Is The Gem Tray legit?
Yes, The Gem Tray is legit: it is an independent information site about gems and jewellery, launched in September 2026, and it sells nothing and never takes payment. Its ‘on Amazon’ links open Amazon.com, where Amazon or the seller handles the sale, and we earn an Amazon Associates commission if you buy. We are not gemologists and do not test or certify stones, so a grade on a listing is the seller’s claim, not ours.
What is The Gem Tray, and who runs it?
The Gem Tray explains gems from the rock to the ring: mined and lab-grown stones, how they are grown, treated and cut, where they are mined, and the metals they are set in. Alongside that it lists pieces on Amazon that match what the pages explain. It is a small independent site, published as The Gem Tray, and it is not connected to Amazon beyond the Associates programme, or to any jeweller, seller or gem laboratory. We are not gemologists. When a page says a stone is moissanite, lab-grown or natural, it is reporting what the listing says and what the cited sources say, not the result of a test.
How does The Gem Tray make money?
Through the Amazon Associates programme. Product links carry our Associates tag, and if you buy through one, Amazon pays us a commission on the qualifying purchase. We do not set prices and cannot change the price you see on Amazon. The FTC says sites that earn from affiliate links should disclose that relationship clearly and conspicuously, so a line at the top of every page says ‘As an Amazon Associate, The Gem Tray earns from qualifying purchases.’ Amazon’s Operating Agreement requires a statement to the same effect and says Associates and Amazon are independent contractors. Most Amazon links first pass through a short redirect on our own domain (an address starting thegemtray.com/go) that counts the click and then sends you straight on to Amazon.com. We also use Google Analytics to count visits and clicks. There are no ads from other companies and no sponsored placements, and sellers do not pay to be listed.
Is The Gem Tray a scam?
No. The site never asks you for money or personal details: there is no checkout, no payment form, no account, no newsletter and no request for your address. The one search box, on the shop page, only filters the list on your screen. When you click through to buy, the address bar should show amazon.com before you pay; if any page claiming to be The Gem Tray asks for card details, it is not us. The order, delivery and any return are handled under Amazon’s own policies, by Amazon or the third-party seller named on the listing. For an expensive stone such as a diamond, the checks on is it safe to buy a diamond on Amazon still apply: buy one with a laboratory report number and look it up yourself.
How are the pieces on the site chosen?
By reading, not by lab testing. For each Amazon listing we read the product details (metal, stone, size, weight) and check that they match the title, and we list only pieces that are in stock; a daily stock check hides anything Amazon shows as unavailable. Terms such as ‘sterling’, ‘vermeil’, ‘diamond’ and ‘total weight’ are read against the FTC’s Jewelry Guides (16 CFR Part 23), which set out how those words may fairly be used. We treat grades such as D colour or VVS1, and the GRA cards that come with most moissanite, as the seller’s claims (is a GRA certificate real?). A report from GIA or IGI is different: the grades on it are the laboratory’s own, and you can look its number up on that laboratory’s own website (how to check a diamond report number). Prices are rounded, taken from Amazon’s own product data, refreshed daily and shown with the date and time they were fetched; when there is no price from that day, the card says ‘See price on Amazon’, and the price Amazon shows at checkout is the one that applies. We do not show Amazon star ratings or review counts: Amazon’s programme policies limit how affiliate sites may use its customer reviews and star ratings, so read them on the listing itself. The full method is on how we evaluate.
What does The Gem Tray do, and what does it not do?
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What is it? | An independent information site about gems, lab-grown stones and jewellery metals |
| When did it launch? | September 2026 |
| Who publishes it? | The Gem Tray, a small independent site |
| Does it sell anything? | No. No checkout, no payment, no accounts, no sign-ups |
| How does it earn? | Amazon Associates commission on qualifying purchases made through its links |
| Where do you actually buy? | On Amazon.com, from Amazon or the third-party seller named on the listing |
| How are pieces picked? | From each listing’s details, checked against its title, in stock on a daily check |
| Are grades like D colour, VVS1 or GRA confirmed? | No. They are the seller’s claims (see reading a gem listing) |
| Are stones lab-tested? | No. We are not gemologists and do not certify stones |
| Where do prices come from? | Amazon’s product data, rounded, refreshed daily and shown with the date and time it was fetched |
| Star ratings and review counts? | Not shown; read them on Amazon |
| Is AI used? | Yes, for research and drafting, and for drawings labelled ‘Illustration (AI render)’ |
How does The Gem Tray use AI, and how are mistakes corrected?
We research and draft pages with the help of AI and check facts against the sources each page cites; generic drawings made with AI are labelled ‘Illustration (AI render)’. Mistakes still happen, and rules and laboratory practices change. When we find an error, or a source a page relies on changes, we fix the page and update its date rather than leaving the old claim in place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does The Gem Tray sell jewellery?
No. The Gem Tray has no shop of its own and never takes payment. Its Amazon links open Amazon.com, where Amazon or a third-party seller handles the sale, delivery and returns.
Do I pay more if I buy through a Gem Tray link?
Our link does not set or change the price: Amazon sets it, Amazon pays our commission, and the price that applies is the one Amazon shows at checkout.
Who runs The Gem Tray?
It is a small independent site, published as The Gem Tray. It is not owned by or connected to Amazon, any jeweller, any seller or any gem laboratory; its only commercial link is the Amazon Associates programme.
Why does The Gem Tray not show star ratings?
Amazon’s Associates programme policies limit how affiliate sites may display its customer reviews and star ratings, so we leave them out. You can read the reviews on the Amazon listing before you buy.
Has The Gem Tray checked that a stone is what the listing says?
Not by testing. We read the listing and compare its terms with the FTC Jewelry Guides, but we do not test stones. A grade or a GRA card is the seller’s claim; a GIA or IGI report number is something you can look up yourself.
Sources
- FTC: FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking
- Amazon Associates Program Operating Agreement (updated October 15, 2025)
- Amazon Associates Program Policies (updated April 14, 2026)
- 16 CFR Part 23, Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries (Cornell LII)
- GIA: How can I be sure that a GIA grading report is authentic?
- IGI (International Gemological Institute): home page, with its Verify report lookup
Keep reading
Amazon links are affiliate links (tag thegemtray-20): buying through them costs you nothing extra and supports the site. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.