MrBlueshift
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2017
- Messages
- 49
Hello,
Although I’m not an active member of this forum, I want to share a recent experience I had which might assist others in their decision making. Warning: this is a long post!
In 2016, my wife and I bought a 2ct diamond ring from a vendor. It did not come with an appraisal or lab report, but the listing read “Diamond is I/J color, VS2 clarity.” The vendor told my wife it was a great price for a stone of that quality.
Around 9 months after the purchase, I sent the ring to a different jeweler to have a new setting made. I had the stone certified while it was loose. GIA graded it as N, Very Light Brown, SI1.
If the grading had come back as K, or even L (neither with a brown undertone), then I wouldn’t have contacted the vendor as I know that estimates can be a little off. However, a four to five grade difference is a rather large misrepresentation, and so I decided to contact them to request a replacement stone, or at least a refund.
The vendor responded and said they were stunned at the grading the stone received, as it was appraised by their in-house appraiser soon after the stone had been set in the setting. They could have never imagined it would get that grading from the GIA and felt the light brown designation was even more of a head scratcher. They said they stood behind every sale they made and wanted to make me happy, and would work with me towards a mutually agreeable solution. After their bench/appraiser inspected and cleared the stone, the vendor offered me a store credit, minus the setting cost of the original ring. I told them I would rather have a stone in the same size and shape that actually had the stated quality of the original and if one could not be found I would like a refund.
I provided some alternative options for stones to help speed up the vendor’s ability to find a replacement, and we agreed on a 60-day period during which they’d search for it. They noted the desired specs/shapes and wrote that whatever they found, they would send me images before making a commitment to the stone.
The 60-day period passed without me hearing from the vendor, which made me question whether they were actively searching for a replacement stone or just waiting until we reached the deadline so they could issue the refund. When I inquired they assured me they were looking, so we agreed to wait longer to see if anything suitable turned up. During this time I asked the vendor to let me know if they had anything my wife might like, even if it didn’t check every box. They suggested a ring with a colored gem (emerald) center stone which my wife liked but decided wouldn’t be a good option for her. It was also priced at more than three times the refund amount. I then found a potentially suitable replacement, a loose diamond in their inventory which weighed less than the original stone by 0.26ct yet had the desired I color and VS2 clarity. The vendor said that stone was on consignment, but they could apply my credit toward it. I declined, as the price it was selling for was twice the refund amount, and so I said I’d just wait for them to source the replacement stone.
Later that same day I looked at many other loose stones and rings on the vendor’s website. I checked one of their social media pages to see if I could find any additional information on the ring I’d purchased. I discovered they’d posted both a photo and video of the diamond before it had been set. The diamond clearly displayed a lower color in the photo and video. After finding this information and learning more about the diamond prices on their site, I sent the vendor a candid email. In the email I told them I could see that there wasn’t a great incentive for them to find me a replacement stone, as they’d lose money if they actually found one the same quality they claimed for the stone I bought. I also let them know that because of the pricing of similar stones on their site being much higher, I believed they had an idea that the stone they sold me wasn’t actually I/J VS2 but they felt they could get away with it by putting it in a rich yellow gold setting. I asked for a refund because I’d already given the vendor around 11.5 weeks to source a diamond, and I felt at that point it was pretty clear I wouldn’t be getting a fair replacement. I also felt I could no longer trust anything the vendor told me.
The vendor wrote that they appreciated my candor and honesty and could understand the frustration. They said they wished they had been able to source something similar for me. They stated they were always committed to finding a stone but that finding a quality stone in a similar cut is not easy. They mentioned a similar stone was brought back from a jewelry show, but that it was too small. They wrote to please trust them when they say they have learned their lesson in regards to that stone and similar ones which might come their way. They made arrangements to send a refund.
I responded and said I was glad they understood my frustration and mentioned it may have helped the situation if they’d communicated with me during their search, as I may have been open to accepting a smaller stone. I reminded them that I didn’t necessarily need the same cut as the original stone, and was open to various shapes. I expressed my disappointment at them never taking the initiative to contact me with any updates. I also asked them to clarify what they meant about learning their lesson in regards to my stone – if it meant they knew or at least suspected it was a lower color before having it set. I said otherwise it just didn’t make sense for their in-house appraiser to appraise it after it had been set. I told them they could send a refund check at their earliest convenience.
