Jeweler chipped my diamond.. Need advice

[Ibegypurpardon]

First off I hope this is the correct sub-forum to post this.

My fiancé bought my engagement ring from what we've found to be a less than reputable jewelry store. The sales woman told him to wait on having it properly sized until I say yes/approve. Needless to say it didn't fit properly. The day after he proposed we took it in to have it sized. They send their jewelry out to be serviced. Yesterday, a week later, we went to pick it up. It fit well and appeared to be fine. Upon closer inspection I noticed a pretty sizable crack in the side of the diamond that was not there prior and brought it to their attention. It could be seen with the naked eye and felt with your finger. They looked at it with their handheld scopes and reluctantly agreed that the diamond was damaged. We asked them how it would be handled and they said they would have to get a comparable diamond in from their offsite storage and would call us when it was ready. My fiancé and I said we'd like to inspect it under their microscope and approve of it before they mount it.

We were told it would take a week to get an equivalent diamond in to look at. After discussing it further my fiancé and I decided we'd rather take their replacement stone and the original setting to get mounted elsewhere. We'd like to find a store that has an onside jeweler who can take care of it in hopefully a day or two.

If we continue to use our current jeweler it will be at least another two weeks before I can wear my engagement ring. Providing there are no other problems. I'd have to imagine most newly engaged women would have a hard time not being able to wear their ring at all the whole first month. I've gotten emotional over it already and my fiancé feels terrible for everything happening the way it has.

we really aren't sure what the best course of action is at this point. We're waiting on the store to remove the chipped diamond and get the replacement stone in to come see.

What would you do?

Thanks

 

[orbaya]

Wow, tough situation!

I would contact the mods and ask this be moving to Rocky Talky. You can do that through the Report Concern button in the upper right right hand corner.

 

[Ibegypurpardon]

will do, thanks !


btw- pardon my spelling errors. typed the post on my phone and just realized autocorrect made some changes

 

[TheGeckoLady]

What terrible luck! I would have broke down crying in the store. Some stores warranty their jewelry so if you have a warranty with them that says they’ll replace the stone if it falls out as long as you let them inspect it once a year or something along those lines than you may want to wait and let them handle it. If there’s no warranty they by all means, ask them for the setting and new stone and have someone else set it. Just call around and make sure there’s a jeweler you like that will agree to do the work since it was purchased elsewhere. I hope you get that baby on your finger soon so you can post pics!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

In this case, since you are saying this is a less than reputable jeweler, I would ask for a full refund and start all over. We can help you find a certified diamond from a reputable vendor and you probably can have it in less than two weeks. I am suspicious of that situation because it almost sounds like the stone was switched. There's no reason the diamond to be chipped/cracked when the ring was simply being sized.

 

[Ibegypurpardon]

I did start crying as soon as we walked out. Felt like a fool for crying over jewelry but I was really looking forward to finally having my engagement ring to wear and then all I could think was, 'who knows when I will actually get it.' Lots of emotions and frustration.

The thing is, my fiancé found the jewelry store, they had the setting I liked and he wanted to propose on an upcoming trip. He was a little naive thinking nothing could go wrong. I did some research while waiting for them to resize it and found over 10 complaints with the BBB in the past 3 years, as well as many negative reviews on various sites.

Their policy is no returns, only exchanges. After alterations/resizing no exhanges. Fiancé said if any major problems occurred where they refused to help us out, he would try to dispute it with the CC company he used thinking he may be able to get a refund that way.


It's all seems very sketchy to me. Yes I absolutely wish he would have done more research and found a reputable place but he didn't and he regrets it. I don't want to make him feel any worse so I'm trying to just go with the flow at this point.


Getting engaged is suppose to be a happy fairy tale moment of your life and this has kind of ruined it. I just hope we can get a replacement stone and my setting back without any further issues. I've gotten a few quotes in the area as far as mounting and onsite jewelers. Hopefully that will be a better route.

 

[Rhea]

Honestly, I think if you're sticking with the same store, i'd let them set the diamond again. It's much easier to get them to take responsibility if the entire thing was done by them. Diamonds aren't indestructible and do chip. Most jewellers won't take responsibility for damage to a diamond during setting if the diamond wasn't bought through them. If the new setter accidentally damages it you could be in much worse position than having to wait another couple of weeks.

