My Second Asscher "Experiment"

[fierypyropixy]

A while ago, I was inspired enough by Gailey''s "Pandora''s Box" cushion amethyst, to contact Gary Braun again. In the back and forth, he mentioned having some natural blue topaz, and I perked right up. All talk of the cushion amethyst was left behind, and I changed lanes. I''m used to the irradiated swiss blue topaz colors, so next to those, this seemed more like an aquamarine . . . and what do you know, I''ve been loving the aqua asschers I''ve seen here, so I thought I''d have a little "experiment" and got in line for another asscher.

 

[fierypyropixy]

This time, I ordered a 10mm, because I was fresh out of a meeting with a jeweler who let the air out of my sails and was pretty unenthusiastic and uncreative regarding setting the 12mm asscher.

Then, Gary told me that a problem had come up during cutting and revealed some inclusions . . . so he''d have to start over again. He mentioned that he''d be recutting this one down to an 8mm to avoid those inclusions, and I thought . . . hmm, as long as it''s an experiment, I''ll see how the topaz reacts in the 8mm just as fine as I''d see it in the 10mm. AND the man is quite busy, so I "cut bait" and went with the 8mm. Which is now on it''s way to me . . . exciting!

 

[fierypyropixy]

Something that happened, which I find "funny" (b/c theft is never "funny"):

Now, I've had two transactions with Gary.

The first, he notified me the stone was done, and I logged on to PayPal and discovered that my account had been taken over by Chinese hackers --- everything was in Chinese symbols! I was so excited about the asscher, that it put me into a tailspin, since their account resolution was going to perhaps take several days. There was also some time restriction involved b/c Gary had some gem shows and then vacation, so if I didn't get him that money, I wasn't going to be seeing that beautiful first stone any time soon. So I let him know about the hacker situation so he wouldn't think I was a slack customer.

Knowing I was going to be getting another Gary stone soon, I even kept checking PayPal to make sure that my account was all ready to go this time and there would be no problem. Gary let me know earlier last week that he'd have it done by the end of the same week, so I was all prepared . . .

. . . and then, on Friday?

Yep. My bank called me regarding some suspicious activity . . . I check my account . . . and have a balance of three dollars. This bank account is solely my "allowance" account, and I save up and use it for my gems or clothes or sephora or whatever else . . . and here on the very same day I am expecting a second transaction with Gary, some thief has wiped me out!!!

I wanted to beat my head on the desk in frustration. I didn't dare tell Gary b/c . . . hello, how much of a fruitcake customer would I be then?

See, this is what happens when you save your money . . . someone steals it!

 

[Barrett]

Holy Moly..you got taken? that is horrible..what is the bank going to do about it? how did they have access to your account? man, that needs to get taken care of quickly. I am so sorry that happened.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Yeah, that''s stunning! I love it!

 

[fierypyropixy]

Date: 8/25/2009 11:06:27 AM
Author: amethystguy
Holy Moly..you got taken? that is horrible..what is the bank going to do about it? how did they have access to your account? man, that needs to get taken care of quickly. I am so sorry that happened.

Thanks, amethystguy . . . yeah, right now I''m more mad about it than anything . . . I hate thieves! But I''m trying to look at it from the "this will be a good story to tell once everything is resolved" . . . just focusing on the whole "this gem cutter man thinks I''m a lunatic -- what could possibly happen when I try to buy a THIRD stone from him?!?!" side lol.

Somehow they got my debit card info . . . which is odd b/c I rarely use it in person, and mostly use it online with what I view as more "trustworthy" established vendors (Sephora, Amazon, Nordstrom, etc). Hubs is a computer nerd so I guess I have a false sense of safety regarding keyloggers and all sorts of other scams. SIGH. Now I''m getting agitated b/c I''m having to file a second set of dispute forms on the bank''s site right now. . . you''d think they''d actively pursue the criminals but instead they are perfectly willing to sit back and let the thieves get what they bought with my card . . . and collect the insurance. Frustrating!

 

[fierypyropixy]

Thanks, LTP!

 

[hoofbeats95]

GORGEOUS!!! Is that your rough or a pic of the rough Gary has? I LOVE it!

 

[D&T]

it looks gorgeous... I had a long post about your ordeal. but PS ate my post

oh well, but I just said that I hope you get this resolve soon. I'm so sorry for your this trouble

 

[fierypyropixy]

Thanks, hoofbeats! It''s Gary''s rough -- I should have the asscher in a day or two, and I''ll post some pics then for real life comparison.

Thanks D&T . . . I have had a lot of posts eaten lately myself, frustrating!

 

[chrono]

I would go ahead and explain the theft to Gary. I am very sure he will understand. I can’t believe that thieving hackers are out there; I know they are but it really hits home when it happens to someone you know, you know? Is PP taking care of this? Do you need to report this to anyone else? Will you get your money back? BTW, I can’t wait to see the final product.

 

[loriken214]

Date: 8/25/2009 1:36:48 PM
Author: Chrono
I would go ahead and explain the theft to Gary. I am very sure he will understand. I can’t believe that thieving hackers are out there; I know they are but it really hits home when it happens to someone you know, you know? Is PP taking care of this? Do you need to report this to anyone else? Will you get your money back? BTW, I can’t wait to see the final product.

DITTO!!!! Hang in there.....

