Lumera

[Lockout888]

Has anyone purchased from Lumera? http://www.lumeradiamonds.com

How is their customer service?

They seem to have really good prices, they say most are under 9% markup. All of the diamonds are GIA certified, they have a lifetime trade-in for diamonds 20% higher in price, and a 30 day return policy ($50 fee waived if exchanging).

I realize that it would be buying blind, but the lower prices may be worth it.

 

[yssie]

Any diamond on the virtual market is that same diamond regardless of what vendor you purchase it through - if you find one you like, from your descriptions they sound to have a decent trade-up plan and return policy that will leave you ample time for an independent appraisal...

So - I think this is your question - yes, some vendors will charge more than others for the same virtual stone, based on services rendered/guarantees and warranties/desired profit.

 

[Leestuartirvine1]

Lumera Diamonds – Beware!!!!

Like many people, I was reluctant to buy a diamond over the internet, but found a diamond that looked good on paper with Lumera for an ok price and took the plunge (the diamond wasn’t cheap – 2.05 carot, F, VS1, so U.S.$25,000). Many of my friends thought I was crazy to buy off the internet, but I did so after researching the type of diamond I wanted, cut/clarity etc, so felt ok about it, especially with Lumera’s 30 day guarantee so took the plunge, also ordering at the same time their basic ring setting for U.S.$299. How wrong I was. The diamond turned out to be incredible ugly with hardly any shine (and bear in mind, while GIA don’t rate cut for non-round diamonds, this was rated excellent excellent for polish and symtery and Lumera rated it excellent for cut). I should have been suspicious when, because I am overseas, I couldn’t even speak to an operative. Anyway, I emailed Lumera within a few days of receiving the diamond telling them that I wasn’t happy and saying I wanted to return it. I was aware, from their website that I wouldn’t be able to get a refund on the setting, which made sense to me given that it was custom, but was ok with losing the U.S.$299. However, I was in for a shock when I tried to return the ring. I was told that they couldn’t take the ring back (despite the fact that all I wanted to do was return exactly what was provided to me), only the diamond itself. This mean that I had to somehow find someone to take out the diamond for me, which was difficult because at the time I was in the Rockies (proposing) and there wasn’t a jeweler there that could do it within the timeframe. Eventually, Lumera agreed that they would allow me to send back the ring exactly as I bought it from them, but they would charge me U.S.$900 to remove the diamond from the setting (despite the fact that they only charge U.S.$299 to put the ring in the setting (and for the setting itself). The long and short of it, by the time we had this constant too and throw (since I was also on holiday in Canada proposing), the 30 day period had expired (I note in this respect a number of other online retailers give you 60 days) and Lumera wouldn’t do anything. I even offered to exchange it for a higher value diamond, worth at least 20% more (I simply just hate the diamond and want to be rid of it and my finance also isn’t impressed with it – which is disappointing given the money I have spent), but to no avail, the only thing Lumera offered was that they could sell it on a consignment basis for U.S.$18,000 (so I would lose U.S.$7,000). I have found a jeweller here who will buy it from me for U.S.$20,000 as a part exchange, but that still means I would have lost U.S.$5,000, but I don't really have any other option given the position taken by Lumera.

Going with Lumera has proved to be a very expensive mistake for me.

 

[Gypsy]

Please look at James Allen diamonds instead if you want a site like that. James Allen will allow you 60 days to return, no re-stocking fee and they will even pay your return shipping. In addition that have an upgrade policy on all their stones. And they are a Google Trusted store. Or B2C.

Lowest price isn't always best. Poor customer service, untrained sales staff, poorly trained gemologists and products that are dropped shipped without inspection.

You get what you pay for. There are much better sites for getting diamonds that are competitively priced that will give you better service, policies and products.

You want to stick to GIA and AGS graded stone ONLY.

Quality matters.

Going with an inferior vendor is penny wise and pound foolish.

 

[jillianfl]

Lumera was horrible, I asked if they could send pics of a stone and they said they did not send pics, said that their in house people advise for you on stones but you are not allowed pics of any stones they won't give them to you- you buy sight unseen and trust their judgement- NO THANKS! I told them I would never buy from any online vendor without pics and that that was the most ridiculous policy I'd ever heard of. I ended up buying mine from B2C which had better prices than Lumera anyway (on the exact same stones even!) And that story from the poster above, wow that is horrible! $900 for stone removal that is insane! Definitely stay away!!

 

[luvdajules]

Leestuart, I'm so sorry to hear about your diamond story, it's shocking really. Thank you for sharing so others won't be fooled! I hope your story continues to a happy ending! Please keep us posted on your progress or if you want help from the friendly posters here.

 

[Leestuartirvine1]

As a follow up, after my post I got this email from Lumeria:

"Because you have chosen to disclose the nature of your transaction, Lumera is compelled by law to notify both United States and UAE custom's offices of any irregular importation of merchandise. This is not a course we prefer, but one that is necessitated once information regarding illegal importation is disclosed to us. This protects Lumera from prosecution for aiding in illegal transactions, something we do not do."