As an aside, nice girls don't always win. My engagement ring was messed up, caused us stress, and had to be repaired too. I have a love / hate relationship with it and notice all its faults and think about them regularly even though I've owed it for nearly 9 years. If I get a chance to change my ring next time I won't be going with the flow for an expensive thing I'm supposed to happily wear nearly everyday and treasure for the rest of my life.

 

[Ibegypurpardon]

Yes, the benefit to having them set the new stone would be that they would pay for it and like you said they would have to cover it if it chipped again.... but I think at this point we are leary that the stone we choose won't be the stone they mount. Which is why we'd like the peace of mind knowing the one we choose is the one we are walking out of the store in hand with.

Not sure what to do in this situation. Maybe if we note the inclusion locations and verify them when the completed ring comes in?

The thing is, other than online research, the FI & I are not very knowledgeable in diamonds and fear this store may take advantage of us. Makes it a tough situation.

 

[Ibegypurpardon]

It's a little unnerving that they 'didnt notice' or at least didn't mention the large chip when returning the ring to us. almost seems as if they were hoping we wouldn't see it... dont ask, dont tell.

 

[tyty333]

I agree with Rhea...let your current jeweler set the stone. If they screw it up again then they have to fix it. If you want to take it
somewhere else you will need to get the stone insured incase the new jeweler damages the stone.

As far as making sure they mount the stone you pick...check the inclusions under the microscope and note them (I'm assumming this
is an uncerted stone) then check it again after its mounted.

 

[Ibegypurpardon]

You bring up a good point I hadn't thought of (hence why I was looking for advice on here) ... Thanks

I suppose we should leave it in their hands. We'll just have to be cautious and observant to make sure they don't try to pull a fast one on us.

& this girl will have to learn to be patient a little longer

 

[Ibegypurpardon]

one more thing; I've read online that they make a diamond filler. That damaged diamonds can be filled in with filler to appear new. Is this something I'd be able to notice under a microscope? We're worried they may try to 'fix' the chip and not tell us.

 

[Rhea]

Buy a loupe and learn to use it in the meantime. It'll keep your somewhat occupied and you'll be more used to looking at things close up.

I don't know how well they can fill diamonds. I'd certainly get all the diamonds measurement and information in writing, and take it to an appraiser immediately afterwards so that you are armed with information about the diamond you chose.

If you don't like the new diamond or chose not to work with the jeweller I'd use the replacement stone as not being the same as the original stone as a get out of jail free card. You wanted to original, were happy to pay for the original, but they broke the original and since they no longer have the original that you agreed to purchase available you want your money back and go elsewhere. Legally I can't imagine being able to claim no returns on an item that they don't actually have. Then start over. But that's just me...and I'm the woman who upon reading your post earlier started crying over my 9 year old engagement ring that I don't particularly like. It's okay - I have a kick arse wedding band! So have dried my tears, cleaned my ring, and will be going out to diner with DH tonight and not bringing it up again. It's just a ring, right?

 

[kemurphy]

First, I'm so sorry about what happened to your ring! That's just so terrible and sad.

If it were me, I would do whatever I could to not work with this jewelry store. It sounds like you don't trust them with the replacement. Both in terms of them setting it and with them being honest about the stone.

I would think that the fact that they broke the original is pretty good grounds to get a refund IMO. I know buying online can be pretty overwhelming, especially if you don't have a lot of experience in diamonds. I'm mostly just a lurker here, but the people on pricescope are amazing. It's incredible what they can do if you give them guidance on what type of stone you want and your budget. They really take all the guesswork out of online shopping as they will tell you exactly why a particular stone is a good one.

It would be unfortunate if you stick with the store and then every time you look at your ring, you will think of the experience. If you can, start over and have a great experience so you will think of that rather than this terrible store.

 

[ChristineRose]

I'm not sure their refund/exchange policy is relevant here. They did not deliver you what they promised, and it is now in fact impossible for them to deliver it. Therefore you have nothing to exchange. The contract is void and you get your money back. If they argue, I'd just mention that my lawyer will be calling.

I don't know if I would feel entirely comfortable doing it that way though, as they will end up paying for a diamond that is now worthless. Hopefully they are properly insured.

