jeweler chipped my diamond- what are my rights?

[minykim1]

My fiance gave me a beautiful 1.14 carat certified engagement ring. We were recommended to a local small jeweler to resize and change the band. We took it there to the local jeweler and the owner talked us into remounting the diamond for a small charge b/c he sees that it is not straight and that it would only take 30 minutes! We were devastated when we walked in half an hour later and he admitted to chipping our diamond.

This jeweler threw a fit and totally blamed the chipping on the poor quality of our ring. He had a copy of our resizing certificate where he saw what my fiance had paid for the ring and offered us that amount only OR to keep our chipped diamond and he offered us half of what we had paid for but the value of our ring is appraised at more than triple of what we paid. We were so frustrated that we took the chipped diamond and his check and left the store.

We went to several diamond jewelers the next day for their opinion.

Here is what we learned: Our diamond is almost worthless due to the chip and that if we did have it recut it that it would costs us somewhere from $500-600. and bring the 1 carat down to half. We were told that most Jewelers when at fault would replace a chipped diamond with an diamond from their store of equal value.

I went back to the jeweler who had chipped our diamond with his check and our diamond ring and demanded that he should replace our ring with another diamond ring of equal value. Still visibly more upset than us- He finally agreed to giving us another diamond ring which he claimed was more valuable than our diamond ring and that we must give him not only his check and our chipped diamond ring back to him but we must give him $500.00 more b/c his "uncertified" diamond had more value. Before agreeing to anything else- we asked him if we could get his ring appraised first before making the exchange, he not only agreed but closed his business and came along. To our disbelief, the appraiser said the ring he tried to offer us was a "Moissanite" on yellow gold that was worth no more than $85.

The jeweler took his moissanite and drove off angry at us once again.

We still have his check and our now worthless ring. What are our rights? We''ve contacted lawyers but half of them hung up on us. Could anyone please give me some advice as to how to handle this situation. Are we only entitled to what we paid for or the full value of our ring? Small claims court? Should we have involved the police when he tried to give us a fake diamond ring?

I would appreciate any advice. Thank you.

miny

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

moissanite!!!!!

I''d hit him with both barrels

 

[reena]

that's terrible. i'm sorry to hear that. i assume that the ring was not insured?

as for what you should do: i agree with feydakin--seems to me that the best deal would be to take his offer to give you what you paid for the ring. you obviously don't want him to replace it after the moissanite situation, and to be honest, refunding you the full purchase price seems fair of the jeweler to me. IMO there's no way that you're going to get the appraisal value.

good luck.

 

[Jennifer5973]

Whaaaaaaaaaat? Moissanite? FRAUD, anyone? My jaw is hanging open.

Well, his behavior is totally unacceptable--and may even be illegal. I'd go see the police-especially if you're in a small town...they may be more sympathetic. I am not a lawyer but this sounds criminal to me...

In terms of civil action, I have taken people to small claims court--and won. it's a long, pain-in-the-a** process but it can get you results. Do you have any friends who are attorneys? Think hard-sometimes, all it takes is a letter from a lawyer to scare pple straight.

In the meantime, what about the BBB and any other organization in your area? The Chamber of Commerce? DO you have a local news show that does a "Shame on You" segment where ripped off consumers are n TV and the news program goes after the vendor? CBS does this in the NYC area...and I know I've seen similar segments acorss the country--hey--it's worth a try. He was so trying to take advantage of you.

I know none of this will ease your heartache but get calm--then get even.

 

[Patty]

What did the jeweler say when the appraiser said that the stone was moissanite? Did he deny it?

 

[reena]

i LOVE shame on you! seriously, jenn''s right--you totally should report the jerk for the moissanite stunt. (however, if you''re thinking about trying to take him up on that offer of paying you the full purchase price, you may want to get the check in hand first.)

 

[cascadejim]

take the check, cash it and move on. Courts would not find in favor of an appraised value over an out of pocket value, unless it had appreciated a great deal due to some market conditions or period of time. Just my personal opinion, but if lawyers aren''t listening it means there''s no case.

