Looking for 1.20 -1.30 diamond

[Jax172]

Hey all! I am working with GOG to find a 1.20 - 1.30 diamond. However, I currently have a 1.04 F VS1 H & A in a 1.00 ct Vatche Royal Crown setting. I was wondering if the experts thought the 1.20ish diamond would fit in the current setting. Vatche only makes a 1.00ct and 1.50ct settings, and my setting looks like it has room to hold a slightly bigger diamond. What do you all think?

Thanks!

 

[DiamondOptics]

----------------
On 1/21/2003 8

0:32 AM Jax172 wrote:

Hey all! I am working with GOG to find a 1.20 - 1.30 diamond. However, I currently have a 1.04 F VS1 H & A in a 1.00 ct Vatche Royal Crown setting. I was wondering if the experts thought the 1.20ish diamond would fit in the current setting. Vatche only makes a 1.00ct and 1.50ct settings, and my setting looks like it has room to hold a slightly bigger diamond. What do you all think?

Thanks!

----------------

Hi Jax127,


One important reminder!

Any work what-so-ever that is conducted to a Vatch'e
setting which is "not" done by Vatch'e themselves, will
instantly result in the loss of your lifetime garauntee with Vatch'e.

Buy Informed!

Kirk Konst

 

[Mara]

Maybe Leslie from WhiteFlash can clarify as I too had the same question back when we were looking at Vatche. I think that the 1.0 can carry up to a certain size stone range (e.g. .90c-1.20c) and the 1.5 can carry 1.3c-1.7c or something along those lines. But I'm sure Leslie can clarify if she reads this post...or drop her an email at WhiteFlash and just ask the question. I think her email is [email protected].

 

[Richard Sherwood]

It shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Rhino]

Hi Jaxie!

Thanks for reaffirming Rich. I don't think it'll be a problem either. Also, once we find the right center stone we'll just send the whole kit-n-kaboodle over to Vatche after the stone is laser inscribed.

Peace,
Rhino

 

[Jax172]

Jonathan:
Why will my ring be sent to Vatche this time? Last time your setter set it. Is there a reason it is going to be sent away this time?
Thanks,
Jaxie

 

[Rhino]

Hey Jaxie,

Actually it doesn't really matter whether Vatche sets it or not. The quality of the workmanship and the quality of the ring (should there be a manufactures defect) are both covered. In the past we had Vatche set the stones in the Royal Crown (and we'll still have them do it sometimes) but when we're put under pressure to have a ring out to a client and *time* is of the essence then we'll go ahead and set it. If the client doens't put us under time constraints and we feel it'd be better if Vatche set the stone (usually if it's an unusual size stone and they had to custom make the prongs for it) then in those circumstances we'd send it to Vatche to set.

Peace,
Rhino

 

[DiamondOptics]

Hi Jax172,

I'm not the type to raise an issue here,
but there should be a clarification.
And if you have any doubt what-so-ever Jax,
please contact Vatch'e yourself for an explanation.
Their toll free number is, 1-800-718-2444

*********************************************************

"Actually it doesn't really matter whether Vatche sets it or not. The quality of the workmanship and the quality of the ring (should there be a manufactures defect) are both covered."

Quote: GOG
*********************************************************
Maybe it should matter to the consumer where they get
the garauntee for their Vatch'e settings from!

All Vatch'e settings have a lifetime garauntee, "only"
if you have your work done by them...

The minute you have your Vatch'e setting manipulated by
setters, other than those of Vatch'e, you can kiss that
garauntee BYE!!! BYE!!!

It really boils down to one question...

Who's garauntee do "YOU" want for your setting?

Vatch'e or some other source???


Buy Informed!

Kirk Konst

 

[gg]

----------------
On 1/21/2003 8

0:32 AM Jax172 wrote:

Hey all! I am working with GOG to find a 1.20 - 1.30 diamond. However, I currently have a 1.04 F VS1 H & A in a 1.00 ct Vatche Royal Crown setting. ...
----------------

Another upgrade Jaxie? You sure are lucky!

 

[Jax172]

Hmmm...Jonathan is this true? Will my setting not be covered by the Vatche warranty because your setter set my diamond the first time? Why were we not made aware of this? This is upsetting....

