Checking Diamond After Jeweler Had It?

[LEO140]

Hello everyone!

I am still waiting for my Tacori e-ring and I was wondering if you all think it would be a good idea to re-check the diamond's GIA number after my ring comes in? With the amount of money I've spent I'm all too paranoid about the diamond being switched out etc Thanks for all your advice once again!

 

[chrono]

Use the store's microscope and make sure the inclusion matches up to the GIA report inclusion plot.

 

[autumngems]

ALWAYS do this, I do

 

[LEO140]

I feel like I'm directly insulting my jeweler if I ask to do this for some reason. I'm certainly no expert on diamonds but I think I would have a hard time finding the inclusions? I couldn't even see any inclusions with a loupe when I first saw the diamond! I'm also colorblind (red-green deficient) so I'm not sure if that matters. Would the GIA number be sufficient to check? I'm also hoping Tacori didn't cover up the number when they placed the diamond!

 

[lxAsTrOxl]

Just to confirm, the jeweler had the stone sent out to Tacori to set or did the jeweler set the diamond in your E-ring?

 

[LEO140]

I had the jeweler send the stone to Tacori to set it

 

[lxAsTrOxl]

Not to jack your thread, but i'm in the process of doing the same, but the jeweler wanted to set it for me, but everything I've heard says to just have Tacori set it, did your jeweler make a big stink about them doing it themselves? Also was there a cost to send it to Tacori?

 

[LEO140]

My jeweler has just been absolutely awesome about the whole process. With that being said, when I told her I wanted the diamond sent to Tacori, she asked why and she proudly stated that they stand by all their work. I simply told her this is what I want and I'd been told directly from Tacori via FB that I should do this. She did not argue with me one bit and said she'd send it out immediately and they even covered all the costs for me with exception of the insurance of approximately $50.00.

 

[chrono]

If you are unsure how to find them, have your jeweller set it up properly for you and guide you through matching the inclusion plot. All the good shops I frequent do this as their standard store practice.

 

[lxAsTrOxl]

Perfect. And to answer your question on checking the diamond I've never had a jeweler seem offended to check, in fact when I compared my stone to many other jewelers they encouraged the opportunity to check the diamonds to make sure I got my stone back and it matched my GIA cert.

 

[LEO140]

Perfect. And to answer your question on checking the diamond I've never had a jeweler seem offended to check, in fact when I compared my stone to many other jewelers they encouraged the opportunity to check the diamonds to make sure I got my stone back and it matched my GIA cert.

I should mention, and I'm sorry for not including this in the last post, was that I did have to pay Tacori $100.00 to set the diamond. So all in all, my costs for having Tacori set it was $150.00 with insurance and setting cost.

Thank you to everyone for your replies, I will certainly not be hesitant to check the diamond when it comes in. After all, better to be safe than sorry!!

 

[Dancing Fire]

I feel like I'm directly insulting my jeweler if I ask to do this for some reason. I'm certainly no expert on diamonds but I think I would have a hard time finding the inclusions? I couldn't even see any inclusions with a loupe when I first saw the diamond! I'm also colorblind (red-green deficient) so I'm not sure if that matters. Would the GIA number be sufficient to check? I'm also hoping Tacori didn't cover up the number when they placed the diamond!

I think they set enough diamonds to know not to cover the GIA #s...

 

[lxAsTrOxl]

Perfect. And to answer your question on checking the diamond I've never had a jeweler seem offended to check, in fact when I compared my stone to many other jewelers they encouraged the opportunity to check the diamonds to make sure I got my stone back and it matched my GIA cert.

I should mention, and I'm sorry for not including this in the last post, was that I did have to pay Tacori $100.00 to set the diamond. So all in all, my costs for having Tacori set it was $150.00 with insurance and setting cost.

Thank you to everyone for your replies, I will certainly not be hesitant to check the diamond when it comes in. After all, better to be safe than sorry!!

Please post some pictures when you get it in!

 

[crans223]

I'm glad they worked with you on it and didn't ask any further questions or got defensive. In my experience, if they get offended by you asking, then they're not worth your time. Diamonds aren't like getting your pen refilled with ink, and verifying is a security measure we take in order to avoid being ripped off.

They should absolutely understand this and want to put your stress at ease without worrying you further by giving you a hard time about verifying it's your diamond.

Can't wait to see it!

 

[LEO140]

I'm glad they worked with you on it and didn't ask any further questions or got defensive. In my experience, if they get offended by you asking, then they're not worth your time. Diamonds aren't like getting your pen refilled with ink, and verifying is a security measure we take in order to avoid being ripped off.

They should absolutely understand this and want to put your stress at ease without worrying you further by giving you a hard time about verifying it's your diamond.

Can't wait to see it!