 

[Jennifer5973]

Date: 12/2/2004 10:32:29 PM
Author: cascadejim
take the check, cash it and move on. Courts would not find in favor of an appraised value over an out of pocket value, unless it had appreciated a great deal due to some market conditions or period of time. Just my personal opinion, but if lawyers aren''t listening it means there''s no case.

I just re-read the original post--did he give you the full amount you paid for the ring or just half? Somehow, I thought I read it was half...? (the rage I was feeling at the moissanite stunt must have blinded me

)

If he gave you back what your fiance paid, then cascadejim is probably right--in the eyes of the law, the jeweler made full restitution and you are best served by just moving on and buying another ring.

I would,, though, report the moissanite thing to the BBB and any local organization. Becasue you were savvy enough to get it appraised, it ended up not being a nig deal ofor you but God only knows how many moissanites he has/is passing off to others as diamonds.

 

[blueroses]

I''m amazed he so willingly went with you to the appraiser to have his fraud pointed out "red handed" so to speak....what was he thinking?

I say take the money--and your runined ring--and run....IF and ONLY if he is giving you a check for the full value of what you paid. (I agree that chasing him for any more than that probably will be fruitless.) If he only gave you a 1/2 value check, inform him that you''ve already contacted your attorney and your next call will be to the cops for fraud/deceptive practice/etc. Hell you should call the police anyway!! If he did this to you, he''s done it to others.

I just had an awful thought, by the way....are you sure he chipped YOUR stone? Is it possible he is keeping your stone and re-mounted an already chipped one in there...the moissanite incident speaks volumes and I wouldn''t put it past him.

Call his bluff. And DEFINITELY report him to the BBB and any other public shaming mechanism (tv, etc!!)

Oh, and document everything!!

 

[strmrdr]

If you get a check out of him take it to the bank its drawn on and cash it right away.
This does several things:
Helps protect you from a bad check.
helps prevent a stop payment.
You get your cash without having to worry about the above.

 

[hey joey]

PLEASE TELL US WHAT GRADE AND SHAPE THE DIAMOND IS.

 

[homesweethome]

Hello, this experience has been the most horrible. The ring is 1.14 round, G color, I1, certified by IGI for 6500. Paid 2000 for it, thought i got a good deal but dude chipped it. Tried to make me feel sorry for him saying he has to feed his kids but what does that have to do with. Trying to get a comparable certified ring but who knows..what''s fair?

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

edit:

How much did he charge for the job? An I1 is relatively easy stone to break compared with less included stones, which means the setter must take extra care because of possible fractures, seen and unseen. The lower graded stones are often crumbly.

But if a stone breaks somebody looses and that person should not be you, which is obvious to everybody. That is why I asked how much you paid. We covered this subject in a thread about setters charging $100 p/stone. The point is, the setter needs to charge enough, because when a stone chips - he should appologetically get it right.

This guy is clearly one of dodgy operators in the wrong job who make a living taking risks and not acxcepting responsibilty when things go wrong.
Dodgy jewellery is about incompetence and lack of skill, so I don't think you will find many people here (out of the thousands who visit this site) with his checkered past. I am glad your here, and I hope the motivated and honest people can reset your view of the jewellery world.

About the cheque - Cash it at his bank like strmrdr said, but don't hold back on taking any legal action by thinking the cheque will be honered. You'd be surprised how dishonest some people can be, especially when they are acting angry and how quickly they will change their nature when you apply a little force. Don't give this sucker an even break.

People like him never win, they count on you to let them.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 12/3/2004 3:45:56 AM
Author: homesweethome
Hello, this experience has been the most horrible. The ring is 1.14 round, G color, I1, certified by IGI for 6500. Paid 2000 for it, thought i got a good deal but dude chipped it. Tried to make me feel sorry for him saying he has to feed his kids but what does that have to do with. Trying to get a comparable certified ring but who knows..what''s fair?

ok lets break this down...
First off the 6500 number is BS it never was and likely wont be worth that much in the next 15 years.
The replacement value on the diamond is someplace around the $2000 point + price increases since you got it + tax = fair settlement.
How long ago did you get it?