And this "upgrade" is really because of quite a few mishaps that went on during the 1.04 upgrade. We were not particularily happy with the experience. Thus, we're either going to go bigger (because we've seen nice ones for a price we can afford) or find a new 1 ct diamond because when we look at this ring we thing of all the bad feelings. Not good for an e-ring.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

I dont mean to drag this on, but you seemed very pleased & excited in your post on DT. Its a shame you have negative feelings looking at your ring. I hope you solve your problems soon. I think solving them with a larger stone is very therapeutic.

So you are aware, you will go through shrinkage syndrome with any size stone you get.

I've had my 1.55 for a wk now & I'm thinking, hhhmmm, its a bit smaller than last week.

hahaha
I'm glad I chose a vendor with an upgrade policy, but I will have to wait a good 5-10yrs for my upgrade to happen. haha

Judy

 

[Rhino]

Calm down now.

We have set diamonds in Vatche settings and only once was there a problem with the setting and it was taken care of. NO PROBLEM. Vatche never gave us a stipulation of whether who set the diamond or not. Matter of fact when we first started carrying their settings they were sent with cz's in them and we'd have to work the ring *after* removing their cz. We've worked it out with them that we don't have to have rings with cz's set in them so we don't have that situation anymore.

Kirk, if you don't mind me asking ... since when did you start carrying the Vatche line?

Peace,
Rhino

 

[Mara]

I want an upgrade! Wait..I guess I should get the original first hmm? hee hee

 

[Jax172]

We were pleased with how the ring "looks" but I didn't want to drap GOG through the mud on DT. We did have some problems this time around, but we thought better to try to work it out with GOG than post all about it on DT. So far, things are going better with GOG. But I would advise people who are considering using GOG, insist of speaking to one person throughout the process, because when you speak to 3 or 4 people, no one really knows whats going on and it gets frustrating. And then certain things get promised that shouldn't have ben promised. GOG is still a great jeweler and we're very happy with the quality of diamonds they provide. We just want a better experience and GOG is willing to work on that with us.

----------------
On 1/22/2003 11

4:34 PM ccuheartnurse wrote:

I dont mean to drag this on, but you seemed very pleased & excited in your post on DT. Its a shame you have negative feelings looking at your ring. I hope you solve your problems soon. I think solving them with a larger stone is very therapeutic.

So you are aware, you will go through shrinkage syndrome with any size stone you get.

I've had my 1.55 for a wk now & I'm thinking, hhhmmm, its a bit smaller than last week.

hahaha
I'm glad I chose a vendor with an upgrade policy, but I will have to wait a good 5-10yrs for my upgrade to happen. haha

Judy

----------------

 

[gg]

Jax172

Sorry to hear you've had some problems with the ring. Hope the third time is the charm for you and your experience will be a happy one.

 

[Rhino]

Thanks Jaxie.

Ok. I called Vatche and got some clarification about Kirks answer. I stand corrected. Vatche WILL NOT cover their rings should someone else set them. HOWEVER I can guarantee whatever I CHOOSE to guarantee and rings purchased from Good Old Gold, REGARDLESS of the manufacturer ... we stand behind 110% should we find that the cause of the problem was manufactures defect. Same would hold true if a person purhcased an Ingwer setting with us or a Stuller setting. WE GUARANTEE WHAT WE SELL.

On another note. We are an extremely busy store on top of having an extremely busy web business. I used to do EVERYTHING by myself from taking the orders, filling the calls, scanning in the diamonds, answering the emails, data processing, appraisals, shipping, etc. etc. etc. until I was driving myself crazy from exhaustion. I now have a full internet staff (and we just hired another person on that staff) so that I have work relegated to my other assistants. So there are aspects that I am oblivious to (ie. settings, appraisals, paperwork, shipping). My assistant Christen handles everything to do with settings and she was clear on the Vatche issue since she speaks with them everyday. I thank God for my staff as we all work well as a team and things run like clockwork here. The only recent holdup was getting appraisals and paperwork out due to the Christmas rush.

The norm here is that Vatche does indeed set the diamonds we sell in their settings. The only time when we'll set it is when a client is putting us under excruciating time contraints and is pressuring us to have it AS FAST AS IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. It's my own fault for allowing people to put me under those kind of contraints however we do aim to please. If I can help a person out and it's a life or death situation that they have their diamond at such and such a time we do what we can to get it to them in that time frame. If we are put under time contraints in the future and we are setting a ring that we have here in stock and people can't wait (btw Vatche settings take around 2-3 weeks to get in) there may be some stipulations.

