My marquis broke while it was being reset. Who''s responsible for the damage?

[jlpfaa]

Hi all,

Is is the jeweler''s responsibility to replace a diamond if it broke during setting? Here''s the scenario. My husband puchased a 1.14 E Vs1 marquise diamond from a jeweler who agreed to set it with .33 trillion stones close to E color. Instead of matching the center stone, the jeweler chose to set the ring with trillions J and K colored. At the time of purchase, it did not appear to be much of a problem. However, after the sidestones got a little bit dirty, the color difference was quite noticeable.

Three months after purchase, I called the jeweler and told him that side stones were dull. He agreed to replace them concurring the color difference and that one trillion had a poor cut to it, further diminishing its shine. I asked him to replace the trillions with E or F colored stones, and set the trillions lower (tiered) than the center stone to which he agreed. I left my ring in his possession at that time.

Approximately one month later, the jeweler called me an advised me that he couldn not locate trillions with comparable color to my center stone. We agreed to a plan "B" which involved setting the ring with comprable oval side stones similar in color to the center stone. According to my jeweler, while resetting my center stone, the marquise tip sheared off .03 carrots. He has agreed to get the marquise recut, but it will lose at least .08 -.1 more carrots in cutting. He told me that sometimes diamonds break when resetting, but tried to convince me that I had broken the marquise during the 3 months I''d been wearing it. I have worn a large diamond for over 16 years, engaging in active sports, and have never broken my ring or diamond.

Who is responsible for the damaged diamond? The jeweler never informed me that there is risk in restting the marquise, AND, it wouldn''t have been reset if the trillions had been the correct color in the first place.

Thank you for your feedback.

Judy

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Uh-oh. Do you have the ring insured? I feel like the jeweler should have insurance for this sort of thing, though.

 

[C Smith]

The jeweler who broke it should fix it at his expense although it is possible you did chip it. Are you sure he isn''t being straight with you and that you did not damage the stone? If you didn''t do it, he should pay for the recut and the possible loss in value. Proving his bench man did it may be tough though.

 

[RockDoc]

When a jeweler receives an article for work that is someone else''s property, an inspection should have been done, so that if the chip was done before he received possession, it would be documented on the receipt.

If you gave you a receipt then a thorough description at take in should be given to you. If this wasn''t done, he was negligent with industry standard procedures for taking in other people''s items.

I would suggest you take the stone before any further work is done, to have it examined by an independent gemologist who can photograph and record the details of the diamond''s current condition, and inclusions, and then re-check it once the repair is completed.

If you have insurance for it, put in a claim, and let the insurance company deal with the replacement costs for replacing your diamond, and if not equal or better, then let them subrogate against the jeweler. However, if your diamond ring is insured under your homeowner''s policy, and your in one of those areas that have had a lot of claims, then you might not want to jeopardize having homeowner''s cancelled due to a jewelry claim.


Rockdoc