identify stone Jewler switched my Tanzanite with

[GirlTropix]

Took my purple Tanzanite and fire opal ring to a high end jewelry store to have a ding smoothed out. I had some other jewelry repaired at the same time- so I was told it would be ready for pick up the following week. As soon as I was handed my ring I noticed the stone was now dark blue. I said it looks like a different stone- different color. He gave several "reasons" and tried to get me to look at it in the light. Luckily I have good photos I took of it before that clearly show it to be a very different color now. I think the current stone is a little smaller as well.

What I don't understand is - based on what I've read- purple tanzanite is less expensive than the blue shades. I actually suspect its a sapphire because the shade of blue that it is. But sapphires are even more expensive. Why would a high end jeweler steal my purple Tanzanite? It could be man made- the blue is crystal clear like glass. It also looks dead. Low light reflection. I plan on giving him one chance to switch the stones back- if not I will file a police report. It makes me so mad because it was such a pretty ring before and now its so bla.

Please tell me what you think. I think everyone would agree its a different stone now right?

 

[TrueBlue]

I don't know enough, but I wonder if any repair might have involved heat, and the heat might have changed the appearance of the stone. Is that possible?

 

[Marlow]

@trueblue

I don't want to talk about this threat - think it could be a troll.

But - heat with opal - no good idea.

 

[T L]

He also could have cleaned it with a very harsh cleaner. Some tanzanite is coated, and perhaps the coating came off.

 

[JewelFreak]

Try taking it to another jeweler, who should be able to do a simple test to tell you at least if it's glass & maybe if it's tanzanite. TL's suggestion really makes a lot of sense, since it seems unlikely he would have another stone the same cut & size on hand -- but to put your mind at ease, an RI test by a jeweler might help.

 

[pinkjewel]

@trueblue

I don't want to talk about this threat - think it could be a troll.

But - heat with opal - no good idea.

deleted post

 

[RandG]

Took my purple Tanzanite and fire opal ring to a high end jewelry store to have a ding smoothed out. I had some other jewelry repaired at the same time- so I was told it would be ready for pick up the following week. As soon as I was handed my ring I noticed the stone was now dark blue. I said it looks like a different stone- different color. He gave several "reasons" and tried to get me to look at it in the light. Luckily I have good photos I took of it before that clearly show it to be a very different color now. I think the current stone is a little smaller as well.

What I don't understand is - based on what I've read- purple tanzanite is less expensive than the blue shades. I actually suspect its a sapphire because the shade of blue that it is. But sapphires are even more expensive. Why would a high end jeweler steal my purple Tanzanite? It could be man made- the blue is crystal clear like glass. It also looks dead. Low light reflection. I plan on giving him one chance to switch the stones back- if not I will file a police report. It makes me so mad because it was such a pretty ring before and now its so bla.

Please tell me what you think. I think everyone would agree its a different stone now right?

I don't think he swapped your stone-- I think he heated the stone when he was smoothing out your ding, and changed its color. A good jeweler would know better. He should offer to replace the stone with a "like" tanzanite as was originally mounted. I'm sure he realizes the error and will work with you to correct it.

Blue tanzanite, as opposed to a more violet purple (which I prefer too) is more valuable. All tanzanite is heat treated in order to reach that perfect blue hue. Your ring is still very beautiful!

 

[T L]

Took my purple Tanzanite and fire opal ring to a high end jewelry store to have a ding smoothed out. I had some other jewelry repaired at the same time- so I was told it would be ready for pick up the following week. As soon as I was handed my ring I noticed the stone was now dark blue. I said it looks like a different stone- different color. He gave several "reasons" and tried to get me to look at it in the light. Luckily I have good photos I took of it before that clearly show it to be a very different color now. I think the current stone is a little smaller as well.

