Etiquette on having jewelry cleaned?

[BigDiamonds]

I''m curious about the etiquette of having jewelry cleaned in jewelry stores were you haven''t bought anything. The store where I bought my e-ring was terribly snobby and gave me a TON of attitude about buying an internet diamond; I truthfully don''t care if I ever step foot in there again. However, I will need someone to clean my ring eventually. Will any old mall jeweler do it, even if it''s obvious that I didn''t buy the ring there? And do I pay them? How do you all of you who bought their rings fully online handle this?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I have never been turned down at a mall jewelers. Usually they ask ME if I want it cleaned (probably to make me look in the cases to kill time

) I think it is important to build a relationship with a local B&M for issues other than the simple cleaning.

 

[BigDiamonds]

Thanks Tacori. That''s a whole other issue I hadn''t considered...who will work on my ring if I need it? I would consider going back to the original jeweler for something like that- they were competant, just rude. However, I will have to keep my eye out for someone who can be both competant AND nice! It''s a tall order, I know!

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I never let people in stores clean my rings, although they all offer to. (Beware of ring switchers!)

 

[WTNLVR]

I would reccomend you get a nice home cleaning system. I never let stores touch my ring. I have so much pave I can see them handing it back to me with missing stones. Plus, I clean my rings daily. There are home machines with steamers built in that do a great job. if you want to go to a store, anyone will clean it for free.

 

[Catmom]

BigDiamonds,

I think the best thing for you to do is to develop a relationship with a stand alone jeweler that you can be comfortable with and hopefully has an onsite bench person. That way you can get your rings/jewelry inspected and cleaned on a regular basis and get any needed repairs done without worry. I did this with a local jeweler. I''m very comfortable with them and have even bought some pieces from them. They know that I get most of my jewelry from somewhere else but I also buy from them so they are happy and I am happy. It''s a win/win.

 

[suzi]

Date: 6/27/2007 7:49:39 AM
Author: Madam Bijoux
I never let people in stores clean my rings, although they all offer to. (Beware of ring switchers!)

I have never let a sales associate in a jewelry store clean my ring, other than my regular jeweler. Has this ring switching or diamond switching ever happened to anyone? Or has anyone ever known of someone that it happened to? I have to admit, it''s always been a paranoia of mine.

My common sense tells me that it''s not likely to happen, since it would take more than a few minutes to remove a stone from the setting and replace it with another. I also don''t think most jewelry stores are just sitting there with an inventory of fake diamonds in ever shape and size, just waiting for someone to come along and ask for their ring to be cleaned. But I guess ya never know...

My paranoia does persist, though. My diamond has no visible inclusions with which to identify it, so even if I louped it, I doubt if I would know 100% for sure that it was my diamond. I always do loupe it when I have any work done, though. Recently, I had the wind blow the car door shut on my hand, and my ring got rather squashed. Nearly broke my finger, too...lol. I had to take the ring to the jeweler to have the prongs straightened out and they kept it for over a week. I was terrified the entire time that when I picked the ring up, my diamond wouldn''t look the same. I actually had the shakes the day I picked it up, for fear that I would take one look at it and KNOW it wasn''t my diamond, or that the setting would look different or something. My fears were for nothing, because the ring looked great, and the diamond looked the same. When I first got my diamond, I wore it for several months in a temp setting while I searched for a permanent home. When I finally found the permanent setting, I requested to be present when the setter set the stone. The jeweler was more than happy to oblige. I figured, there would be no diamond switching that way, unless the setter was some kind of Houdini and did slight-of-hand trick or something. And it was really fascinating to watch, too! I would recommend observing the process if possible.

My diamond is not laser inscribed. Does anyone know if I could have that done, and how much it would cost?

 

[Regular Guy]

I appreciate this thread.

Date: 6/27/2007 12:08:42 PM
Author: sipper

My diamond is not laser inscribed. Does anyone know if I could have that done, and how much it would cost?

I think although GIA and such do it upon request, also specialist appraisers do, too. David Atlas does, PGS in Chicago does, etc.

