First custom moissanite purchase from Golden Bird Jewellery on Etsy

[Legacy Laurie]

Hi everyone! I am new here and to moissanites in general. I am waiting for my rings to be made from Golden Bird Jewellery on Etsy. He has many positive reviews, but I have also seen some negative experiences and it is making me a little nervous. So far, Vijay has been great with the communication back and forth. I will attach photos of the stone and the CAD of the rings. I have chosen a 8.30 mm near colourless stone for the main ring. Any feedback, advice, opinions is welcomed!

 

[mrsthirdcharms]

Hi everyone! I am new here and to moissanites in general. I am waiting for my rings to be made from Golden Bird Jewellery on Etsy. He has many positive reviews, but I have also seen some negative experiences and it is making me a little nervous. So far, Vijay has been great with the communication back and forth. I will attach photos of the stone and the CAD of the rings. I have chosen a 8.30 mm near colourless stone for the main ring. Any feedback, advice, opinions is welcomed!

Hi there, I haven‘t ordered moissanite from Vijay, but I did have a custom ring made from his lab diamond shop, Ourous. It was a very thin band, 1.8mm x1.5 mm with 8 -1mm lab diamonds set in. This was to match a Lily and Dahlia ring, which I had made in artisan 14k white gold, without the rhodium plating. I specifically told him several times 14k white gold, with no plating. He sent me pictures of the ring, and it looked good, but there wasn’t anything next to it that I could use to compare subtle color tone. When I received the ring, it was plated, and stamped 10k, vs 14k.

I contacted him, and he acknowledged the mistake. He offered to remake the ring to specs as we had agreed. He gave me an address in Canada to send the first ring back, so I didn’t have to pay shipping back to India. He remade the ring, within a week, and sent me videos and pictures, next to a plated ring for color contrast. I received it, and it matches my other ring really well. He reimbursed me for shipping back the first ring. His craftsmanship and quality is very good. I can’t analyze his moissanite quality. Here’s a picture of the small lab diamond band he made next to the Lily & Dahlia ring.

 

[Legacy Laurie]

Hi there, I haven‘t ordered moissanite from Vijay, but I did have a custom ring made from his lab diamond shop, Ourous. It was a very thin band, 1.8mm x1.5 mm with 8 -1mm lab diamonds set in. This was to match a Lily and Dahlia ring, which I had made in artisan 14k white gold, without the rhodium plating. I specifically told him several times 14k white gold, with no plating. He sent me pictures of the ring, and it looked good, but there wasn’t anything next to it that I could use to compare subtle color tone. When I received the ring, it was plated, and stamped 10k, vs 14k.

I contacted him, and he acknowledged the mistake. He offered to remake the ring to specs as we had agreed. He gave me an address in Canada to send the first ring back, so I didn’t have to pay shipping back to India. He remade the ring, within a week, and sent me videos and pictures, next to a plated ring for color contrast. I received it, and it matches my other ring really well. He reimbursed me for shipping back the first ring. His craftsmanship and quality is very good. I can’t analyze his moissanite quality. Here’s a picture of the small lab diamond band he made next to the Lily & Dahlia ring.

Thank you for replying with your experience. Sorry there was a mistake made, but it is good to know that he rectified the situation. Your rings are lovely.

 

[mrsthirdcharms]

Thank you for replying with your experience. Sorry there was a mistake made, but it is good to know that he rectified the situation. Your rings are lovely.

Thank you. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Vijay. His craftsmanship and customer service are both great imo, and his prices excellent. I think how a vendor resolves a mistake speaks volumes, and he was gracious.

 

[Legacy Laurie]

Thank you. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Vijay. His craftsmanship and customer service are both great imo, and his prices excellent. I think how a vendor resolves a mistake speaks volumes, and he was gracious.

Yes, I absolutely agree. Mistakes happen, but it is how they are resolved that matters and that is what makes a huge difference to me.

 

[dk168]

Good luck, as I personally did not have a good experience with my custom project with him, and have written a thread about it.

DK

 

[swaye2010]

Thank you. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Vijay. His craftsmanship and customer service are both great imo, and his prices excellent. I think how a vendor resolves a mistake speaks volumes, and he was gracious.

That’s interesting to see that he was able to do a ring without plating. I have been trying to get one from the Chinese companies for years but they said they would discolor. I love the antique look of unplated white gold. I wish it was more common but people have gotten used to white gold being super shiny. That is why I always go for platinum.

 

[mrsthirdcharms]

That’s interesting to see that he was able to do a ring without plating. I have been trying to get one from the Chinese companies for years but they said they would discolor. I love the antique look of unplated white gold. I wish it was more common but people have gotten used to white gold being super shiny. That is why I always go for platinum.

This isn’t my first attempt to get unplated white gold from an overseas vendor. It’s just the first successful time. I asked for an unplated white gold ring from Sophia at Tianyu, and she swore she understood. What got made was a yellow gold ring. For the price, time, and effort, I wasn’t going to try to argue about it. The setting was too high for my tastes and I wound up selling it later.

 

[abbit]

That’s interesting to see that he was able to do a ring without plating. I have been trying to get one from the Chinese companies for years but they said they would discolor. I love the antique look of unplated white gold. I wish it was more common but people have gotten used to white gold being super shiny. That is why I always go for platinum.

I've had earrings made by Studiometals on Etsy. They are a Canadian company that do great unplated white gold stuff

 

[eapj]

Like @dk168, I also had a bad experience with Vijay and wouldn’t recommend him. Make sure everything is exactly as you specified. I wish you well with your project!

 

[Legacy Laurie]

Like @dk168, I also had a bad experience with Vijay and wouldn’t recommend him. Make sure everything is exactly as you specified. I wish you well with your project!

