Ridiculous things you have heard from Jewellery Sales Staff........

[autumngems]

Not from the staff, but from the jeweler himself:

"Your ring went out with another order."

I had taken several rings in to have various things done - sizing up, sizing down, putting a diamond in a different ring, etc. Went to pick them up, all the rings were
good. Except, suddenly, I have a white princess diamond instead of my little green yellow radiant. A very pretty princess, but not mine. Luckily they knew where it had gone and called that customer to have them return it. The store was closed Sun & Mon so I had to wait till Tue for it to be returned. They did get it back yesterday, & I made them text me a picture so I'd feel sure they had it. What I don't understand is why the customer that picked it up didn't say "hey, this isn't mine". Who would pick up a ring and not look at it? How could they not have noticed?

I would have lost my Shi! if they had done that to me. How could they let that happen?!

 

[Demon]

I would have lost my Shi! if they had done that to me. How could they let that happen?!

I have no idea! He's a really good jeweler and I've gone to him multiple times over the years. The only excuse I can give him is that they're very busy and he's getting older, so maybe less careful/more forgetful? He swore he would make it right, which he did because he got it back, but I was thinking 'you can't possibly replace that same stone'. Do vendors even ever check for the phosphorescence that I love in that diamond?

 

[Polished]

Unfortunately a lack of any real knowledge of jewellery or gems/ diamonds seems all too common in jewellery stores everywhere.

In some instances I don't think it's ignorance it's outright lying. For instance, i imagine they mostly know that cut is the most important C for a diamond, but they play on the purchaser not knowing that. Doubtless they make money out of poorly cut stones while they make their customers think they've got a wonderful bargain by talking up colour and clarity. A case of lying while you're telling a truth.

 

[KristyDarling]

Awesome idea for a thread! I got a couple of humdingers last week at Derco in San Francisco:

"We don't carry any platinum because it's too soft...we only carry white gold." Just as the other rep 5 feet away tells her customer, "And here are our platinum trays."

"You can get a 5 to 6 carat emerald cut natural diamond for $19,000 if it's SI2 clarity or lower."

And this was at a mom-and-pop jewelry store, also in SF:

"I LOVE fancy yellow diamonds!" ....in response to my I color cushion cut diamond graded by the GIA.

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

Awesome idea for a thread! I got a couple of humdingers last week at Derco in San Francisco:

"We don't carry any platinum because it's too soft...we only carry white gold." Just as the other rep 5 feet away tells her customer, "And here are our platinum trays."

"You can get a 5 to 6 carat emerald cut natural diamond for $19,000 if it's SI2 clarity or lower."

And this was at a mom-and-pop jewelry store, also in SF:

"I LOVE fancy yellow diamonds!" ....in response to my I color cushion cut diamond graded by the GIA.

Oh, Derco. Never change.

 

[diamondringlover]

I remember going into a mall store when I was looking for a 18K gold fit comfort band, just a 2mm 18K yellow gold band, you would think everywhere would sell them any way the sales associate told me they didn't sell 18K gold bands because they are to "soft" and get scratched easily and would I like to look at some nice sturdy 10K or 14K...I left and then ordered one off the internet instead...

 

[elle_71125]

I have only one story from decades ago when I was attempting to buy my first diamond from a mall jeweler that was THE primo place to get jewelry at the time and when I knew next to nothing about diamonds.

I asked for them to bring in some ovals, eye clean in the GHI range. After waiting weeks for a parcel to arrive I got to the store and the manager, with so much flourish I could hear royal trumpets blowing, opened the parcel which contained 4 brownish highly included marquise cut stones.

I said, where's the ovals;
He said, right there;
I said those aren't ovals;
He said yes they are;
I asked if he could see the pointy ends of the diamonds;
He said yes, that's the oval shape;
I got up and left without saying goodbye.

That‘s insane! How does someone managing a diamond store not know what the heck an oval is???

 

[Tonks]

“AGS? No. Terrible. GIA is the best report. We would never carry a stone with an AGS report.”