What I don't understand is - based on what I've read- purple tanzanite is less expensive than the blue shades. I actually suspect its a sapphire because the shade of blue that it is. But sapphires are even more expensive. Why would a high end jeweler steal my purple Tanzanite? It could be man made- the blue is crystal clear like glass. It also looks dead. Low light reflection. I plan on giving him one chance to switch the stones back- if not I will file a police report. It makes me so mad because it was such a pretty ring before and now its so bla.

Please tell me what you think. I think everyone would agree its a different stone now right?

I don't think he swapped your stone-- I think he heated the stone when he was smoothing out your ding, and changed its color. A good jeweler would know better. He should offer to replace the stone with a "like" tanzanite as was originally mounted. I'm sure he realizes the error and will work with you to correct it.

Blue tanzanite, as opposed to a more violet purple (which I prefer too) is more valuable. All tanzanite is heat treated in order to reach that perfect blue hue. Your ring is still very beautiful!

Interesting and it could be that too. I don't buy any tanzanite, but I know that it requires special jeweler skills to work with as to not damage the gem in any way. Some jewelers have been known to also put tanzanite in ultrasonic cleaners after setting them, and that's an enormous "no no" as they can make the stone break apart. Steam cleaning is also not advised.

 

[RandG]

Took my purple Tanzanite and fire opal ring to a high end jewelry store to have a ding smoothed out. I had some other jewelry repaired at the same time- so I was told it would be ready for pick up the following week. As soon as I was handed my ring I noticed the stone was now dark blue. I said it looks like a different stone- different color. He gave several "reasons" and tried to get me to look at it in the light. Luckily I have good photos I took of it before that clearly show it to be a very different color now. I think the current stone is a little smaller as well.

What I don't understand is - based on what I've read- purple tanzanite is less expensive than the blue shades. I actually suspect its a sapphire because the shade of blue that it is. But sapphires are even more expensive. Why would a high end jeweler steal my purple Tanzanite? It could be man made- the blue is crystal clear like glass. It also looks dead. Low light reflection. I plan on giving him one chance to switch the stones back- if not I will file a police report. It makes me so mad because it was such a pretty ring before and now its so bla.

Please tell me what you think. I think everyone would agree its a different stone now right?

I don't think he swapped your stone-- I think he heated the stone when he was smoothing out your ding, and changed its color. A good jeweler would know better. He should offer to replace the stone with a "like" tanzanite as was originally mounted. I'm sure he realizes the error and will work with you to correct it.

Blue tanzanite, as opposed to a more violet purple (which I prefer too) is more valuable. All tanzanite is heat treated in order to reach that perfect blue hue. Your ring is still very beautiful!

Interesting and it could be that too. I don't buy any tanzanite, but I know that it requires special jeweler skills to work with as to not damage the gem in any way. Some jewelers have been known to also put tanzanite in ultrasonic cleaners after setting them, and that's an enormous "no no" as they can make the stone break apart. Steam cleaning is also not advised.

Tanzanite is a very soft stone. No jewelry cleaners, just soap, water, and a soft brush. These days, I only put diamonds in an ultrasonic cleaner. It's just not worth compromising the integrity of other gemstones.

 

[Euphony]

I am not here to speculate on the picture, because there are too many variables with photos. I am in no way trying to reinforce nor undermine the claim that it is now a different stone.

I will say that no jeweller would steal that tanzanite. I truly don't believe there are many crooked jewellers out there, because it only takes one accusation to taint your business. But even so, that stone is simply not worth it. Removing a tanzanite without damaging the setting is risky to begin with, and that was not a high end specimen in size or colour. And even if successful removed from the setting (which I don't know any jeweller who would try that with a pear shaped tanzanite) the labour involved would cancel out any profit.

If it is not the same stone (and again, I do not make that claim), it could be that the stone got damaged during the repair and the jeweller replaced it with the closest match he could find. He should fess up to it, if that is the case. But I have certainly seen situations where damage happened to a customers stone, and a good faith attempt was made to find a match for it so that the customer wouldn't be upset. It might have been a well-intentioned act gone wrong.

 

[FrekeChild]

Are the lighting situations different in the pictures? Because they look pretty different.

