On a whim I went into Macy''s to look at their fine jewelry. I''m well educated on diamonds so naturally I''m leary of department store diamonds. Anyway, Macy''s has these diamonds that it labels "Super Buys". The diamonds that I looked at, "Super Buys", were accompanied by an I.G.I. cartification. I am also aware of the I.G.I. certs not being viewed as well as AGS and GIA. Anyway, the salesperson told me that these diamonds were originally priced at $5200. They were discounted to $2599.99. The I.G.I. cert said that they were graded .5 carats each, 1 carat total, 18 Carat white gold baskets, E-F in color, SI2/I1 in clarity, good cut and good polish. The cert listed no depth and table %. Anyway, sitting on the counter was a sign that said, 40% off + additional 10% off on all diamond jewelry. In bold Red Letters it said "EXCLUDES SUPER BUYS". I knew that the final sales price was supposed to be $2599.99. This price is comparable to other mall jewelers, and even comparable to one of the local repuitable jewelers that I''ve recently visited. THe jewelers price was for G, SI1, however.
I knew that the further discounts did not apply, but the salesperson proceeded to give me 40% off plus the additional 10% off, bringing the pair to $1403 before tax. I could not believe it. I looked at the diamonds through my loupe...one looked like an SI2 in clarity, the other an I1. I had to take the certs word for it on the color, but they were definately very clear. The I1, I could only see one small inclusion with the naked eye face up, and I only saw it after looking at it through the loupe was I able to see without the loupe. The SI2 was completely eye clean table up, from the side view only one small inclusion was visible...it was like a small bubble. Anyway, I knew that the price was far lower than it sould have been even for a department store certed I.G.I. pair of studs.
The salesperson was so happy that she was going to make a sale for $1509 with tax that she said, this is only my first week and I''m happy to be your salesperson today. She had to have a woman come down from the upstairs corporate office to authorize the sale and she had to have another jewelry sales associate help her out to complete the sale. Not one of them realized that $1300 dollar error that the new salesperson was making. It is a question of ethics, but the made the error, so I just kind of went along with it. So I bought them for my wife for Christmas.
I went back a couple of days later to make a payment to my account and asked if I could exchange the studs that I bought for the other pair that they had, since I could locate the one small inclusion. There was a different salesperson this time. The sales slip said 30 days exchange or return. She asked for the slip and I gave it to her nad she said, you could not have possibly purchased the "Super Buys" since they are not included in this discount. I pulled out my studs and told her that the girl before had give me the discounts. She freaked out and told me that the girl had made a $1300.00 mistake that that she could only exchange them if I paid the difference in price. She was extremely upset and I did not want to draw attention to myself so I just made, my payment, decided that for $1300.00 extra I could live with the one small inclusion that I can only see if I hold the diamond directly up to my face, and got the heck out of there. The inclusion is also right next to one of the prongs and without knowing that it is there, I doubt that anyone will ever notice it unles I tell them where it is and have them stick they eye up to my wife''s ear. So, that''s my story...I would not usually buy diamonds from Macy''s, and I know that it can be viewed as unethical that I took advantage of the offer knowing that the salesperson made a $1300 mistake.
I searched pricescope prices and even the loose diamonds without the 18k baskets are arount $1000 to $1200 each for that color and clarity....so did I get a crazy deal, and did I get them below cost? It seems that I may have, but I would like some objective opinions. Also, they are very sparkly..good light return...not a lot of fire, but definately nice stones considering the color...clarity...and um..the price. Thanks.
I knew that the further discounts did not apply, but the salesperson proceeded to give me 40% off plus the additional 10% off, bringing the pair to $1403 before tax. I could not believe it. I looked at the diamonds through my loupe...one looked like an SI2 in clarity, the other an I1. I had to take the certs word for it on the color, but they were definately very clear. The I1, I could only see one small inclusion with the naked eye face up, and I only saw it after looking at it through the loupe was I able to see without the loupe. The SI2 was completely eye clean table up, from the side view only one small inclusion was visible...it was like a small bubble. Anyway, I knew that the price was far lower than it sould have been even for a department store certed I.G.I. pair of studs.
The salesperson was so happy that she was going to make a sale for $1509 with tax that she said, this is only my first week and I''m happy to be your salesperson today. She had to have a woman come down from the upstairs corporate office to authorize the sale and she had to have another jewelry sales associate help her out to complete the sale. Not one of them realized that $1300 dollar error that the new salesperson was making. It is a question of ethics, but the made the error, so I just kind of went along with it. So I bought them for my wife for Christmas.
I went back a couple of days later to make a payment to my account and asked if I could exchange the studs that I bought for the other pair that they had, since I could locate the one small inclusion. There was a different salesperson this time. The sales slip said 30 days exchange or return. She asked for the slip and I gave it to her nad she said, you could not have possibly purchased the "Super Buys" since they are not included in this discount. I pulled out my studs and told her that the girl before had give me the discounts. She freaked out and told me that the girl had made a $1300.00 mistake that that she could only exchange them if I paid the difference in price. She was extremely upset and I did not want to draw attention to myself so I just made, my payment, decided that for $1300.00 extra I could live with the one small inclusion that I can only see if I hold the diamond directly up to my face, and got the heck out of there. The inclusion is also right next to one of the prongs and without knowing that it is there, I doubt that anyone will ever notice it unles I tell them where it is and have them stick they eye up to my wife''s ear. So, that''s my story...I would not usually buy diamonds from Macy''s, and I know that it can be viewed as unethical that I took advantage of the offer knowing that the salesperson made a $1300 mistake.
I searched pricescope prices and even the loose diamonds without the 18k baskets are arount $1000 to $1200 each for that color and clarity....so did I get a crazy deal, and did I get them below cost? It seems that I may have, but I would like some objective opinions. Also, they are very sparkly..good light return...not a lot of fire, but definately nice stones considering the color...clarity...and um..the price. Thanks.