They sent an email four days later asking me to confirm my mailing address, and another one the following day to let me know I could expect the refund check within the next four to five days.
I sent a final email in which I expressed how I’d felt let down by them when I saw the photo and video of the unset diamond. I said that unless they were the most inept (at evaluating stones) diamond dealer in their area, I didn’t believe for a second they actually thought the diamond was I/J in color. I said I felt they owed me an explanation, and asked them to please not ignore me again.
They ignored me, and a week later I received the refund check in the mail.
We exchanged over 30 emails since 7 June 2017 before it ultimately ended with a refund. Along the way I lost faith in the vendor, for reasons I’ll summarize in the following list:
⦁ The vendor’s actions did not match their words. They were courteous and said all the right things, but never acted genuinely concerned or motivated to find a replacement stone (e.g. not bothering to send me any updates and only writing in direct response to my inquiries).
⦁ They seemed disorganized. They misremembered when I made the purchase and the purchase amount. This didn’t surprise me as I’ve experienced this vendor’s unprofessionalism/disorganization before. For instance, when I made the initial deposit and during the layaway period they never sent me an invoice or a receipt when the order had been paid in full. The vendor had even asked my wife which email address they should send the invoice to (provided by my wife), and I made a separate request for one later on but never heard back.
⦁ The vendor posted a photo and video of the loose diamond online, and it displayed a lower color in both. They set the stone into a 20kt gold ring setting, an option they have used with other lower colored diamonds to make them face up “white.” They had their in-house appraiser evaluate the stone after it had been set. And according to Rap, even though it only goes down to M color and doesn’t take into account a further reduction in value for the diamond’s brown undertone, the vendor’s pricing was more in line with the stone as officially graded, than their estimate.
Taken as a whole, this made the vendor appear unprincipled. And since they chose not to address any of my concerns, I no longer believed this was a one-time occurrence or the result of an honest mistake.
My wife is generous and likes to think the best of people. She learned about the vendor through this forum and always admired the jewelry pieces they had on offer. The price wasn’t a major influence in her decision to purchase the ring. She simply liked the design and felt safe knowing she could trust the vendor’s estimate. She was happy when the vendor assured her she was getting a great deal. If they had included the photo and video of the unset stone in the listing and written “Diamond is estimated to be I/J color, VS2 clarity – assessment made after the stone was set,” I would have cautioned my wife against making the purchase and questioned the vendor’s methodology for evaluating stones.
My wife feels stupid for trusting the vendor. She’s now much more cautious, which is probably best. This situation made me think about how buying jewelry, especially online, is an act of faith. Having trust in a vendor is so important when one places an item on layaway, sight unseen, or embarks on a custom jewelry project. Since miscommunications and mistakes are inevitable, it’s also important to trust that a vendor will maintain an open dialogue, work diligently to correct any mistakes, and put a client’s mind at ease by addressing their concerns. I think from now on I’ll purchase from vendors who don’t learn lessons at their client’s expense, or take their trust for granted. I’ll purchase from vendors who clearly label which items in their inventory are owned by them vs. consignment or virtual. This makes shopping more transparent. I’ll stick with vendors who conduct themselves professionally, and no matter how nice or trustworthy a vendor may appear I will only consider buying stones accompanied by recent grading reports, as this protects both client and vendor.
Anyway I just wanted to write a bit about my experience and I hope it gives fellow consumers something to think about before purchasing uncertified stones, even from well-known vendors. I’ve informed the vendor of this review.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading!
MrBlueshift
Below you’ll find information relevant to my post:
Regular price for the ring: $8,995
Sale price: $8,250
Payment by check discount: $500
Total: $7,750
Agreed upon refund: $5,750 ($2,000 deduction – vendor’s stated cost for the ring setting, unverified)
Actual refund: $6,000 (informed vendor of $250 difference and said I’d wait for a check in the correct amount)
Ring listing from vendor’s site at the time of purchase
Unset diamond - still from video posted on vendor’s public social media page
Please note the stone on the right was graded by GIA as N, VS2
Unset diamond – photo posted on vendor’s public social media page
Rap as estimated
Rap as graded – please note Rap doesn’t go down
to N color, or take into account a brown undertone
GIA report number: 1186467371
Although I’m not an active member of this forum, I want to share a recent experience I had which might assist others in their decision making. Warning: this is a long post!