 

[Marlow]

Yes , my opinion too.

Maybe LED on the left and a "warmer" light on the right. But again I think we will get no answer.

My question - how will a juweler heat a stone when OPAL is set in the ring??? Can he cover the opal???

 

[cflutist]

Are the lighting situations different in the pictures? Because they look pretty different.

I noticed that also. Different Kelvin temperatures affect light absorption and what colors the eyes see.
That's why tomatoes look so red in the supermarket but yucky when you get them home.

 

[Euphony]

The jeweller could not have heated a tanzanite surrounded by opal. Opals are the height of fussy. Even if the jeweller was too dumb to realize he was dealing with a tanzanite (which is also somewhat fussy, and could be easily mistaken for the much tougher sapphire), he would have been ultra-cautious around that inlay.

 

[Marlow]

@Euphony

Thank you!!

 

[michellechan2211]

I second the question on whether the lighting situations are the same, and since the background has been erased we can't tell.

 

[cflutist]

I second the question on whether the lighting situations are the same, and since the background has been erased we can't tell.

The metal in the "before" picture appears to be more yellow.

Also, the opal inlay in the 2nd row pictures doesn't match. In theory it should be the same opal?

 

[GirlTropix]

I am not a troll! Why would you even say that? I'm a good person who doesn't know what to do- how to handle what happened. I know the photos aren't exact- I tried- and I'll take more photographs to try again to get the lighting more accurate. I only have the 2 photos I took from before. I took those to enter into the Pixoto contest and don't remember what settings I had the camera on. I have no reason to lie about this. Nothing to gain. I just don't know how to make him put my stone back in.

I left it there to have a ding in the side of the band smoothed out. Nowhere near the stone. The ding was a flaw from when it was made- a faint smooth line or dent that ran 1/3 of the way from the inside edge of the band strait towards outside of it. I'm not a jeweler- but I believe it could easily have been buffed out- no heat. I didn't ask him to "clean" the ring- it wasn't dirty I asked him to "clean it up" buff out any small surface scratches. If you look- its actually now far worse- covered with little surface scratches. Now instead of one smooth ding in the band- there are now 2 lumpy looking ones.

I only used this ring twice out to dinner. It was new when I got it. The excuse that confirmed what I saw was him saying the stone was impacted from the back with gunk. That was a total lie. His excuses no longer fit the circumstances. Regardless- one look at the ring was enough. It's not just different in color- its a whole different stone.

This stone's size is a millimeter or 2 shorter and the faceting on the top surface is quite different. Looking at it at an angle- the whole top is flat with the faceting starting at the edge. The stone that was in there had a smaller flat top to it. The faceting started in further from the edge. It was also a fuller pear shape. This stone is narrower and is set in slightly off center- turned to the left. Its also a lot thinner. The stone used to stick way up. That's what I didn't like about it. This stone is set flatter to the ring. It wouldn't bother me to wear it now - except the color is crappy (compared to what it was) and it doesn't fit any more. I'm an artist that carves stone with heavy tools- the changes to my hands aren't from weight gain. And the ring can't be resized. I still want to sell it but now its in worse condition than when I gave it to him.

If I were a buyer and it showed up looking like this- I'd return it.

I paid $250 to have 3 clasps repaired and the ding taken out of this ring.

I'll take more pictures. I have to get the lighting accurate to file with the police.

He did say it couldn't be cleaned with ultrasonic. I told him that's fine since its not dirty- I only want the gold shined up and the ding taken out so I can put it up for sale. I repeated this several times. I didn't even get what I asked for.

