frankiextah
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2009
- Messages
- 785
I just came back from the worst customer experience of my life, even for NYC standard... I am appalled !! 
This appraisal was for my new 3ct AGS000 H VS1 RB diamond in VC halo ring setting.
I made an appointment with Mark Bunda for today (lunch hour). The appointment however turned into a very negative experience for me. I was quoted $345 and to me the price was fair and we agreed on the appointment for me to expect : 1) match the stone to the cert 2) evaluate the diamond and setting 3) write up the appraisal document for insurance purposes.
Mark Bunda completely failed my expectations to the point i had to walk out in the middle of the appointment feeling frustrated, belittled, and insulted !!!
Without even seeing my diamond, Mr. Bunda informed me in a brusk manner that 95% of the certed stones he had evaluated, only 5% had been AGS. if i were to apply for insurance i would only be covered by AGS stone replacements, insurance companies "recognize" GIA stones as more superior and in the event i were to pick a new diamond, I would not be able to pick a GIA stone replacement with the same AGS "color" and "clarity" range. Vice versa if i had an GIA stone that needed to be replaced, i would have the option to go either way. His statement baffled me and sounded very strange.
Feeling a bit uneasy, I placed my ring on the tray and he immediately proceeded with measuring the diamond with calipers. This was very strange to me because every single appraisal appt i had been in, the first thing was at least a quick steam clean to get the grime out, and this time it didn't happen.
So with a dirty ring he determined very quickly that my diamond was an I color VS2. WHOA??!! Note my diamond is an AGS000 H color VS1 with a HCA of 0.9. When picking out this diamond, I remember comparing my previous 2.32ct G color next to this 3ct H color and I was not able to see any color difference... and i am color sensitive as you all already know! So while i understand AGS may occasionally grade color softer, i feel like i would have been able to see enough tint in an "I color" and would not have purchased the diamond in the first place if it were the case. As for the VS2 part, while i understand there is a very small colorless crystal near the table of the diamond, it is the one and only inclusion other than one other pinpoint. these are the ONLY two inclusions in the entire 3ct diamond! It made me wonder if he had slightly cleaned the ring would he would have changed his conclusion. But it was very apparent to me that he was biased against AGS stones to begin with for unknown reasons and already had a stigma against it since the beginning of this evaluation.
As a client I rightfully asked him how he came up with VS2 as a clarity grade for this diamond (I did not have a chance to ask about color at that point). He simply stated that there was a crystal on the table and gave me a face as if asking why I would even question his evaluation. I pointed out that the AGS plot did not have any other inclusions other that one pinpoint. He ignored my question, and asked me to hand him the certificate to proceed with writing up the appraisal document. At this point, baffled and frustrated not getting an answer, i asked if he was even going to look at the cut grade. He sighed, and put his glasses back on, 3 seconds later he said "i would give it a VERY GOOD cut grade, NOT EXCELLENT". I again told him that the AGS grade is 000 IDEAL (he still has not seen the AGS cert yet). He then sighed again and said, "well, your setting is affecting the performance of this diamond then. the diamond girdle is set above the halo and your diamond now looks like a VERY GOOD cut diamond and not EXCELLENT anymore". I honestly have never heard of this type of explanation at all, nor would I have ever imagined a very delicate halo setting could detrimentally ruin the performance of a diamond?!
I tried to ask him further on the cut grade evaluation, but he kept interrupting my sentences, and declared this appointment was solely for insurance documentation purpose and not for cut evaluation, and it would incur an additional fee if he looked more into it. At this point i was appalled, frustrated and insulted. I asked him one last question, "so for $345, you are simply matching the certificate and nothing else? I remember going to other appraisers for the same price with more in depth evaluation of the cut grade such as looking into angle measurements and proportions."... Without even having the opportunity to finish my statement, Mr. Bunda literally threw my ring back onto the tray and said "well then why don't you just leave and go the other appraisers". My jaw literally dropped on the ground. I left the appointment mortified and insulted. The only silver lining was that i did not pay him a penny.
p.s. in the middle of this appointment he also scoffed at me for not telling him in advanced that the diamond is not laser inscribed on the girdle, that i should have told him so he wouldn't have " wasted 10 minutes finding the inscription that was never there".
p.p.s. I scheduled another appointment with David Wolf for this coming monday morning.
below pics show my diamond proportions, plot, and HCA score :
This appraisal was for my new 3ct AGS000 H VS1 RB diamond in VC halo ring setting.