I definitely did not import the diamond irregularly and don't know how they got that from my post above (apart from saying that I was overseas - which they knew before I even placed the order with them and make it clear on their website how to complete a post if you are overseas). Also, I am not sure where in the US or UAE law it says they need to inform UAE customs. In any event, I complied with all UAE customs requirements for personal goods when coming back to the UAE and hopefully USA customs (I can't imagine there are restrictions about buying items in the US and then taking them home with you). Luckily I am a lawyer, so had checked the requirements beforehand and wasn't going to run and delete my post simply because of this email. However, this response from Lumeria is frankly incredible, I have never seen anything like it!!

Anyone considering Lumeria, particularly if they are overseas (and particularly in countries such as the UK which may have heavy import duties, even for personal goods), I would just note that, while Lumeria are happy for you to order from them, if you are unsatisifed with the customer service and give them a bad review, this is the response that they will take.


Lee

 

[luvdajules]

Unbelievable! You and your intended definitely deserve better! I hope you find a fantastic diamond, all that you hope for.

 

[Lumera]

As a representative of Lumera, I am hesitant to reply to this purchaser's post, as we are prohibited from sharing much of the information relevant to the issue described for customer privacy reasons. Out of respect for this customer and future customers, we would never reveal confidential information in a public forum. While that makes it difficult to offer a complete picture of what transpired in this case, there are a few things that can be said for clarification:

1. Lumera has a 30 day return policy. In this case, the return request extended beyond that window. Lumera has never refused a return within the window (even though we reserve the right to refuse a return if merchandise is damaged, we have never had to). As expressed to this customer directly, Lumera is unable to accept a return outside the 30 day window, as our suppliers will not make exceptions to these terms. In practice, approximately 1.5% of Lumera purchases are returned, meaning 98.5% of customers are satisfied on the first try (a credit to their diligence, and our hands-on approach to purchase guidance). Of those diamonds that are returned, the vast majority are within 5 days (typically a customer knows fairly quickly that they have changed their mind). For this reason, the 30 day limit is almost never an issue. But, when it is, it is unfortunately not flexible.

2. Lumera primarily offers loose diamonds. As a service, we also offer a single style of solitaire setting, in case a customer wants to purchase from Lumera, but needs a place to "put the diamond" until a final setting is selected. This setting is not returnable, as is clearly stated in the return policy, and as this customer acknowledges he was aware.

3. Lumera does not have a policy to accept returns, set in the setting, and then charge $900 to remove the diamond. Lumera accepts only the loose diamond in return. Because this customer repeatedly and forcefully requested another option, we offered what we could; which was to contract with a jeweler to remove the diamond. The cost to do this on a very large diamond, very quickly (the ring was to be returned at the end of the window, requiring Lumera to have the diamond couriered to the jeweler, and then couriered to the diamond manufacturer within a day), is very high. This is why Lumera expressed to the customer that this is something we never do, and that we were confident he could do for less locally. We completely understand that the customer was not happy with this option (this is why the option has never been offered to any other customer, and does not appear in any policy - we would not recommend it), but feel it is a misrepresentation to characterize it as Lumera policy.

4. The diamond in question for this purchase is, in our opinion, very nice. While it is clear the customer decided he did not want to keep the diamond (in our understanding, there may have been some confusion regarding the look of different types of cushion cut diamonds), I think it is unfair to describe the diamond in the way it was.

5. The customer is correct that irregularities in the purchase caused Lumera to disclose some purchase information to custom's officials. However, this was not a result of information the customer made public (online reviews), but instead the result of information the customer disclosed to Lumera during the purchase and return process. Lumera is bound to disclose certain purchase irregularities. When we do so, we do not make recommendations or accusations to custom's officials. We simply pass on the information required. In this case, we assured the customer that he should have no issue with this process, assuming he was correct in being able to satisfy the questions raised. For the customer to perceive this as retaliatory is unfortunate, as it was the customer who offered to remove negative reviews, such as the one above, if Lumera would change it's return policy in this case. Lumera made clear in response that we were not in a negotiation, that the transaction was closed, albeit unfortunately not in a way that satisfied the customer.

In closing, I would like to say that I understand completely why some people would disagree with one side or the other, especially as the presentation of facts can be biased, and in our case, necessarily incomplete for privacy reasons. However, Lumera has such a strong reputation among our customers, and is so proud of our positive feedback in online communities, that we take negative comments very seriously. The overwhelmingly positive response from customers online is one of our great assets.

(As a side note, in response to the post above that Lumera will not share photos - this is not quite accurate. It is not that we will not share them, as we tell every customer who asks, we do not have them. Because we would never rely on photos to purchase a diamond personally, we do not ask our customer's to do so either. Instead we review diamonds on behalf of our customers. This is a bit old fashioned, and may eventually have to change, but the fact that our return rate is one of the lowest in the industry supports our claim that this approach yields a very positive result (in our experience, the return rate increases on purchases involving photos, as the customer understandably relies on the photo). That said, we often have a customer insist on a photo, in which case we will refer them to James Allen, or Good Old Gold, etc; companies Lumera is aware of, who have good reputations and use photography extensively. We have no desire to force a customer to purchase in a way they are not comfortable, and are very happy working with customer's who are comfortable with our approach.)

Thank you,