 

[Ibegypurpardon]

FI & I have been talking about the possibility of having to take this to small claims court in the end..

Correct me if it's against forum policy but here are some review excerpts from various websites:








"We ordered a pretty expensive ring for our daughter almost 2 weeks before Christmas. We were promised it would be ready in 7 days. ..... Here we are over three weeks later and we still do not have what we ordered. ... Our daughter never got her christmas gift (never arrived), Now we have to contact our bank to get our money back as we never got the ring. "

"The guy dropped my ring and knocked a diamond out (They found the diamond on the floor). At first he wouldn't take blame for it and then they offered to repair it, at our cost. My husband obviously fought this notion and they sent it out for repair on their dime. When we got it back, the first time, it was a completely different diamond (yellow, not same cut) so he argued that and they again sent it out for repair again. The next time it came back, the diamond was still wrong and the prongs were all messed up. The manager offered to make a whole new ring. 4 weeks later (2 weeks after they originally told us it would be done) they called and we went to collect the rings. They wouldn't let me have my original wedding band back, saying it was theirs now and said we could buy the new ring. Stay far, far away from there. I no longer have my wedding band I was married with and we went through 3 months of stress over this."

"This is an independent chain, which means there is no corporate headquarters which regulates any discrepencies. Just the shady owner ----- mentions, who couldn't care less about customers after the credit card has gone through."

"They gave us nothing but problems when we no longer wanted the over-price fake jewlery they were trying to sell to people. They have NO paper work except a stupid frame stating NO RETURNS on Sized and Purchased items. I am trying my best to get a lawsuit started."

"A little while ago I made a purchase of diamond earrings for my Mom but she died before I could give them to her...so we took the item back. Well, we TRIED to. Once your card is run or you write your check or pay cash it is gone forever. This is ridiculous."

"The store's manager admits (when the owner is away) to sending inferior merchandise ("Different/comparable") to customers -- then the boss refuses to make refunds on request even though his fraudulent policy is blatantly against FTC regulations."

"The owner is shady, as evidenced by sending cheap DIFFERENT merchandise (bait and switch) than what was paid for. Then he refuses to accept a return or refund of monies spent! Says it against his store policy. Pity for him it is not against Federal Regulation! It's a felony. BEWARE."

"Bought a beautiful opal linked bracelet with diamond chips beside each opal setting. I looked down and bracelet was missing two of the opals. Was able to find one of the opals on the carpet the other was gone. Went back to the store to get the bracelet fixed. They agreed to replace the opal that was missing and reset the opal I found, I left. Got a call the bracelet was fixed. Went to pick up the bracelet. Got bracelet put it on it was snug. I was puzzled but left. Realized a few steps away from the store at least one link was removed from bracelet, that was why it was tight. Went back the counter person said a mistake was made and the jeweler still had the other link and would find another opal to replace it . This is not the way a jewelry store should repair an expensive piece of jewelry. It is fraud. They were content with letting me leave with the altered bracelet without letting me know it had been altered. Now when I do get the bracelet back I will not be able to wear it with confidence or ease of mind. "












basically my FI should have read reviews and run far far away. but he didn't, and we can't go back & change things now.

I think we may have to let them complete the fix, and then get it appraised. If the appraisal does not match the value/diamond specs they claim, we'll have a legit reason to demand our money back. If (more like when) they refuse, I suppose we'll have to take them to small claims court?

I wish there was a way to expedite this whole ordeal.

-sigh-

 

[kemurphy]

Wow those reviews boggle my mind! I can not believe a place like that is able to stay in business. WOW.

I could be completely wrong, but you might have a problem if you wait until the replacement ring and get it appraised to make sure it matches the original. Unless the original diamond was certified by a lab, then the store can say whatever they want in terms of the diamonds stats. They could say the replacement diamond is the exact same but an independent appraiser would have no way to really know what the original diamond was like. You might have to get the current chipped diamond appraised first, then get the replacement appraised to make sure they are equivalent.

Did the original have a certification from a lab like GIA or was it just their own appraisal/certification?