Next: did the low clarity of your diamond contribute to it chipping?
yes likely it did.
But there are millions of i1 diamonds safetly set each year.
Does this clear him: unless he told you in writing he wasnt responsible for a chipped stone then no it doesnt.

Get him up to $2200 or so and take the money and get on with your life.

 

[diamondlil]

Minykim1,
I''m so sorry that this happened to you. Personally, I am one who tries to avoid conflict in any way I can. My advice for what it''s worth:

First, since the jeweler offered you the full amount you paid for the diamond, I would take it and start over. You''ve lost nothing but your time, and it saves you some serious aggravation at this point.

Second, after the check has cleared, I would certainly report him to the BBB for the moissanite stunt. That is just unethical, and a professional who would even try to pull a stunt like that deserves the big black mark on his reputation.

As awful as your situation is, it seem pretty straightfoward to me. Take the money and begin again. Just my 2 cents.

DiamondLil

 

[Daniela]

Date: 12/3/2004 6:21:50 AM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 12/3/2004 3:45:56 AM

Author: homesweethome

Hello, this experience has been the most horrible. The ring is 1.14 round, G color, I1, certified by IGI for 6500. Paid 2000 for it, thought i got a good deal but dude chipped it. Tried to make me feel sorry for him saying he has to feed his kids but what does that have to do with. Trying to get a comparable certified ring but who knows..what''s fair?

ok lets break this down...

First off the 6500 number is BS it never was and likely wont be worth that much in the next 15 years.

The replacement value on the diamond is someplace around the $2000 point + price increases since you got it + tax = fair settlement.

How long ago did you get it?


Next: did the low clarity of your diamond contribute to it chipping?

yes likely it did.

But there are millions of i1 diamonds safetly set each year.

Does this clear him: unless he told you in writing he wasnt responsible for a chipped stone then no it doesnt.


Get him up to $2200 or so and take the money and get on with your life.

I totally agree with Storm one hundred percent. First of all, your diamond was absolutely not worth $6000, so forget about that. It''s a grossly inflated appraisal price. And Storm''s other post also hits the nail on the head--cash the cheque right away (especially if it''s for the amount you paid--this is absolutely all you can, and should, hope for). Don''t have any delusions about the diamond having been worth more than it is.

And lastly, what a jerk for trying to pass off a moissanite for a diamond! You really should report him or something. That''s extremely unethical.

 

[Jennifer5973]

Date: 12/3/2004 6:58:47 AM
Author: Daniela

Date: 12/3/2004 6:21:50 AM
Author: strmrdr

And lastly, what a jerk for trying to pass off a moissanite for a diamond! You really should report him or something. That''s extremely unethical.

It''s really illegal. Had they not gone to the appraiser and just left with it, it definitely would be a crime of some sort. The lines are fuzzy b/c it was attempted fraud.

But this incident is the most shocking detail of the story and like some one aptly pointed out above, who knows what happened since this person is obviously unethical to say the least. I think you must report the Moissanite thing to the BBB and any other commerce group in your area, regardless of your personal decision.

Good luck to you as you continue to sort this out.

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

see if you can find a classfied - wanted ''used car salesman'' and give that to him.

Appologies to any used car sales people

 

[denverappraiser]

Minykim1,

Incredible. There are several things here. I’ll try to help you sort through. Storm gave pretty good advise above.

1) Firstly, the liability of the jeweler is to restore you to your full pre-damage condition. His offer to refund the purchase price may be reasonably close to that. Here is an example of an EGL 1.19 G-I1 Princess for $2,154. Depending on what kind of damage was done to the mounting, a competent jeweler should be able to restore the setting to pre loss condition for less than $100. It sounds like his offer is in this ballpark. The $6,500 number is irrelevant. That is describing a hypothetical situation where a similar stone is purchased at very costly store. Even if this store actually existed, and even if they could actually get some customers, their prices aren’t applicable to the situation at hand.

2) Recutting can be kind of a complicated business and it shouldn’t be necessary for you to get involved in it unless you choose to do so because of an emotional attachment to that particular diamond. It is NOT worthless but there is a substantial drop in value. Whoever shells out the money to buy you a new stone will be entitled to the old one. They can, and will, get it recut and sell it back into the market as something else in order to recover some of their money. This is fair and reasonable and is known as the ‘salvage’. If you are going to keep the salvage, you are entitled to less money.