Edited to add...I think the cost is not signicant...$25 or so?

Doing this, in your case, may make extra sense, even though its attached to a ring (not sure if it has to be taken off to be done or not), to ever be sure you got it back (since you have few inclusions to compare against). But, and in the context of this thread...even with my diamond inscribed...to the extent you have paranoia, although an establishment will frequently not mind asking to review this info before and after presenting, and though I've little experience with this, I don't think it's anyone's standard practice, on the business end, to say: "let's check," so I think it is really always somewhat awkward. Unless there's any tricks anyone has to share, to make it less so.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 6/27/2007 12:08:42 PM
Author: sipper

Date: 6/27/2007 7:49:39 AM
Author: Madam Bijoux
I never let people in stores clean my rings, although they all offer to. (Beware of ring switchers!)

I have never let a sales associate in a jewelry store clean my ring, other than my regular jeweler. Has this ring switching or diamond switching ever happened to anyone? Or has anyone ever known of someone that it happened to? I have to admit, it''s always been a paranoia of mine.

My common sense tells me that it''s not likely to happen, since it would take more than a few minutes to remove a stone from the setting and replace it with another. I also don''t think most jewelry stores are just sitting there with an inventory of fake diamonds in ever shape and size, just waiting for someone to come along and ask for their ring to be cleaned. But I guess ya never know...

My paranoia does persist, though. My diamond has no visible inclusions with which to identify it, so even if I louped it, I doubt if I would know 100% for sure that it was my diamond. I always do loupe it when I have any work done, though. Recently, I had the wind blow the car door shut on my hand, and my ring got rather squashed. Nearly broke my finger, too...lol. I had to take the ring to the jeweler to have the prongs straightened out and they kept it for over a week. I was terrified the entire time that when I picked the ring up, my diamond wouldn''t look the same. I actually had the shakes the day I picked it up, for fear that I would take one look at it and KNOW it wasn''t my diamond, or that the setting would look different or something. My fears were for nothing, because the ring looked great, and the diamond looked the same. When I first got my diamond, I wore it for several months in a temp setting while I searched for a permanent home. When I finally found the permanent setting, I requested to be present when the setter set the stone. The jeweler was more than happy to oblige. I figured, there would be no diamond switching that way, unless the setter was some kind of Houdini and did slight-of-hand trick or something. And it was really fascinating to watch, too! I would recommend observing the process if possible.

My diamond is not laser inscribed. Does anyone know if I could have that done, and how much it would cost?

I have the same concerns - sort of. No loupable inclusions, no inscription.... but the stone is so unique I feel VERY confident that no one could come up with the same in their back room LOL

I would loupe the ring after they cleaned it though to make sure allt he melee is there...

 

[surfgirl]

Luckily, like Cehra, my stone is so unique that I know nobody''s gonna have an "extra one" sitting in their back room! But, having said that, my girdle is very thin and for that reason, I want as few people futzing with my ring as possible. If *I* chip it, that''s one thing, but if someone else does, I dont want to know how I''d react!

So I dont let people put my ring into their cleaning machines. There is one possible exception, my friend who works at a jewelry dept in a high end chain store. I *might* let her but I haven''t yet...Someone in a very nice shop recently asked me if I wanted them to clean my ering and I asked if it was steam or US, it was US and since people have mentioned their stones sometimes coming loose in an US, I declined. As I said, I would hate for an US machine to loosen my stone and then have someone have to tighten the prongs and accidentally chip my stone. It may be paranoid but I know I cannot really replace the stone so I''m extra careful (or paranoid, take you pick!).

As for cleaning, I was using a soft toothbrush and mild dish soap but even the toothbrush seems quite rough so I found some old paint brushes and they work fabulously! I have two sable bristle brushes and have used those for about a week and they do a great job. The little brush is thin, but shorter so it''s got a stiffer feeling and I can get it into the setting, underneath the stones, in between the basket, etc. Very shiny after I use that!

 

[suzi]

Date: 6/27/2007 12:40:14 PM
Author: Regular Guy
I appreciate this thread.

