3 Bad Store Experiences - maybe buy Online - How do I do it?

[soontomarry]

I''ve been doing research on engagement rings for a few months, I am planning on asking this Spring. During this time I have visited three local stores and have had bad experiences wtih each. My soon to be fiance and I have picked out the setting, the Verragio 7033, and I was hoping to buy from a local non-chain jewelry store and support the little guy. Well with three bad experiences and my planed asking date quickly approaching, it is time to consider plan B - purchasing both the stone and setting online.

I have a few questions about how this is done. I will be buying the setting from one website and buying the stone from a different pricescope-affiliated website. When this is done, who generally does the mounting - the ring seller or the stone seller? Do I have to specifically find an online seller of rings that accepts stones sent from an online diamond seller or vice-versa? For those who have done this, if adjustments are necessary for size or something else, is it a relatively painless process for sending in the ring?

If there is any other advice for navigating this process from those have done this it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[stone-cold11]

If you are buying verragio, verragio should be setting the stone anyway not the vendor selling you the setting.

 

[Dreamer_D]

The person selling the setting only acts as a middle man, charging for the setting. Your diamond can be sent directly from the diamond vendor or yourself to Verragio for setting. Call to confirm this, but no one else should set or alter a designer setting, other than the design house.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I just noticed that Good Old Gold carries Verragio. Just buy from them, they are a great PS vetterd company, wonderful customer servcie and policies. Keep life simple.

 

[soontomarry]

Thank you for your great replies!

I will be investigating goodoldgold to learn more.


The 3rd seller who I am currently dealing with told me he is a diamond wholesaler. He seemed to be insinuated that he would be doing the setting in his store. Will he instead have diamond sent to Verragio and then it will be sent back to him?

I know that I can''t purchase a stone online and have it sent directly to Verragio for mounting. If I understand this correctly, I must find a middle man who is a authorized seller of Verragio settings so that I can have the stone I choose sent through them to be set by Verragio?

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 2/26/2010 9:59:08 PM
Author: soontomarry
Thank you for your great replies!

I will be investigating goodoldgold to learn more.


The 3rd seller who I am currently dealing with told me he is a diamond wholesaler. He seemed to be insinuated that he would be doing the setting in his store. Will he instead have diamond sent to Verragio and then it will be sent back to him?

I know that I can''t purchase a stone online and have it sent directly to Verragio for mounting. If I understand this correctly, I must find a middle man who is a authorized seller of Verragio settings so that I can have the stone I choose sent through them to be set by Verragio?

I believe this is how it works. But please be careful whom you choose. Some jewelers are jerks when you do not buy the setting from them and will be dishonest. I have read some poor stories of others buying Ritani and Tacori settings for their own diamonds and have some shady dealings. I checked and www.since1910.com is another PS vendor who carries Verragio. If it were me I would go through one of those two to make sure I was dealing with a company that had some accountability on PS and had a vetted rep. Or shop around locally to find someone who is trustworthy. Also, you can call Verragio perhaps to get information about their policy''s straight from the horses mouth.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I missed the part about the "wholesaler". Not liking the sounds of him, I am pretty sure that is not how it should operate. Many/most designer brands have warranties about their settings that are void if anyone other than they themselves work on the setting. Call Verragio to confirm this. Also, if he is selling to the public he is not acting as a wholesaler, he is acting as a retailer. In my experience and reading here on PS, many people who call themselves wholesalers when dealing with the public are using it as an excuse to not operate a completely consumer friendly business with respect to policies, refunds, customer care etc. Buyer beware is my motto in the diamond industry. So are yourself with knowledge before you part with any money at all.

 

[Chase035]

Just buy from Good Old Gold. They''ll walk you through the process of selecting a beautiful stone and have been tried and tested by the pricescope community. They can source you the setting and deliver both to Verragio to be set. They have very customer friendly policies like a lifetime guarantee on most diamonds. You won''t go wrong with this place.

 

[Lula]

Ditto the others on Good Old Gold. You will get the setting you want, the diamond will be set correctly, and you will have better quality diamonds to choose from at a better price.

Like you, when I began my search for a diamond about a year ago, I wanted to buy locally from a non-chain store. Well, after several disappointing (and in several cases outright dishonest) interactions with local vendors, some of whom have been in business for 30+ years, I decided that the thousands of people who visit this forum and purchase online and are happy with their purchases, were enough proof for me that buying online is the best way to get value for your money and be treated fairly -- that is, if you stick with the vendors recommended here.

I bought my ring and setting from Wink of High Performance Diamonds, but before I found my ring through Wink, I contacted several of the online vendors recommended on this forum, including Good Old Gold, and would have been happy to work with them, too.

 

[soontomarry]

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

I have an appointment with the 3rd local jeweler this coming Tuesday. If that doesn''t go well, then I will be buying online.

I have visited this local guy twice already with my soon to be fiance to make sure in person that the setting we both like is the right one for her. Curiously, when I spoke with him over the phone to set up a third appointment to check out diamonds to go with the setting, he refused to give the price the of setting in the three different metal choices. He final broke down and gave me a price range between the three metals, but later in the phone conversation he increased the price range.