 

[Ibegypurpardon]

No. One of the many things I asked FI after admiring the ring was if it was GIA certified. it was not. Of all the research I did online, one of the biggest no-nos I read about was buying an uncertified stone. As the store can claim whatever they want, and if it is GIA cert then the for sale value likely goes down.

Their diamond specs are printed on the receipt. (Though at this point I doubt they are the real deal)

Really just don't know what to do at this point. I love the setting and would just like them to make it all right. Though I fear they are out to get us in any way possible.

My FI was so excited to propose that he didn't properly research. I can't be upset with him for being in love and naive. This experience has been very frustrating and disheartening though. We're not quite sure how to handle it from here.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

You can get another setting elsewhere. There are literally millions of them. Tell them you do not trust them and want your money back. If they refuse, tell them you will post on the internet and pursue legal action. I am just afraid you will end up overpaying for a lower quality stone. There is no other reason for a stone not to be graded (if sold by a store).

But if you feel you can't do that, then insist on a GIA certified stone and tell them you want GIA Excellent cut ONLY.

 

[Dreamer_D]

You can get another setting elsewhere. There are literally millions of them. Tell them you do not trust them and want your money back. If they refuse, tell them you will post on the internet and pursue legal action. I am just afraid you will end up overpaying for a lower quality stone. There is no other reason for a stone not to be graded (if sold by a store).

But if you feel you can't do that, then insist on a GIA certified stone and tell them you want GIA Excellent cut ONLY.

Exactly. Raise a stink and get the money back now. If they have to replace the diamond anyway then they might be happier to just give your money back and not have to buy a replacement.

 

[marcy]

Sorry that happened. I would definitely push for a full refund and go somewhere else.

 

[Ibegypurpardon]

from the online reviews it sounds as if no one has ever successfully received a refund from this store regardless of the circumstance. asking for a refund will be our last resort, as they are currently cooperating and we fear that will end once we bring up a refund.


at this point, what are your thoughts on this plan:


receive setting and replacement stone. take each separately in hand. get pieces appraised. have pieces insured. take ring to independent jeweler who will mount diamond on site.


if anything went wrong at that point, in the hands of a new jeweler, I'd imagine the insurance would help?


obviously if the store stops cooperating with us, or tries to give us an 'equivalent stone' that appears significantly inferior, we will skip the plan and demand a refund/go thru CC company/small claims court/whatever necessary to get our refund.

 

[Laila619]

Oh my gosh, this store sounds like a nightmare.

I would not mess around. Dispute it with your credit card, and hopefully they will give you a refund. Sometimes, pressure from the credit card rep will get the merchant to agree to a full refund. Last year, I had to dispute something with a shady merchant, and they basically told me to take a hike. So I had Capital One call them with me on the line, and they were singing a totally different tune; it was actually pretty funny. And I did get my money back luckily.

Congrats on your engagement!

 

[luvmysparklies]

from the online reviews it sounds as if no one has ever successfully received a refund from this store regardless of the circumstance. asking for a refund will be our last resort, as they are currently cooperating and we fear that will end once we bring up a refund.


at this point, what are your thoughts on this plan:


receive setting and replacement stone. take each separately in hand. get pieces appraised. have pieces insured. take ring to independent jeweler who will mount diamond on site.


if anything went wrong at that point, in the hands of a new jeweler, I'd imagine the insurance would help?


obviously if the store stops cooperating with us, or tries to give us an 'equivalent stone' that appears significantly inferior, we will skip the plan and demand a refund/go thru CC company/small claims court/whatever necessary to get our refund.

The store is "cooperating" with you because they know that you hold all the leverage at this time. What they are doing is avoiding giving you a full refund and taking advantage of the opportunity to fool you again. I agree with the posters that said that this jeweler was hoping you wouldn't notice the big chip -don't ask, don't tell. I also strongly agree with the posters that are wisely advising you to get your money back. Your leverage is that you no longer have the item that you paid for in its original condition. No refunds/exchanges absolutely DO NOT APPLY to an item that has been damaged by the seller-after you have paid for it in good faith. You have a reasonable expectation of actually receiving exactly what you paid for. This transaction constitutes a contract, of which the seller has not fulfilled their obligation, rendering the transaction void. You have the leverage and can get out of this using the logic, which will withstand scrutiny that the credit card company with engage in with regard to this situation. Clearly, there is a trust issue (and well it should be). As far as your question of being able to tell an enhanced stone, I have a clarity enhanced stone and shared the process with the Pricescope community. Yes, the clarity enhancement is obvious and depending on how much has been done (as far as drilling and filling the stone) it can affect the light return of the stone. You will win if you take this issue up with the credit card company. What the jeweler is feeding on is what they perceive of you being pressed to have a ring.

