Advice needed on cloudy diamond...

[Rubymal]

Wow - this is so sad. So they are making you stick with their upgrade policy and then make you achieve the upgrade policy requirements by overpricing their crappy “upgrades.” And the jeweller is seriously telling you that you can’t see the certificate or even have it after the upgrade? Is he a member of BBB? A jewellers association? Because I would seriously complain.

The law is “buyer beware,” but if he refuses to disclose relevant information, he makes it impossible for you to be a diligent buyer. This means that legally he may not be required to do anything about the original purchase, but it’s not ok for him to prevent you from knowing what you are getting as an upgrade.

I hope that there is some organization to which you can complain and that it will result in a good outcome - as in a full refund of the diamond cost or a GIA/AGS graded diamond that you like. You may not have any legal recourse with the original purchase, but I think you have a right to complain about his lack of disclosure when it comes to the upgrade.

I’m really sorry that this has happened to you and your FI. I hope that this ends up being resolved in a happy way. In the meantime, I hope you still enjoy your ring - it is still beautiful and the center stone still sparkles, right? “Cloudy shmoudy” until you have a good opportunity to upgrade, I say, lol.

And most of all, congratulations on your engagement!!!!

I think he probably would have shared the EGL number if I bought the upgrade, but when I asked him about it while debating the purchase, he said he couldnt tell me the report number. The other red flag that he said to me was, "I ask my customers. Are you going to wear the ring or the report? GIA, EGL, doesnt matter."

But anyway, thank you for the congrats there's still light at the end of the tunnel. My wallet will be lighter at the end but at least theres still some light waiting.

 

[lovedogs]

Just for the record, here are the measurements:
6.92 - 6.98 x 4.36 mm

The stone faces up small for it's weight because it's deeper than we would prefer. But that's important to know so that we don't recommend a stone that won't fit!

 

[lovedogs]

I think he probably would have shared the EGL number if I bought the upgrade, but when I asked him about it while debating the purchase, he said he couldnt tell me the report number. The other red flag that he said to me was, "I ask my customers. Are you going to wear the ring or the report? GIA, EGL, doesnt matter."

But anyway, thank you for the congrats there's still light at the end of the tunnel. My wallet will be lighter at the end but at least theres still some light waiting.

He is a shady business person who obviously thrives off customers knowing better. now I'm even happier that you didn't spend any money w her.

 

[anangel]

@Rubymal since you’re planning a wedding, you may want to pop in to the Fabulous Fashion Jewelry for some options. Maybe the original e-ring stone can be made into a nice pendant so you can keep it close to your heart without seeing the clouds all the time, and you can either get a better diamond for your stunning setting, or poke around for some other budget friendly options.
Either way, don’t rush into anything- you seem like a rational, researcher and with the due diligence, you can certainly put the less pleasant part of your ring behind you.

 

[nala]

Gosh. Chiming in to say that you are smart not to throw away more money. Perhaps you can leave a bad review on yelp! Maybe even use that as leverage if you care to try to twist his or her arm? I know my jewelers all love Yelp and value it. They also value IG. Maybe you can keep leaving bad comments on their ig until you get what you want. Lol. Sorry. Sounds desperate.
As to your cloudy ring. I want to share that my sister had a cloudy ring which she loved. Here’s the thing. It sparkles like crazy! In fact, it sparkled so much and was so white that it wasn’t until a few years after she let me try it on that I realized it was cloudy! Could this be your scenario with your stone? I know it won’t make it appear different in your eyes, but maybe you can slow down and wear it for a while before rushing in to another one.

 

[lovedogs]

https://www.b2cjewels.com/dd/122793...m_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com

This is almost certainly too small for your setting but very very pretty.

https://www.b2cjewels.com/dd/123123...m_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pricescope.com
This one might fit, another pretty looking one.

 

[doberman]

I disagree wholeheartedly.

PS is a microcosm. It’s a microcosm of blind chart- and tool-happy fanaticism.

Doesn't score <2 on HCA? Garbage.
Doesn't fit EX/0 GIA and AGS proportions charts? Garbage.
Doesn't meet those wretched "cheat sheet" specs? Garbage.
Doesn't have big chunky symmetric facets? Garbage.

