Hello all. Hate this to be my first post.
Me and my wife have been looking at getting her a round cut solitaire in the 1.5-2.0 carat range for the past 6 months now. We had shopped around at all the big franchises locally. Zales, Kays, REeds, etc.
Prices seem to have been in the 6k- infinity range. We were complete average diamond novices who knew very little about diamond grading and pricing other than waht we see locally which isn''t much i must say.
Couple weeks ago we went to NYC for our anniversary/ Wife''s birthday. ON the day we were supposed to leave we decided to stay just one more day and go do some shopping.
We were walking down 5th avenue and happened to stop in a small retail store to look at some used Omega watches... while sorting through the watches in the window box my wife spotted a nice looking diamond solitaire.
Guy pulls it out and explains how a client of his had bought it for his wife. He even showed me the old setting it had came out of. It also had two colored stones on each side. He had just put it in a nice Platinum setting that fit my wife perfectly. According to the store owner the guys wife decided she wanted a smaller 1carat ring so the store bought this one back. Stone looked good to the naked eye other than a cloudy spot on one side that was clearly visible if you looked closely with the naked eye.
Wife tries it on. Fits perfect. Guy tells me it is 1.95 carats, SI1 clarity, and an H in color. I know little to nothing of diamond grading so I was depending on his honesty.... Smart move..... He then shows me a appraisal for just over 16k, which seemed reasonable for a stone with those specs. We asked several times if the stone was clarity enhanced because the price seemed low for such a large stone with those specs. Guy assured us no.
He then tells me the list price does some magic work and explains how they are having a 70% off sale. Blah, blah and comes up with a sales price of 4,700 bucks with no sales tax because he would mail the box and rest of the info to my home . That''s when I should have walked out the door. But I am an idiot.....
We went down to the diamond district for a hour or so and asked to see if they had anything similar in size, clarity, color, and price. All were much higher in price or clarity enhanced....
We went back to the motel room to talk it over some more. Wife really wanted it so I called the guy one more time to get the specs to cross reference with diamonds on the internet. AGain the guy tells me SI1, H color, 1.95. Couldn''t find a better deal on the web so I decide to buy it.
We went back to the store. Asked the guy again if it was clarity enhanced. He said 100% not enhanced. He even let my wife write down an agreement on the reciept for us to both sign. This is exactly what she wrote " THIS STONE IS GUARANTEED TO BE NATURAL AND NOT CLARITY ENHANCED IN ANY WAY. A FULL REFUND WILL BE ISSUED IF APPRAISAL FINDS IT IS ENHANCED" I then told the guy we were going to have it appraised again and that if the appraiser says it is clarity enhanced I would want a refund. Guy says sure no problem.
On the way out I ask for the appraisal. He says he would be mailing it to me.....
Ok....
We get home. First thing my Paw in law wants to do is take a look at it under a microscpe..... Whoa I amlost choked. In additon to the cloud that we were able to see with the naked eye. There was also a fracture going across the middle of the table. This had me worried so we took it to an appraiser the next morning.
We let the guy look it over. Didn''t actually get an appraisal. Just let him evaluate the stone. He said it would grade out to an I2-I3 and that he saw a blue/purple flash which was indicative of clarity enhancement. He had a microspe set up with a tv viewer and tried to show us the flash but we were not able to make it out. He also explained that the cut of the diamond was horrible. There is a big natural on one side that actually intrudes into the girdle so it basically looks like the girdle has a chip in it on one side. The girdle is also extremely thick.
We decided to take it to two more appraisers. We didn''t tell them anything about the prior appraisers assessment of the stone and they all said the same exact thing. I2-I3 in clarity, H in color, and Cut was horrible. Stone would appraise for less than we paid.... The last appraiser was actually able to show me the flash under magnifcation. It was a very distinct flash bluish/ purple flash.
I call the guy up.. I tell him very nicely tell him that 3 different appraisers said the stone was clarity enhanced. He asked if they would put it in writing. I said that shouldn''t be a problem. He then tells me that to get it in writing from an appraiser and to send the letter and the stone to him. He would then send the stone to a lab in NYC to see if the results agreed with those of my appraiser.
Bottom line is. We do not want this diamond. It was horribly misrepresented to us before purchase. Wife told him that the clarity was mis represented and now he says that he originally said SI2 instead of SI1 and nothing was in writing. Yet he had an appraisal which he won''t send to us. None of this was in writing . Stupid.......
What shoudl I doooooooo.... I just want my money back.
God I just feel so stupid. I have been researching diamonds non-stop for the past few days. I can honestly say I know much much more about diamonds now, and ways in which a person can be screwed when buying diamonds.
Here are my possible outs that I know of.
1. File dispute with visa.
2. Technically the signed receipt says that a full refund will be given if the appraiser says the stone is clarity enhanced. Not a lab but the appraisers evaluation.
3. Press the issue of him misrepresenting the grading of the stone. I believe jewelers can be off by one grade??? He was off by 3-4. However it is not in writing. I know I will never see an appraisal now that the isssue has arisen
4. He did sell me something in store. Didn''t charge sales tax. Let me walk out with intent of mailing the rest of the box and paperwork on the stone. One appraiser said that is mail fraud??? I''m not sure.
5. Offer to let the guy keep 200 bucks as a token of my stupidity.
Thanks so much for reading through all this crap and sorry for such a long first post. I just have been worrying non stop for the past few days.