Thank you to those who are taking me seriously. I wish this was made up! Unfortunately it's not. It's the beginning of a nightmare. I know from his excuses when I picked it up that he will never willingly admit to switching the stones. The Jewelry store is Grand Jewelers on 4th street in Rancho Cucamonga California- Across from Ontario Mills shopping mall. The owner is who handled the work. The sales girl who took in my jewelry- with him showing up at the end of me dropping it all off was there when I picked it up along with a second employee and the owner. All 3 heard me saying it wasn't the same stone. That something was wrong. I told them I was going to go home and compare it with the pictures I'd taken before. I called them as soon as I got home and confirmed it using the old photos. By then the owner had left for the day. She said he was off on Saturday and would be there all day today- Sunday. I just dont know if I should go there or to the police first.

The opal is the same- its just the way it reflects.(I think) I thought the same thing and had to look closely to figure out if it was really the same or not. It's close enough that it seems impossible to have a piece so similar available. The piece on the left looks shorter and wider. What I think the reason is I now question if he didnt shave a bunch of the gold off the sides of the band- the ring is a little narrower on the side the stone sticks out on.Being that its a smaller stone- he would have had to shave it down to hide the size difference. I intend to go have it weighed before I confront him. And the stone identified. It was 12. something grams of gold.

And he did say to buff out the gold on the band that he would have to tape off the opal inlay.

I should also mention the part that holds the middle stone is very new looking- crisp edges. More shiny than the rest of the ring. It's sides are a different shade of gold- slightly more copper color in it than the shade of the rest of the ring. Its visible on the rim on the sides of the stone. I noticed it right away when I picked it up.

None of this makes sense tho- why waste all that time altering the ring? Maybe he broke the center stone and was trying to hide his mistake? There's no other motive I can think of. He did say another thing that alerted me which was when I called this stone ugly- he said no- this one is a good quality stone! Look at the clarity! "this" one indicates there is a "that" one.

 

[Indylady]

Are the lighting situations different in the pictures? Because they look pretty different.

Yep. Lighting may make a big difference. Heat from the tools or heat applied to the coating may make a difference as well.

 

[GirlTropix]

Here's same pics not cropped etc. I'm charging camera/taking new pics now.

 

[GirlTropix]

In other positions it shows the blue even more.

This shows how its set in crooked.
Looks like an oval- not a pear. But being that the other was a similar shape- perhaps both were oval.

 

[GirlTropix]

I'm leaning towards that he broke the stone and tried to cover it up. Can I ask him to replace it with something different? I'm not satisfied with what he chose- even if it is more valuable- It looks less attractive- it will be harder to sell. He said I could sell the ring with the purple stone in it for $2750. It looked like it was worth that much. This doesn't. I could see someone paying $2500 for it before. I don't think someone would pay that much now. Maybe I could ask him to put it on consignment in his store- let him convince someone its still worth that much. I didn't just loose a stone- I lost the ability to sell the ring as easily- if at all. It was so pretty before! Its not spectacular any more. Its just a ring with no appeal. The stone might be worth only $500 but the loss for me is $1800 cuz all it will sell for is the scrap value- which means its not worth selling at all. It's not like I need the money- its the reality of me having something worth 2750 (2500) and now its worth $700. He has to correct that somehow right?

 

[Euphony]

I wrote a different response before seeing your latest one, and deleted it because it was basically making the same point I made earlier that theft of the stone makes no sense.

I still would not want to venture an opinion on whether anything did happen to your stone, or whether it is just the effect of a good cleaning. (He isn't lying that dirt built up on the back of a stone gradually alters the stones appearance, and a good cleaning can sometimes create a rather drastic change). But given that you are selling it, I think you are drastically overvaluing your own feelings regarding the stone. Believe me, there is such a vast range of taste that there are many people who will prefer it the way you hate it. It has not objectively lost any value (even assuming anything has changed, which I am not convinced).

Neither tanzanite is worth anywhere near $500. A tanzanite of that size is not very expensive at all (unless I am misjudging the scale of the ring, it looks <1carat.)

If you paid $2750 for the ring, you will not be able to get that money back regardless. It never sells for what you buy it for. But I hope this situation works out for you as best as possible.

 

[makeable]

Is this a Kabana piece? If it is you may want to take it to Na Hoku and get their opinion (Na Hoku sells Kabana jewelry). They have a shop in Glendale.

