HELP! Heavily dyed emerald, synthetic emerald, or glass???

[Pinkmartini87]

Dear all,

I spent approximately $500 on what was described as an “emerald and diamond 14k ring” on eBay earlier this week. Seller has 100% feedback, registered for many years, sells otherwise household stuff, based in US. Just got it.

I noticed one “diamond” missing as well as some chipping to one corner per her description. Some chipping to the underside of the stone also (not in description).

Unfortunately all jewelers in my area closed due to COVID so asking some advice from experts here. What do you think?

Dyed but real emerald? Glass? Synthetic emerald? Plastic??

Any clues to the hallmarks as to the maker? Any guesses on age of the ring?

Did I overpay???? (Being a newbie I do like the color...)

 

[LilAlex]

It is so heavily included that I suspect it is real -- some surface-reaching features that you highlighted in the view where the table is illuminated. The ring itself is not very well made with lots of rough surfaces on the inside, etc., so if the stone is original to the ring and is emerald, it almost must be heavily treated.

Age? There are a lot of faux-aged pieces on eBay -- cast from some old mold or prototype. Often the diamonds can help (I can not tell) but they could have been repurposed from vintage pieces. For instance, there are vendors that sell a steady stream of nearly-identical and "authentic" Art Deco rings with very poor make and rough edges, etc.

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@LilAlex Thank you for your thoughts. Unfortunately my eyesight is too poor to see for sure what the cut of the diamonds are.

I did a quick search for the maker’s hallmark also on Lang’s and google and no luck.

Style to me looks at best retro (1970s on) but may very well simply be a modern piece.

To me the dark lines may be dye impregnated fissures in a poorer quality real emerald. The small fissures on the table and other surfaces make me think less likely glass.

 

[Pinkmartini87]

Here’s a photo of it next to my verified real emerald earring:

 

[Pinkmartini87]

If I may add, after further inspection the white stones look to be single cut, if that’s of any help.

 

[Pinkmartini87]

A quick update!! I’ve decided to return the ring because 1) I found undisclosed chipping on the bottom side of the stone 2) ring size is 11.5 not 8.25 per listing and I don’t think I can size down 5 sizes

I tried to ask the eBay seller gently but she was quite nasty and insisted the ring is a size 8.25 and that she mentioned the chipping. I told her the ring diameter is 21 mm which is at least 11.5 if not size 12, and I know my hubby’s ring size (he is 11+ and wore the ring comfortably) and if he suddenly had “small” fingers I would eat my shoes (socks and all).

It made me so angry she was so nasty that I’ve filed an eBay claim as “item not described”.

I’ve never had to do this before, filing a claim. What happens next???

 

[LilAlex]

I’ve never had to do this before, filing a claim. What happens next???

I forget but you should be fine. eBay is very buyer-friendly these days, to the detriment of a lot of legit sellers. It certainly sounds like it was misrepresented -- "quality" is subjective but ring size is not!

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@LilAlex Thank you for weighing in! I hope so...although I feel like this has put me off buying jewelry on EBay (to my husband’s great joy).

 

[lovedogs]

Yeah, the size stuff is just silly. Not your fault that the seller was so far off with sizing! Most rings can only be sized 2ish sizes (at most).

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@lovedogs Thank you. I’ve never had to return anything before but this ring is simply too big.

The emerald ring quest continues...

 

[lovedogs]

Are you looking for an emerald specifically, or something large and green? Just saw some gorgeous chrome tourmaline being sold by a vendor I trust on IG, and they look very emerald like!

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@lovedogs Ooh, I’d be interested! Thank you!

 

[lovedogs]

@lovedogs Ooh, I’d be interested! Thank you!

Here are some screenshots from his stories and a video he sent me.




Obviously these arent emerald so I dont expect them to look the same, but I think they are lovely

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@lovedogs Thank you for sharing! They are lovely! But I think Ill save up for a real emerald—as you said, there’s no good substitute unfortunately that comes close to that emerald green!

 

[Bron357]

Hmmmm.
I’m not sure if it’s a badly “dried out” natural emerald or a “fractured” created emerald. Yes, these days they put “flaws” into lab grown material to make it look more natural!.
Either way the emerald is heavily flawed with surface reaching fractures and it’s not going to take much of a “bump” to crumble it.
I’m so glad you decided to return it. The ring is in terrible condition, all the wee diamonds need prong work (tilted / sunken).
Use the wording in her listing in your claim. She says that the emerald has “a scratched corner that isn’t noticable”. A scratch is a surface imperfection, a chip is something entirely different. A chip is part of the gemstone missing. You are claiming the emerald has significant and obvious damage as in that part of the gemstone has been chipped off as opposed to a simple surface imperfection.
That as well as the sizing issue. There is quite a difference between a size 8.25 size and a size 11!
Ring sizing even 1 size is actually 4 sizes when we are talking “resizing extent”. To resize more than 2 full sizes or 8 sizing increments is huge.
There is nothing wrong with eBay, it is my favourite place, but buying from private sellers can be fraught with difficulty. They often don’t know if a gem is natural or created, the don’t understand the significant of fissures and cracks and their descriptions and photos can be awful. I use this to my advantage sourcing out the good from the bad but it takes a lot of time and patience to find a good buy. Don’t give up, keep looking but if in doubt post it up here so we can offer an opinion.

