Gem Hunt (2013–2014) User Reviews

Sacred Stones & Silly Scarves.

[peacecreep · 7/10 · 4 November 2013]

Three gem buyers scour the globe looking for precious stones to make them rich. The production is shoddy but the subject matter is interesting enough that it doesn't matter. Its fascinating to see the crystals and where they are from. Considering how much money the hunters are making- their obsession of bringing the price down seems a little unnecessary and is slightly off-putting. Ron's garish American greed is especially embarrassing in face of the mild mannered people of Burma. The interview portions seem forced and overly theatric, especially the woman, Diane. The nerdy geologist Bernie is pretty cool, his passion for geology really shines through (except when dealers discuss the metaphysical properties of the mineral kingdom- then his ignorance really shines through). Ron needs to chill out on the silly clothing accessories. Cool show, worth watching.

Gem Hunt ... wow

[GrandGayleAnn · 8/10 · 11 November 2013]

I turned on the TV and the first episode was on. I was ready to flip the channel and just never did. They were in Vietnam and the countryside, the jungles, and the mean streets looked just as my uncle described them to me years ago. Watching the trio (Ron, Bernie, and whats-her-name) negotiate clandestine money exchanges, deals for raw and cut stones, and watching them dodge the authorities and regulations is fascinating. On Tuesday's episode, they traveled across Ethiopia by jeep, donkey, and camel to find opals. They traveled through desolate areas and into a local market place to buy some beauties. I have been learning so much about jewels that my granddaughter is impressed with me and she works for Jewelry Television. Before the season ends, I will be an expert in geology and geography. Ron and Bernie, are middle-aged (being charitable there), chubby, ordinary characters whose eyes take on a holy glow when they see a prime gem. Bernie is like a sweet uncle and the producers need to show him more. At first, Ron was irritating, but he is growing on me. The gal is about as interesting as oatmeal. She needs to be replaced and then the show will be a "10". Can't wait for the emeralds on next Tuesday's show.

Interesting, Informative and Entertaining

[dmatheson125 · 10/10 · 11 November 2013]

Gem Hunt (Travel Channel) Finally a show on the Travel Channel that involves travel! The destinations are exotic and the gem hunters are interesting characters. The gem deals are intense and the stones themselves are stunning. I also like the fact that I learn something new on every episodes - these people are intelligent, well spoken and experts in their fields, which is refreshing to see on reality TV. For example I discovered that sapphires and rubies are the exact same type of stone, it is just their colour which makes them different classifications of stones. Not only do you get the chance to see great stones and stone deals but you also get an inside look into mines and how stones are mined (not to mention the actual miners who work in these mines.)

Great, informative, and exciting

[glorious-tibbie · 10/10 · 27 November 2013]

I am a GG but all my learning has come from books. This show takes you there to the mines and the countries. There are few of us who are able to do this. The show helps us understand just how difficult it is to obtain colored-stones. There is so much more to Gemology than diamonds, which really are not rare. We could explore for the rest of our lives locating beautiful gems and never run out of stones or places. I wish they could touch on the identifying characteristics of the gemstone i.e. caterpillar tracts in Moonstone (Feltspar). I realize that may be a lot to ask but each mineral has its own fingerprint that we look for. I loved them showing how they cooked Zircon to enhance the color. These are fascinating processes that many people are not aware of.

The cast of characters is just perfect, I love the three musketeers they are perfect for the parts, the hour flies by I can't wait for next Tuesday to see where they go THIS IS A GREAT IDEA AND WONDERFUL SHOW. Well done!!!

Love Gem Hunt

[gobears-alpha · 10/10 · 27 November 2013]

My family really loves watching this show from the Travel Channel. It is so interesting seeing the actual places where the gems are found. All 3 of the hosts, Ron, Bernie and Diane are such likable people and are real troupers willing to go to such dangerous and rough places. We enjoy seeing the gems in rough form when they are first discovered and then seeing what they look like after being cut and polished. We also find the negotiating part of the purchasing so interesting. We just saw a jewelry exhibit at the De Young Museum in SF and we felt a greater appreciation for the beautiful emeralds from Columbia, sapphires and rubies. We hope this series will have a long life.

Excellent show

[clementinejohnson · 10/10 · 27 October 2013]

When I saw the previews for the show I was intrigued for personal reason and it appeared to be fresh, new, something new to the table to TV, appeared to have no BS, and much more. I was correct it was awesome. Recently, had the opportunity to watch it on the internet and it was well worth the time. I did not get the opportunity to watch when it was on for the TV services keeps on giving the incorrect dates of the new series on shows. I finally got to watch in on Travel Channel on the internet and with no commercials yeah. Look forward very much so to seeing the rest of the series. Hope these guys and gals all stay safe including all that are with them making it and traveling with them. Doing a great job. Can't wait to see what is next.

Very interesting

[Gordonjerine · 4/10 · 31 December 2013]

This show is about people who seek to buy precious stones and resell them for very high prices. I'm a woman and I love precious stones. What I didn't like though is how they obtained the stones. (This is based on one episode that I watched) I feel like they rip off people from developing countries. Men working all day in a mine and because of how desperate they are they sell theses stones for way less than they are worth. Then the gem hunters sell them for a fortune. So if you can get pass the big guy ripping off the little guy, you'll definitely get a kick out of it. Disclaimer: this is my opinion and should not be taken as an accusation, because it is not.