Peace,
Rhino

 

[LesleyH]

Jonathan:

Thank you for clarifying the Vatche policy here. We have also been told that the settings are only under warranty if all sizing and setting is done by Vatche. We make sure that all our customers are clear about this.

The prong design of the Vatche settings is unique and they really do a wonderful job. Many of the less experienced setters out there do not know how to work with these prongs.

LesleyH
www.whiteflash.com

 

[Jax172]

Jonathan:
Yes, we wanted my ring as fast as possible, but then who wouldn't? However, to be fair here, NONE of the people at GOG told us that the Vatche warranty was voided by having your setter set the diamond. That SHOULD have been mentioned to us and then we would have been making an informaed decision on having your setter set the diamond. To be honest, I probably would've taken to extra time to have Vatche set it as since I've gotten the ring, I've noticed the setting job is not as perfect as I'd like. The prongs opposite each other do not line up perfectly and the diamond is ever so slightly crooked. Now, it's nothing major or noticable without staring at it awhile, but you know me, I am a perfectionist. And if we'd been at least warned of the fact that the warranty was going to be voided, I think my fiance and I may have chosen to wait the extra time to have Vatche set it. But like I said, we were not even told about this.

And secondly, I would have no problem dealing with multiple people at GOG, if everyone talked to each other and knew what was going on when we called. But it's very frustrating to have to call 2 or 3 times to get an answer and then we end up with a couple different answers that don't match up. And then we get told that we are "stressing your staff out". Now, if we'd been able to get straight answers the first time, we'd be more patient, but of course people get scared and annoyed when you call and no one seems to know exactly what is going on. I'm not saying that anyone at your store is incompetent or rude, but having to talk to a different person everytime, just leads to a "he said it, not me" type problem. And no one really knows exactly where you are in the process. One person tells us a diamond has been reserved for us, and then we get emails answering questions we asked 4 days ago about a different diamond. So then we get nervous that maybe the wrong diamond is being held...so we call...and it seems to GOG that we're being impatient and annoying...but really we're just confused as to why we're getting two different responses. That makes us feel like we're unimportant as customers.

Not to mention that things do not run as smoothly as you say. Fo example, my Dad just purchased a diamond from GOG. Jonathan was excellent in finding what we wanted extremely fast. However, when the pendant came, the cert was not with it. We were upset as this was part of the surprise for my mom. So my fiance called the day the pendant came and asked them to overnight the cert. They told him no problem, it would go out the next day. Well 2 days later, we still had no cert. I spoke to Jonathan online, and he assured me that even though he was out of town, he would email Christen and have her send it out the next day. That was Saturday. On Tuesday, I emailed him to ask if it went out (My Mom's birthday had passed already). Jonathan then says that when they get stones on memo the cert doesn't come right away with the diamond. Now, if this is the case (and I'm not saying it is not), then why was this not told to us the first day we called about where the cert was? Shouldn't this be a detail that the internet staff knows? And why were we not told when I talked to Jonathan online a couple days later? Now, this is not a huge deal, but just an example of the type of frustrating problems we're having that could be resolved easily if we were just given a straight answer the first time. By the way, I was told on Tuesday that the cert was in store and would go out the next day. We still don't have it.

Listen, I'm certainly not trying to give GOG a bad name. For the most part, we've been pleased with our purchases, but this last time we were not, and I think it's only fair to tell both sides of the story. Customers get impatient and annoying when they have to inquire 3 or 4 times to get an answer. I don't want GOG to get mad at me for posting this, but I felt it unfair of Jonathan to post about customers putting them under "excrutiating time contraints". We wanted it fast, but when we got upset was when we weren't able to get straight answers when we needed them.

Yes, we were in a big hurry to get my e-ring back. Who wouldn't be? And perhaps we were impatient at times. But let's be honest, things were not exactly perfect on your side either. What's important is we are both trying to make this time around better. My fiance and I are being more patient, and hopefully, Jonthan and GOG will be alittle more attentive and understanding of our frustrations. So far things are going good. Let's keep it that way!

----------------
On 1/23/2003 12:16:51 PM Rhino wrote:

Thanks Jaxie.

Ok. I called Vatche and got some clarification about Kirks answer. I stand corrected. Vatche WILL NOT cover their rings should someone else set them. HOWEVER I can guarantee whatever I CHOOSE to guarantee and rings purchased from Good Old Gold, REGARDLESS of the manufacturer ... we stand behind 110% should we find that the cause of the problem was manufactures defect. Same would hold true if a person purhcased an Ingwer setting with us or a Stuller setting. WE GUARANTEE WHAT WE SELL.

