Whether you are a collector of gemstones or a lover of colourful jewellery, you can cut out the middlemen by buying direct from one of the world's largest gemstone suppliers. Gems TV Limited manufactures high quality gem-set jewellery, as well as operating two live home shopping television channels focusing solely on selling jewellery.

Gems TV, which launched in October 2004, broadcasts from Redditch and is live for 18 hours per day (8am to 2am) across three channels - Sky 646 and 663 and ntl 177. From 2am to 8am, viewers can watch informative 'behind the scenes' documentary footage on gemstones and the company's manufacturing facility in Chanthaburi, Thailand.

Over 1,200 craftsmen and designers are employed in Chanthaburi to create an exclusive range of stunning jewellery. The Thailand operation also sources rare gemstones from across the globe and has more than 500 different types in stock at any one time. There are over 80,000 different jewellery designs, with the surprisingly affordable prices giving people who cannot usually afford 'the real thing' the opportunity to wear beautiful, real gemstones.

Gems TV combines home shopping with a reverse auction game format called Snatch It!, which provides an entertaining way of buying. Each 'game' begins with a starting price, a current price and a total quantity of pieces to be sold during that game. As the game progresses, the current price is dropped until all items are sold, with every buyer then paying the ending and lowest price. The average selling price for products sold in 2005 so far has been under £65.

The Snatch It! format creates excitement among the audience, retaining viewers who had not even intended to make a purchase at that time. Since the games typically last between three and five minutes, viewers are constantly treated with a wide variety of products. Gems TV reaches about 9.3m homes in the UK and many more via the website, where Internet users can play Snatch It! and also watch a live broadcast on their PC at www.gemstv.com.

Customer satisfaction is extremely high, with clients appreciating the prompt delivery and high quality of their purchases, and Gems TV has paid attention to the little details that make the client's life easier. For instance, all rings sold are one size, making it easy to buy them as gifts as you don't need to know the ring size before making a purchase. A simple, accurate resizing kit is included with each ring, and customers can choose to use Gems TV's resizing service for just £10, including return by special delivery.

Two of the rarest gems sold by Gems TV are Tanzanite and Russian Alexandrite.

TANZANITE

Tanzanite remained secret to Tanzania's nomadic Masai until 1967. Legend has it that a grass fire caused by a lightning strike turned brown pebbles of Zoisite into the vibrant blues spotted by Masai herdsmen, though this is now generally regarded as unlikely.

The gem found its way to America, where jeweller Louis Comfort Tiffany re-christened it Tanzanite, as he thought its gemological name of 'Blue Zoisite' sounded like 'Blue Suicide'. Demand for Tanzanite jewellery grew dramatically and has rocketed in recent years, outstripping sales of all other precious gems except Sapphire.

Tanzanite exhibits more shades of blue than a clear midnight sky due to a phenomenon called 'pleochroism' - in daylight, it sparkles a vibrant royal blue, but under candlelight, luxuriant deep purples exude. Tanzanite also occurs in a variety of other colours such as pink, green, ultra-marine and a steely blue.

Tanzanite starts life as greenish-brown Zoisite and is heated to 600C to reveal its violet-blue colours, while coloured Tanzanite is the product of an extremely rare phenomenon, where the heat and pressure of underground water-filled caves changes the brown crystal into natural colours.

A thousand times rarer than diamonds, Tanzanite is coveted because of its rarity. Its production is slowly decreasing and experts think it will eventually disappear.

RUSSIAN ALEXANDRITE

In 1830, a Russian peasant accidentally discovered emeralds in the forests on the banks of the Tokovaya River in the Ural Mountains. The mine that was set up there also yielded a new gemstone with the strange ability to change colour - when viewed under sunlight, rich green colours appeared, but when seen by candlelight, it displayed red hues. Named 'Alexandrite' after Tsar Alexander II, it quickly created a sensation.

Although it is available from other locales, the finest Alexandrite still hails from the Tokovaya deposit. Very little Russian Alexandrite is available and prices reflect this - Russian Alexandrite above half a carat is especially rare and almost impossible to find.

BIRTHSTONES

January - Garnet February - Amethyst March - Aquamarine

April - Diamond May - Emerald June - Pearl, Moonstone and Alexandrite

July - Ruby August - Peridot September - Sapphire

October - Tourmaline and Opal November - Citrine and Topaz

December - Turquoise, Zircon and Tanzanite