This is a bit of a long story, but I will try to keep it concise. I have been told that I am very naive. I am a very trustworthy person, and I often get taken advantage by people because I assume they hold themselves to the same standards as i do myself. I am tired of learning hard lessons. I am very upset at myself as I type this.
I have very recently gotten engaged to my perfect match. opposites attract, and I feel it is because they often complement each other well. My fiance is an attorney and my nickname for her is "Wrong Cookie"... as in "you messed with the wrong cookie".
I saved up and bought her what I thought was the perfect ring. I did my research and found what I was my minimum standards before I went shopping. i had my price range in mind and went to a few local jewelers. I set out to get a colorless ring that was 2+ carats. I wanted to ask the salesman about clarity and cut to help guide me toward the best ring within my price range (12,000-17,000). After learning about the different factors I decided on a 2.4 carat, Excellent cut, F color and SI2 clarity. The sales person told me to get a ring in my price range it makes the most sense to slide down the clarity scale. I must say the ring is stunning, but after a few weeks we kept on focusing on the dark inclusions and started to wonder if they were just noticeable to us because we knew where they are located. her being a lawyer it was in her nature to suggest we see an independent appraiser. I was very nervous, and almost felt like if I got ripped off I would prefer not to know. This was something I was proud of and did not want anyone to tell me (or her) that I had made a poor decision on my purchase.
I put on my happy face and went with my fiance this past weekend and we had the diamond evaluated. At this meeting we learned so much and it was well worth the fee for the service. At this meeting I learned about the different rating agencies, and i was appalled that I was not explained this when I was asking my sales person to educate me on purchasing a diamond. The diamond I bought has an EGL cert. I understand they are reputable and a lot of the ratings are interpretations, but I have since found out from many sources that they are more lenient than GIA or AGS (the independent appraiser has both on her resume). As she was running down her opinon I was near tears. every category she rated the diamond at least 1 level lower than I had expected according to EGL. Color F---G; Cut Ideal ---Very Good; Clarity SI1 --- I2. Then came the part where she told me what it was worth. Finding out the diamond I bought was worth $5,000 less than I had paid was enough to make me sick, followed by irate.
The store I bought it from has a 30 day money back guarantee that was expiring that day. Needless to say we went right there and had a bit of a confrontation. I let the "wrong cookie" do the talking and stood behind her getting hopping mad. Luckily she kept her cool, but the team of salespeople admitted no fault. They said that it is not their responsibility to explain the differences between the ratings agencies and after seeing how evasive they were in answering direct questions I now see them for what they are. They would not say if they agree with the EGL report. They did try to discredit the independent appraiser. I wish I had been more educated going it the first time. A lot of the sales techniques now are apparent to me, but did not seem shady at the time. In future posts I can elaborate if anyone is curious.
They were willing to extend the refund policy for me so i can decide what to do. What I do know is that I do not want a ring from them, but I need to find one to replace it before I ask my fiance to take it off her finger and get my $16,000 back.
It looks from my search on this site that I can get a GIA certified ring with the specifications I had thought I was getting for that price. I would hate to compromise down on the size, cut or color since all of our friends and family have been wowed by the flawed ring already. Would I be better off searching for a SI1 the is smaller? G or H color? lower quality cut? I just want to get my money''s worth and not compromise what I thought I had. If anyone has any input for me I would love to make sure my next choice is a perfect one and I will not have any regrets the next time I present her a ring.
Thanks for listening to me vent and I appreciate any input on what I should look for.
I have very recently gotten engaged to my perfect match. opposites attract, and I feel it is because they often complement each other well. My fiance is an attorney and my nickname for her is "Wrong Cookie"... as in "you messed with the wrong cookie".
I saved up and bought her what I thought was the perfect ring. I did my research and found what I was my minimum standards before I went shopping. i had my price range in mind and went to a few local jewelers. I set out to get a colorless ring that was 2+ carats. I wanted to ask the salesman about clarity and cut to help guide me toward the best ring within my price range (12,000-17,000). After learning about the different factors I decided on a 2.4 carat, Excellent cut, F color and SI2 clarity. The sales person told me to get a ring in my price range it makes the most sense to slide down the clarity scale. I must say the ring is stunning, but after a few weeks we kept on focusing on the dark inclusions and started to wonder if they were just noticeable to us because we knew where they are located. her being a lawyer it was in her nature to suggest we see an independent appraiser. I was very nervous, and almost felt like if I got ripped off I would prefer not to know. This was something I was proud of and did not want anyone to tell me (or her) that I had made a poor decision on my purchase.
I put on my happy face and went with my fiance this past weekend and we had the diamond evaluated. At this meeting we learned so much and it was well worth the fee for the service. At this meeting I learned about the different rating agencies, and i was appalled that I was not explained this when I was asking my sales person to educate me on purchasing a diamond. The diamond I bought has an EGL cert. I understand they are reputable and a lot of the ratings are interpretations, but I have since found out from many sources that they are more lenient than GIA or AGS (the independent appraiser has both on her resume). As she was running down her opinon I was near tears. every category she rated the diamond at least 1 level lower than I had expected according to EGL. Color F---G; Cut Ideal ---Very Good; Clarity SI1 --- I2. Then came the part where she told me what it was worth. Finding out the diamond I bought was worth $5,000 less than I had paid was enough to make me sick, followed by irate.
The store I bought it from has a 30 day money back guarantee that was expiring that day. Needless to say we went right there and had a bit of a confrontation. I let the "wrong cookie" do the talking and stood behind her getting hopping mad. Luckily she kept her cool, but the team of salespeople admitted no fault. They said that it is not their responsibility to explain the differences between the ratings agencies and after seeing how evasive they were in answering direct questions I now see them for what they are. They would not say if they agree with the EGL report. They did try to discredit the independent appraiser. I wish I had been more educated going it the first time. A lot of the sales techniques now are apparent to me, but did not seem shady at the time. In future posts I can elaborate if anyone is curious.
They were willing to extend the refund policy for me so i can decide what to do. What I do know is that I do not want a ring from them, but I need to find one to replace it before I ask my fiance to take it off her finger and get my $16,000 back.
It looks from my search on this site that I can get a GIA certified ring with the specifications I had thought I was getting for that price. I would hate to compromise down on the size, cut or color since all of our friends and family have been wowed by the flawed ring already. Would I be better off searching for a SI1 the is smaller? G or H color? lower quality cut? I just want to get my money''s worth and not compromise what I thought I had. If anyone has any input for me I would love to make sure my next choice is a perfect one and I will not have any regrets the next time I present her a ring.
Thanks for listening to me vent and I appreciate any input on what I should look for.
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