On another note. We are an extremely busy store on top of having an extremely busy web business. I used to do EVERYTHING by myself from taking the orders, filling the calls, scanning in the diamonds, answering the emails, data processing, appraisals, shipping, etc. etc. etc. until I was driving myself crazy from exhaustion. I now have a full internet staff (and we just hired another person on that staff) so that I have work relegated to my other assistants. So there are aspects that I am oblivious to (ie. settings, appraisals, paperwork, shipping). My assistant Christen handles everything to do with settings and she was clear on the Vatche issue since she speaks with them everyday. I thank God for my staff as we all work well as a team and things run like clockwork here. The only recent holdup was getting appraisals and paperwork out due to the Christmas rush.

The norm here is that Vatche does indeed set the diamonds we sell in their settings. The only time when we'll set it is when a client is putting us under excruciating time contraints and is pressuring us to have it AS FAST AS IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. It's my own fault for allowing people to put me under those kind of contraints however we do aim to please. If I can help a person out and it's a life or death situation that they have their diamond at such and such a time we do what we can to get it to them in that time frame. If we are put under time contraints in the future and we are setting a ring that we have here in stock and people can't wait (btw Vatche settings take around 2-3 weeks to get in) there may be some stipulations.

Peace,
Rhino
----------------

 

[Mara]

Not that this was not an interesting post, but there is always email to resolve these types of issues offline from the forum.

 

[ccuheartnurse]

I'm curious,
Why is it so important to have a warrenty from the manufacturer of the ring? I never even questioned my jeweler about the validity of my Scott Kay warranty. I'm going to have insurance on it so if anything happens to the ring or stone it will be covered. I just dont see the relevance. Can someone tell me what I'm missing? Or if I'm being too simplistic about this issue.

Thanks,
Judy

 

[optimized]

Mara,

Although I agree that there are times when email/personal contact is the best way to resolve an issue, I for one am very happy to see this type of thread in the forums. I believe this forum is supposed to educate the consumer about diamonds AND about diamond dealers. There are absolutely no shortages of rave reviews for Jonathan and Good Old Gold around here, so to me it's perfectly appropriate for a user's negative impressions to have equal relevance to the forum. IMO, if only positive comments about a vendor are considered appropriate and all negative issues falls into a "there is always email to resolve these types of issues offline from the forum" sort of category the forums will lose much of their value for the diamond shopper who comes here in part to get a feel for the different vendors. I've never heard anyone say that a positive impression is better expressed through a private email, so why should a negative one be?

For as long as I've been lurking on these boards Jonathan and GOG have easily been one of the most lauded and popular Internet dealers mentioned, so it doesn't surprise me that they find themselves under pressure from an ever-growing client base. This is a sign of success!

The points Jaxie made sound like real and plausible concerns that should probably be addressed. I don't think she's intentionally trying to trash Jonathan with any of this, and is really being very nice about it. She's giving Jonathan another chance to do business with her, and Jonathan seems to be doing what he can to make this experience a better one for her. I'm also sure Jonathan is doing all he can to try to increase the efficiency of his growing business to help prevent this sort of thing from being repeated, but the fact is he is apparently not pleasing all of his customers at this point in time, which is good for people to know.

Anyway, I'm glad Jaxie brought this to light here. My impression of Jonathan and GOG hasn't been damaged by anything I've read here, but it's one of the first indications I've seen that he is indeed human, and things sometimes don't always go as smoothly in his shop as many of the raves for GOG would lead one to believe. I think that's good information, and worth the space in the forums...

Btw Jonathan, if you're looking for more help in your growing business, I may be available!

I have decades of experience in retail customer service and management, can write the h*ll out of a webpage, and sound like I know what I'm talking about to boot! LOL!

My $0.02.

-Tim

 

[Mara]

Tim--I agree that it's best for the potential customer to get a view of dealing with all sides of a vendor, and I have no issue with posts of positive or negative for any vendor. However, when the thread is ongoing with both sides hashing out the details in the public forum..it almost becomes more worthwhile for everyone (in my opinion) for those two parties to discuss the details of the transaction in private. I almost feel like I am intruding upon what should be a private conversation at some point.

