5 Stone Ring Appraisal Dilemma

[gardenia0619]

Hello all,

I'm a new PS member and this is my first post, but I've been lurking the site for a while now. After seeing some of the beautiful 5 stone rings in the 5 stone thread, I ordered one from a vendor that a lot of PSers have used. I had the ring appraised today and while the appraiser said I got a very good deal for what I paid, the diamonds are apparently not what I asked for.

What I thought purchased was a 5 stone with 45 pointers with excellent cut, FG color and SI (eyeclean) clarity. The appraiser said the diamonds were an I color and SI1-SI2 clarity, good cut. They are uncerted stones. The ring is very sparkly and beautiful, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed. What should I do and how do I bring this up to the vendor? They were very helpful and patient during the purchasing process and I really do love the ring, but I'm not sure how I feel about it given this information.

 

[ruby59]

Did you bring it to a 3rd party independent appraiser - one who does not sell jewelry, so there would be no conflict of interest?

If so, I would contact the jeweler and voice your concerns. Mistakes do happen. And because word of mouth is so important here, PS vendors are very motivated to make things right for a satisfied buyer.

 

[gardenia0619]

Hi Ruby, yes, I did bring it to an independent appraiser that doesn't sell jewelry. She mentioned that given the price I paid for the ring, it would be very difficult to get FG colored stones with the cut/clarity as requested.

I'm just wondering if others have experienced something like this with other PS vendors and what the outcome was?

 

[orbaya]

Hi Ruby, yes, I did bring it to an independent appraiser that doesn't sell jewelry. She mentioned that given the price I paid for the ring, it would be very difficult to get FG colored stones with the cut/clarity as requested.

I'm just wondering if others have experienced something like this with other PS vendors and what the outcome was?

Yes it has happened here before. The ones that I recall are all from the same vendor. I wonder if it's the same one you used.

 

[gardenia0619]

Hi Orbaya,

The vendor I used assured me they would be Pricescope quality stones and I've seen so many raves for them on here. That would be disappointing if it would be the same vendor that others have had issues with.

 

[denverappraiser]

Hi Ruby, yes, I did bring it to an independent appraiser that doesn't sell jewelry. She mentioned that given the price I paid for the ring, it would be very difficult to get FG colored stones with the cut/clarity as requested.

I'm just wondering if others have experienced something like this with other PS vendors and what the outcome was?

Difficult is not the standard here. First, bring it up with the appraiser and make sure she stands by her conclusions and that it's not something as simple as a data entry or typing error. Assuming not, next bring it up with the seller. If the ring is wrong, they should make it right, regardless of whether or not it's difficult. If the appraiser is wrong, they can bring it up with her. If they can't come to an agreement, you have three options. Get a refund and move on somewhere else, hire a different appraiser, or just be happy. That's your call. If you go the route of a different appraiser, and the new appraiser agrees with the first, ask the seller to cover the appraisal fees AND issue a refund. Also if you decide to use a second appraiser to adjudicate this, make sure they're YOUR choice, not a lackey for the seller and not a competitive jeweler.

 

[JaneSmith]

You have received excellent advice, and I really do hope you come back with updates. How did you feel about the ring before the appraisal?
I'm pretty sure I know which vendor you bought from, and I'm quite interested to see how this goes for you.
Come back for support and advice any time!

 

[gardenia0619]

Hello denverappraiser,

Thank you for the advice. Assuming the vendor disagrees with my appraiser's findings and wants a second opinion, would I be responsible for this second appraiser's fee or is this something I should expect the vendor to pay for?

 

[gardenia0619]

Thank you, JaneSmith!

I was really happy with the ring when I received it. It's very sparkly and eyeclean to me. I shopped around and received quotes from other vendors frequently mentioned on PS, and this one seemed to offer me the best price by far.

In my communication with the vendor through email and phone, I mentioned how I wanted F/G diamonds on several occasions, and this was even documented in my emails to them, as well as on the receipt and on the "appraisal" they gave me with the ring. I'm hoping it was an honest mistake. I am contacting the vendor first thing on Monday and will give an update on what happens.

 

[denverappraiser]

Hello denverappraiser,

Thank you for the advice. Assuming the vendor disagrees with my appraiser's findings and wants a second opinion, would I be responsible for this second appraiser's fee or is this something I should expect the vendor to pay for?

You should pay. You're the client. It's entirely possible that the dealer is innocent of ANY wrongdoing here by the way. If it turns out that the appraisers agree that there's a problem, I would ask them to refund at least one of the appraisers fees in addition to either fixing the problem or refunding the whole deal. Whether or not they do this is problematic. This is certainly outside the return policy of every dealer I know of and would be done strictly as a matter of keeping the peace and correcting an error. Obviously, if they've done nothing wrong then it's unreasonable to ask them to pay.