[When handing me back my platinum engagement ring from cleaning] “Freshly cleaned. And we re-rhodium plated it.”
Me: “If you rhodium plated my platinum we are going to have a MAJOR issue.”
(Fortunately, they did not).

”You should never buy a diamond from the internet.”

“Prongs are rough? Just wear it a while and they will sort of smooth down.”

 

[OreoRosies86]

Probably when a jeweler set my rose cut diamond into the setting upside down, then proceeded to tell me that I was crazy for wanting it reset properly. “It won’t even sparkle without the facets!” I’ve never been back. Oh and “All sapphires are heat treated, that’s industry standard.” Cool.

 

[CSpan]

To be fair part of this isn't their fault as I have replaced the shank, reset all the side stones,, and had the prongs retipped on my ER, but I have been told my ring is a "good repo". I agree the stone may have been added later than the setting but the paper-thin shank was hallmarked (rip) and it was from an estate sale of a woman who hadn't bought anything new since 1955 .

I have been repeatedly offered to clean my emerald bands in an ultrasonic. Gasp.

I'm pretty sure no one knows what a FC is. I have had my carre cut band misidentified as asschers and princesses.

I bought a band online that had "baguettes", they were antique FCs. And that mistake saved me a fortune.

I have about 3 single cut eternities, I love how vintage they are and they go well with my "repro" ER. I have been assured by at least 2 major shops that they are full cut because no one would put single cuts in platinum.

My all time fave. Everywhere from high end jewelry stores to local mom and pops have insisted a blue sapphire must be almost black to be valuable, "you shouldn't be able to see through a sapphire" i mean you shouldn't see thru a window but....

 

[LilAlex]

The inferences about the customers' budgets are the same with cars. When I used to pull up to a dealership in our "adventure car" -- a beat-up old, chalky-paint, high-mileage SUV that became my daily commuter -- I could never get anyone to show me anything nice or take me seriously. My next car seemed to open every door (but maybe I was just a decade older).

My favorite and most-repeated line in jewelry stores and from online vendors of all stripes is: "I don't think they were heating sapphires back then." I have heard this in reference to the late 19th century, the '20s, the '40s, and even the '80s. Look, unless it's B.C., I'm gonna need a report...

 

[Kya]

A jeweler just told me ‘oh, no one is selling natural diamonds anymore, only labs’

Also, about 6 years ago I was at a chain store at the mall. (Haven’t been to them since lol) I asked what the specs were and the guy said ‘what do you mean, a diamond is a diamond ‘. To this day I wonder if he genuinely thought I would believe him or if he genuinely was new and had no idea.

 

[Matata]

That‘s insane! How does someone managing a diamond store not know what the heck an oval is???

It occurred to me a few years after that debacle that he probably figured a young woman in her early 20's wouldn't know diamonds from frozen spit. I found it odd at the time because this store had a stellar reputation but I also came to suspect they treated the rich peeps differently than the hoi polloi. That was my 1st and last experience with a B&M store.

 

[CalliopeCladdagh]

In Amsterdam, excited to see some Royal Asschers. Had researched via the RA website and found the names of a few jewellers who carried them. Went into one, asked to see any RAs they had. Man brings me a tray of princess cuts. Tell him these are not asscher. He tells me they're the same thing as both square shaped!!

 

[aac2013]

Frequently, have been told certs don't matter which is usually followed by 'you just have to trust your jeweler knows best'. I also had a sales associate try to explain the 4Cs. Apparently cut just refers to the shape of the stone, you know ....round cut, pear cut, cushion cut, emerald cut.

 

[Lookinagain]

Many years ago, I had a 14k white gold ring that clearly needed some rhodium. So as I was talking to the guy behind the counter (who I later learned was the manager) at a very reputable Boston B & M, by the way, I asked why my ring would need to be replated but my 18k white gold watch did not (I wasn't wearing it). I was just curious (and still am). He said, oh, your watch is silver. I said, it better not be, or I'm going to want a refund. I bought it here and it was sold to me as 18k gold and it's a Baume & Mercier with a diamond bezel per the receipt I got. He basically said nothing in response and walked away.