Just my two cents..no one HAS to listen..

 

[fire&ice]

I don't think they are hashing out details. Each side is merely telling their story in a rational way. If I were to use GOG for a future purchase, as a consumer I am armed with information on how to deal w/ them.

And, yes, from personal experience, the certs are not sent w/ memo stones. Often, a copy will be sent though. Most of the time, the dealers forget. The cert has more value to the consumer than to the dealers.

I wish you the best in resolve. Sounds like growing pains to me.

 

[Rhino]

Not looking to drag this out and while I agree that hearing both sides of the story is great there are certain things that should be kept private. There is a little clarification I would like to add.

Yes, we are human and as such are still prone to mistakes from time to time. The big mistake here that gave Jax her bad feelings towards the ring was one of our staff promised the ring would get to Jax on a Tuesday and instead it got there on Wednesday. I don't deem that as a crucial mistake but to Jax it was and for that we have apologized.

While all of this was going on I had to take care of personal family business down in Texas (which was like a little vacation for us too in a way) and could not answer my email as swiftly as Jax would like. Since I was not in the store or talking to people in the store I tried as hard as I could to help Jax even while on this vacation. I probably should have done what everyone else does on vacation and not even answer email but I try to keep on top of things as best I can and not come home to an overload of work. This is why Jax had problems when she'd talk with people in our store vs me in Texas on vacation. No email however went unanswered no later than 48 hours (if memory serves me right) even while on vacation! Many of my peers in this industry think I am absolutely crazy for trying to help people while on vacation but I do so nonetheless. This may indeed be an example of why I should not try to help people while on vacation and just refer them to my staff. (note to self) Also ... I was only made aware of this trade during the busiest week of the year ... the week before Christmas.

IMO, letting you know about the Vatche policy is moot since we stand behind any ring we sell whether it be Vatche, Ingwer, Stuller, whoever. When a client puts themself under our care we don't leave them holding the bag should they have problems with ANY ring they get from us. Whether it be the setting job or the quality of the ring itself. We're not responsible for normal wear conditions that happen to all rings but if there is a manufactures defect or a setting problem we stand fully behind the work we do and the rings we sell. As a bricks and mortar store we can do that and is what I believe one of our strengths as such.

I make no claims of infallability and just like everyone else make honest mistakes from time to time. I don't think you can say that we've ever acted with malicious intent Jax and you know via our personal contact that I am sincerely interested in helping you and Joe with any and all future purchases.

Please take everything into account. The fact that I was on vacation yet was still trying to help, the fact that you asked for all this (also changing parameters on the diamond you wanted) all the week before Christmas, etc and you writing on other forums about our trouble finding you a .9xct specific kind of stone which is hard to find making us sound somewhat incompetent, the pressure of having this as fast as possible ... then pounding us because it was a day late. That was alot on us at a very stressful time of the year.

As far as I'm concerned though it's all water under the bridge and we look forward to being of future help and starting everything anew with a clean slate on both sides.

Kind regards,
Rhino

 

[barry]

How many engagement diamonds does this make for you, Jax? Was it two from Zales, another from Blue Nile, two from GOG, and now you're on the lookout for another one??

Your fiance is very generous to indulge your desires for multiple upgrades

It's understandable, though. It'd be awful to have a slightly negative buying experience make me feel "bad feelings" every time I looked at the most recent gift from my fiance.

 

[aljdewey]

Mara: I'm sorry, but I completely disagree in this instance. I would agree if there had been no prior attempts at private communication between either of them....if the way of initial redress was to take it to a public forum, but that was not the case here. If the parties involved each deem it appropriate to converse about an ongoing issue in what they know to be a public forum and it's okay with them, then it should be okay with everyone.

If it weren't okay with either party, either one of them could simply write: "I'd really like to resolve this in a way that makes everyone happy, and I think the only way to accomplish that is to do it offline." Neither of them have done that, so I have to assume they are okay with it being in a public forum.

If you still feel, however, like you are intruding or it is uncomfortable for you witness, I'd respectfully suggest that you always have the option of passing over this thread and choosing not to read it. Those of us who feel there may be value in hearing both sides of the experience, I think, are astute enough to realize that there are three sides to every story. I'm sure we're mature enough not to rush to judgment with respect to any of the parties concerned.