In reality, of course, much of this "garbage" is perfectly lovely. There is nothing above the proportions on this stone that should serve as a warning sign to anyone but followers of blind chart- and tool-happy fanaticism - by the numbers this could be a perfectly beautiful stone, and the inclusions could well have been nothing to write home about.

Diamonds are visual spectacles. They need to be bought using the eyes... and the eyes need to be trained a little to identify what they do and do not like. The report was never intended to be the primary medium of purchase - it was meant to supplement an in-person viewing. PS "blindness" is inevitable and understandable, as of course we don't have anything but photos and numbers to work with, but to suggest that our tools and charts and graphs and plots should take precedence over what the eyes appreciate is misleading at best, counterproductive at worst.

OP's FI failed to do his due diligence in this in-person viewing; I cannot find sympathy for anyone but OP in this situation. Hopefully her vendor will understand that what she is looking for is not what her FI was satisfied with originally.



Where on earth is this suggestion coming from? The GIA article that's created this long-lived furor over fluorescence and cloudiness takes pains not to create causal association between these two phenomena. Here is the article:
https://beyond4cs.com/wp-content/up...luorescence-on-the-Appearance-of-Diamonds.pdf

Blue fluorescence is created by complexes of three nitrogens (and one empty void) randomly substituting for four carbons in the diamond crystal lattice. The more the number of substitutions, the stronger the effects of fluorescence in that stone. Since the substitutions are random they'll be universally dispersed through the stone - not deliberately concentrated in any one part of the stone.

Visible fluoro itself is the result of long-wave UV rays exciting electrons, which then emit photons (visible blue wavelengths) as they de-excite back to ground state. The initial excitation requires long-wave UV - present in sunlight but not office light, for instance, so the effects of fluorescence will not be visible under office lights. The more the number of nitrogen complexes present, the more the number of these excitable electrons, the more the concentration of visible blue wavelengths in any given area of the stone as they return to the lower energy state - and since the nitrogen complexes are distributed throughout the stone the visible blue wavelengths are emitted uniformly from all parts of the stone.

None of this has anything to do with "milkiness", "haziness", "cloudiness", etc.

Whoa, it was just a suggestion. I never said that all fluorescent diamonds were milky or cloudy. I own several. But I have seen one that looked hazy, and it wasn't my imagination and it wasn't clouds or inclusions.

 

[kmoro]

Whoa, it was just a suggestion. I never said that all fluorescent diamonds were milky or cloudy. I own several. But I have seen one that looked hazy, and it wasn't my imagination and it wasn't clouds or inclusions.

I’m not sure that linked article concluded that there was no causal relationship between fluorescence and milkiness/haziness either ... just that it is not an automatic thing and is actually unusual. I think most people on PS already know that there is no automatic causal relationship because we’re aware of the Brian Gavin Blue line and many other stones that have fluorescence and no effect at all on transparency ... in those cases, the fluorescence is very pretty and a matter of preference. I think it’s good to be aware that it can happen as well though, and to take the article’s advice to have each stone evaluated on it’s own.

 

[TreeScientist]

I disagree wholeheartedly.

PS is a microcosm. It’s a microcosm of blind chart- and tool-happy fanaticism.

Doesn't score <2 on HCA? Garbage.
Doesn't fit EX/0 GIA and AGS proportions charts? Garbage.
Doesn't meet those wretched "cheat sheet" specs? Garbage.
Doesn't have big chunky symmetric facets? Garbage.

In reality, of course, much of this "garbage" is perfectly lovely. There is nothing above the proportions on this stone that should serve as a warning sign to anyone but followers of blind chart- and tool-happy fanaticism - by the numbers this could be a perfectly beautiful stone, and the inclusions could well have been nothing to write home about.

Diamonds are visual spectacles. They need to be bought using the eyes... and the eyes need to be trained a little to identify what they do and do not like. The report was never intended to be the primary medium of purchase - it was meant to supplement an in-person viewing. PS "blindness" is inevitable and understandable, as of course we don't have anything but photos and numbers to work with, but to suggest that our tools and charts and graphs and plots should take precedence over what the eyes appreciate is misleading at best, counterproductive at worst.

