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Jeweler Tried to pull a fast one

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Kaili

Brilliant_Rock
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My boyfriend and I bought a beautiful diamond online, but decided to finance the setting through a local jeweler. We looked at a store near our house and found a couple settings that we liked, we were quoted the prices by the manager, and approved for 12 months interest free financing. The manager knew that we were not going to be buying that day, but that we would be coming back in a week to make our final decision (I wanted to think about it before making the final choice on the setting).

When we came back to the store to purchase, we were told that the manager with whom we had been working was no longer with the company, so we proceeded with the new manager. We told him the price quoted on the setting that we had chosen and that we wanted to do the interest free financing for 12 months. The new manager was not happy with the price that had previously been quoted, but we finally got him to agree to it. We then did all of the paper work and he handed my boyfriend the financing form to sign.

Thank goodness my bf looked closer before signing because he found that the manager had drawn up a deal for 3 months interest free with 24% financing for the remaining 9 months- not what we had agreed upon!!!
We adressed this with him and he began to talk about what a shame it is these days that people (meaning us) buy diamonds using measurements and specs (specs, I might add, that he needed in order to order the setting) when in the "old days there was so much more romanticism." "People would come into a store and trust the jeweler to pick out a diamond for them." WHAT?? He just tried to change the financing agreement without our knowledge, and he thinks we should just trust him to pick out a perfect diamond for us??

We told him that we could not do the deal the way he rang it up, and he told us that he couldn''''t do it any other way because he gave us such a great price on the setting. He said that there was no way for him to do the 12 months interest free as was promised. At that point, we told him that we would have to cancel the deal and come back another time. We weren''''t playing hard ball... we honestly can''''t afford to pay 24% financing every month. As we stood up, ready to tear up the contract, he all of a sudden told us to wait. He looked at the paperwork again, and said "o.k., I will do it for you." Interesting that minutes before, there was no way he could honor the original agreement, but now miraculously he can.


We ended up finishing the deal on the terms that we had initially agreed upon, but it really left me with a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak. There is no way we will work with this jeweler again, and it makes me a bit nervous. I guess we are really going to have to police them when the setting arrives and they set the diamond.

I know that there a many wonderful B&Ms out there, and we thought we had found one based on our initial dealings with this company. Unfortunately, the new manager from this store confirmed all of our other bad experiences with B&Ms in the past. It would be so nice to find someone who we can trust in our area, but I have all but given up.
 
I hope you didn''t leave your stone there.
 
NO way!!
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And after they set it, check the laser inscription (if it's visible).

What a jerk.




edit: and just a public service announcement...ALWAYS READ BEFORE YOU SIGN!!!!!! glad your boyfriend did!!!!
 
"People would come into a store and trust the jeweler to pick out a diamond for them." WHAT?? He just tried to change the financing agreement without our knowledge, and he thinks we should just trust him to pick out a perfect diamond for us??

That sums it all up! What a slimebag!
 
I like douchebag!!
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Date: 3/8/2005 5:28
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8 PM
Author: kaleigh
I like douchebag!!
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Heh heh.


That''s great advice Firegoddess. My BF plans to stay at the store while they set the stone and look at the laser inscription with them before and after. We want them to set it so it is visible. I also told the jeweler that we would be doing this when we came back.

When we showed the jeweler the stone he said, "it''s hard to look at it with all of these fingerprints," but he didn''t attempt to wipe it and he continued to inspect the stone for several minutes. He showed it to his younger salesperson and just kept making hmms and huhs and then said, "this is a G?" in a doubtful voice.

We know it is a beautiful stone mainly becasue we see it and love it, but we also have the appraisal (from Dave Atlas, Old Miner), the sarin, and the cert. We actually looked to buy a stone from this B&M, but they had nothing that we liked and "couldn''t" get us a sarin. I thought that we would be O.K. buying a setting from them since the original manager seemed above board. Boy, one store representative can really change a store''s image in a heartbeat!
 