I have won numerous chargebacks when the seller plastered the no refunds/exchanges prominently on the receipt, on their site and on other documents associated with the purchase. The seller cannot invoke no refunds/exchanges on merchandise that was sold in one condition, and winds up being in a damaged state by the time you receive it. Such statements are null and void when a situation like this occurs. Please get out of this, because you are NOT being "cooperated with" because the seller fully understands that he/she is vulnerable. Your timing is important and you need to get out of this while you can demonstrate that you have been harmed--a chipped diamond qualifies for this. Once you get into the dance of accepting their replacement/valuation/assessment, trying as a non-professional to zero in on clarity hoping that it will help to allay your justified discomfort (or otherwise finding ways to work with them when they are trying to take advantage of you)--you have lost your leverage.

You could get a temporary gem for your setting, in a reasonable size that you could afford in a real diamond and take your time to find a reputable jeweler that you'd be comfortable with. I hope for the best for you and a temporary discomfort of getting out of this tangled mess (chargeback process) may well be worth it in the long run.

 

[Ibegypurpardon]

thanks for all the input. you've helped open the eyes of two inexperienced jewelry buyers.
we are going to go tonight to demand a refund. using the reason, they damaged the product we paid for and it no longer exists.
if they are able to give us the setting (without any new damage), we are only going to ask they refund on the diamond they broke. then we can take the setting and go (certified) diamond shopping elsewhere.


we will get amex involved if they give us a problem.
hope to get this resolved asap. thanks again!

 

[Sparklelu]

Get AMEX involved right now! They are very purchaser friendly. They will stand by you!!! Good luck

 

[Laila619]

Get AMEX involved right now! They are very purchaser friendly. They will stand by you!!! Good luck

Absolutely! I've heard AmEx is great.

 

[ChristineRose]

Yes, get AMEX involved and go somewhere with FI that sells cheap, one of a kind handmade rings. Pick out something cool and unique and wear it until you can get a real, beautiful, conventional ring. Show the ring to everyone and tell everyone what happened and tell them about the ring that's to come.

Just my advice, obviously if that doesn't feel right to you you shouldn't take it.

 

[TC1987]

Try to back out of the deal completely, any way you can. If you never saw the stone unmounted, it's very possible that the crack/chip was there all along, but they had it hidden underneath a prong when you bought the ring. And it does happen, twice, LOL. My e-ring came from a pawn shop that also sold used and estate jewelry. We bought the complete ring, with the stone already mounted in a 6 prong Tiffany, and never looked at it unmounted. But later, I took the ring back to have a ring guard made to fit the ring and when I got those rings back, there was a big natural right there on the girdle that had been stealthily hidden underneath a prong before! Took it back and had them turn that back under a prong.

Then, 8 years later, I bought another diamond from that same estate / pawn shop. It's an I-1 (or maybe an SI2, today), and the stone was already mounted in a 6 prong Tiffany, and the price was right so I didn't make them take the stone out. I bought a new semimount and had that pawn shop guy remount that diamond for me. When it came back, they had turned it so that a blob of inclusions was between prongs. But when they had mounted it to sell, those inclusions were definitely tucked under a prong.

So, there you have it: A cagy dealer caught in the act, twice. But his prices were great, everyone bought estate jewelry from him, and the blemishes and inclusions on those two diamonds were subtle enough to not bother me.

 

[backwardsandinheels]

Oh yeah, have AMEX as your back up. They can be a great ally to you if you get the right representative on the phone. Have them work on just gettting your money back and run! Post on here your desired size or specs and everyone will help you. Be patient, it'll be sooo worth it. Then, you and FI work together, you step back, and let him make you feel special again with everything lined up right again as it should be, and enjoy! You can get the stone local of course if you want to, but it's still good to see what the prosumers here can get you so you can compare.