 

[FrekeChild]

Looks like Kabana to me too.

Without proof positive that he "stole" your stone, I think the police are going to raise their eyebrows at you.

Also, lets think about this, do you think that this jeweler would throw away his good name for a small tanzanite? Multicolour has a 1.1ct one for $100.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1048782690

 

[GirlTropix]

sorry about the inaccuracy with price for the stone- It saw it on a Tanzanite sellers website ($400-$500 a k)
Your going to have to just trust me that its a different stone if the pictures aren't clear enough. I can't show you the change in how tall the stone is set. And I don't have any other pictures showing the purple stone to compare it at more angles. There's really no question: it is a different stone. I never doubted it had been switched. I was asking what kind of stone you though it had been switched to-thinking the purple seemed more pretty- must be more valuable- but I now know thru you and further research that its not. In his eyes- he gave me an upgrade. He's a jeweler- maybe he thinks about stone value and not ring composition.

Thank you for all your comments. You helped me see the most likely reason it happened is because he damaged the other stone.And not because he wanted to take it. However - He was wrong to deny and treat me like I was stupid and didn't know what it used to look like. He should have been upfront with me- and should have allowed me to choose the replacement stone when he saw that none of his matched. I decided the best way to keep a level head was to write everything in an email. Documents my complaint to him as well.

I wrote that I believe he switched the stone because the damage reason. That his intentions were good but his choice of replacement stone was not satisfactory. But since some people might like it the way it is I made one resolution be for him to buy it off me for what I planned on selling it for- which is less than he said its worth- less than he said to sell it for. He can sell it for that price and cover the cost of the replacement stone and his time with the profit. 2nd option is to replace the stone with one that looks like the first one- allowing him the time to find an actual match. Then I'll sell it like I planned. Last- he can keep denying its changed and deal with me taking action.

Fair enough right?

 

[txgreeneyes]

Before you do anything at all, I would take it to another jewelry store and identify the center stone.

(Edited because I can't spell or type.)

 

[FrekeChild]

Before you do anything at all, I would take it to another jewelry store and identify the center stone.

(Edited because I can't spell or type.)

Word.

Also, if you paid $2,500 for it new, resale price is likely 50% at $1,250. And you have to find the right buyer, at the right time with enough money. What is something worth? What someone will pay for it.

For instance, I had a band that retails for $2,075. I got trade in value with my jeweler for $600. And that's only because it was a designer brand that my store carries. Other people wanted to give me scrap value for it.

I very highly doubt that he is going to offer you anywhere close to what you're expecting to get.

Also, tanzanite can look blue and purple, depending on the light source. Just an FYI, if you aren't aware of that fact yet.


Off topic, but I grew up in New Mexico and never thought anything special of Mati/Kabana. To me, they were just another maul store.

 

[GliderPoss]

I agree the colour of the stone looks different but the rest seems the same. Got another jeweller to test it & confirm before making any accusations!

 

[GirlTropix]

He's the one who said to set the price at $2750. I thought more like $2300. That's what similar yet smaller of that type of ring are selling for. And generally speaking- they are hard to find at all now. I expect him to pay what I would have gotten for it with the purple stone in place- because that's what he took away from me. He made it so I couldn't get as much. He says the stone is just as nice than he can sell it for the $2750 out of his jewelry store right? I dont owe him any favors- he ruined my ring then lied about it.
Buying it off me is the right thing to do. It's easier than changing the stone again.

It was given to me by an a-hole x boyfriend to kiss up after cheating for the millionth time- meaning I have no emotional attachment to it. Because of who it was from- my daughter doesn't want it passed down to her either -plus she has very tiny hands- too small for a ring like that.

Does it matter what the center stone is at this point? I just don't like it at all. He should have used a lighter shade. It only shows any color at all if light is hitting it. The old stone was beautiful in any light. And the stone is crooked in the setting! Its all just so disappointing.