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. What happened?

I had a couple minor issues with Vijay, but overall it was a fairly good experience. I have had my rings for a couple weeks and I am pretty happy with them. I will attach a photo.

 

[eapj]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. What happened?

I had a couple minor issues with Vijay, but overall it was a fairly good experience. I have had my rings for a couple weeks and I am pretty happy with them. I will attach a photo.

Your rings look great! I follow the Reddit Moissanite group and some people there have had good experiences there, too, but some not. I have a detailed thread over there about my experience. I had miscommunication with Vijay and the stone that was put in the ring wasn’t the cut or color or size of what I ordered and approved. I should have pushed back more when I saw the final pic before mailing but got reassurances that all was well. He did offer to put in a better quality stone if I shipped it back priority or if I wanted a ring made how I ordered, I could pay for it. I gave up at that point. I felt ripped off, honestly. I don’t say that lightly as I try only to give good feedback.

I am glad that you had a good experience. I’m not trying to suggest that people not use him, just to make sure they are careful to get exactly what they paid for.

 

[Legacy Laurie]

Your rings look great! I follow the Reddit Moissanite group and some people there have had good experiences there, too, but some not. I have a detailed thread over there about my experience. I had miscommunication with Vijay and the stone that was put in the ring wasn’t the cut or color or size of what I ordered and approved. I should have pushed back more when I saw the final pic before mailing but got reassurances that all was well. He did offer to put in a better quality stone if I shipped it back priority or if I wanted a ring made how I ordered, I could pay for it. I gave up at that point. I felt ripped off, honestly. I don’t say that lightly as I try only to give good feedback.

I am glad that you had a good experience. I’m not trying to suggest that people not use him, just to make sure they are careful to get exactly what they paid for.

Thank you. I also follow the Reddit moissanite group, although I started following it after I placed my order. However, it is because of people who have had negative experiences and shared them, that I knew to be cautious and to push back with any issues and I did just that when I had a couple issues with Vijay. I may not have had my rings turn out properly otherwise and I very much appreciate you and others sharing their experience/advice/cautions, etc...
I am sorry he did that to you. I don't blame you for feeling ripped off and angry. That is just inexcusable and he should have gone out of his way to make it right with you, which he did not do. Expecting you to pay to send the ring back or pay more to have the ring made as you ordered it is absurd. I am sorry for your disappointing experience. I completely understand where you are coming from.

 

[dk168]

@Legacy Laurie for your information, I am getting a pair of small lab/MMD earrings from Vijay's other Etsy shop, namely Ouros Jewels, and the customisation is minimal.

I thought I was buying a pair of studs with push backs as seen in the pics of the listing, to be contacted by Vijay asking me if I would like the earrings to be made in push backs or screw backs!

I did mention I am a returning customer, and that I did not have a good experience via Golden Bird for which he apologised.

I shall receive my earrings in a few days, hopefully, all is well, as there are other items that I would like to buy/commission from his shop.

DK

 

[Legacy Laurie]

@Legacy Laurie for your information, I am getting a pair of small lab/MMD earrings from Vijay's other Etsy shop, namely Ouros Jewels, and the customisation is minimal.

I thought I was buying a pair of studs with push backs as seen in the pics of the listing, to be contacted by Vijay asking me if I would like the earrings to be made in push backs or screw backs!

I did mention I am a returning customer, and that I did not have a good experience via Golden Bird for which he apologised.

I shall receive my earrings in a few days, hopefully, all is well, as there are other items that I would like to buy/commission from his shop.

DK

Good to know! I hope you will be happy with your earrings! Glad he apologized for your bad experience. This is his chance to make up for that.

 

[dk168]

Good to know! I hope you will be happy with your earrings! Glad he apologized for your bad experience. This is his chance to make up for that.

He did apologise and gave me a full refund at the time when I decided enough was enough with my custom project with Golden Bird.

When he started to communicate with me with regard to my purchase from Ouros, my immediate reaction was "not this again", as in ping-pong messaging which I found really tiresome.

Why 3 separate messages, when he could have asked me about (a) push or screw backs, (b) contact phone number as required for shipping and (c) whether I wanted to pay extra for using DHL etc...???

May be that's just me, who knows!

DK

 

[Legacy Laurie]

He did apologise and gave me a full refund at the time when I decided enough was enough with my custom project with Golden Bird.

When he started to communicate with me with regard to my purchase from Ouros, my immediate reaction was "not this again", as in ping-pong messaging which I found really tiresome.

Why 3 separate messages, when he could have asked me about (a) push or screw backs, (b) contact phone number as required for shipping and (c) whether I wanted to pay extra for using DHL etc...???

May be that's just me, who knows!

DK

Hahaha, I know what you mean! I got a little annoyed with some of the communication with him. I hope it all works out for you!

 

[swaye2010]

I see his work improving but I have been around long enough to remember the bad stuff too. He wouldn’t be my first choice but I do find that he is doing lab diamonds in smaller sizes for 5 stone rings or melee in a way that you can’t get from anyone else right now. I would probably buy loose stones first before ordering a complete ring. I think Diamondrensu has actually been doing a lot better with his design then the early days and I would probably recommend him first for moissanite.

 

[Legacy Laurie]

I see his work improving but I have been around long enough to remember the bad stuff too. He wouldn’t be my first choice but I do find that he is doing lab diamonds in smaller sizes for 5 stone rings or melee in a way that you can’t get from anyone else right now. I would probably buy loose stones first before ordering a complete ring. I think Diamondrensu has actually been doing a lot better with his design then the early days and I would probably recommend him first for moissanite.

I understand where you are coming from. Good information to know!