Bonded Diamond

[GiGi]

Has anyone purchased a bonded diamond? Would you share your experience with us and lay out the pros and cons of buying a bonded diamond vs. a partially bonded diamond? Thank you!

 

[Rook]

I have not bought a bonded diamond but here is why I decided not to.

A while back Fred C. at diamond crooks intl. offered to sell a bonded diamond with the following guarantees.

1)Breakage, for the life of the dimaond, the diamond is guaranteed against chips, nicks, or breakage
2)Liquidity: your new diamond has a 100% lifetime cash value
3)Appreciation: the diamond's current market value can be used towards a trade-in. annual appreciation has averaged 6.25%
4)Crash: your diamond's value is protected against any diamond market crash.
5)Kept: your diamond is guaranteed to be kept: natural, free from laser drilling, fracture filing, coating or heat treatment.

My responces to each claim is
1)Breakage: covered by you insurance thus of no value to me.
2)Liquidity: Is this an engagment ring or a stock portfolio? I have no worry about ever needing to sell my wifes engagment ring, if I did I would probably not buy it in the first place.

3)Appreciation: The second I put the ring on my wifes finger: monetary value = $0.00; actual value = priceless. Even if I become the richest man in the world and want to upgrade my wifes diamond, it would be a cold day in hell before she would give up her engagement ring.
4)Crash: Why would a crash in diamond prices effect me after I give my wife the diamond?
5)Kept: I have never met a jeweler yet who would not put (in writing) that they guarantee that your diamond is 100% natural and untreated; and that has been my first question to each and every jeweler I speak with!!

So as far as I am concerned, a bonded diamond doesn't benifit me at all, but cost me a 25% or more premium!

Nice try Fred but I didn't fall off the dip**** wagon yesterday, (it was at least a couple weeks ago)

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Well done Rook

You did not come down in the last shower.

For all the 'rookies' reading this - the 'diamond guy' alias Fred Cuellar is someone we suggest you avoid unless you want to just have some fun.

one good thing you caan try is get a quote from him and then send the info through a week or 3 later saying the stone has been offered to you by some other vendor. Then sit back and have a laugh at how he will tell you that diamond is warped because the Sarin numbers do not add up (the reason they never can add up is because most labs have Sarin measure the girdle thickness at the thinnest point, and the crown and pavilion % are measured from the thickest girdle point).

 

[phi368]

GiGi, I just wanted to throw in that several vendors, such as Good Old Gold and Diamond Brokers of Florida (I found DBOF to be several hundred dollars cheaper on the same diamond) both offer a trade in policy. If you ever want to change diamonds or trade up, they will apply what you paid to the price of another diamond as long as the new diamond costs at least $1 more.

 

[nuthead]

I am trying to trade in my old ring with Fred C, but he refused to honor the annual 6.25% appreciation guarantee. Since I bought the last ring more than 3 years ago, it would be around 20% appreciation. What should I do with him? Help!!!!

 

[Mara]

What should you do? I would just cut your losses and see if another jeweler will take the stone for an upgrade. I would never buy a stone from Fred in the first place... run any Google searches lately?

 

[strmrdr]

----------------
On 12/15/2003 10:28:17 PM nuthead wrote:

I am trying to trade in my old ring with Fred C, but he refused to honor the annual 6.25% appreciation guarantee. Since I bought the last ring more than 3 years ago, it would be around 20% appreciation. What should I do with him? Help!!!! ----------------

Have it in writing?
If so hire a lawyer and get in line.

 

[nuthead]

I just ran a search in good, but everything turned out positive, anything I missed?

BTW, he said he would give me a full credit for the old ring that I purchased, but since there is a diamond market crash in 2000, he would not give me the credit as he wouldn't increase the price on my new one. I know, I know, the logic is very fuzzy, but that is what he said.

 

[Mara]

hehe diamond market crash? that's one I haven't heard before.




You didn't find his criminal record information or the fact that he was convicted of felony theft in Texas? Hmm. Run a search here on Pscope and you will find TONS of information on ole Fred.




Or you can just read this. I ran a search on Google for Fred and 'criminal' and this was in the top 3:

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/1998/06/08/story3.html