You are COMPLETELY correct when you talk about jewelers getting defensive--the first jeweler I dealt with got all offended when I brought a friend who worked for CD Peacock with and he began inquiring about all the things I didn't know about. I knew at that point that I should walk away and unfortunately it took me a little while to do it! When individuals are spending, well, I spent close to 6k on just the setting alone, they need to do what the consumers want no questions asked.

I will certainly post pictures of the ring, it is just approaching 5 weeks as of this Friday and since I cannot find anyone on this site that has posted pictures of it, I will take lots for any future Pricescopers! Thanks for all your well wishes and help once again!

 

[denverappraiser]

You should inspect things when you pick them up for exactly the same reasons that THEY should inspect things when you drop them off. It protects everyone. Obviously it's good to be polite about it but there's absolutely nothing about the process that they should find offensive. If anything, they should like it. If you're going to have a problem, immediately is a much better schedule than a week later after you come back from the appraisers office.

 

[WinkHPD]

I feel like I'm directly insulting my jeweler if I ask to do this for some reason. I'm certainly no expert on diamonds but I think I would have a hard time finding the inclusions? I couldn't even see any inclusions with a loupe when I first saw the diamond! I'm also colorblind (red-green deficient) so I'm not sure if that matters. Would the GIA number be sufficient to check? I'm also hoping Tacori didn't cover up the number when they placed the diamond!

I think they set enough diamonds to know not to cover the GIA #s...

It depends. I just had Vatche set a diamond in one of their rings for me. They called me as they were concerned that setting the diamond with the arrows at the 12 and 6 position as requested by my client would result in at least partial coverage of the AGSL report number inscription. It was not possible to have the arrows in the requested position and to show the inscription. The arrows was the more important feature for my client.

As a jeweler I want to also reassure our OP that we are NOT offended by this. Indeed, we prefer you do it when you bring the diamond in and when you pick it up. I always told my clients that if you look at it now, you will feel better about looking at it when you pick it up.

Way over 90% did not bother to look when they left it as they trusted us. Those that were uneasy before, were always relieved to know that we encouraged them to look through our microscope and as a result most of them never bothered to look when they picked it up.

Trust is funny that way, the more willing you are to show and share so that people can be sure, the less they feel they need us to do it. I still always recommend it though.

Wink

 

[LEO140]

I feel like I'm directly insulting my jeweler if I ask to do this for some reason. I'm certainly no expert on diamonds but I think I would have a hard time finding the inclusions? I couldn't even see any inclusions with a loupe when I first saw the diamond! I'm also colorblind (red-green deficient) so I'm not sure if that matters. Would the GIA number be sufficient to check? I'm also hoping Tacori didn't cover up the number when they placed the diamond!

I think they set enough diamonds to know not to cover the GIA #s...

It depends. I just had Vatche set a diamond in one of their rings for me. They called me as they were concerned that setting the diamond with the arrows at the 12 and 6 position as requested by my client would result in at least partial coverage of the AGSL report number inscription. It was not possible to have the arrows in the requested position and to show the inscription. The arrows was the more important feature for my client.

As a jeweler I want to also reassure our OP that we are NOT offended by this. Indeed, we prefer you do it when you bring the diamond in and when you pick it up. I always told my clients that if you look at it now, you will feel better about looking at it when you pick it up.

Way over 90% did not bother to look when they left it as they trusted us. Those that were uneasy before, were always relieved to know that we encouraged them to look through our microscope and as a result most of them never bothered to look when they picked it up.

Trust is funny that way, the more willing you are to show and share so that people can be sure, the less they feel they need us to do it. I still always recommend it though.

Wink

Thanks to Denver and Wink for your responses! This whole process has made me uneasy from the start I suppose and due to my profession, I already do not trust easily!

This whole thing started with the diamond process, from the first jeweler being shady, all the way to where I eventually bought the diamond from a friend of a friend in the diamond business and paid cash. Once I was at the jeweler and I was able to inspect the diamond, I relaxed a little once the jeweler said the cushion was gorgeous! I became paranoid again when she asked how much I paid, I told her and her jaw hit the floor as she said she'd sell it for at least 9 grand more than what I paid! So, once I requested her send the ring to Tacori, even though this jeweler has been AMAZING, I am again paranoid I won't get my same diamond back lol. I think it is more the stress of buying this making sure my gf loves this ring.

I am thankful for all the help and support you experienced users give noobies like myself--I will certainly look at my diamond closely once it comes in and compare it with the GIA report I have!!

 

[Texas Leaguer]

As others have said, detailed inspection protects both the jeweler and the client and therefore should be standard operating procedure on take-in as well as delivery.

In a real sense it represents more protection for the jeweler, and any jeweler that is offended by a customer verifying their diamond is missing that point.

