Gem Collector was a short lived British reverse auction

Reverse auction

A reverse auction is a type of auction in which the roles of buyers and sellers are reversed. In an ordinary auction , buyers compete to obtain a good or service, and the price typically increases over time...

 loose gemstone shopping channel. It is the first channel of its kind in the UK. The channel was available on Sky and online. The channel operations are based at Eagle Road Studios in Redditch

Redditch

Redditch is a town and local government district in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district had a population of 79,216 in 2005. In the 19th century it became the international centre for the needle and fishing tackle industry...

, near Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

. The channel broadcast live between 19:00 and midnight daily.

Pre-launch

Gem Collector began beta testing on 8 October 2010; on the same day Gems TV

Gems TV (UK)

Gems TV is a British reverse auction jewellery shopping channel. It is officially the first channel of its kind in the UK. The channel is available on Sky, Virgin Media, Freesat, Freeview and online. The channel operations are based at Eagle Road Studios in Redditch, near Birmingham...

 celebrated its 6th birthday. The channel has replaced the former Gems TV 2

Gems TV (UK)

Gems TV is a British reverse auction jewellery shopping channel. It is officially the first channel of its kind in the UK. The channel is available on Sky, Virgin Media, Freesat, Freeview and online. The channel operations are based at Eagle Road Studios in Redditch, near Birmingham...

 EPG slot on Sky. The channel was using the former Gems TV 2/Rocks TV

Rocks TV

Gems TV Extra is a British reverse auction jewellery shopping channel. The channel is available on Sky, Freesat and online. The channel operations are based at Eagle Road Studios in Redditch, near Birmingham...

 studio, which was also at the time being used by sister channel Jewellery Maker

Jewellery Maker

Jewellery Maker is a British jewellery shopping channel. It is the first channel of its kind, to focus solely on making your own gemstone jewellery through purchasing kits and making it yourself. The presentation and format of the channel is similar to the crafting channel; Create & Craft....

.

The channel officially launched at 19:00 on Monday 11 October 2010.

Closure

On 13 December 2010, it was announced on Barry Kirley's official Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 page that Gem Collector as a stand-alone channel would cease broadcasting

Broadcasting

Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...

 by the end of December and would continue from January 2011 as a programming strand within Rocks TV

Rocks TV

Gems TV Extra is a British reverse auction jewellery shopping channel. The channel is available on Sky, Freesat and online. The channel operations are based at Eagle Road Studios in Redditch, near Birmingham...

, which in itself rebranded as Gems TV Extra on 1 January 2011 and moved from 647 to 656