 

[DelsFan]

I'm a bit confused. If a dealer says they are selling me 5 diamonds of F/G color and instead he gives me I color diamonds, refunding my money would be outside his return policy? I guess, if he is indeed a crook (which has not been ascertained) then his return policy might be "let the buyer beware"?

I am/was about to spend 5 figures on some sort of eternity band from one of the three or four vendors who seem to have some visibility here; now I'm not sure which ones to trust and which one to avoid!

Certainly I'd like to know how this situations gets resolved, if it does at all !

 

[Dancing Fire]

Hello all,

I'm a new PS member and this is my first post, but I've been lurking the site for a while now. After seeing some of the beautiful 5 stone rings in the 5 stone thread, I ordered one from a vendor that a lot of PSers have used. I had the ring appraised today and while the appraiser said I got a very good deal for what I paid, the diamonds are apparently not what I asked for.

What I thought purchased was a 5 stone with 45 pointers with excellent cut, FG color and SI (eyeclean) clarity. The appraiser said the diamonds were an I color and SI1-SI2 clarity, good cut. They are uncerted stones. The ring is very sparkly and beautiful, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed. What should I do and how do I bring this up to the vendor? They were very helpful and patient during the purchasing process and I really do love the ring, but I'm not sure how I feel about it given this information.

If i was buying 45 pointers I'd go with GIA/AGS graded stones.

 

[VRBeauty]

I'm a bit confused. If a dealer says they are selling me 5 diamonds of F/G color and instead he gives me I color diamonds, refunding my money would be outside his return policy? I guess, if he is indeed a crook (which has not been ascertained) then his return policy might be "let the buyer beware"?

I am/was about to spend 5 figures on some sort of eternity band from one of the three or four vendors who seem to have some visibility here; now I'm not sure which ones to trust and which one to avoid!

Certainly I'd like to know how this situations gets resolved, if it does at all !

I think Denver Appraiser was referring to the cost of the appraisal being outside of the return policy.

 

[denverappraiser]

I'm referring to who is responsible for the appraiser's fee. Usually this isn't part of a jeweler's refund policy but they may be willing to negotiate about it.

I don't have a clue what their return policy is but it sounds like they will be happy (well probably not all that happy but they'll agree) to give you a refund within some reasonable amount of time if you have a problem. The issue is deciding whether or not you have a problem.

The evidence on the table is that their appraiser says one thing and your guy says another. We don't know which, if either, is correct and you get to decide who to believe. It's YOUR call. That's why you want the arbiter to be YOUR guy, not theirs. One option is to just pick. Keep it and be happy or send it back and be happy as you wish. What I'm recommending against is letting them pick another appraiser. Why? Because if the new guy agrees with them you still have the same problem. It doesn't make them wrong any more than that we know they're wrong now but there's still the conflict of interest present that questions their conclusions. The goal here is that you need to be happy with your purchase.

 

[Laila619]

I'm sorry, that's pretty disappointing.

 

[gardenia0619]

Hello all,

As an update to this situation, I brought up the issue with the vendor and while they stated the stones were all FG color, they looked at the parcel from which my diamonds came from and mentioned that there could have been a few that were more like H color, but certainly not I. They asked me if my appraiser had stated whether all the diamonds were I color or just a few. I brought the ring back to the appraiser and she checked the ring again, and stated that in her opinion, 3/5 diamonds were HI color.

I contacted the vendor again and they offered to refund me, replace the diamonds, or remake the ring completely. They were very friendly and understanding about this, and didn't give me any problems. They wanted to make sure I was completely satisfied with my purchase, so I exchanged the ring for store credit and am currently in the process of working with them in finding a GIA loose stone to set in a different ring setting. I feel that getting a graded stone will put my mind at ease in terms of what I'm paying for.

I appreciated that they wanted to make me happy, so I felt good about this resolution and working with them on making things right. There is no doubt that the original ring they made for me was very beautiful. Beyond the color issue, I had no other issues regarding cut/clarity of the stones or the setting, but I just wanted to make sure I received what I paid for.

I will mention that after they received the ring, they disagreed with my appraiser's findings that 3/5 diamonds were not FG, but I suppose that is a difference of opinion between the vendor and my appraiser.

 

[SB621]

I can see being diappointed but then again I always feel there is a reason when 1 vendor quote is way below others for the same item.

I would contact the vendor and see what they say. Let them give you options and then decide from there. If you love the band then keep it. Even if it is now what you initally asked for as long as you love it that is all that matters. However if it is no longer mind clean to you then return it or allow the company to remake it. Goodluck!