In 2016, my wife and I bought a 2ct diamond ring from a vendor. It did not come with an appraisal or lab report, but the listing read “Diamond is I/J color, VS2 clarity.” The vendor told my wife it was a great price for a stone of that quality.
Around 9 months after the purchase, I sent the ring to a different jeweler to have a new setting made. I had the stone certified while it was loose. GIA graded it as N, Very Light Brown, SI1.
If the grading had come back as K, or even L (neither with a brown undertone), then I wouldn’t have contacted the vendor as I know that estimates can be a little off. However, a four to five grade difference is a rather large misrepresentation, and so I decided to contact them to request a replacement stone, or at least a refund.
The vendor responded and said they were stunned at the grading the stone received, as it was appraised by their in-house appraiser soon after the stone had been set in the setting. They could have never imagined it would get that grading from the GIA and felt the light brown designation was even more of a head scratcher. They said they stood behind every sale they made and wanted to make me happy, and would work with me towards a mutually agreeable solution. After their bench/appraiser inspected and cleared the stone, the vendor offered me a store credit, minus the setting cost of the original ring. I told them I would rather have a stone in the same size and shape that actually had the stated quality of the original and if one could not be found I would like a refund.
I provided some alternative options for stones to help speed up the vendor’s ability to find a replacement, and we agreed on a 60-day period during which they’d search for it. They noted the desired specs/shapes and wrote that whatever they found, they would send me images before making a commitment to the stone.
The 60-day period passed without me hearing from the vendor, which made me question whether they were actively searching for a replacement stone or just waiting until we reached the deadline so they could issue the refund. When I inquired they assured me they were looking, so we agreed to wait longer to see if anything suitable turned up. During this time I asked the vendor to let me know if they had anything my wife might like, even if it didn’t check every box. They suggested a ring with a colored gem (emerald) center stone which my wife liked but decided wouldn’t be a good option for her. It was also priced at more than three times the refund amount. I then found a potentially suitable replacement, a loose diamond in their inventory which weighed less than the original stone by 0.26ct yet had the desired I color and VS2 clarity. The vendor said that stone was on consignment, but they could apply my credit toward it. I declined, as the price it was selling for was twice the refund amount, and so I said I’d just wait for them to source the replacement stone.
Later that same day I looked at many other loose stones and rings on the vendor’s website. I checked one of their social media pages to see if I could find any additional information on the ring I’d purchased. I discovered they’d posted both a photo and video of the diamond before it had been set. The diamond clearly displayed a lower color in the photo and video. After finding this information and learning more about the diamond prices on their site, I sent the vendor a candid email. In the email I told them I could see that there wasn’t a great incentive for them to find me a replacement stone, as they’d lose money if they actually found one the same quality they claimed for the stone I bought. I also let them know that because of the pricing of similar stones on their site being much higher, I believed they had an idea that the stone they sold me wasn’t actually I/J VS2 but they felt they could get away with it by putting it in a rich yellow gold setting. I asked for a refund because I’d already given the vendor around 11.5 weeks to source a diamond, and I felt at that point it was pretty clear I wouldn’t be getting a fair replacement. I also felt I could no longer trust anything the vendor told me.
The vendor wrote that they appreciated my candor and honesty and could understand the frustration. They said they wished they had been able to source something similar for me. They stated they were always committed to finding a stone but that finding a quality stone in a similar cut is not easy. They mentioned a similar stone was brought back from a jewelry show, but that it was too small. They wrote to please trust them when they say they have learned their lesson in regards to that stone and similar ones which might come their way. They made arrangements to send a refund.
I responded and said I was glad they understood my frustration and mentioned it may have helped the situation if they’d communicated with me during their search, as I may have been open to accepting a smaller stone. I reminded them that I didn’t necessarily need the same cut as the original stone, and was open to various shapes. I expressed my disappointment at them never taking the initiative to contact me with any updates. I also asked them to clarify what they meant about learning their lesson in regards to my stone – if it meant they knew or at least suspected it was a lower color before having it set. I said otherwise it just didn’t make sense for their in-house appraiser to appraise it after it had been set. I told them they could send a refund check at their earliest convenience.