Look for further possible "trouble" from this guy! He may "bad mouth" the stone, and try to get you to look at others...bad apples don''t go from rotten to good!

Perhaps you should have walked at the 1st sign of "games being played".

Be careful, and Good Luck!
 
i wouldn''t trust them to touch my stone.....even with the BF watching. slime is slime and will continue to be slime.

peace, movie zombie
 
where are you located?
 
Kaili,

I do not believe I would have them set the stone.

Could you have the online vendor (where you bought the diamond) set it? I sure would try. I purchased my setting from one jeweler and had the jeweler that sold me my diamond set the stone.

Good luck!
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Thanks for the input!

DiamondExpert: We will keep our eyes open for future trouble with this guy. We KNOW we have a great diamond and that this guy is a "bad apple," so there is no way we will buy a stone from him no matter how much he bad mouths ours.

Movie Zombie: regarding not trusting them to touch the stone, I feel the same way. What do you suggest? Having someone else set the stone? This is a problem as I have tried to find someone in town to set the stone for us, and no one wants to touch a stone and setting they haven''t sold to us. Originally, we wanted to purchase a setting from Signed Pieces on the East Coast (we are on the West), but SP told us that they wouldn''t set the stone and that we had to get someone local to do it. That is why we didn''t buy from them. I''m afraid of having a setting and stone without someone to set it.
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Hannahsb21, we are in LA.

Icelady, that is a good idea. I guess we could send the stone back to Mark at Engagementringsdirect.com on the East Coast to set it. I''ll check with him. Sending the diamond across country just seems like such a pain in the butt at this point, but I know it is much less of a problem than having something happen to the stone.

Thank you to everyone for your feedback. I love Pricescope
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Date: 3/8/2005 6:15:25 PM
Author: crankydave
Kaili,

Unless you really like and are familiar with the person actually doing the work, I''d consider having it done elswhere, as long as it doesn''t void any type of warranty. I''ll dispense with the ''pretty'' names to describe the new manager who clearly was being deceptive. Pointing that fact out to their superior wouldn''t be a bad idea.

Dave
Thanks Dave, I plan to do that as soon as we are settled. I just don''t want to risk any retaliation at this point- yikes!
 
Definitely get the internet vendor whom you purchased your stone from to do the setting. That manager would make me feel too paranoid to set the stone!


Good luck,

Lori
 
Date: 3/8/2005 7
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0:24 PM
Author: Feydakin
What a terrible salesmonkey.. You should feel free to share the name of the company that tried this one..

I bet he isn''t a jeweler, he is just a salesmonkey..
yah, you are probably right... salesmonkey, although that makes him sound too cute.
 
Sorry about your situation. I guarentee there are great people in LA. I am in the Bay, SF and definately know of some worthy people, based on a shady experience myself, I have found that great jewwelers are out there and know of some and can easily get recommendations from people.

let me know and remeber to trust your gut.
 
Kaili, I agree that I would not use this jeweler! If you have to, you could have the stone set into a simple solitaire for now and save up over the next year for your setting. I don''t think that the free financing is worth the risk that you are taking with this place.
 
Blimey.

My first reaction is to say. WATCH OUT! i certainly wouldnt be happy continuing with this deal. Since you;ve pushed him this far... hes already shown his hand and tried to screw you outta money with the financing. He not going to want to spend an awful lot of time getting your setting right - and could end up pressuring thge bench guy to hurry it up and get it out quickly, as well as pushing it back so as to get through the work that will be netting him a bigger profit.

If your not commited legally to this deal, with no get out. find someone else, go round, im sure there are plenty of other folk just waiting to do a good job for you. Be it a small place or a large place.

And there are other rings out there that will be perfect. - i know it sounds scary when you thought you had it set up, i went through the same thing with my chap... but that was before my folks reminded me of ''Sivery Time'' since they had been using him for years they had learned that when he said gimmie a couple of weeks... it would take at least 4... it aint the quickets - but he took his time about it, and made sure he got it right.