OP's FI failed to do his due diligence in this in-person viewing; I cannot find sympathy for anyone but OP in this situation. Hopefully her vendor will understand that what she is looking for is not what her FI was satisfied with originally.

I think the bolded portion is important to remember when posting on PS. As @TheGarnetGirl reminded us on the first page, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Regarding the cut of @Rubymal's diamond, there's nothing inherently wrong with it, and the cut would not be a "warning sign" for most jewelers. There are certainly worse diamonds out there. Most people in the world will accept a GIA XXX, ANY GIA XXX, and be perfectly happy with it. And in terms of performance, just about any GIA XXX is going to look nice to people who are not very cognizant of diamond cut (aka a vast majority of people). It's only a very minuscule proportion of diamond-buying consumers that will ever care about having a perfect H&A cut diamond.

And regarding the clarity: Yes, the stone has transparency issues. No getting around that. But many women are perfectly happy with diamonds that look exactly like the OP's diamond. If you go over to some other forums (I won't name drop, but one particular forum starts with Wedding and ends with a word that rhymes with Tree... ) you'll see plenty of pictures posted of diamonds even more cloudy than the OP's with captions along the lines of "My diamond is an SI2/I1 and I cannot see ANY inclusions in it even with a loupe. Seriously. NONE. THERE'S NO REASON TO GO ABOVE THE SI2/I1 CLARITY LEVEL."

Again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A lot of consumers are so concerned with the idea of a completely loupe-clean diamond (I blame a lot of this on the rise of 20X magnified internet videos) at the lowest possible price, that they'll often choose a diamond with obvious transparency issues over a diamond with a few eye-visible crystals, even if the diamond with the few tiny crystals is otherwise crystal clear and out-sparkles the cloudy diamond 10X over. Not to say that there's anything inherently wrong with choosing the cloudy but "eye-clean" diamond. Cloudy diamonds can still sparkle, and they'll often look brighter than a clear diamond in low light due to the light bouncing around all over the place within the stone due to the inclusions. It just comes down to what the consumer prefers.

With the wide variations in consumer preferences and budgets, I don't think that it's the jeweler's job to tell a consumer what they should like. As long as the jeweler has provided the correct documentation for the diamonds that they're showing, they're doing their job. To me, it's only shady/fraudulent if A.) They did not disclose a diamond treatment, B.) The certificate they provided did not match the diamond, or had been altered from its original state in some way, or C.) They conduct a "bait and switch," where they show the consumer one diamond and then switch the selected stone with a different, inferior stone during the setting process.

I really don't think this interaction warrants a bad review of this jeweler as suggested by @nala, and I'm not sure why anyone would suggest such a thing. The jeweler did absolutely nothing wrong here:

• Was the diamond priced higher than the equivalent diamond purchased through an online retailer? Could the OP's fiancé have purchased a 1.2 carat H/VS2 online for the same price online? Yes, but that's to be expected. B&M stores are always going to be priced higher than online retailers, because they have higher overheads and lower turnovers than the online retailers. It's up to the consumer to price check a large purchase and comparison shop prior to finalizing their decision, while weighing the pros and cons of each retail experience (B&M vs online).
• Did the online jeweler withhold any required information at the time of sale? Nope. They did not. They provided the matching GIA certificate and disclosed the treatments of the diamond (none). It's up to the consumer to decide whether they like a particular stone after seeing it in person. If the consumer is satisfied with the stone when they walk out of the door after being provided with all of the proper documentation then, IMO, it is an honest, clean transaction.
• Did they fail to abide by their terms and conditions of sale? Nope. They did not refuse to accept the return within the return window. The OP's fiancé could've returned the diamond within that window if he had purchased the ring immediately prior to the proposal (which is preferred). And they were going to honor their 2X cost upgrade policy if the OP had decided to go forward with the purchase of the D color diamond (2X cost is a pretty standard policy for most online vendors as well).

So tell me @nala, in your opinion, why does this transaction warrant a bad review other than to try and extort the jeweler (or "twist their arm" as you worded it) to permit a return way, way outside of the original return window?