3) Some of the numbers are fishy. A 1.14ct Moissonite costs a fair amount more than $85. A recut 1.14 ending up 0.50 is a lot of damage. Chip wouldn’t be the chosen word. Crushed would be the word. Did you get a full damage report or did the appraiser just ID the stone? By the way, who paid the appraiser? Was the report in writing?
4) The jeweler has clearly already accepted responsibility by making an offer at all. The contribution caused by the stones clarity may be academically interesting but it doesn’t really matter. If he agreed to do the job and didn’t give you a disclaimer about breakage risk, he’s on the hook. He obviously knows this and blaming it on the clarity is something of a face saving gesture. Fine. There’s no point in fighting this, you’ve already won on this point.

5) Most insurance companies will cover this kind of thing and they will get it out of the jeweler. Go this route with caution. There is probably a deductible associated with the policy and it will mess up your claims history. Incidentally, the company will either keep the salvage or charge you for it.

6) Cashing the check will not change your rights unless there is a contract on the back that says that you have agree that this is full restitution. Think of it as a down payment.

I hope this helped, Best of luck with it.

Neil Beaty, GG ISA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[reena]

regarding cashing the check:

my understanding is that the jeweler offered you two options. 1) a check for the amount you paid for the ring, and he keeps the chipped stone, or 2) a check for half the amount you paid, and you keep the chipped stone. IMO both choices he gave you were fair. i believe you said that you chose option 2.

if that''s the case, and IF you have changed your mind and want to go back to him and get the full purchase price instead, do not cash the check. if you do cash the check, at least from a legal standpoint there is a danger that you will no longer be entitled to receive the full purchase price as originally offered. this is a principle of contract law known as "accord and satisfaction". the idea is that if party A owes party B a certain sum of money but the parties are in dispute as to the proper amount, and party A says, how about i give you a check for $x and that will resolve this (the accord), and party B then cashes the check (the satisfaction), in most cases party B will be deemed to have accepted party A''s offer and party A''s obligation to party B will be legally discharged. so be careful about that.

 

[fire&ice]

Am I the only one who thinks none of this adds up?

A chip that would bring a 1.14 diamond down to .50? The jeweler willingly goes to an appraiser with a fake stone? 6000 appraisal value sought? A jeweler wily nilly wanting to reset an I1?

 

[belle]

Date: 12/3/2004 10

3:50 AM
Author: fire&ice

Am I the only one who thinks none of this adds up?

A chip that would bring a 1.14 diamond down to .50? The jeweler willingly goes to an appraiser with a fake stone? 6000 appraisal value sought? A jeweler wily nilly wanting to reset an I1?

*ditto

 

[fortheloveofdiamonds]

Date: 12/3/2004 10

3:50 AM
Author: fire&ice

Am I the only one who thinks none of this adds up?

A chip that would bring a 1.14 diamond down to .50? The jeweler willingly goes to an appraiser with a fake stone? 6000 appraisal value sought? A jeweler wily nilly wanting to reset an I1?

ditto!

 

[PhillipSchmidt]

I disagree,

When a diamond breaks a whole shard comes off. No amount of skill can account for that it just happens with the slighest touch to the wrong stone. Whats left is solid face the whole way down the stone, so 50pt is about right. It has happened to me and most other jewellers, if they care to admit. Setting an I1 is not so bad. It is more likely to break or chip, but whole fractures coming off can happen to any stone. It is so rare, I don''t know how more prone an I1 is. The whole thing about the moisenite is odd. I think he suspected but care. He doesn''t seem too responsible, but I know myself when such things occur. I don''t get angry, but it takes a while to suck in the fact the whole weeks profit is gone, but I account for that, so life goes on. A lot of jewellers are permanently angry. It is a direct affect of pretending costly stuff-ups don''t occur and not taking precautions against risks.

I doubt he is very good and having trouble in his trade. He should send his work out and not try to be so cheap.

I am not much of a conspiracy theorist. I already decided nobody is up to much good.