He also asked for a range of the 4Cs of stones I would like to see when I come in for a third time, and for each range, he said no, why don''t we go with something lower. Instead of something in the color range of G to F, he said no lets go wit J to H, instead of VS1 or VS2, he said no lets go with I1 to SI1. He also seemed to think the cur range I was looking for was too high. I haven''t discussed my price range with him, is it weird for him to impose these limits or to want to start me out at lower range?

I sent a message to Verragio to see if they require themselves to do the diamond setting to keep from voiding the warranty. If this is true, then what is the point of buying in a store vs. online? What exactly are you getting if the store can''t or doesn''t even do the setting or then possibly seeing the diamond in person?

 

[Lula]

Date: 2/27/2010 7:15:52 PM
Author: soontomarry
Thanks for all the advice everyone!


I have an appointment with the 3rd local jeweler this coming Tuesday. If that doesn't go well, then I will be buying online.


I have visited this local guy twice already with my soon to be fiance to make sure in person that the setting we both like is the right one for her. Curiously, when I spoke with him over the phone to set up a third appointment to check out diamonds to go with the setting, he refused to give the price the of setting in the three different metal choices. He final broke down and gave me a price range between the three metals, but later in the phone conversation he increased the price range.


He also asked for a range of the 4Cs of stones I would like to see when I come in for a third time, and for each range, he said no, why don't we go with something lower. Instead of something in the color range of G to F, he said no lets go wit J to H, instead of VS1 or VS2, he said no lets go with I1 to SI1. He also seemed to think the cur range I was looking for was too high. I haven't discussed my price range with him, is it weird for him to impose these limits or to want to start me out at lower range?


I sent a message to Verragio to see if they require themselves to do the diamond setting to keep from voiding the warranty. If this is true, then what is the point of buying in a store vs. online? What exactly are you getting if the store can't or doesn't even do the setting or then possibly seeing the diamond in person?

He may just be trying to save you money by suggesting you look at lower colors and clarities (looking at the bright side) or he may have lots of stock to move in those colors/clarities, and doesn't want to call in anything special for you (the cynical side).

But be careful that he's showing you GIA or AGS certification diamonds! Make sure you ask if the diamonds come with certifications, and make sure you see the certification and that he shows you the diamond under the scope so that you know the diamond you're looking at is the same one on the certification. You should be able to see the stone's unique "road map" of inclusions under the scope, and the cert with have a graphic representation of those inclusions on a diagram of a diamond.

He may have diamonds that have no certification or diamonds that are certified by other labs, i.e., EGL. Many stores have their own little plastic cards that they show you, that have a photo of a diamond and its carat weight and color and clarity, from AGQA or AQGS or some other combination of letters. Beware! And especially beware if the store says they don't rely on certifications because they do their own grading "in-house." When you question the store owner/sales person, they may try to intimidate you and say, "Well, I've been looking at thousands of diamonds and I know a G from a D." Well, yes, that is probably true; they do know a D from a G, but that doesn't mean they will tell you the truth about a particular stone you're looking at!

Certifications from labs other than AGS and GIA may use looser color/clarity standards and so you may think you're looking at an F, VS2 diamond, but it's really an H, SI2 diamond.

That's not to say diamond from other labs are not beautiful or a good value; many people on this forum have purchased diamonds with EGL and other lab certs and have been very happy with them.

Here's webpage that you tell you more about labs and how the lab grading the stone can affect the price of the stone.

Diamond Grading Labs

And make sure you get things like his return policy, upgrade policy, prices for the setting and setting the stone, in writing! And I'd sure wait to buy anything, if you can, until you let us know what he had to show so you can get some feedback on the prices/quality of what he showed you.

You know, I've just been so disgusted with how many -- not all -- of the bricks and mortar stores operate these days, that I really am a cynic about dealing with them. I pretty much take everything they tell me with a grain of salt. If you found one of the "good guys" out there, great, but better to overly cautious, just in case.

You said he thought the cut range you were asking for was too high. Can I ask what you asked him for? Because, whatever you do, don't compromise on cut! If you're trying to stay in a budget, compromise on color and clarity before you compromise on cut! Game over with this guy if he tries to get you to buy a steep/deep, poorly cut stone. Walk away.

And if you need some help from us in how to determine what a steep-deep is or other aspects of cut, just ask! ETA: I'm talking about round brilliant diamonds in this post. For other shapes, the grading is different.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 2/27/2010 7:15:52 PM
Author: soontomarry
Thanks for all the advice everyone!

I have an appointment with the 3rd local jeweler this coming Tuesday. If that doesn''t go well, then I will be buying online.

I have visited this local guy twice already with my soon to be fiance to make sure in person that the setting we both like is the right one for her. Curiously, when I spoke with him over the phone to set up a third appointment to check out diamonds to go with the setting, he refused to give the price the of setting in the three different metal choices. He final broke down and gave me a price range between the three metals, but later in the phone conversation he increased the price range.


I sent a message to Verragio to see if they require themselves to do the diamond setting to keep from voiding the warranty. If this is true, then what is the point of buying in a store vs. online? What exactly are you getting if the store can''t or doesn''t even do the setting or then possibly seeing the diamond in person?

I think he makes a bigger commission on those lower ranges, it is the only reason why I can think he would not want you to buy a more expensive diamond with higher specs.

He sounds like a tool from what you describe. Sorry!