To @Rubymal, I do think it's best that you didn't go ahead with the upgrade at the B&M store. As already mentioned, B&M jewelers have much higher mark-ups than online jewelers due to overhead and turnover, so now that you're an informed shopper, it's best to cut your losses on this original transaction and move forward with a new diamond with lower mark-up and a better upgrade policy (should you decide to upgrade again in the future). You can always turn this stone into a pendant (from your pictures, it still looks like it's quite sparkly in natural light ). Or, if you really don't want to do anything with it, you can sell it on your own. You'll probably still come out ahead by taking the initial loss on this diamond through a private sale and purchasing another stone online, as opposed to upgrading with a B&M jeweler and being locked into upgrading with a retailer with high mark-ups.

 

[srke]

I think as a jeweller, or really the owner of any sort of business, you make a decision about what kind of business you are running. Whether you want one off sales where you dupe an uninformed customer with technically correct information that may not give them a true picture of what they are actually getting. But in these cases once they realise they did not really get what they thought they were buying (ie a fantastic diamond at a great price), they never come back to you again. Or whether you are someone that offers genuine expert advise, knowing that a lot of your clients are not experts in your field and might not have the time to dedicate to that research, and are relying on you to provide genuine advice. In this case you are trying to get ongoing clients that come back to you for future work.

There exists a lot of the former, and we see them pop up a lot associated with cruise ships and travel destinations, where the salesman swears hand on his heart that you are getting a fantastic bargain, and yet with restrictive return and exchange policies that tend to show that when it really comes down to it, they will not stand behind their product.

I have no problem with a jeweller who will sell a cloudy diamond if they let their customer know exactly that, even just saying that it is a very good price for the size and that it would be hard to find anything at that size/colour/whatever else at the same price, but disclosing that the reason is probably because the stone is milky/cloudy/etc. which some people might like but which many others might not, so that the buyer actually knows what they are getting. Just saying something is a really good stone, when you should have known especially once you saw it, that it suffered from milkiness, is at the very least disingenuous.

And while legally they might not have been 'deceptive', I think it is perfectly valid to point them out and label them as exactly what they are. Businesses that are preying on the ignorance and emotions and goodwill of customers who come to them saying "i want a really really nice engagement ring and i'm trusting your expertise because i know nothing about diamonds..."

 

[TreeScientist]

yet with restrictive return and exchange policies that tend to show that when it really comes down to it,

How is the jeweler's return and exchange policy in any way "restrictive" here? 14-30 day return and 2X cost exchange/upgrade is pretty standard in the industry. I would say the jewelers who have a no return/exchange policy written in the fine print are the ones who are "duping" consumers. If the consumer goes home the same day, does research on their purchase and decide it's not for them, but then realizes they cannot return it, I would say that can be classified as "getting fleeced" as the popular idiom goes. But 14-30 days (standard policy from transparent jewelers) should be plenty of time for a responsible consumer to do a bit of homework on their purchase and decide whether or not it's right for them.

And personally, I never trust anyone who is selling me something to provide me with completely impartial, objective info on a product. Obviously any retailer is going to have a bias and think that their product is the best, because it's their product and they stand to make a profit from it. PS vendors are no different in that regard. Many of their businesses are based on convincing people that the "SuperIdeal" label and the after-sale service they provide is worth a 25% premium over an equally well cut, non-branded diamond. Whether or not that is true is a matter of debate, and the answer likely lies somewhere in the middle, where it is "worth it" for some consumers but not for others. But obviously the retailers believe it is worth it, because they're the one selling you the product. And I'm not saying this in a derogatory manner at all. Most retailers do genuinely believe that what they're offering in terms of both product and service is worth the cost they're charging, or else they wouldn't charge it. And obviously, if they've been in business for a while, then the price their charging for their product/service is indeed "worth it" to many consumers, or else they would no longer be in business.

As a consumer, you need to do your research beforehand. Always understand that a salesman's/saleswoman's viewpoints will be biased in favor of the products they're selling. Collect info from a variety of sources (both biased and impartial) and then make your decision accordingly. This is important for every purchase, but especially so for big-ticket purchases.

Don't blame the salesperson for being a salesperson.