Me and my wife have been looking at getting her a round cut solitaire in the 1.5-2.0 carat range for the past 6 months now. We had shopped around at all the big franchises locally. Zales, Kays, REeds, etc.
Prices seem to have been in the 6k- infinity range. We were complete average diamond novices who knew very little about diamond grading and pricing other than waht we see locally which isn''t much i must say.
Couple weeks ago we went to NYC for our anniversary/ Wife''s birthday. ON the day we were supposed to leave we decided to stay just one more day and go do some shopping.
We were walking down 5th avenue and happened to stop in a small retail store to look at some used Omega watches... while sorting through the watches in the window box my wife spotted a nice looking diamond solitaire.
Guy pulls it out and explains how a client of his had bought it for his wife. He even showed me the old setting it had came out of. It also had two colored stones on each side. He had just put it in a nice Platinum setting that fit my wife perfectly. According to the store owner the guys wife decided she wanted a smaller 1carat ring so the store bought this one back. Stone looked good to the naked eye other than a cloudy spot on one side that was clearly visible if you looked closely with the naked eye.
Wife tries it on. Fits perfect. Guy tells me it is 1.95 carats, SI1 clarity, and an H in color. I know little to nothing of diamond grading so I was depending on his honesty.... Smart move..... He then shows me a appraisal for just over 16k, which seemed reasonable for a stone with those specs. We asked several times if the stone was clarity enhanced because the price seemed low for such a large stone with those specs. Guy assured us no.
He then tells me the list price does some magic work and explains how they are having a 70% off sale. Blah, blah and comes up with a sales price of 4,700 bucks with no sales tax because he would mail the box and rest of the info to my home . That''s when I should have walked out the door. But I am an idiot.....
We went down to the diamond district for a hour or so and asked to see if they had anything similar in size, clarity, color, and price. All were much higher in price or clarity enhanced....
We went back to the motel room to talk it over some more. Wife really wanted it so I called the guy one more time to get the specs to cross reference with diamonds on the internet. AGain the guy tells me SI1, H color, 1.95. Couldn''t find a better deal on the web so I decide to buy it.
We went back to the store. Asked the guy again if it was clarity enhanced. He said 100% not enhanced. He even let my wife write down an agreement on the reciept for us to both sign. This is exactly what she wrote " THIS STONE IS GUARANTEED TO BE NATURAL AND NOT CLARITY ENHANCED IN ANY WAY. A FULL REFUND WILL BE ISSUED IF APPRAISAL FINDS IT IS ENHANCED" I then told the guy we were going to have it appraised again and that if the appraiser says it is clarity enhanced I would want a refund. Guy says sure no problem.
On the way out I ask for the appraisal. He says he would be mailing it to me.....
Ok....
We get home. First thing my Paw in law wants to do is take a look at it under a microscpe..... Whoa I amlost choked. In additon to the cloud that we were able to see with the naked eye. There was also a fracture going across the middle of the table. This had me worried so we took it to an appraiser the next morning.
We let the guy look it over. Didn''t actually get an appraisal. Just let him evaluate the stone. He said it would grade out to an I2-I3 and that he saw a blue/purple flash which was indicative of clarity enhancement. He had a microspe set up with a tv viewer and tried to show us the flash but we were not able to make it out. He also explained that the cut of the diamond was horrible. There is a big natural on one side that actually intrudes into the girdle so it basically looks like the girdle has a chip in it on one side. The girdle is also extremely thick.
We decided to take it to two more appraisers. We didn''t tell them anything about the prior appraisers assessment of the stone and they all said the same exact thing. I2-I3 in clarity, H in color, and Cut was horrible. Stone would appraise for less than we paid.... The last appraiser was actually able to show me the flash under magnifcation. It was a very distinct flash bluish/ purple flash.
I call the guy up.. I tell him very nicely tell him that 3 different appraisers said the stone was clarity enhanced. He asked if they would put it in writing. I said that shouldn''t be a problem. He then tells me that to get it in writing from an appraiser and to send the letter and the stone to him. He would then send the stone to a lab in NYC to see if the results agreed with those of my appraiser.
Bottom line is. We do not want this diamond. It was horribly misrepresented to us before purchase. Wife told him that the clarity was mis represented and now he says that he originally said SI2 instead of SI1 and nothing was in writing. Yet he had an appraisal which he won''t send to us. None of this was in writing . Stupid.......
What shoudl I doooooooo.... I just want my money back.
God I just feel so stupid. I have been researching diamonds non-stop for the past few days. I can honestly say I know much much more about diamonds now, and ways in which a person can be screwed when buying diamonds.
Here are my possible outs that I know of.
1. File dispute with visa.
2. Technically the signed receipt says that a full refund will be given if the appraiser says the stone is clarity enhanced. Not a lab but the appraisers evaluation.
3. Press the issue of him misrepresenting the grading of the stone. I believe jewelers can be off by one grade??? He was off by 3-4. However it is not in writing. I know I will never see an appraisal now that the isssue has arisen
4. He did sell me something in store. Didn''t charge sales tax. Let me walk out with intent of mailing the rest of the box and paperwork on the stone. One appraiser said that is mail fraud??? I''m not sure.
5. Offer to let the guy keep 200 bucks as a token of my stupidity.
Thanks so much for reading through all this crap and sorry for such a long first post. I just have been worrying non stop for the past few days.