They sent an email four days later asking me to confirm my mailing address, and another one the following day to let me know I could expect the refund check within the next four to five days.
I sent a final email in which I expressed how I’d felt let down by them when I saw the photo and video of the unset diamond. I said that unless they were the most inept (at evaluating stones) diamond dealer in their area, I didn’t believe for a second they actually thought the diamond was I/J in color. I said I felt they owed me an explanation, and asked them to please not ignore me again.
They ignored me, and a week later I received the refund check in the mail.
We exchanged over 30 emails since 7 June 2017 before it ultimately ended with a refund. Along the way I lost faith in the vendor, for reasons I’ll summarize in the following list:
⦁ The vendor’s actions did not match their words. They were courteous and said all the right things, but never acted genuinely concerned or motivated to find a replacement stone (e.g. not bothering to send me any updates and only writing in direct response to my inquiries).
⦁ They seemed disorganized. They misremembered when I made the purchase and the purchase amount. This didn’t surprise me as I’ve experienced this vendor’s unprofessionalism/disorganization before. For instance, when I made the initial deposit and during the layaway period they never sent me an invoice or a receipt when the order had been paid in full. The vendor had even asked my wife which email address they should send the invoice to (provided by my wife), and I made a separate request for one later on but never heard back.
⦁ The vendor posted a photo and video of the loose diamond online, and it displayed a lower color in both. They set the stone into a 20kt gold ring setting, an option they have used with other lower colored diamonds to make them face up “white.” They had their in-house appraiser evaluate the stone after it had been set. And according to Rap, even though it only goes down to M color and doesn’t take into account a further reduction in value for the diamond’s brown undertone, the vendor’s pricing was more in line with the stone as officially graded, than their estimate.
Taken as a whole, this made the vendor appear unprincipled. And since they chose not to address any of my concerns, I no longer believed this was a one-time occurrence or the result of an honest mistake.
My wife is generous and likes to think the best of people. She learned about the vendor through this forum and always admired the jewelry pieces they had on offer. The price wasn’t a major influence in her decision to purchase the ring. She simply liked the design and felt safe knowing she could trust the vendor’s estimate. She was happy when the vendor assured her she was getting a great deal. If they had included the photo and video of the unset stone in the listing and written “Diamond is estimated to be I/J color, VS2 clarity – assessment made after the stone was set,” I would have cautioned my wife against making the purchase and questioned the vendor’s methodology for evaluating stones.
My wife feels stupid for trusting the vendor. She’s now much more cautious, which is probably best. This situation made me think about how buying jewelry, especially online, is an act of faith. Having trust in a vendor is so important when one places an item on layaway, sight unseen, or embarks on a custom jewelry project. Since miscommunications and mistakes are inevitable, it’s also important to trust that a vendor will maintain an open dialogue, work diligently to correct any mistakes, and put a client’s mind at ease by addressing their concerns. I think from now on I’ll purchase from vendors who don’t learn lessons at their client’s expense, or take their trust for granted. I’ll purchase from vendors who clearly label which items in their inventory are owned by them vs. consignment or virtual. This makes shopping more transparent. I’ll stick with vendors who conduct themselves professionally, and no matter how nice or trustworthy a vendor may appear I will only consider buying stones accompanied by recent grading reports, as this protects both client and vendor.
Anyway I just wanted to write a bit about my experience and I hope it gives fellow consumers something to think about before purchasing uncertified stones, even from well-known vendors. I’ve informed the vendor of this review.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading!
MrBlueshift
Below you’ll find information relevant to my post:
Regular price for the ring: $8,995
Sale price: $8,250
Payment by check discount: $500
Total: $7,750
Agreed upon refund: $5,750 ($2,000 deduction – vendor’s stated cost for the ring setting, unverified)
Actual refund: $6,000 (informed vendor of $250 difference and said I’d wait for a check in the correct amount)
Ring listing from vendor’s site at the time of purchase
Unset diamond - still from video posted on vendor’s public social media page
Please note the stone on the right was graded by GIA as N, VS2
Unset diamond – photo posted on vendor’s public social media page
Rap as estimated
Rap as graded – please note Rap doesn’t go down
to N color, or take into account a brown undertone
GIA report number: 1186467371
And I agree, it is just too bad because my wife does like some of the jewelry the vendor has for sale.
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