 

[srke]

As a consumer, to protect myself, I certainly will do as much research as possible before engaging in a high end purchase. However as a general rule I don't believe in the idea of business models based on the ignorance of the customers they service. This should not be part of a healthy and functioning economy, and I don't think this should be defended.

I think a lot of businesses, especially ones selling expensive jewellery, are still in business not because some people thought it was "worth it" but that they continue to make a lot of money of people who didnt know it wasn't and by the time they did it was too late. Those customers might not go back again, but without people pointing those businesses out, there is always another person who will come along to get duped again.

And I know that bad deals exist and people take advantage of others, and I agree that as an individual you should always try to protect yourself and do research. That doesn't mean people who take advantage of others should be applauded or even defended. I have nothing against people charging premiums for something, or selling a stone they know is cloudy or included or whatever else, as long as the customer understands what they are paying for and the seller is upfront about it.

And I certainly do blame a salesperson or business that creates those salespeople, for selling you something they know wasn't what you wanted by representing it as something it wasn't. That plenty of people act like this and business models depend on this does not mean it is right or that it should be accepted or defended.

 

[TreeScientist]

And I certainly do blame a salesperson or business that creates those salespeople, for selling you something they know wasn't what you wanted by representing it as something it wasn't. That plenty of people act like this and business models depend on this does not mean it is right or that it should be accepted or defended.

Again, how can you know what the consumer wants other than by showing them diamonds in person and letting them choose for themselves? There was no bait and switch here. The OP's fiancé saw this diamond in person and selected it. As I pointed out in my original post, there are plenty of people in the world with diamonds that look exactly like this one that are perfectly happy with them (again, just go over and look at a few posts on that forum that rhymes with WeddingTree). Just because people on PS might not find it desirable doesn't mean that someone else in the world would not desire it.

Leaving a bad review for a jeweler because you don't like the diamond you selected with your own eyes and then kept past the return period is analogous to test driving a car that the dealer told you was sporty and had decent power, being satisfied with the performance of the car after the test drive, driving it home and keeping it for a few weeks, and then writing a bad review for the dealership along the lines of "They told me the car would have enough power for me, but now I've realized that the car does not have enough power for me AT ALL. HOW COULD THEY DECEIVE ME LIKE THIS?!?" Of course, there are plenty of people who leave reviews exactly like this (which is why pretty much every retailer has a few 1-star reviews on Yelp if they've been in business for a while) but as a consumer who frequently turns to Yelp to determine the quality of a business, I've learned to see through such reviews as people who obviously didn't do their homework on their purchase. If a business has mostly 4 and 5 star reviews, then they're probably an up-standing company.

 

[MarionC]

I think as a jeweller, or really the owner of any sort of business, you make a decision about what kind of business you are running. Whether you want one off sales where you dupe an uninformed customer with technically correct information that may not give them a true picture of what they are actually getting.
And while legally they might not have been 'deceptive', I think it is perfectly valid to point them out and label them as exactly what they are. Businesses that are preying on the ignorance and emotions and goodwill of customers who come to them saying "i want a really really nice engagement ring and i'm trusting your expertise because i know nothing about diamonds..."

I agree. This seller does not have the best interests of the buyer in mind. I hope the OP leaves reviews everywhere possible. It is too bad that we are not able to trust those we go to for help, but it seems the norm in diamond sales at malls and neighborhood jewelers. In their defence they themselves are often pretty ignorant about what constitutes quality.

 

[Austina]

I’m sorry this has happened, your ring is really pretty, and hopefully you will get the diamond of your dreams.

I’m glad you walked away, better to put your hard earned money to finding something that makes your heart sing.

 

[nala]

I think the bolded portion is important to remember when posting on PS. As @TheGarnetGirl reminded us on the first page, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Regarding the cut of @Rubymal's diamond, there's nothing inherently wrong with it, and the cut would not be a "warning sign" for most jewelers. There are certainly worse diamonds out there. Most people in the world will accept a GIA XXX, ANY GIA XXX, and be perfectly happy with it. And in terms of performance, just about any GIA XXX is going to look nice to people who are not very cognizant of diamond cut (aka a vast majority of people). It's only a very minuscule proportion of diamond-buying consumers that will ever care about having a perfect H&A cut diamond.

