lawsuits were filed against JTV - one in California and one in Tennessee for deceptive advertising practices. I have mixed feelings about how long JTV held this information before the hosts made the announcement to their viewers. I watched their programs the weekend before the "announcement" where JTV featured labradorite all day long and sold much of their labradorite jewelry and gemstone inventory.
After that announcement, I felt deceived and "ripped off" because of what I paid for the jewelry and what it is probably worth. I didn't contact JTV then but started to read many on-line articles about the situation. Finally, this week I sent an email to JTV and told them I wanted to refund every labradoriate purchase I made from them.
The JTV representative was gracious and took the information needed to send me prepaid envelopes for the return. This wan't an easy decision because some of the jewelry is very pretty. However, I just couldn't keep them knowing I paid far too much for a "heated stone" that isn't a sapphire, ruby or emerald.
A word of caution... Remember a key characteristic of successful TV show hosts is that they are "personable" and make the audience feel they are their friends. This is fine and is entertaining but JTV is like any other business - they want to make MONEY not friends. Don't just "run to the phone" as one of the show hosts says. Think about it and read the reviews on the jewelry you are interested in before you purchase. One good thing - JTV honors their return policy so you can return what is unacceptable. Return your andesine-labradorite for a full refund if you feel you have been taken advantage of.
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