 

[denverappraiser]

Unfortunately it's not as goofy as it sounds.

Customers have inflated valuations all the time. A $2000 diamond accompanied by a document that says it's worth $7000 is a regular occurrence. It happens on a daily basis at stores and websites throughout the country. Look at the supposed values presented on ebay. Jewelry is routinely sold for 5% of it’s alleged worth.

We don’t know the source of the comment that the broken 1.14 will result in a 0.50. Hopefully this was supplied by a competent independent appraiser but there is a decent chance that it came from someone who was trying to buy the stone. It sounds like this appraisal session was a pretty casual meeting in which the appraiser made some off hand remarks that are now being taken very seriously. Miny, can you tell us more about this piece of information? Where did you get it?

I agree with Fey and Dave. Surely the jeweler didn’t know it was moissonite. Nobody is that stupid. By the way, are we sure that this appraiser was right? Did he put it in writing and sign his name to it?

It’s very possible that the jeweler was a fool to accept the job without a disclaimer and now its going to cost him. He’s trying to get out of this as cheaply as possible and he feels like he is a victim here because it wasn’t ‘his fault’. Tough cookies. In the case of the moissonite fiasco, it’s quite possible that he is the victim of someone else’s scam. This is unfortunate but it doesn’t have anything to do with Miny. He should count himself as lucky that Miny helped him figure it out before he sold it to someone as a diamond!

It sounds like the jeweler isn’t handling this very well but basically both of his offers seem pretty reasonable and Miny’s hope for a $6900 check is not.

Neil Beaty, GG ISA
Indepdent Appraisals in Denver

 

[minykim1]

Patty and others-

The appraisser at Windsor was clearly aware of our delicate situation and had offer to appraise the ring for free to help us resolve this matter. I think the appraisser was shocked as the rest of us b/c he actually called another appraisser to confirm and then both told the jeweler his appraissal of his ring behind closed doors then called us in later to advice us not to consider the ring for a trade and that it was moissanite.

The jeweler that chipped our ring has been in business for over 26 years so I would assume that an "experienced" jeweler could tell a genuine diamond from a moissanite? I don''t know. Why he came along to the appraissal beats me? One thing that did gave him away is that he brought with him a 2nd diamond ring for exchange which we turned down immediately.

Another jeweler also pointed out that if he is as experience as he claims to be should have taken extra precautions before even considering taking a diamond out of it''s setting and if my diamond was really that bad of a quality as he claimed it was-There is also a stress factor in a diamond that could been there long before when it was originally set. I am sure the jeweler didn''t mean to chip our diamond but the moissanite really hurt me.

I am no diamond expert- I am just a girl who was happy to have received a diamond engagement ring from the man that I love even if it is of poor quality that I''ve had to hear over and over again. This really sucks.

Thank you all for your advice and support.

 

[minykim1]

I am not expecting a check from him in the full value- my fiance who paid for the ring just wants him to replace the ring and it is hard trying to find a similar ring for the price that we paid. But say the jeweler didn''t know the price we paid for the ring- Say we got the ring free? Are we then entitled to no money? What business is it of his what we paid for it- he broke it so therefore he should replace it with another ring of the same value. $2,000 for G, I1 1.14 carat.. was that a good deal?

Like I said- I am no diamond expert- I just want to wear one.

 

[reena]

well, as others have said, legally speaking you should be entitled to receive the value of what you lost. but, as others have also said, for a variety of reasons the $6000 appraisal amount is probably much higher than the actual fair value of your ring.

can you go back to him, give him the chipped stone, and take him up on his offer for a check in the amount of $2000 (ie, what you paid)? i think that is fair of the jeweler and your best bet.

 

[Diamondsbybree]

WOW, I am just floored after reading this. I feel terrible for you. I would accept the money for the amount of which you originally paid for the stone and buy another stone to replace it. And never go back to his store again.
Good luck and keep us posted on the outcome.

 

[minykim1]

Isn''t it fair to say that we want him to replace our diamond with a diamond of the same color, clarity, and carat. that is what I meant by the value not $6,500. Think we''re going to take his offer so we can go on with our lives.

Will keep you posted.

Thank you all.