Date: 6/27/2007 12:08:42 PM
Author: sipper

My diamond is not laser inscribed. Does anyone know if I could have that done, and how much it would cost?

I think although GIA and such do it upon request, also specialist appraisers do, too. David Atlas does, PGS in Chicago does, etc.

Edited to add...I think the cost is not signicant...$25 or so?

Doing this, in your case, may make extra sense, even though its attached to a ring (not sure if it has to be taken off to be done or not), to ever be sure you got it back (since you have few inclusions to compare against). But, and in the context of this thread...even with my diamond inscribed...to the extent you have paranoia, although an establishment will frequently not mind asking to review this info before and after presenting, and though I''ve little experience with this, I don''t think it''s anyone''s standard practice, on the business end, to say: ''let''s check,'' so I think it is really always somewhat awkward. Unless there''s any tricks anyone has to share, to make it less so.

Thank you for the information! I didn''t think about my diamond needing to be taken out of the ring to inscribe it, though. I don''t think I would want to take a chance on chipping it or anything JUST to have it laser inscribed. Anyway...I didn''t want to convey any kind of extreme paranoia on my part...as I said, the "logical" part of my mind tells me that it''s highly unlikey that any reputable jeweler would risk swapping out my diamond. I''m sure they wouldn''t want to risk their store''s reputation on my diamond. And if it was suspicioned that they did that kind of thing and word got around, they would likely not be in business very long! I was thinking more of the chain stores in the mall. You know, the ones that mostly employ inexperienced college students and often go out of business without warning.

I had a nasty experience with one of those once and would NEVER trust my jewelry to one of them under any circumstances! I''ve heard horror stories about rings being damaged, missing melee stones after cleaning, loose diamonds, prongs being pulled loose, etc...all from inexperienced jewelry store employees trying to be "helpful" and clean someone''s rings while they browse.

The jeweler my husband and I use is a long standing independent family business establishment. They are people we know personally, so I don''t really have a problem. I think it''s just a question of my mind playing tricks on me, or diamond withdrawal or that kind of thing when I have to leave my ring somewhere for any length of time.

While my diamond has no real identifying "beauty marks", it is an unusual shape and size (fat marquise over one carat) that is not really a common stone. I look at it so much that I am positive that I would know at a glance if it wasn''t my stone. It''s just that I''ve read so much about how helpful those identifiying inclusions can be for one''s peace of mind, that I''ve sometimes wished I had one of those!

My setting isn''t really elaborate or anything, either...no pave. Just two prong set side stones on either side of the center stone. I always do loupe my rings after having them cleaned or repaired, just to make sure all the prongs are just so, and that there are no nicks or chips or anything on my stone. I think that''s just a good habit, and I don''t worry one little bit about offending a jeweler. It''s MY ring, and I have every right to loupe it, examine it, and verify that it''s mine and that it''s in good condition before I leave the store with it.

One other thing that did bother me, though. When I took my ring to be straightened out after getting it slammed in the car door, I saw what the jeweler wrote on the repair ticket...she described my ring as a "yellow gold ring with a clear marquise center stone and four clear round accent stones". Is that standard? I asked the jeweler why there was no mention of 14K gold or diamonds, and she said that is how they describe every ring. I think that was another reason I was so unsettled about leaving the ring...that and the fact that it took over a week to straighten the prongs! When I questioned the jeweler about the length of time it was going to take, she said that it had to be done by a goldsmith, and that he only came in on certain days and that I would have to be patient and wait if I "wanted it done right".

I surely can''t be the only person who gets nervous leaving thier diamond with a jeweler, can I?

 

[cutes814]

i use my sharper image ultrasonic cleaner. and sometimes the sparkle sparkle cleaner if i don''t have the 10 mins needed to pop it into the SI cleaner.

you can get a refurbished SI ultrasonic cleaner for $40 and a brand new one for $100. well worth it.

as for letting jewelers clean my ring, i let them do it all the time. i know my ring and diamond well enough to recognize it. plus i love the way they react when they bring my ring back. their eyes are wide open staring at the huge sparkles coming off the ring.