The gem trade has always run on trust — handshakes at a show, an introduction from a colleague, a workshop visit on the way through town. GemSurf is what happens when you scale that, honestly. 4,760 verified suppliers across 35 countries — every one of them met by a real person from our team before they ever appeared on the site.
GemSurf is the work of the GemIQ team — the same studio whose imaging platform is now used by 20,000+ jewelers worldwide. A decade of working alongside jewelers, dealers, and manufacturers across every major hub put us in front of the same question, asked by buyers everywhere: who can I actually trust?
Web forms and self-attestation can't answer that. People can. So the team built GemSurf as the natural next step — a directory where every Verified mark is backed by a real, in-person visit from someone on our team.
— Launched 2019. Headquartered in Hong Kong. Sister to GemIQ.
The clearest way to understand GemSurf is to be specific about what the directory is — and what it deliberately isn't.
Verification is the entire product, so we treat it that way. Every supplier with a Verified mark has been met by a member of the GemSurf team, on-site, and reviewed against what they submitted. No exceptions.
The supplier submits business details, trade licenses, and any gemological certifications.
A regional GemSurf team member visits the supplier on-site and reviews the business against what was submitted.
If everything checks out, the supplier is approved and appears in the directory with the Verified mark.
Four regional teams, headquartered close to the trading hubs they cover. No outsourced verifications. No drop-shipped checks.
GemSurf is part of the GemIQ family — the same team behind the imaging platform used by 20,000+ jewelers worldwide. GemIQ helps jewelers show their work; GemSurf helps the trade find the jewelers worth working with. Same studio, same commitment to clarity, same Inter type and Teal Spark blue.
If you're a supplier wondering how verification works, a buyer with a sourcing question, or a journalist covering the trade — we'd love to hear from you.