Not realistic at alll

[s_simov · 2/10 · 3 May 2019]

The show ain't bad if you wanna see some of the mines, yet everything else is total BS. First of all, these back alley (not even hidden most of the times) are as fake as it gets, esp as most of them are irl illegal to do. And even less realistic when you just grab the money without counting or checking for fake. Anyway, the prices they say are ridiculous. I'm gem dealer with small gem shop, and i'm fully aware of the price, esp for the lower end stones (and there are many low end stones showed as "good"in the show). Yet they tell you that glass filled ruby in thailand costs 500$, which is insane. It may sell for 500$ in US in the biggest gem shops , but in thailand such price is impossible. Even in the normal gem shops around the world such price is way too high. Yes, the prices for gems around Bangkok and the big cities are very very high because of the tourists, but even so... I sell such stones for like 15$, and i get them from Thailand so you can imagine they are even cheaper. The prices are set so high to be beneficial for the gem vendors ( mostly in US). Because if you see nice stones and the "gemologist" tells you they cost 2000$, you will believe that all precious stones are expensive and you will agree on the high prices of the big gem shops around. The other bad thing is that gemologist... Who just look at stones and sometimes uses Presidium tool. If you make deals for high end high price stones, you go to the lab to check refraction , special gravity and so on, not just look at it and done. But the main guy is even worse, making the show barely tolerable. I doubt his His "haggling" skills will work on anyone who isn't very desperate for money. If he comes to me with such skills and "tricks" i'd probably boost the price 2 times just for that. Many of the times his haggling is pretty insulting to the vendors. Yes, the trick of going away is one of the main tactics in Asia to get the price lowered, BUT the way he talks is just insulting, The only real thing on the show is that they show there are many many scams and fakes esp where the tourists.

Without Ron....I would give it 5 stars

[Pizzaowner · 3/10 · 14 March 2019]

Ron, the con-dealer is such a negative force that the show is nearly UN-watchable. As it is it's just barely worth watching and I thought it would be along the vein ( sorry for the pun ) of other mineral and metal shows....gold miners, precious stone miners etc but this is just a show about dealers buying wholesale and selling retail....where's the excitement in that? What's next....follow a Walmart buyer as he haggles with Chinese plastic toy manufacturers over the final wholesale price? This show is a wannabee reality show which chose the title DELIBERATELY in order to capitalize on the ambiguity of the name. I'm sure I'm not the only person to think it was a show about gem hunters and not gem buyers. Complete WASTE OF TIME

Love the travel & science. Hate the obnoxious Americans perpetuating dangerous stereotypes

[sam-845-285784 · 3/10 · 6 April 2022]

I was really excited about the show premise and watched for the travel and science of gems.

However, I found the hosts and their narrative increasingly unfortunate. Repeatedly, they hype the danger in these area which was mostly manufactured and dangerously perpetuate unfair stereotypes. My husband and I have traveled to over 80 countries, including many of the areas the show visited and never felt as uncomfortable as the hosts pretended. If you observe the behavior in their background it never reflects their fear mongering narrative.

They repeatedly conduct illegal currency trades in back alleys and then feign danger and fear at their self manufactured behavior.

Additionally they'll pretend to be ethically concerned at the mine visits. It would be interesting to learn of the percentage of their profits they contribute back to communities they exploit for the show.

Horrible cast and premise

[malin-51947 · 1/10 · 20 March 2023]

The show is intolerable due to its cast. The grease ball hyper capitalist exploitive nature of Ron, Diane, and Bernie is disgusting. The equivalent of used car salesmen of the gem trade. They go around the world gaudily with arrogant disregard for anything un-western, touting their privilege/ignorance, proud of trying to exploit impoverished people for absolutely nothing but profit. Bernie mocks and disrespects other culture's beliefs with the utmost cringe worthy pompous arrogance. They walk past miners making a few dollars a month, glee with joy that they've beat down a seller for a bargain that they turn around and sell for 10x more. Real achievement.

They fake being ethnically and ethically interested in the areas they visit, often fear mongering and playing into stereotypes. Ron and Diane seem coked out in many scenes. Intolerable cast, narration, and premise.

Not very realistic

[yphilg1954 · 15 January 2014]

I find several problems here. Sapphires and rubies are priced but have they been heated or otherwise enhanced? Paraiba priced without testing for copper? They should not be called paraibas anyway. These are copper elbaites that may not have any copper at all, especially if they are green.It has to be be tested by a certified gem lab. I know it's just a show but I don't understand this geologist.You cannot tell just by looking, no matter how experienced you are.The gemologist is just looking to cut rough stones and make a profit, but he makes no attempt to confirm through testing what he is really buying. Besides, gem cutters are a dime a dozen. The locations are interesting but if I was there I would hire local armed bodyguards everywhere I went and pay them well.The show could have been done a lot better.