And regarding the clarity: Yes, the stone has transparency issues. No getting around that. But many women are perfectly happy with diamonds that look exactly like the OP's diamond. If you go over to some other forums (I won't name drop, but one particular forum starts with Wedding and ends with a word that rhymes with Tree... ) you'll see plenty of pictures posted of diamonds even more cloudy than the OP's with captions along the lines of "My diamond is an SI2/I1 and I cannot see ANY inclusions in it even with a loupe. Seriously. NONE. THERE'S NO REASON TO GO ABOVE THE SI2/I1 CLARITY LEVEL."

Again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A lot of consumers are so concerned with the idea of a completely loupe-clean diamond (I blame a lot of this on the rise of 20X magnified internet videos) at the lowest possible price, that they'll often choose a diamond with obvious transparency issues over a diamond with a few eye-visible crystals, even if the diamond with the few tiny crystals is otherwise crystal clear and out-sparkles the cloudy diamond 10X over. Not to say that there's anything inherently wrong with choosing the cloudy but "eye-clean" diamond. Cloudy diamonds can still sparkle, and they'll often look brighter than a clear diamond in low light due to the light bouncing around all over the place within the stone due to the inclusions. It just comes down to what the consumer prefers.

With the wide variations in consumer preferences and budgets, I don't think that it's the jeweler's job to tell a consumer what they should like. As long as the jeweler has provided the correct documentation for the diamonds that they're showing, they're doing their job. To me, it's only shady/fraudulent if A.) They did not disclose a diamond treatment, B.) The certificate they provided did not match the diamond, or had been altered from its original state in some way, or C.) They conduct a "bait and switch," where they show the consumer one diamond and then switch the selected stone with a different, inferior stone during the setting process.

I really don't think this interaction warrants a bad review of this jeweler as suggested by @nala, and I'm not sure why anyone would suggest such a thing. The jeweler did absolutely nothing wrong here:

• Was the diamond priced higher than the equivalent diamond purchased through an online retailer? Could the OP's fiancé have purchased a 1.2 carat H/VS2 online for the same price online? Yes, but that's to be expected. B&M stores are always going to be priced higher than online retailers, because they have higher overheads and lower turnovers than the online retailers. It's up to the consumer to price check a large purchase and comparison shop prior to finalizing their decision, while weighing the pros and cons of each retail experience (B&M vs online).
• Did the online jeweler withhold any required information at the time of sale? Nope. They did not. They provided the matching GIA certificate and disclosed the treatments of the diamond (none). It's up to the consumer to decide whether they like a particular stone after seeing it in person. If the consumer is satisfied with the stone when they walk out of the door after being provided with all of the proper documentation then, IMO, it is an honest, clean transaction.
• Did they fail to abide by their terms and conditions of sale? Nope. They did not refuse to accept the return within the return window. The OP's fiancé could've returned the diamond within that window if he had purchased the ring immediately prior to the proposal (which is preferred). And they were going to honor their 2X cost upgrade policy if the OP had decided to go forward with the purchase of the D color diamond (2X cost is a pretty standard policy for most online vendors as well).

So tell me @nala, in your opinion, why does this transaction warrant a bad review other than to try and extort the jeweler (or "twist their arm" as you worded it) to permit a return way, way outside of the original return window?

To @Rubymal, I do think it's best that you didn't go ahead with the upgrade at the B&M store. As already mentioned, B&M jewelers have much higher mark-ups than online jewelers due to overhead and turnover, so now that you're an informed shopper, it's best to cut your losses on this original transaction and move forward with a new diamond with lower mark-up and a better upgrade policy (should you decide to upgrade again in the future). You can always turn this stone into a pendant (from your pictures, it still looks like it's quite sparkly in natural light ). Or, if you really don't want to do anything with it, you can sell it on your own. You'll probably still come out ahead by taking the initial loss on this diamond through a private sale and purchasing another stone online, as opposed to upgrading with a B&M jeweler and being locked into upgrading with a retailer with high mark-ups.

