Hi all,
In January 2007, I purchased a diamond through UnionDiamond.com. Three of my coworkers bought stones through Tony Rixom @ UnionDiamond and had great experiences. Upon receipt of the stone, I had it appraised and set. It was a great experience…I recommend UnionDiamond highly (just be sure to work with Tony Rixom directly).
Fast-forward to May 2008 - I bought a different engagement setting for my fiancée because she wanted her engagement setting to match our newly purchased wedding bands. We bought the new engagement setting from a “trusted” jeweler that both two friends and myself used in the past. The jeweler told me to leave the old setting overnight (it was late in the day) and he would put the diamond in the new setting the next day. I was reluctant to leave the diamond/setting, but the jeweler does a tremendous amount of business with two of my friends, so I trusted him. My fiancée picked up the stone and new setting the next day and took it home.
When I looked at the stone and new setting at home, I felt it was different than the original stone. I noticed inclusions with my naked eye whereas in the past, I was never able to see inclusions in the stone with a 10x loupe. I stressed and agonized over the stone all weekend and decided to get the stone professionally appraised. Deborah A. Villepigue (DBA The Jewelry Appraiser Inc.) not only agreed to give me an immediate appointment due to the seriousness of the matter, but I was able to meet with her after normal 9 AM to 5 PM business hours, which was wonderful.
Deborah performed a complete and professional appraisal. Unfortunately, she confirmed my suspicions that the jeweler provided me with the wrong stone. The stone I had in hand was bigger than the original, but it was terribly included and had a worse cut. Long story short, I went back to the jeweler with Deborah’s appraisal and played hardball until the jeweler “miraculously” located my stone (he blamed the mix-up on the craftsman he used to put the old stone in the new setting).
I brought the “correct” stone back to Deborah to confirm that the stone I had in hand was the original, correct stone. Again, Deborah juggled her schedule to meet with me because I was so stressed out about the situation. And again, Deborah agreed to meet with me after normal 9 AM to 5 PM business hours. Deborah’s second appraisal confirmed that I had my original stone back.
I highly recommend Deborah A. Villepigue (DBA The Jewelry Appraiser Inc.) for your appraisal needs. She spent a great deal of time with me during both appraisals and she really seems to know her business. Her office is located off of Northern Blvd. in Great Neck/Manhasset.
Best,
Neil
In January 2007, I purchased a diamond through UnionDiamond.com. Three of my coworkers bought stones through Tony Rixom @ UnionDiamond and had great experiences. Upon receipt of the stone, I had it appraised and set. It was a great experience…I recommend UnionDiamond highly (just be sure to work with Tony Rixom directly).
Fast-forward to May 2008 - I bought a different engagement setting for my fiancée because she wanted her engagement setting to match our newly purchased wedding bands. We bought the new engagement setting from a “trusted” jeweler that both two friends and myself used in the past. The jeweler told me to leave the old setting overnight (it was late in the day) and he would put the diamond in the new setting the next day. I was reluctant to leave the diamond/setting, but the jeweler does a tremendous amount of business with two of my friends, so I trusted him. My fiancée picked up the stone and new setting the next day and took it home.
When I looked at the stone and new setting at home, I felt it was different than the original stone. I noticed inclusions with my naked eye whereas in the past, I was never able to see inclusions in the stone with a 10x loupe. I stressed and agonized over the stone all weekend and decided to get the stone professionally appraised. Deborah A. Villepigue (DBA The Jewelry Appraiser Inc.) not only agreed to give me an immediate appointment due to the seriousness of the matter, but I was able to meet with her after normal 9 AM to 5 PM business hours, which was wonderful.
Deborah performed a complete and professional appraisal. Unfortunately, she confirmed my suspicions that the jeweler provided me with the wrong stone. The stone I had in hand was bigger than the original, but it was terribly included and had a worse cut. Long story short, I went back to the jeweler with Deborah’s appraisal and played hardball until the jeweler “miraculously” located my stone (he blamed the mix-up on the craftsman he used to put the old stone in the new setting).
I brought the “correct” stone back to Deborah to confirm that the stone I had in hand was the original, correct stone. Again, Deborah juggled her schedule to meet with me because I was so stressed out about the situation. And again, Deborah agreed to meet with me after normal 9 AM to 5 PM business hours. Deborah’s second appraisal confirmed that I had my original stone back.
I highly recommend Deborah A. Villepigue (DBA The Jewelry Appraiser Inc.) for your appraisal needs. She spent a great deal of time with me during both appraisals and she really seems to know her business. Her office is located off of Northern Blvd. in Great Neck/Manhasset.
Best,
Neil
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