----------------
On 1/24/2003 2:13:28 AM Mara wrote:
Tim--I agree that it's best for the potential customer to get a view of dealing with all sides of a vendor, and I have no issue with posts of positive or negative for any vendor. However, when the thread is ongoing with both sides hashing out the details in the public forum..it almost becomes more worthwhile for everyone (in my opinion) for those two parties to discuss the details of the transaction in private. I almost feel like I am intruding upon what should be a private conversation at some point.

Just my two cents..no one HAS to listen..

----------------

 

[Jax172]

Actually Jonathan, we were unhappy with the whole experience. But yes, the thing we were most unhappy about (and you know this) was that we were promised that the ring would go out on a certain day and it didn't. BUt honestly what we were really unhappy about was the fact that no one from GOG bothered to call us to tell us the ring would not go out until the following day. You make us seem like impatient ogers Jonathan, but we're not. We just want the consideration to be called when a promise is going to be broken. I think we could hardly have been upset had some from GOG called us to explain the situation. However, we got no such phone call and only after much discussion did we get an apology (I won't include the nature of discussion because I think on some level we both feel sorry for some things said). We didn't "pound you" for being a day late. We "pounded you" for not having the consideration to call and let us know it would be later than promised. We do understand that certain things don't always work out as promised, but you should give us consideration in calling us.

And Jonathan, we never asked for you to email us while you were on vacation. That was your call. You told us that you would answer emails over vacation. In fact though much of my disappointment in late emails occured before you left and after you got back from the vacation. And no, not every email was answered within 48 hours. But that's not a big deal to us, as long as when our emails get answered, they are relevant to what is currently happening, and that did not occur every time.

And I never said you acted with malicious intent. You didn't, but I'm the customer and I am not happy. So I would hope you'd try to make it better rather than blame us for the problems. I have already said that my fiance and I were in a hurry to get the ring. And yes, it was a busy time of year for you, but we deserve the same attention as every other customer. At times we felt we were not getting that. And yes, we were impatient at times, but mostly because we were alittle scared that no one seemed to know exactly what was going on. So yes, my fiance and I had faults in this situation, we would have been happier had we been able to wait longer for you to have time to pay better attention to us. But at some point Jonathan, your going to have to realize that you can't blame this all on us. I don't blame it all on you, but I would like you to admit that things COULD have been handled a little better on your end too.

I can see things are not going to be resolved, because I refuse to consent that it was all our fault and you refuse to admit that some things were your fault.

We are willing to take some blame here, but we won't take it all.

----------------
On 1/24/2003 1:28

1 PM Rhino wrote:

Not looking to drag this out and while I agree that hearing both sides of the story is great there are certain things that should be kept private. There is a little clarification I would like to add.

Yes, we are human and as such are still prone to mistakes from time to time. The big mistake here that gave Jax her bad feelings towards the ring was one of our staff promised the ring would get to Jax on a Tuesday and instead it got there on Wednesday. I don't deem that as a crucial mistake but to Jax it was and for that we have apologized.

While all of this was going on I had to take care of personal family business down in Texas (which was like a little vacation for us too in a way) and could not answer my email as swiftly as Jax would like. Since I was not in the store or talking to people in the store I tried as hard as I could to help Jax even while on this vacation. I probably should have done what everyone else does on vacation and not even answer email but I try to keep on top of things as best I can and not come home to an overload of work. This is why Jax had problems when she'd talk with people in our store vs me in Texas on vacation. No email however went unanswered no later than 48 hours (if memory serves me right) even while on vacation! Many of my peers in this industry think I am absolutely crazy for trying to help people while on vacation but I do so nonetheless. This may indeed be an example of why I should not try to help people while on vacation and just refer them to my staff. (note to self) Also ... I was only made aware of this trade during the busiest week of the year ... the week before Christmas.

IMO, letting you know about the Vatche policy is moot since we stand behind any ring we sell whether it be Vatche, Ingwer, Stuller, whoever. When a client puts themself under our care we don't leave them holding the bag should they have problems with ANY ring they get from us. Whether it be the setting job or the quality of the ring itself. We're not responsible for normal wear conditions that happen to all rings but if there is a manufactures defect or a setting problem we stand fully behind the work we do and the rings we sell. As a bricks and mortar store we can do that and is what I believe one of our strengths as such.

I make no claims of infallability and just like everyone else make honest mistakes from time to time. I don't think you can say that we've ever acted with malicious intent Jax and you know via our personal contact that I am sincerely interested in helping you and Joe with any and all future purchases.

