newlyengaged11
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2005
- Messages
- 13
Hi all,
I just had my engagement ring appraised, and was very disappointed with the experience.
Now I am concerned that the appraisal is not worth much - I don''t trust it. I''d like to tell you a bit about in hopes of getting feedback as to whether I should be worried.
Here''s how it went:
- What I am most upset about is this: I asked him to make sure the prongs were okay and the stones secure, and he said they were. BUT, when I got home, I examined the ring closely myself because I didn’t at all trust his evaluation. It turns out that one of the side diamonds is loose!!!
I discovered this by shaking the ring and hearing the tiny rattle. Upon further examination, I found that I could actually move the side diamond around ever so slightly. (By the way, there is no way that the stone got loose on the way home, as it was in its box - I wasn''t wearing it.)
- Also, the setting was custom made, and while looking at it in his office, I thought I noticed that the side diamonds were not exactly aligned (one was a tiny bit too high). I pointed this out to him, and he said yes, that I should consider having this adjusted with my jeweler. Well, I''m glad I caught this, but shouldn''t he be pointing this out to me rather than vice versa?
- The phone rang throughout the entire appraisal session (about 45 minutes, give or take), and he picked it up and spoke (for extended lengths of time) at least four times. Not professional!!
- He measured the side stones, and put in the length measurement for both the length and width, and then couldn’t figure out why the carat weight was over what our jeweler said it would be (it’s because these were ovals – not rounds).
- I asked him about what "Platinum 950" meant, and what possible alloys could be added to it, and he said that Platinum 950 meant that there was at least 95% plantinum, and that Platinum 900 has 10% iridium. But this doesn''t answer my question of what various metals could be added to Platinum 950 - is it always iridium??
- I was told that he couldn’t do any form of light analysis (e.g., Idealscope, etc.) on a set diamond – is this true?
- He first said he was going to plot the inclusions and make sure the diamond was the same one we had paid for. He did go through the inclusions, but never even bothered to look at the certificate to verify they were the same as he was seeing. Is this how it is supposed to work?
- Basically, the appraisal consisted of him telling us he thought the diamond was colorless (D, E, or F), and then asked what GIA said – we said F; he said it could be VS1 or 2, we said GIA graded it VS2; he said symmetry and polish were very good, we said GIA had graded it good/good. He measured the length and width and depth of the diamonds (approximately).
- I asked if we could have the crown and pavilion angles written down, as well – this was not done.
- It seemed as though he merely played with the numbers until we told him that he had arrived at an appraisal value we were happy with – is that how an appraisal is supposed to work?
- Then, toward the end of the session, he asked if we minded if his friend came in (to the tiny, cramped office). Well, we can’t say “no” can we, without looking rude?
- Then, when it came time to pay, his credit card machine wasn’t working, so we had to give him all the cash we had, and he asked us to send him a check for the rest!
- I guess I had just hoped that the appraisal would be an interesting, informative experience and leave me feeling secure about my purchase. It did no such thing.
- I chose this appraiser because he came highly recommended on PriceScope. He was very nice, and I feel really bad giving him such an awful review, but I feel truly disappointed by this service. I also chose this appraiser because his cost was about $60 less than the other appraiser I was considering. Is this a case of just getting what you paid for? What is the norm when it comes to appraisal sessions? Should I have my ring reappraised?
Sigh . . . I''ve been looking forward to having this ring in my hands for many months now. And now I don''t think I should wear around if the side stone is even a tiny bit loose, right?
Thanks for reading, and I''d appreciate any advice.
I just had my engagement ring appraised, and was very disappointed with the experience.
Here''s how it went:
- What I am most upset about is this: I asked him to make sure the prongs were okay and the stones secure, and he said they were. BUT, when I got home, I examined the ring closely myself because I didn’t at all trust his evaluation. It turns out that one of the side diamonds is loose!!!
- Also, the setting was custom made, and while looking at it in his office, I thought I noticed that the side diamonds were not exactly aligned (one was a tiny bit too high). I pointed this out to him, and he said yes, that I should consider having this adjusted with my jeweler. Well, I''m glad I caught this, but shouldn''t he be pointing this out to me rather than vice versa?
- The phone rang throughout the entire appraisal session (about 45 minutes, give or take), and he picked it up and spoke (for extended lengths of time) at least four times. Not professional!!
- He measured the side stones, and put in the length measurement for both the length and width, and then couldn’t figure out why the carat weight was over what our jeweler said it would be (it’s because these were ovals – not rounds).
- I asked him about what "Platinum 950" meant, and what possible alloys could be added to it, and he said that Platinum 950 meant that there was at least 95% plantinum, and that Platinum 900 has 10% iridium. But this doesn''t answer my question of what various metals could be added to Platinum 950 - is it always iridium??
- I was told that he couldn’t do any form of light analysis (e.g., Idealscope, etc.) on a set diamond – is this true?
- He first said he was going to plot the inclusions and make sure the diamond was the same one we had paid for. He did go through the inclusions, but never even bothered to look at the certificate to verify they were the same as he was seeing. Is this how it is supposed to work?
- Basically, the appraisal consisted of him telling us he thought the diamond was colorless (D, E, or F), and then asked what GIA said – we said F; he said it could be VS1 or 2, we said GIA graded it VS2; he said symmetry and polish were very good, we said GIA had graded it good/good. He measured the length and width and depth of the diamonds (approximately).
- I asked if we could have the crown and pavilion angles written down, as well – this was not done.
- It seemed as though he merely played with the numbers until we told him that he had arrived at an appraisal value we were happy with – is that how an appraisal is supposed to work?
- Then, toward the end of the session, he asked if we minded if his friend came in (to the tiny, cramped office). Well, we can’t say “no” can we, without looking rude?
- Then, when it came time to pay, his credit card machine wasn’t working, so we had to give him all the cash we had, and he asked us to send him a check for the rest!
- I guess I had just hoped that the appraisal would be an interesting, informative experience and leave me feeling secure about my purchase. It did no such thing.
- I chose this appraiser because he came highly recommended on PriceScope. He was very nice, and I feel really bad giving him such an awful review, but I feel truly disappointed by this service. I also chose this appraiser because his cost was about $60 less than the other appraiser I was considering. Is this a case of just getting what you paid for? What is the norm when it comes to appraisal sessions? Should I have my ring reappraised?
Sigh . . . I''ve been looking forward to having this ring in my hands for many months now. And now I don''t think I should wear around if the side stone is even a tiny bit loose, right?
Thanks for reading, and I''d appreciate any advice.
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