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And THIS Is Why We Use AGL

iLander

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Full article http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2015/07/09/pink-sapphire-fake-lawsuit-says/29917673/

Sixteen years later, Frabizzio can't even look at a pink sapphire without feeling sick. In December, her husband, Sam, had the gemstone examined by the American Gemological Laboratories for insurance purposes. The report came back that the stone for which Sam Frabizzio had paid $9,000 alone – not including the diamonds and gold mounting – had been produced in a laboratory, according to court documents.

The sapphire that Sam Frabizzio bought from Carl Doubet Jr. Jewelers in Greenville was actually worth $10 in 1999, court papers say. Today, the stone has appreciated to about $30, legal papers say.

"I was extremely proud of that ring," Frabizzio said, adding the ring has never been out of her possession. "I wore it a lot and got an awful lot of compliments. And all these years, I was wearing that fake. I feel like a fool showing off that ring. I can't get that out of my head. Here all that excitement and Sam spent all that money, and it's a fake."

Now, Sam Frabizzio, a Wilmington lawyer, wants the Carl Doubet Jr. business entities and its owners Nola Doubet Hendry and Frank Hendry to pay $37,500 to replace the ring, plus another $2,500 that he paid in insurance over 15 years, court documents say. The Hendrys offered to replace the stone, but Frabizzio said she doesn't want another sapphire from them because of the negative association.

Sam Frabizzio has sued in Delaware Court of Common Pleas alleging the Hendrys and their businesses engaged in deceptive trade practices and breached their contract to sell a natural pink sapphire.


Honestly, I don't understand why ALL jewelers don't get AGL certs. I would think it leaves them wide open to lawsuits.

I was recently in a brick and mortar jewelry store and they bragged about selling a $57,000 2 carat ruby. I asked if they had it certified by AGL and they said "No, our guy can tell, he has a microscope." :shock:

Seriously? WHAT are they thinking? :confused: :confused:
 

minousbijoux

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Wow. You're absolutely right, iLander, a great example of a lesson learned. I am stunned that the jewelers didn't immediately make it right. But then again, from their perspective, they could be thinking that the owners might have switched out the "real" one years ago. All the way around, mistakes were made. :(sad
 

iLander

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Hi Minous, :wavey:

They mention that in the rest of the article. And the jeweler insisted it go to GIA because they didn't believe AGL. :shock: There's also an appraiser involved because he said it was real (because he's a GIA gemologist :rolleyes: ), and it just goes on and on.

IF you think it's an untreated stone, then this is what you don't want to get from AGL :knockout:

b9317921550z.jpg
 

chrono

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Most local shops sell gems (and very expensive ones too) without providing a lab report. It is possible that the shop was not aware that the gem is a lab creation. It is also very possible that more than 16 years ago, the skill and technology wasn't as good at differentiating a natural stone from a synthetic stone. The couple is also very fortunate that the shop is still in business otherwise they have no recourse at all!
 

iLander

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Chrono said:
Most local shops sell gems (and very expensive ones too) without providing a lab report. It is possible that the shop was not aware that the gem is a lab creation. The couple is also very fortunate that the shop is still in business otherwise they have no recourse at all!

Exactly!

Caveat Emptor. :knockout:

Maybe we should add the names of the reputable labs to our Sellers sticky?
 

minousbijoux

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iLander|1437581963|3906098 said:
Hi Minous, :wavey:

They mention that in the rest of the article. And the jeweler insisted it go to GIA because they didn't believe AGL. :shock: There's also an appraiser involved because he said it was real (because he's a GIA gemologist :rolleyes: ), and it just goes on and on.

IF you think it's an untreated stone, then this is what you don't want to get from AGL :knockout:

Whoops. I guess I need to read the article, eh? ;))
 

iLander

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minousbijoux said:
iLander|1437581963|3906098 said:
Hi Minous, :wavey:

They mention that in the rest of the article. And the jeweler insisted it go to GIA because they didn't believe AGL. :shock: There's also an appraiser involved because he said it was real (because he's a GIA gemologist :rolleyes: ), and it just goes on and on.

IF you think it's an untreated stone, then this is what you don't want to get from AGL :knockout:

Whoops. I guess I need to read the article, eh? ;))

Nah. I hit the high points in the excerpt. ;-) I just thought it was interesting that you thought of that, it didn't occur to me.
 

aussiejamie

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I love your idea iLander of adding reputable labs to the sticky section! :clap:
 

Cognition

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even other reputable labs such as GIA and GRS had made mistakes. As long as those lab are run by humans, there will always be a risk of human error. That being said, a lab MUST have proper equipments, SOP, and human resources. To me, AGL, Gubelin, GRS, and GIA satisfy this requirement.

That being said, I do not really like GRS and GIA, especially GIA :nono: :nono: :nono:
 

smoothedge

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Cognition|1437630722|3906383 said:
That being said, I do not really like GRS and GIA, especially GIA :nono: :nono: :nono:

hi Cognition,

i'm just curious...do you mind saying why you don't like GRS and especially GIA?

thank you very much!
 

Arcadian

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smoothedge|1437648417|3906421 said:
Cognition|1437630722|3906383 said:
That being said, I do not really like GRS and GIA, especially GIA :nono: :nono: :nono:

hi Cognition,

i'm just curious...do you mind saying why you don't like GRS and especially GIA?

thank you very much!

Oh trust me, AGL like every lab has made their mistakes. One of my stones was one of them, and had I not sent it BACK, they would have never caught it.

Every lab makes human error.
 

chrono

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All labs have made mistakes, some greater than others though. I caught a minor mistake by AGL but they corrected it quickly.
 

arkieb1

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It is amazing there are so many jewellery shops still out there that tell their customers it's totally O.K to not have a certificate because we have a microscope. Some of the treatments done these days need proper testing even with a microscope you can be fooled, I find a lot of bricks and mortar stores have sales staff who are clueless on a range of things....
 

chrono

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iLander|1437582244|3906102 said:
Maybe we should add the names of the reputable labs to our Sellers sticky?

Done, except that it is tagged on to the New to Gemstones sticky, which I thought would be more appropriate.
 

jordyonbass

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arkieb1|1437659131|3906459 said:
It is amazing there are so many jewellery shops still out there that tell their customers it's totally O.K to not have a certificate because we have a microscope. Some of the treatments done these days need proper testing even with a microscope you can be fooled, I find a lot of bricks and mortar stores have sales staff who are clueless on a range of things....

This is something that I still have a hard time trying to comprehend; I find it hard to fathom how some people work in an industry and literally have no clue about what they are selling. It makes you wonder if the sales attendants are just there to say 'Oh that looks lovely'

I'm what some people would call a rough looking metalhead and even I know more about gems than a large percentage of the girls who work in those B&M stores, I should be their manager :roll:
 

PieAreSquared

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I confess I did not read the article but I wonder what took the buyer 16 years to have a $9000 stone checked. I can't imagine not immediately getting a lab report if I paid any more than $3000 for a gem. I don't care what a jeweler would tell me, its my money!
Caveat emptor.
 
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