diamond deosn''t match the GIA cert

[blues]

Hi,
I bought a diamond from a big store here in carlifornia. It''s about 1.3 carat.

We paid money there and left the diamond for them to mount on the ring.

When I picked it up, I noticed there is a big dark inclusion without using the loupe, which I didn''t see before. I asked. They pointed to the diagram on the GIA paper and said it''s one of the inclusions.

2 weeks later, I got a chance to watch it under a magnifier and found the inclusions are not matched to those on the diagram.
And I had my friend who knows more than me to check it out. He also said it''s not matched. Since it''s mounted, I am not albe to weight it.

So before I go back to the store, what should I prepare? And what should I expect? The bad thing is, they don''t have refound policy, except online purchase.

What if they say, this is not the diamond they sold? How common is this kind of scam?

Blues

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You need to take the ring to an independent appraiser. I think there are some good ones in California. I know Nancy Stacey has been mentioned before. Look under Resources, then Appraisers.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 6/9/2008 11:43:13 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
You need to take the ring to an independent appraiser. I think there are some good ones in California. I know Nancy Stacey has been mentioned before. Look under Resources, then Appraisers.

Agreed. This is your best line of defense, and the appraiser will be able to tell you for sure if it is the same stone or not.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 6/9/2008 11:45:08 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 6/9/2008 11:43:13 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
You need to take the ring to an independent appraiser. I think there are some good ones in California. I know Nancy Stacey has been mentioned before. Look under Resources, then Appraisers.

Agreed. This is your best line of defense, and the appraiser will be able to tell you for sure if it is the same stone or not.

Yup, good luck, let us know how it works out.

 

[marcy]

That is awful! Good luck with the appraiser.

 

[lesco]

Awww.... I''m so sorry....

Yes, please have it seen by an independent appraiser. Should the stone not match the GIA cert, please ask the appraiser for a written report, which you can be able to take to the store to dispute.

Even if they don''t have a refund policy, they should at the minimum provide you with a similarly graded stone to the one per the GIA report, if your diamond was in fact switched. Also, I would pursue asking the store to refund you for the independent appraisal fees, which you had to incur unnecessarily.

Hope it works out...

 

[blues]

Thanks for your reply.

Will the diamond be unmounted if I go to an appraiser? I saw a story in this forum saying, the store refused to agree the diamond is the original one, since it is unmounted.

We can exchange within 30 days (Same value). So before I go to appraiser, should I just go there and ask refound? If not, then exchange.

I think one of the inclusion is obvious under the magnifier, which is not showing in the GIA diagram.

there will be several possiblities, for worst to best:
1. They will claim it''s not the diamond they sold to me.
2. They will insisit it is matched to the GIA cert. But they offer exchange (maybe charge labor fee again for mounting, $100).
3. They will agree it''s a mistake, and offer refound without the labor fee.
4. They will agree it''s a mistake. And offer fully refound.

Blues

 

[blues]

One more question:
If the store asks me to exchange the diamond, should I just take the loose diamond? Or should I have them mount again?
I kind of don''t trust them now. This time I will examine the diamond with the magnifier carefully and compare it with the GIA diagram. And ask them to weight it before me.

If I want to take the loose diamond, where should I go to mount it?

 

[lesco]

The appraiser might be able to verify the stone while mounted. Many people take their complete rings to an independent appraiser anyway right after purchase for confirmation that the stone matches the report or because they want to know if they got a good deal. Also, they need an appraisal for insurance purposes. Bottom line, this is a pretty common thing to do.

You can also be upfront with the vendor and express your concerns. He/she might ask to see the stone and certificate to see if they match. Fine you let them see it. Then you mention that you will be taking the ring to an appraiser for final say. So, no secrets.

I don''t think the vendor will doubt you in any event. Why would he/she? People take diamonds to independent appraisers regularly.

I think the first thing to do is to verify if this is your stone... If it is not, I would think you have enough grounds to ask for a refund due to the circumstances but you need to get the facts first, then see what solutions the vendor provides to you. IMHO.

I hope you get this all sorted out... Please let us know what happens...

 

[honey22]

It doesn''t matter what their return policy is, if they have sold you a stone with a certificate that doesn''t match up you have a right to get your money back fullstop. You don''t have to take an offering of another stone etc, if they have switched the stone, what they have done is illegal and I certainly wouldn''t want to be giving them my business. I am sure you could find an appraiser that can certify whether the stone matches up to the cert or not without unmounting it. Maybe they would be able to determine with say 90% certaintly that it''s not the same stone - you could go back to the vendor with this information and make it clear to them that you will unmount it to get to the truth if necessary. If it does come up as a different stone then you are well within your rights to take action against them to return the stone and recover your money.

I would also write a letter to the manager now (everything is better with a paper trail) and explain your concerns and that you are going to have an independent party assess the situation. If they have in fact done a switcheroo, I would think they would be very happy to give you your money back now instead of having you uncover the real truth should it be a dogde. Keep us updated!

 

[Paul-Antwerp]

Hi Blues,

The other posters have already given you good advice, but I need to add one very important one: Relax.

At this point in time, there is nothing wrong in you taking this up directly with the store. You are currently seeing something in the stone, that you are not happy with, and they should love the possibility to ease your doubts.