I actually have a theory about the widespread fear among consumers regarding jewelers switching diamonds. It most certainly happens occasionally, likely due to accidental mix-up in a busy shop, but not nearly as much as people think. Legit jewelers have way too much to lose to do this intentionally. I believe that many people mistakenly think they have been a victim of a switch because their diamond has not been cleaned in years, and it looks like a completely different stone after being professionally cleaned as a standard part of any re-setting or repair process. Often after a cleaning you are able to see inclusions that were present all along but were concealed amongst the gunk!

Laser inscription which is now widely available gives a jeweler an easy way to both avoid accidental mixups in the shop and to verify diamonds at take-in and upon delivery. This is a benefit that jewelers should embrace and be proactive in showing customers upon delivery. And I assume most of them do this as a matter of practice.

 

[LEO140]

As others have said, detailed inspection protects both the jeweler and the client and therefore should be standard operating procedure on take-in as well as delivery.

In a real sense it represents more protection for the jeweler, and any jeweler that is offended by a customer verifying their diamond is missing that point.

I actually have a theory about the widespread fear among consumers regarding jewelers switching diamonds. It most certainly happens occasionally, likely due to accidental mix-up in a busy shop, but not nearly as much as people think. Legit jewelers have way too much to lose to do this intentionally. I believe that many people mistakenly think they have been a victim of a switch because their diamond has not been cleaned in years, and it looks like a completely different stone after being professionally cleaned as a standard part of any re-setting or repair process. Often after a cleaning you are able to see inclusions that were present all along but were concealed amongst the gunk!

Laser inscription which is now widely available gives a jeweler an easy way to both avoid accidental mixups in the shop and to verify diamonds at take-in and upon delivery. This is a benefit that jewelers should embrace and be proactive in showing customers upon delivery. And I assume most of them do this as a matter of practice.

Texas, thanks for your input! I would agree with all of the points you made above and I can certainly recognize that it might happen occasionally but not necessarily as intentional. As my friend who was once in the business said, the last thing any reputable place such as Tacori or the place I went to (which has a very good rep) wants to do is switch your diamond--any intentional diamond switching would absolutely destroy them if you went public and spread the word.

On another note, how often do you find that a diamond has visible inclusions after cleaning the diamond significantly? I'm not applying this circumstance to my situation obviously but I can imagine there might be individuals extremely upset that they thought their diamond was eye clean only to find out later that it is not the case!

 

[Texas Leaguer]

As others have said, detailed inspection protects both the jeweler and the client and therefore should be standard operating procedure on take-in as well as delivery.

In a real sense it represents more protection for the jeweler, and any jeweler that is offended by a customer verifying their diamond is missing that point.

I actually have a theory about the widespread fear among consumers regarding jewelers switching diamonds. It most certainly happens occasionally, likely due to accidental mix-up in a busy shop, but not nearly as much as people think. Legit jewelers have way too much to lose to do this intentionally. I believe that many people mistakenly think they have been a victim of a switch because their diamond has not been cleaned in years, and it looks like a completely different stone after being professionally cleaned as a standard part of any re-setting or repair process. Often after a cleaning you are able to see inclusions that were present all along but were concealed amongst the gunk!

Laser inscription which is now widely available gives a jeweler an easy way to both avoid accidental mixups in the shop and to verify diamonds at take-in and upon delivery. This is a benefit that jewelers should embrace and be proactive in showing customers upon delivery. And I assume most of them do this as a matter of practice.

Texas, thanks for your input! I would agree with all of the points you made above and I can certainly recognize that it might happen occasionally but not necessarily as intentional. As my friend who was once in the business said, the last thing any reputable place such as Tacori or the place I went to (which has a very good rep) wants to do is switch your diamond--any intentional diamond switching would absolutely destroy them if you went public and spread the word.

On another note, how often do you find that a diamond has visible inclusions after cleaning the diamond significantly? I'm not applying this circumstance to my situation obviously but I can imagine there might be individuals extremely upset that they thought their diamond was eye clean only to find out later that it is not the case!

In my experience not very often but I have seen it happen. It's generally restricted to Si and below clarities. In addition to the fact that a diamond that has been professionally cleaned is much easier to inspect, there is a tendency for customers to be very interested in examining the stone in detail after it has come back from the shop. Those two things combined often lead to new perspectives on the diamond that in some cases cause customers to think, "this is a different diamond!".

The best practice on take-in is for the jeweler to clean the diamond (at least well enough to do a good inspection) and then do a show and tell with the customer noting any identifying characteristics, matching inclusions to stone plot if there is a lab report, noting any chips or scratches, and of course verifying inscription if available. Hey, you do it with a rental car - why not with your customer's forever diamond!