Local jewelers warned me not to use my own loose diamond!!!!

[Bella_Handada]

Hi all,

I just recently bought loose diamond from Enchanted Diamond which I am happy about.

See original post here https://www.pricescope.com/communit...inclusion-worse-than-advertised-photo.210267/

Now, it is time to find my loose diamond a nice setting to go with.

I went to a number of local jewelers (Perth, Australia) and all of them warned me that if I want to use my own diamond they will NOT responsible if the diamond is chipped or cracked during setting . I even asked one of them how many diamonds they have had cracks and he answered "A lot."

What is the probability that this will happen?
Or is it some kind of sales trick so that I will buy the center diamond from them too?
My new diamond is cushion cut. I had my RB diamond set before and did not have any problem.

I am really scared to get my diamond set now.

Any advise will be appreciated.

 

[FourMine]

Re: Local jewelers warned me not to use my own loose diamond

Hello Bella_Handad,

Speaking generally, jewelers may be cautious or unwilling to use someone else's loose diamonds because there is liability associated with it. The key is to trust whoever your jeweler is and to know their work is exceptional and meticulous. Can jeweler's crack or chip stones during the setting process? Absolutely. I'd say it is less common and if a jeweler is telling you they chip "a lot" of diamonds, there's probably some negligence factor associated with that.

Your diamond does not look like it has any cracks, chips or feathers on the edges or girdle area. The odds of a quality, professional jeweler chipping it are not high. However, that also does not mean that the chances are 0%.

I wouldn't call it a sales trick, more of a CYA. It is a jeweler avoiding liability because they don't intimately know the stone. I would say find a jeweler you really trust for quality and go ahead with getting it set. Best of luck!

Thank you,
Anubh

Graduate Diamonds | Four Mine

 

[partgypsy]

Re: Local jewelers warned me not to use my own loose diamond

Your diamond looks beautiful. The jewelers are not saying if you set your diamond it will likely get chipped or broken. They are letting you know, if in the (rare) case that does happen, they are not liable. If it was their own merchandise I suppose they would have to eat the cost, but not if they are setting an outside stone. I would expect unless you are doing some kind of unusual setting (tension, etc) the chance of chipping is low.

If you are worried about this, any way to have personal insurance on the stone while it is being set? It may be worth it for your peace of mind. If not, main thing is to find a reputable jeweler to set it that you trust, has done settings of type you want, etc. I had an emerald I wanted to set and I had all sorts of warnings it may chip and even people refusing to set. So I ended up waiting and having the sellers set it, and it was perfectly fine, even though it was an emerald in a bezel setting.

 

[Bonfire]

Re: Local jewelers warned me not to use my own loose diamond

I'm glad you are happy with your stone, as you had some worries before you received it.
As for local jewelers warning you off about setting it, that seems a bit severe. Unless your stone has a knife edge girdle or is a fancy shape that is more fragile I don't think you should be overly concerned. Yes chips can happen during setting, but it's not a common occurrence. Any jeweler who tells you it is I would not use! Duh! Find a master setter. Good luck!

 

[Bonfire]

Re: Local jewelers warned me not to use my own loose diamond

One other point. I have used many different benches for setting stones and I have never been told this. Also their insurance covered the setting process. You'll find the right jeweler, and please show us the finished ring

 

[Circe]

Re: Local jewelers warned me not to use my own loose diamond

Jeweler's Mutual will insure the stone during the setting process.

 

[denverappraiser]

Re: Local jewelers warned me not to use my own loose diamond

Jeweler's Mutual will insure the stone during the setting process.

Unfortunately I think they won't for Australian residents.

I spent more than a decade as a setter so I think I'm pretty qualified to address this. The reason jewelers don't want to take the liability is the money. A 1% chance of chipping a $10,000 stone realistically would be a $100 break even over time. If they're charging a $100 setting fee, that's ALL of their money. If they sold it, they can make up for it with the profit in the stone but doing it with just a setting fee is a problem. What should they charge? $100 for the labor and $200 for the 'insurance' seems fair enough but people normally choke on that price, especially if the fly-by-night guy down the street is quoting $50 (without the insurance of course).

FWIW, as mentioned above, Jewelers Mutual insures this for clients in the US and Canada. They typically charge about 1% and they throw in a years coverage for all sorts of other perils too. They're making a profit on this deal. That is to say, their actuarials are happy to bet against this with 100:1 odds. As a setter I have to say, my breakage rate was way under that, but I couldn't say I never broke one. My shop had this same policy. If we didn't sell it, we wouldn't take breakage liability.

 

[Circe]

Re: Local jewelers warned me not to use my own loose diamond

Jeweler's Mutual will insure the stone during the setting process.

Unfortunately I think they won't for Australian residents.

I spent more than a decade as a setter so I think I'm pretty qualified to address this. The reason jewelers don't want to take the liability is the money. A 1% chance of chipping a $10,000 stone realistically would be a $100 break even over time. If they're charging a $100 setting fee, that's ALL of their money. If they sold it, they can make up for it with the profit in the stone but doing it with just a setting fee is a problem. What should they charge? $100 for the labor and $200 for the 'insurance' seems fair enough but people normally choke on that price, especially if the fly-by-night guy down the street is quoting $50 (without the insurance of course).

FWIW, as mentioned above, Jewelers Mutual insures this for clients in the US and Canada. They typically charge about 1% and they throw in a years coverage for all sorts of other perils too. They're making a profit on this deal. That is to say, their actuarials are happy to bet against this with 100:1 odds. As a setter I have to say, my breakage rate was way under that, but I couldn't say I never broke one. My shop had this same policy. If we didn't sell it, we wouldn't take breakage liability.

Huh - thanks, Neil, I was unaware of the geographical constraint. Good to know!

 

[WinkHPD]

Re: Local jewelers warned me not to use my own loose diamond

If they are having "a lot" break or chip, go somewhere else!

I have been in the business since 1975. Actually before that, but not dealing in diamonds before 1975. I have had two chips, both on diamonds that had points. (One a pear and one a princess). Of course, I may be forgetting one or more, I just am not remembering any more, and I think I would remember...

It can, and does, happen. It just doesn't happen, "a lot".

Wink