Depending on the setting, generally depth of the stone can still be measured when set, and very often diameter too. This would be my first check, and the store can do that in your presence.
Then, after cleaning, they can check inclusions with you under a microscope.
If they indeed made an error (or their supplier did, and they did not catch it), they will probably see it there and then, and they will probably correct that.

If you still have doubts after their check, you can take the path of an independent appraiser.

Live long,

 

[arjunajane]

Ask the appraiser if they can check out the stone whilst mounted - they will know whats' best to do.

Mistakes do happen, so you can give them the benefit of the doubt for now.
Although it does sound strange that you asked to compare the stone and cert already and they seemingly dismissed it.?

If it turns out it is the wrong stone, I would not accept an exchange. I would take my money elsewhere and research first to find a vendor you can trust.

good luck, pls fill us in on what happens.

 

[denverappraiser]

I’m with Paul, talk to the store. Always the first thing in this sort of situation is a good cleaning and most jewelers are better equipped for that than most consumers. Do they have a microscope that you and they can use to compare the stone? Usually there are quite a few clues available to match it with even when it’s mounted. If they have a gemologist on staff, talk to them and/or the manager about it. Often salespeople aren’t very well trained at this sort of thing.

If they agree that it’s the wrong stone and that they are responsible for it, I would fully expect them to take care of it with a polite apology and without fees. If they are still convinced it’s the same stone and you still aren’t, then is the time to talk to an independent appraiser.

For the benefit of other readers, doing this 2 weeks afterwards is part of the problem. The time to have this conversation is right while you''re picking up the finished ring and then immediately head for the appraiser so that you can document it for your insurance. This can also nip in the bud a variety of other common quality control problems right up front. Lastly, if you follow this procedure, future problems where there''s a fear of damage or theft by a jeweler (or anyone else) become covered under the insurance policy and the details are well documented by the report from the independent as a benchmark.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[zerj]

If your just trying to see if the stone matches the GIA report, You could attempt to read the laser inscription on the girdle assuming it has one. I can just barely read mine with a 10x loupe. This would at verify that the stone matches the report, of course it does nothing to satisfy that your happy about the inclusion.

Mike

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 6/10/2008 9:17:21 AM
Author: zerj
If your just trying to see if the stone matches the GIA report, You could attempt to read the laser inscription on the girdle assuming it has one. I can just barely read mine with a 10x loupe. This would at verify that the stone matches the report, of course it does nothing to satisfy that your happy about the inclusion.

Mike

Mike, I don''t think most stones have a laser inscription.

I do think people need to look at a stone magnified before they decide to buy it, though. Then they know what it looks like and there are no surprises later. If this stone was not looked at prior to purchase, it is certainly possible the inclusion was there at the outset. The GIA plots don''t necessarily look exactly like the actual inclusions.

 

[zerj]

Interesting. I thought the GIA was inscribing most of the stones inspected (at least at that caret size). Certainly my last purchase had an inscription. As the the inscription wasn't mentioned on the GIA report I was assuming they inscribe them all or at least have since March '06 when mine was reported.


It did take me about 20 minutes and good light to find it, and I was also lucky in that it wasn't covered by a prong.


EDIT: I looked at my report again and noticed there is a line that says "Laser Inscription Registry GIA 14663622" I remember seeing some reports probably AGS that had the incription noted in the comment section.

That said when I went to BlueNile the first 10 or so diamonds I looked at all were laser inscribed so it is probably worth checking.

 

[blues]

Here is the update:
I went to the store today.

They don''t think the diamond is not matched to the GIA cert. So they don''t offer refound.
I can still exchange in 90 days.

They roughly measured the width of the stone, and it is matched. And I pointed out the inclusion not showing on the diagram, they didn''t admit it. And said I''d better to ask GIA. And later on, they checked the inclusion again, and said if the diagram is really not matched, they can get a new cert from GIA. And the price I paid is not based on GIA, it''s based on the stone itself.

And they told me I can go to GIA and verify it for free (Can I?).

About exchange, they said they may waive the $100 mounting labor fee. And if I find another one with lower price, I won''t get the difference back as cash, instead I will get credit points. I don''t know what else I will buy from there with the credit points.

Now I will call GIA see if I can get free service like they said. If not, i will find an appraiser.

Thanks for advices.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 6/10/2008 6:56:26 PM
Author: blues
Here is the update:
I went to the store today.

They don't think the diamond is not matched to the GIA cert. So they don't offer refound.
I can still exchange in 90 days.

They roughly measured the width of the stone, and it is matched. And I pointed out the inclusion not showing on the diagram, they didn't admit it. And said I'd better to ask GIA. And later on, they checked the inclusion again, and said if the diagram is really not matched, they can get a new cert from GIA. And the price I paid is not based on GIA, it's based on the stone itself.

And they told me I can go to GIA and verify it for free (Can I?).

About exchange, they said they may waive the $100 mounting labor fee. And if I find another one with lower price, I won't get the difference back as cash, instead I will get credit points. I don't know what else I will buy from there with the credit points.

Now I will call GIA see if I can get free service like they said. If not, i will find an appraiser.

Thanks for advices.

Go to an appraiser.

If it is a different stone than what you bought then getting a new cert that now matches the stone you have is not the answer.

As for the price not being based on GIA but rather on the stone itself, what do they mean by that?

I do not understand what you mean about "credit points" -- they WILL give you your $$$ back and not just credit on the purchase, right?

About the GIA thing; I *think* what they mean is you can verify your stone on line using the carat weight and the certificate number. Use this link: link