‘Go to Marshalls next’: California gemology student goes to T.J. Maxx. Then she exposes the truth about the jewelry sold there
That glittering jewelry case at T.J. Maxx? It might not be telling you the whole story. One California gemology student took her trained eye on a field trip to T.J. Maxx and put it to the test. From suspicious “turquoise” to pearls that aren’t fooling anyone, she breaks down the sparkle so you don’t get blinded by a red clearance sticker. Viewers praise her as a “WOMEN IN GEM.”
What Gems are Real at T.J. Maxx?
According to Gieks, who goes by @fionapplefanpage, quite a few are unauthentic. Her research and findings have acquired a combined 668,000 views and hundreds of comments are asking for more. The first clip that sparked the research was Gieks giving her opinion on the jewelry she saw at T.J. Maxx.
She prefaces the story by saying that these are merely her opinions, as she is still a graduate student at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad. She states that she’s simply doing it so consumers are more aware of what they’re buying. Apparently, the store sometimes has “verbiage” that doesn’t correspond with the right gemstone. For example, it might be labeled as one gem when in fact, it’s another or a dyed version of it.
The first piece she shows is a ring labeled as turquoise and priced at $49.99. Gieks immediately says it isn’t even a gemstone. She believes it’s synthetic powders pressed together. The next ring is $99.99 and labeled as “green amethyst.” She explains how it’s green quartz because the term it’s labeled as isn’t even a gemological term.
The TikToker then shows a necklace for $14.99 and says it is genuine green quartz. She also shows a pair of “glass pearl” earrings and necklace and says they’re neither natural nor cultured pearls. “Glass pearl just means that they’re glass meant to imitate a pearl,” she explains.
‘We Have No Idea What This Is’
Gieks encounters more jewelry that makes her wonder what it even is. A set of $9.99 earrings is advertised as “Austrian crystals,” but Gieks laughs and says, “It literally means nothing.” Another turquoise piece is shown, and she states how it’s obvious that the lines have been painted on with an ink pen.
Furthermore, she says she’d have to look at it with equipment to find out if it’s plastic or authentic turquoise. Gieks appraises some other pieces and commends them for being truthful in their wording. One is labeled as “reconstituted turquoise,” and another “genuine onyx.” For the former, she says they took low-grade turquoise and blended it into “a powder” to press it together with other compounds.
She then shows an example of a label saying it’s a genuine stone when it’s actually synthetic. The last few pieces at the end of the video are fake tourmaline, turquoise, and malachite.
Jewelry She Bought from T.J. Maxx and Tested
In a following clip, Geiks shares how she bought two pieces of jewelry from T.J. Maxx. One is a necklace advertised as “white topaz and jade.” She says she might believe the white topaz, but she’s not sure about the jade.
The other piece is a necklace made of “jade” beads. Geiks moves it in the sunlight and immediately comments on the bright color, calling it “jollyrancher green.” She then says if it were natural jade “that hadn’t been dyed,” it would cost millions of dollars.
Geiks then tests both pieces of jewelry with the equipment she got from her school. She explains the testing process and shows viewers how she finds out if the gem is genuine or not. Under inspection, Geiks finds the refractive index of the jade to be 1.545, indicating that it isn’t true jade. If it were, the numbers needed to be at 1.6 or higher. She says she also saw dye concentrations in the beads and thinks it’s dyed quartzite.
The second necklace, which was advertised as white topaz and jade, ends up with a refractive index of 1.67, meaning it is jade indeed. She says it could be sent to GIA for further testing, but she doesn’t think it is dyed. Lastly, she shares that the price was $34.99.
@fionapplefanpage As a lover of tjmaxx, this is just a fun video about what I think as a gemology student walking around tjmaxx! These opinions are my own and not made with my gemological equipment, just my initial thoughts. Not trying to say what’s “good” or “bad” about the jewelry itself but moreso looking at the language the brands use for more consumer awareness. Enjoy and drop any questions you have below! #gemology #tjmaxx #jewelry ♬ original sound – Gieks
Viewers are Baffled
Some viewers are astounded by the sheer number of fake labels, while others are confused as to why people would think they were real to begin with. One viewer says, “Why is synthetic turquoise 50 bucks.” While another asks, “Who in their right mind would think TJMaxx jewelry was authentic in the first place?”
“Listen if I’m buying jewelry at a store like tjmaxx I don’t care about authenticity I’m buying off of vibes,” says a third viewer. Gieks replies, “Buy what you love! This video is just for educational purposes about consumer awareness.”
Another says, “It’s wild to me that some of this stuff is obviously not what’s on the label and people believe it.”
One viewer asks, “So by ‘genuine stone’ they mean yep that right there’s a stone of some kind.” Gieks responds, “Basically lol.”
Lastly, one viewer comments, “Not a single turquoise found.” Gieks replies, “LOL agreed.”
The Mary Sue reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to T.J. Maxx via email.
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