 

[baublelove]

31 years ago when hubby and I started looking at engagement rings, we went to mall just to look at B&M offerings. We had a budget, wanted to buy an MRB shy of 1ct, color tolerant to I and VS clarity. At this point I had already read Renée Newman’s then well-regarded Diamond Ring Buying Guide.

Once given our parameters the SA said “Oh don’t go for a small diamond. All our customers want D color and 2cts and above so they can show it off. People won’t oooh and ahh over a small diamond. I color also looks like a dirty yellow.” WTH.

That earned her an eye roll and we left. Bought our loose diamond in NYC’s diamond district as I worked in TriBeCa at the time.

 

[doberman]

We don't sell I or J colored diamonds. They're yellow.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Pre-pricescope, I was told by 2 different jewelers that you get more bang for your buck if you buy a shallow/spready diamond because they face up bigger. Due to my lack of knowledge at the time, I actually bought into that crap....have owned 2 diamonds (one mrb and one princess) with practically no crown, and looked like a glassy ice rink.

 

[RunningwithScissors]

I love this stuff!

There's a few more funnies on here...

Weird Things Jewelers Have Told You

What are some of the weird, wild or just blatantly untrue things sales associates at jewelry stores, or jewelers themselves have told you? Share them here! I'll go first. Today I had a half hour to kill in between two appointments. So I donned my mask and popped inside a random jewelry store...

www.pricescope.com

 

[RunningwithScissors]

One time when I was browsing a small, boutique jewelry store in Houston, which carries both vintage and contemporary pieces, I tried on this necklace. It was lovely.



The SA told me it contained "Cinderella Turquoise." I asked her if she meant Sleeping Beauty turquoise, but no, she insisted it was Cinderella.

I left doubting myself. I had never heard of "Cinderella Turquoise" before, but then again my knowledge of colored gemstones isn't particularly deep, so I thought it was possible it existed and I just didn't know about it. So I do what PSers do -- I came home and posted in the colored gemstones thread asking what the heck Cinderella Turquoise is.

Answer: Total malarkey. 1) The SA must have gotten her Disney characters mixed up and 2) this piece couldn't even be S.B. turquoise because of the period of the necklace and the date of the mine producing S.B. turquoise don't overlap. Its most likely Persian turquoise.

I love PS! I learn so much and there are so many laughs along the way!

 

[tkyasx78]

Earlier this year I went into a local jewelry store to get new posts put on some studsand then an appraisal for some lab diamonds for insurance purposes. After the posts had been replaced the jeweler assured me that the diamonds were natural earth mined stones. I told him they were lab diamonds.
He told me I was misinformed and that he had been in the diamond business for 30 years and those are not lab diamonds.
( they were and still are LB lab diamonds)

And yes, I will never use that store again as it is one thing to not notice the lab diamond inscription when you are looking at them… it is entirely another to INSIST that a stone is earth mined when the customer TELLS YOU it is a lab diamond!

 

[Demon]

When I first took my avatar diamond in to have it set, the jeweler's wife was working the counter. I was talking to the jeweler, telling him I wanted it set in yellow gold, and the wife butts in 'we always set diamonds in platinum or white gold'. I (nicely) insisted on yellow (I had temporarily set it myself in one of those pre-notched silver settings till I got around to going to the jeweler, and the silver just sapped the color). When I went to pick it up, the jeweler quietly told me that the color really popped when he set it into the yellow. Imagine that.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Ok maybe this only applies to me

You will really love this halo
(Trying to get me to try on a Diana/ Kate saphire ring )


I am not a halo kind of girl

Side stones yes
halo nope

 

[VRBeauty]

So today I went into one of the oldest shops in town to pick up a piece they had repaired for me. It’s a lovely, old-style jewelry store that also sells collectibles (Lladro, Sworovski, etc.). They also design and make their own contemporary pieces combining gold, diamonds, and semi-precious stones - including some of the largest bi-color tourmaline crystals I’ve ever seen set in jewelry.