Lori

 

[fierypyropixy]

Date: 8/25/2009 1:36:48 PM
Author: Chrono
I would go ahead and explain the theft to Gary. I am very sure he will understand. I can’t believe that thieving hackers are out there; I know they are but it really hits home when it happens to someone you know, you know? Is PP taking care of this? Do you need to report this to anyone else? Will you get your money back? BTW, I can’t wait to see the final product.

Oh oh oh, I''m sorry, I was a little unclear there, wasn''t I. LOL. The first time (stone) it was PayPal, but this time it''s my bank account alone, not PayPal. Which makes it more of a random "Gary will think I''m a loon" for all the bizarre happenings.

I had some really lucky timing (woohoo!) as far as Gary was concerned. Friday I filed the disputes right away, and the money was "returned" to the account, with the disclaimer that these were likely just approval charges by the vendors/Visa to make sure the account had sufficient funds to process their orders. Once, or if, the "real" charges were made, I would have to dispute THOSE charges as well . . . so before the "real" charges could be made to my account, I whisked off the PayPal for Gary via bank transfer (hallelujah for bank transfer, since they immediately closed the debit card ---- HOW WILL I SHOP?!? LOL).

Makes a girl sort of scared to buy any more gems though . . . heh. But thank you, Chrono and Lori, for being concerned about me.

 

[loriken214]

THANK GOODNESS it all worked out!!!!

I''ve noticed a bunch of scammers emailing me for my bank account info so they can "send money to me" from their stash of money they''ve been holding. It has gotten worse lately. Each time I get a PayPal scam email, I forward it to PayPal so they can investigate.

It makes me think twice before buying online, too. DH and I had to have new debit cards issued earlier this year as our account numbers were hacked into by one of the online vendors that we had used.....UGG!

Lori

 

[fierypyropixy]

Date: 8/25/2009 2:48:41 PM
Author: loriken214
THANK GOODNESS it all worked out!!!!


I''ve noticed a bunch of scammers emailing me for my bank account info so they can ''send money to me'' from their stash of money they''ve been holding. It has gotten worse lately. Each time I get a PayPal scam email, I forward it to PayPal so they can investigate.


It makes me think twice before buying online, too. DH and I had to have new debit cards issued earlier this year as our account numbers were hacked into by one of the online vendors that we had used.....UGG!


Lori

Aren''t those sort of hilarious, Lori? The "hello I''m an exiled Princess from Zimbabwe and if you can send me $100 I will transfer my inheritance of 300 billion to your US account!". Now, though, they do make me mad . . . and I think I''ve gotten two new bank cards this year alone, b/c of compromised account security on the Visa end of things. SIGH.

 

[chrono]

Oh, I understand now. I’m glad the money is back where it belongs although it is a hassle to have to do that every time verification is needed. When my account is being “checked”, usually, money is put into my account and not taken out. It’s just a few cents though.

 

[litebrite]

Wow, I am so sorry that happened to you. Theft is always a scary thing and I''m glad it looks like part of it is getting resolved quickly. On the bright side, your stone looks gorgeous. If I hadn''t bought a slew of things from Mastercutgems, I would be on the list of a Gary Braun asscher.

FYI, I think it is easier for scammers to get and track and use debit card numbers. My old roommate had his debit card number stolen from some take out receipt and it messed with his law school loans. The bank told him that it''s harder to resolve debit card vs credit card fraud. Since then I have just decided never to use my debit card to purchase, just to take out ATM money.

 

[fierypyropixy]

Chrono -- I wish that would happen! I seem to have quite a few merchants whose verification puts a hold on the funds that doesn''t disappear when they make the actual charge upon shipment. It''s a problem when that $50 purchase has taken $100 out of your account, and you don''t see the initial hold released for days afterwards! Weird.

Litebrite -- Hmm, that''s interesting -- it makes me tempted to get a credit card for that sole purpose, so my "actual" money wouldn''t be at stake.

 

[fierypyropixy]

It''s here!

This was taken about a minute after I''d signed for it . . . ripped open the box . . . and gleefully squealed a little bit.

 

[fierypyropixy]

It''s such a lovely little blue.

 

[hoofbeats95]

OMG!!! I LOVE IT!!!! GORGEOUS!!! more pics - please - pretty please!

 

[fierypyropixy]

And it has such a nice little glassy flash to it.

 

[fierypyropixy]

A little darker under the halogen lights.

 

[fierypyropixy]

In relation to hand size, obviously . . . but now I''m looking and thinking this would be a great size for an e-ring diamond upgrade, no?

 

[TBjumper]

That is beautiful! I don't normal surf CS, but I am getting to REALLY like Asschers and your title caught my eye. Your stone is great!

Glad the bank thing is working itself out.

 

[fierypyropixy]

Last one. At this point it was dirty from being handled, but I love this color combo. Of course I do -- Sky and Chocolate were our wedding colors!

 

[fierypyropixy]

Thanks, hoofbeats and TBjumper!

 

[TBjumper]

I may have missed your earlier posts, but do you have any ideas for a setting?

 

[cellentani]

Hey Fiery, that''s a gorgeous topaz!! So, what do you think of the 8mm size? I''m curious to see how you''re going to set it!

 

[chrono]

I would have mistaken it for an aquamarine. Nice cutting – does that come as a surprise?