Please take everything into account. The fact that I was on vacation yet was still trying to help, the fact that you asked for all this (also changing parameters on the diamond you wanted) all the week before Christmas, etc and you writing on other forums about our trouble finding you a .9xct specific kind of stone which is hard to find making us sound somewhat incompetent, the pressure of having this as fast as possible ... then pounding us because it was a day late. That was alot on us at a very stressful time of the year.

As far as I'm concerned though it's all water under the bridge and we look forward to being of future help and starting everything anew with a clean slate on both sides.

Kind regards,
Rhino
----------------

 

[Jax172]

To be honest, I don't think it's relevant how many e-rings I've had. But if you want to know, I've had 5 so far. And no my fiance does not "indulge my desire for multiple upgrades". The e-ring buying process has been a mutual project from the start. I've never forced to him to upgrade my ring. In fact, it was his idea almost every time. If you must know the story, here it is in short form.
1.) We were poor college students and didn't know anything about diamonds. So we went to Zales and picked out a 0.50 round diamond that we liked. I was ecstatic.
2.) 6 months later I noticed a very obvious scratch on my diamond. So, we took it back to Zales as they were supposed to replace the diamond if it scratched or chipped. They refused, saying it had been there all along. This was not true, because come on what girl doesn't stare at her e-ring every day for hours when she first gets it? Anyways, a major problem ensued and finally after speaking with the district manager, did they allow us to pick a new ring for around the same price. They had nothing in our range in a round shape, so we picked a princess that was smaller, but IGI certed and better quality.
3.) Christmas comes and my fiance decides (not me, but my fiance decides) he wants to upgrade my ring becaus he knew I never wanted a princess stone and he had a little more money. So, after another scuffle with Zales, we find Blue Nile online. We get a half carat ideal from them in a platinum setting. It's gorgeous!
4.) I find DT, and my fiance and I become fascinated with hearts and arrows diamonds. So, my fiance (on his own) contacts GOG about another surprise upgrade for me. My fiance reproposes with a 0.70 Superbcert (our original engagement was not as romantic as my fiance and I would have like, as I was very sick.). He is a sweetie and wanted to give me my dream proposal. He does!
5.) This is the only upgrade that originated from me. I was browsing diamonds and was surprised to see diamonds bigger than mine for slightly more. My fiance agreed that now would be the best time to do an upgrade because someday in the near future we will have a house to pay for and possibly children. Now that we are both working full time, we could afford to get the "dream diamond (1 ct). This would have been the last upgrade had we not been so unhappy with the experience. And we are only going bigger because we've seen 1.20's that are nice and affordable. If we can't find one through GOG, we will still get a different 1 ct diamond because we want a better experience.

SO you can see, yes, we have upgraded alot, but it was not by my "desire for an upgrade". I would still have that 0.50 round from Zales had they upheld their warranty.

It has always been either my fiance's idea, or a mutual decision. I never beg or force him to upgrade. I love him for him, not the diamond. If we had to sell it today, I wouldn't care. I just need him.

If your wondering why it's me who always posts on the boards then, it's because my fiance is not much of a chat board guy unless it has to do with video games.

But believe me, my fiance has always been the major player in upgrades.

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On 1/24/2003 4

9:22 PM bella piles of gems wrote:

How many engagement diamonds does this make for you, Jax? Was it two from Zales, another from Blue Nile, two from GOG, and now you're on the lookout for another one??

Your fiance is very generous to indulge your desires for multiple upgrades

It's understandable, though. It'd be awful to have a slightly negative buying experience make me feel "bad feelings" every time I looked at the most recent gift from my fiance.
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[tyson]

Jax,

I agree, it should not matter whether you never upgrade your ring or do so ten times. If a retailer offers a lifetime upgrade, then if/when you upgrade you are happier with your ring and the retailer is happier with his bank account, so everyone is happy! Hopefully everything will go more smoothly this time.

 

[Maria D]

Jaxie, aren't you forgetting the one from Rogers & Hollands?

Nope, nothing wrong with working on your seventh engagement ring. At least you are still working with the same fiance! Most women probably have to go through seven fiances to get seven engagement rings -- thinking of Elizabeth Taylor here.

How would you rate your buying experiences with GOG compared to Zales, Blue Nile, and Rogers & Hollands, out of curiosity? Do you find that you and your fi tend to have negative diamond buying experiences or is this latest one the exception?