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- Feb 12, 2018
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Earlier this summer, I shared my OEC tennis bracelet in this thread:
What I didn't share at the time was my buying experience with Collectors1946. To be honest, I was a bit put off by it, and that's why it took me so long to write about it.
I first came across the bracelet when I searched on eBay. I noticed that the seller had independent brick & mortar stores, so I called them to negotiate a 7% discount from the listing price. I thought this was a good deal based on the 13.86 ctw for the listing: https://www.collectors1946.com/coll...gold-13-86ctw-old-cut-diamond-tennis-bracelet
When I received the bracelet, I took it to an independent appraiser who inspected every diamond under a microscope and took their measurements. As a result, he came up with the 10.6 ctw estimate. As the diamond aficionados on this board know, my appraiser would need to be really off in his measurements to account for the difference from what the seller quoted; frankly the diamonds are beautifully cut and in line with my appraiser's measurements. If he were wrong, they would have to be wonky as hell to add up to Collectors1946's estimate - too shallow or too deep. I can provide the diamond dimensions for every stone as assessed by my appraiser if anyone has doubts.
I called Collectors1946 to let them know of the discrepancy in CTW. They did not believe me and stood behind the EGL report of 13.86 ctw, but to their credit they did tell me I could send it back for a full refund. Arthur was incredibly condescending about the whole situation, refused to acknowledge that their CTW estimate was wrong, and implied that he'd be happier if I returned the bracelet so he could make more money selling it to someone else.
Despite no longer being a bargain for 13.86 ctw, I kept the bracelet because it was still rare for 10.6 ctw of OECs, and I wasn't sure I would find an OEC tennis bracelet at this size again soon. Regardless, I would be extremely hesitant to buy from Collectors1946 again, and never without getting the purchase independently appraised.
10.6 CTW OEC Tennis Bracelet
I’d been keeping an eye out for an old cut bracelet for over a year when I crossed paths with this. 10.6 ctw, G-I, VS1-SI2. The diamonds range from .3-.39, but they’re all closely matched in length/width and the bezels make it hard to see size differences. Set in platinum over 16K yellow gold...
www.pricescope.com
What I didn't share at the time was my buying experience with Collectors1946. To be honest, I was a bit put off by it, and that's why it took me so long to write about it.
I first came across the bracelet when I searched on eBay. I noticed that the seller had independent brick & mortar stores, so I called them to negotiate a 7% discount from the listing price. I thought this was a good deal based on the 13.86 ctw for the listing: https://www.collectors1946.com/coll...gold-13-86ctw-old-cut-diamond-tennis-bracelet
When I received the bracelet, I took it to an independent appraiser who inspected every diamond under a microscope and took their measurements. As a result, he came up with the 10.6 ctw estimate. As the diamond aficionados on this board know, my appraiser would need to be really off in his measurements to account for the difference from what the seller quoted; frankly the diamonds are beautifully cut and in line with my appraiser's measurements. If he were wrong, they would have to be wonky as hell to add up to Collectors1946's estimate - too shallow or too deep. I can provide the diamond dimensions for every stone as assessed by my appraiser if anyone has doubts.
I called Collectors1946 to let them know of the discrepancy in CTW. They did not believe me and stood behind the EGL report of 13.86 ctw, but to their credit they did tell me I could send it back for a full refund. Arthur was incredibly condescending about the whole situation, refused to acknowledge that their CTW estimate was wrong, and implied that he'd be happier if I returned the bracelet so he could make more money selling it to someone else.
Despite no longer being a bargain for 13.86 ctw, I kept the bracelet because it was still rare for 10.6 ctw of OECs, and I wasn't sure I would find an OEC tennis bracelet at this size again soon. Regardless, I would be extremely hesitant to buy from Collectors1946 again, and never without getting the purchase independently appraised.