The shop also has some stunning turquoise and diamond pieces. Inspired by @RunningwithScissors ‘s post, I asked to see some of them. The shop owner informed me that the turquoise was called “Sleeping Beauty,” and that it was Persian.

What!??! I don’t know turquoise well enough to know Sleeping Beauty from Persian, but I DO know the Sleeping Beauty mine is in Arizona, and not the Middle East!

I have no idea whether he was just spouting pretty words in the hope that some of them might entice me to buy, or if he truly did not know. But - the owner is probably in his 90’s and I wasn’t about to correct him, especially since there was another customer in the shop at the time. And I’m sure I’ll be back in that shop to ogle and possibly buy again - I’ll just know to take anything the owner says with a grain of salt.

 

[Dandi]

This wasn't a comment from a jeweller, but from a jewellery shop customer...

When DH and I were newly engaged, I was proudly wearing my 3 stone diamond engagement ring at work (I worked in a jewellery shop). A woman came in who I proceeded to serve, and she spied my e-ring. She poked it (why do people do that??) and told me that my ring was exactly what she was looking for. She then asked if I could please do her a quote to have one made just like mine, but with *real* diamonds. I was 22 at the time, perhaps I looked too young to have real diamonds? But I worked for a jeweller, seriously

My boss was behind me and had to leave the shop floor, as she could barely contain her laughter.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

So today I went into one of the oldest shops in town to pick up a piece they had repaired for me. It’s a lovely, old-style jewelry store that also sells collectibles (Lladro, Sworovski, etc.). They also design and make their own contemporary pieces combining gold, diamonds, and semi-precious stones - including some of the largest bi-color tourmaline crystals I’ve ever seen set in jewelry.

The shop also has some stunning turquoise and diamond pieces. Inspired by @RunningwithScissors ‘s post, I asked to see some of them. The shop owner informed me that the turquoise was called “Sleeping Beauty,” and that it was Persian.

What!??! I don’t know turquoise well enough to know Sleeping Beauty from Persian, but I DO know the Sleeping Beauty mine is in Arizona, and not the Middle East!

I have no idea whether he was just spouting pretty words in the hope that some of them might entice me to buy, or if he truly did not know. But - the owner is probably in his 90’s and I wasn’t about to correct him, especially since there was another customer in the shop at the time. And I’m sure I’ll be back in that shop to ogle and possibly buy again - I’ll just know to take anything the owner says with a grain of salt.

You have beautiful manners
At 90 odd i think ww can excuse him getting a bit muddled

Sounds like my kind of jewlery store btw

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

This wasn't a comment from a jeweller, but from a jewellery shop customer...

When DH and I were newly engaged, I was proudly wearing my 3 stone diamond engagement ring at work (I worked in a jewellery shop). A woman came in who I proceeded to serve, and she spied my e-ring. She poked it (why do people do that??) and told me that my ring was exactly what she was looking for. She then asked if I could please do her a quote to have one made just like mine, but with *real* diamonds. I was 22 at the time, perhaps I looked too young to have real diamonds? But I worked for a jeweller, seriously

My boss was behind me and had to leave the shop floor, as she could barely contain her laughter.

Bull sh*t the customer is always right
What a bi*ch

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

This wasn't a comment from a jeweller, but from a jewellery shop customer...

When DH and I were newly engaged, I was proudly wearing my 3 stone diamond engagement ring at work (I worked in a jewellery shop). A woman came in who I proceeded to serve, and she spied my e-ring. She poked it (why do people do that??) and told me that my ring was exactly what she was looking for. She then asked if I could please do her a quote to have one made just like mine, but with *real* diamonds. I was 22 at the time, perhaps I looked too young to have real diamonds? But I worked for a jeweller, seriously

My boss was behind me and had to leave the shop floor, as she could barely contain her laughter.

Wow! I’ve faced this kind of attitude before though, where people believe young women can’t have real diamonds. Did you correct her misconception?

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

As a career shop assistant- and by the way as a bl**dy good one i am disgusted by this (well actually any) kind of judgement of sales staff of customers but also of this kind of judgement by anyone full stop