If you do or you have to, make sure you get a reciept of what your handing over... including the inscription, and that both yourselves and the jeweller signs it, plus for good measure get it on their headed paper, or have them stamp it. and have it confirmed visually what your getting back... If they have covered the inscription - or it cant be seen, have them send it to a local appraiser to have the work verified.

I would be prarnoid in your situ
 
First of all, thank you for your nice compliment on my fiancee''s new ring.
emsmile.gif


I would not trust this place for a second with my stone. He may rush the job or (unlikely but possible) damage your stone out of spite. I doubt if he''d try to pull the old switcheroo, but that''s possible, too.

My advice would be to try to get out of the deal and send your stone to someone you trust. As much of a pain as it would be to send it across the country, I think the peace of mind you get from dealing with someone you trust is worth it. Just my two cents.
 
kaili, i''m not the expert but i do know slime.....and i wouldn''t let them touch that diamond again.

i think you''ve gotten lots of good advise from the more experienced people on this thread. LA is a big town and you should be able to find someone, especially since one of the responders is willing to give you some leads.

and i personally wouldn''t hesitate to go with an online vender, especially the one you bought from. you can go hat in hand and acknowledge that you made a mistake in trying to have it set locally and you''d appreciate any help they can give you in this situation.

i also like the idea of taking your time and just getting a solitaire for now and getting what you really want in a year. at that point, its a matter of resetting your stone and perhaps a b&m won''t be as fussy about where you got the diamond. but don''t go back to this slime ball!!!!

peace, movie zombie
 
kali,

also, if its gone this wrong so far, why think its going to get any better? think how upset you''re going to be if this slime ball screws up your diamond and/or the setting. and think how hard its going to be to get his cooperation to make it right. why chance it?

think of it as an investment: why continue to throw money at something you already know isn''t paying off?

peace, movie zombie
 
I don''t think I''d have the B&M store mount the stone. Here''s why. If the stone is harmed in the setting, you may have very little recourse. I would send the stone and setting to your Internet merchant. He has more of an interest to have your stone set correctly.

I would also go up the food chain (so to speak) and talk to someone with some authority about the way you were treated. If the store has any integrity, they will be very interested in knowing what''s going on the salesfloor, and to know you are hestant about doing business with them in the future.
 
What a horrible experience!

I would definitely have the vendor you purchased the stone from set it your setting even if it means shipping it back again, I would feel more comfortable having someone who sold me the stone set it than someone who sold me a setting and is bitter they did not get my stone business...esp this guy''s company, he sounds horrible and I would totally worry about them setting my stone as well--what may happen? Just make sure to get the stone insured as it travels. What a pain!

Good luck!
 
Not pleasant shopping... if they offer financing, why not just stick with the offer or not make it at all. I can''t imagine the uphill battle with these guys if anything at all goes wrong.
 
Date: 3/8/2005 7:22:53 PM
Author: Feydakin
Uh, salesbaboon??
LOL!!! Thanks for that!

On a more serious note, I thank you all for the amazing feedback. This site is Pricescope, but it is Priceless to me.

We have already purchased the semi-mount, so now we have to figure out who to have set the stone once the mounting comes in. It is an A. Jafee (not a custom setting), so I''m sure it will be beautiful from them. We just don''t want the actual jeweler to mess up the setting. As Feydakin and Dave pointed out, I don''t think that the manager who helped us is actually the jeweler. I used the wrong word. My boyfriend reminded me that the manager (AKA Salesmonkey/ Salesbaboon) said that we would have to come in on a day that the "jeweler" was in to have him set the stone.

Perhaps we should meet the actual person who will be setting the stone, and decide from there. I''m not totally sold on the idea, though.

Hannahsb21, I''ll pm you for recommendations on a jeweler if you have some in our area.

Thank you all!!
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