I made an appointment with Mark Bunda for today (lunch hour). The appointment however turned into a very negative experience for me. I was quoted $345 and to me the price was fair and we agreed on the appointment for me to expect : 1) match the stone to the cert 2) evaluate the diamond and setting 3) write up the appraisal document for insurance purposes.
Mark Bunda completely failed my expectations to the point i had to walk out in the middle of the appointment feeling frustrated, belittled, and insulted !!!
Without even seeing my diamond, Mr. Bunda informed me in a brusk manner that 95% of the certed stones he had evaluated, only 5% had been AGS. if i were to apply for insurance i would only be covered by AGS stone replacements, insurance companies "recognize" GIA stones as more superior and in the event i were to pick a new diamond, I would not be able to pick a GIA stone replacement with the same AGS "color" and "clarity" range. Vice versa if i had an GIA stone that needed to be replaced, i would have the option to go either way. His statement baffled me and sounded very strange.
Feeling a bit uneasy, I placed my ring on the tray and he immediately proceeded with measuring the diamond with calipers. This was very strange to me because every single appraisal appt i had been in, the first thing was at least a quick steam clean to get the grime out, and this time it didn't happen.
So with a dirty ring he determined very quickly that my diamond was an I color VS2. WHOA??!! Note my diamond is an AGS000 H color VS1 with a HCA of 0.9. When picking out this diamond, I remember comparing my previous 2.32ct G color next to this 3ct H color and I was not able to see any color difference... and i am color sensitive as you all already know! So while i understand AGS may occasionally grade color softer, i feel like i would have been able to see enough tint in an "I color" and would not have purchased the diamond in the first place if it were the case. As for the VS2 part, while i understand there is a very small colorless crystal near the table of the diamond, it is the one and only inclusion other than one other pinpoint. these are the ONLY two inclusions in the entire 3ct diamond! It made me wonder if he had slightly cleaned the ring would he would have changed his conclusion. But it was very apparent to me that he was biased against AGS stones to begin with for unknown reasons and already had a stigma against it since the beginning of this evaluation.
As a client I rightfully asked him how he came up with VS2 as a clarity grade for this diamond (I did not have a chance to ask about color at that point). He simply stated that there was a crystal on the table and gave me a face as if asking why I would even question his evaluation. I pointed out that the AGS plot did not have any other inclusions other that one pinpoint. He ignored my question, and asked me to hand him the certificate to proceed with writing up the appraisal document. At this point, baffled and frustrated not getting an answer, i asked if he was even going to look at the cut grade. He sighed, and put his glasses back on, 3 seconds later he said "i would give it a VERY GOOD cut grade, NOT EXCELLENT". I again told him that the AGS grade is 000 IDEAL (he still has not seen the AGS cert yet). He then sighed again and said, "well, your setting is affecting the performance of this diamond then. the diamond girdle is set above the halo and your diamond now looks like a VERY GOOD cut diamond and not EXCELLENT anymore". I honestly have never heard of this type of explanation at all, nor would I have ever imagined a very delicate halo setting could detrimentally ruin the performance of a diamond?!
I tried to ask him further on the cut grade evaluation, but he kept interrupting my sentences, and declared this appointment was solely for insurance documentation purpose and not for cut evaluation, and it would incur an additional fee if he looked more into it. At this point i was appalled, frustrated and insulted. I asked him one last question, "so for $345, you are simply matching the certificate and nothing else? I remember going to other appraisers for the same price with more in depth evaluation of the cut grade such as looking into angle measurements and proportions."... Without even having the opportunity to finish my statement, Mr. Bunda literally threw my ring back onto the tray and said "well then why don't you just leave and go the other appraisers". My jaw literally dropped on the ground. I left the appointment mortified and insulted. The only silver lining was that i did not pay him a penny.
p.s. in the middle of this appointment he also scoffed at me for not telling him in advanced that the diamond is not laser inscribed on the girdle, that i should have told him so he wouldn't have " wasted 10 minutes finding the inscription that was never there".
p.p.s. I scheduled another appointment with David Wolf for this coming monday morning.
below pics show my diamond proportions, plot, and HCA score :
I am just so glad you hadn't paid him!!!
Ha, does she not know that I would never fall for her tricks? 
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