Forgive me. I skimmed to find the questions for me. Why? Bc the jeweler is not wiling to make her happy. That simple. I deal with many jewelers and they all have one thing in common. They realize that jewelry is a luxury and should only bring me smiles. And that I don’t need it. No one does. And if they want to stay in business, and have repeat customers who buy things they don’t need, they should bend the rules for them. In all my years of interacting with them, I have probably needed this concession once. And they have been happy to see me happy.
As to the reviews—the reviews could indicate honest opinions such as: upgrade policy is limited. Here is my situation. Or, jeweler doesn’t carry high end diamonds but charges a premium price. Or do you research before approaching this jeweler. Here is my experience and here is a pic of the diamond that we paid X dollars for. Pictures speak louder than words. That’s what i would do. No maligning. No blaming. Just honesty. And people will draw their own conclusions.

 

[nala]

Again, how can you know what the consumer wants other than by showing them diamonds in person and letting them choose for themselves? There was no bait and switch here. The OP's fiancé saw this diamond in person and selected it. As I pointed out in my original post, there are plenty of people in the world with diamonds that look exactly like this one that are perfectly happy with them (again, just go over and look at a few posts on that forum that rhymes with WeddingTree). Just because people on PS might not find it desirable doesn't mean that someone else in the world would not desire it.

Leaving a bad review for a jeweler because you don't like the diamond you selected with your own eyes and then kept past the return period is analogous to test driving a car that the dealer told you was sporty and had decent power, being satisfied with the performance of the car after the test drive, driving it home and keeping it for a few weeks, and then writing a bad review for the dealership along the lines of "They told me the car would have enough power for me, but now I've realized that the car does not have enough power for me AT ALL. HOW COULD THEY DECEIVE ME LIKE THIS?!?" Of course, there are plenty of people who leave reviews exactly like this (which is why pretty much every retailer has a few 1-star reviews on Yelp if they've been in business for a while) but as a consumer who frequently turns to Yelp to determine the quality of a business, I've learned to see through such reviews as people who obviously didn't do their homework on their purchase. If a business has mostly 4 and 5 star reviews, then they're probably an up-standing company.

No. You are assuming there is only one type of bad review. Yelp reviews contain pictures and anecdotes. Readers draw their own conclusions. If I saw op’s story, her pictures of ring, the price she paid and the fact that she tried to upgrade but was only shown EGL, I would run.

 

[lovedogs]

No. You are assuming there is only one type of bad review. Yelp reviews contain pictures and anecdotes. Readers draw their own conclusions. If I saw op’s story, her pictures of ring, the price she paid and the fact that she tried to upgrade but was only shown EGL, I would run.

This. I don't think OP should leave a bad review and say outlandish stuff. I think OP should write exactly what happened, exactly what her FI was sold, and the price. Then she should explain what happened when she tried to go back and exchange. There's nothing dishonest or mean about her telling the truth, and it might help other couples who would fall into the same trap.

 

[AV_]

Sounds like a hustler.

I'd wander if he is dodged enough to hunt down a stone with good HCA & IS - leaving much of the rest open.

 

[motownmama]

I’ve been following your story and I’m sorry it wasn’t satisfactorily resolved. Is this a chain store by any chance?

 

[Rubymal]

I’ve been following your story and I’m sorry it wasn’t satisfactorily resolved. Is this a chain store by any chance?

Yes, this was a chain store. Also, for the person who said my fiance saw the stone and picked it, that is not true. The jeweler highly recommended this stone and said the GIA report looked good and said that if he wanted the stone, he needed to buy it outright. There was no viewing in person before he could decide. I'm not saying the jewelers did anything illegal by any means, but I would trust them for their advice as far as I could throw them, which is not very far. I told the jeweler about the stones HCA score and he shook his head, dismissing it and said things like HCA do not matter. And again, he also said that EGL and GIA do not matter too.

 

[lovedogs]

Yes, this was a chain store. Also, for the person who said my fiance saw the stone and picked it, that is not true. The jeweler highly recommended this stone and said the GIA report looked good and said that if he wanted the stone, he needed to buy it outright. There was no viewing in person before he could decide. I'm not saying the jewelers did anything illegal by any means, but I would trust them for their advice as far as I could throw them, which is not very far. I told the jeweler about the stones HCA score and he shook his head, dismissing it and said things like HCA do not matter. And again, he also said that EGL and GIA do not matter too.