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@Bron357 Thank you for your support and encouragement! I will keep you all posted on what happens and the resolution.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

A quick update!! I’ve decided to return the ring because 1) I found undisclosed chipping on the bottom side of the stone 2) ring size is 11.5 not 8.25 per listing and I don’t think I can size down 5 sizes

I tried to ask the eBay seller gently but she was quite nasty and insisted the ring is a size 8.25 and that she mentioned the chipping. I told her the ring diameter is 21 mm which is at least 11.5 if not size 12, and I know my hubby’s ring size (he is 11+ and wore the ring comfortably) and if he suddenly had “small” fingers I would eat my shoes (socks and all).

It made me so angry she was so nasty that I’ve filed an eBay claim as “item not described”.

I’ve never had to do this before, filing a claim. What happens next???

Im so sorry to read this
Good luck with it all

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@Daisys and Diamonds Thank you for your kind concern! I will keep everyone posted. I’m just sick at heart at having to deal with this, and did not like the seller basically accusing me of lying about the chipping and ring size despite obv evidence to the contrary.

 

[Bron357]

And as an aside, I’m not sure that emerald is original to the ring. The positioning of the end diamonds and the overall “curved” design elements of the ring makes me think it originally held an oval shape centre gem. The claws holding the emerald are also skewed and not in correct position to hold the emerald securely. They look like they have been fiddled with and not well at that! The ring has had a really hard life.

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@Bron357 Thank you for your observations.

An update: seller responded this morning and continues to insist she described the chip in the corner (which she in fact says a “scratch” in the description), ignoring the fact that I keep saying she did not disclose the chip on the bottom. She also conveniently ignores the wrong ring size. She says she will not issue a return because the ring is as described.

So angry!!! I have to wait until Apr 3 to ask eBay to step in since it seems that we cannot come to a resolution.

I’ve been using eBay since 2003 and have never had to leave a negative feedback, but I’m thinking I may for this horrible woman.

question: even if ebay rules in my favor, should I even trust her to refund me upon receipt of the ring back? Should I just purchase myself delivery signature confirmation and insurance also in case she tries to pull one over me and claims she never got the ring back?

 

[Slickk]

@Bron357 I just purchase myself delivery signature confirmation and insurance also in case she tries to pull one over me and claims she never got the ring back?

This ^ Yes!! Sorry you have to deal with this.

 

[Pinkmartini87]

Now the seller is accusing me of causing the chip to return the ring. Unbelievable!

Why would I need to chip the ring when I already have reason enough to return based on wrong ring size alone???

I’ve actually gone ahead and left negative feedback for her. Even if I don’t get my money back in the case this makes her so angry, I don’t care. I’m just hoping to warn other folks about this scammer. I see she already has other objects listed. She must be stopped!

I should have titled this: eBay horror story

 

[Bron357]

Now the seller is accusing me of causing the chip to return the ring. Unbelievable!

Why would I need to chip the ring when I already have reason enough to return based on wrong ring size alone???

Take a deep breath.
eBay can and does access any communications between seller and buyer as part of their investigation into refund claims.
All you need to do is reply back and say “the reason why I am asking for a return and refund is because the ring isn’t as described. There are significant chips to the emerald both on the top and the underneath that weren’t disclosed.
A scratch is a surface blemish, a chip is part of the gemstone missing. I am astonished and very upset that you are now suggesting that I damaged the ring so as to make a return. Why on earth would I do that?
Furthermore the ring is massively bigger than the size you stated in your listing. I won’t be able to resize the ring down to my ring size. I wouldn’t have purchased the ring if I had known there were significant chips and that the ring size was so large that I couldn’t wear it.
eBay knows that when sellers get aggressive it’s because they are in the wrong.
When eBay finds in your favour you will be advised to return the ring to the seller. You need to send it insured, signed for delivery AND the seller is supposed to send you a shipping label to enable that.
Don’t worry, just sit tight and wait for the case to finalise in your favour.

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@Bron357 Thank you. Yes, I need to take a deep breath. I’m grateful to you for your level headedness. I also posted on the antique forum since I know a lot of ladies who frequent that part of the forum are eBay buyers also.

 

[Indylady]

So sorry for your horrible experience; sounds needlessly stressful. Please keep up posted on eBays response

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@Indylady Thank you for taking the time to stop by and lend your support!

 

[CSpan]

I hope this gets resolved. I always worry about these sorts of things, but it sounds like you are on the right track

 

[Pinkmartini87]

@CSpan Thank you!!