He is lying (as usual, it seems). And it's especially insane if your FI didn't see it. Illegal? No. Highly shady and crappy business practices? Yes.

 

[motownmama]

The reason I asked if it's a chain store is that I'd consider taking my issues to the CEO

 

[MamaBee]

@Rubymal I would do as you said you were going to do and start putting money aside for a new diamond. Hopefully you can purchase one from a vendor like Whiteflash so you can upgrade later and get the full diamond value applied to the next diamond. There are also other vendors that are wonderful but I don’t know their upgrade policies. If my husband had to pick out a diamond for me he would be clueless. He would rely on what the jeweler suggested..and he is a VERY smart man...so don’t be too upset with your fiancé.

 

[Rubymal]

@lovedogs thank you for those recommendation stones a few posts back. I'm actually now considering going the lab grown route (to be honest, I am never going to sell the rock if I am absolutely in love with it and do not care for secondary market value). So if that's the only major con to lab grown, I may just do that.

I'm going to do some more research first and might start a new thread in the mmd sub topic when I find a few worthy contenders.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

@Rubymal - I think you are smart to have walked away from the bad news jeweler. Good luck in your search for your new sparkly diamond.

 

[lovedogs]

@lovedogs thank you for those recommendation stones a few posts back. I'm actually now considering going the lab grown route (to be honest, I am never going to sell the rock if I am absolutely in love with it and do not care for secondary market value). So if that's the only major con to lab grown, I may just do that.

I'm going to do some more research first and might start a new thread in the mmd sub topic when I find a few worthy contenders.

I totally understand. Also check out the "fashion jewelry" section, where we often talk about moissanite and other alternatives. The cutting has gotten pretty freaking amazing, and you can get an outstanding 1.5ct for under 1K. So that's another option when you're ready

 

[ccuheartnurse]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Unfortunately, your situation is not an isolated one. I agree with lovedogs about checking out the Fashion Jewelry section & research diamond alternatives. Possibly have one cut to fit your ring. You can check with Jonathan at August Vintage as he carries earth mined, lab grown & moisanites.
www.augustvintageinc.com. People in that forum can give you recommendations for other vendors. Your setting is gorgeous, just gorgeous. All the best.

 

[yssie]

Yes, this was a chain store. Also, for the person who said my fiance saw the stone and picked it, that is not true. The jeweler highly recommended this stone and said the GIA report looked good and said that if he wanted the stone, he needed to buy it outright. There was no viewing in person before he could decide. I'm not saying the jewelers did anything illegal by any means, but I would trust them for their advice as far as I could throw them, which is not very far. I told the jeweler about the stones HCA score and he shook his head, dismissing it and said things like HCA do not matter. And again, he also said that EGL and GIA do not matter too.

I very much hope newcomers are reading this thread. The moral of this story is do some homework prior to committing to pricey purchases.

I did not understand from the initial review that your vendor had not brought the stone in for your FI to view prior to purchase; this is a dishonorable practice.

My advice to you moving forward @Rubymal is to buy with your eyes, but first spend a few hours at one or two different jewellery stores and give your eyes a little time to learn what they like to see.

 

[kmoro]

I very much hope newcomers are reading this thread. The moral of this story is do some homework prior to committing to pricey purchases.

I did not understand from the initial review that your vendor had not brought the stone in for your FI to view prior to purchase; this is a dishonorable practice.

My advice to you moving forward @Rubymal is to buy with your eyes, but first spend a few hours at one or two different jewellery stores and give your eyes a little time to learn what they like to see.

It was dishonourable for the jeweller not to allow your FI to view prior to purchase ... and he’s doing the same thing with the upgrade ... demanding that you commit before even letting you see the EGL certificate. That “fool me once ... “ saying comes to mind ... just better not to do business with this jeweller - can’t undo the past, but you don’t need to repeat history

I do hope that you find a way to leave a public review. Sorry if I’m repeating myself somewhat, but do be careful what you post publicly - stick to the facts. It would be a good service on your part to let others know.