paying 60k for a stone sight unseen with little specs and no return policy?

[Alexiszoe]

I am currently in Singapore for work and popped by the local dealer for Gabrielle diamonds to see if they had any pears that matched what i was looking for. the sales staff wanted me to plonk down a 50% deposit for a stone so that they can retrieve it from their inventory, and said that by paying the deposit it means i absolutely have to buy the stone, no returns. Am I the only one or is this policy weird? is any diamond worth the amount of risk here?

 

[MissGotRocks]

No.

 

[Harriet]

No, as the wise MGR says.

 

[neatfreak]

No way.

 

[bebe]

run, run real fast from this.

 

[Kaleigh]

You''re kidding right?? Stay the heck away, run don''t walk.

 

[Alexiszoe]

thanks ladies. I honestly don''t know if this is a common policy in singapore, which he claims it is - i hope some ladies who have experiences shopping in asia would shed light on this. he claimed if i were really interested i would be putting the deposit for the stone unless i am ''not serious'' and that ''there is no such thing as not liking a Gabi diamond'' as a way of explaining the no returns policy.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/16/2008 10:55:19 PM
Author: Alexiszoe
thanks ladies. I honestly don''t know if this is a common policy in singapore, which he claims it is - i hope some ladies who have experiences shopping in asia would shed light on this. he claimed if i were really interested i would be putting the deposit for the stone unless i am ''not serious'' and that ''there is no such thing as not liking a Gabi diamond'' as a way of explaining the no returns policy.

Who cares if that is what is standard there, it''s still a crappy policy.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 12/16/2008 11:04:04 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 12/16/2008 10:55:19 PM
Author: Alexiszoe
thanks ladies. I honestly don''t know if this is a common policy in singapore, which he claims it is - i hope some ladies who have experiences shopping in asia would shed light on this. he claimed if i were really interested i would be putting the deposit for the stone unless i am ''not serious'' and that ''there is no such thing as not liking a Gabi diamond'' as a way of explaining the no returns policy.

Who cares if that is what is standard there, it''s still a crappy policy.

Yup.

 

[strmrdr]

That is insane.
No way.

 

[snlee]

That''s crazy. No way!

 

[Deelight]

RUN as fast as you can that is the stupidest policy I have ever heard of

 

[Kelli]

Definitely no way! RUN!

 

[Lenamama]

NOW WAY!! even as a noob, I concur.. that''s so crazy, i can''t belive there are people out there like... It''s a shame.

You know what kind of diamond you get get for 60K???? A totally brilliant one!!!!!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

No way!

 

[Savvymon]

I agree with the above comments!!!!!!

Run away NOW!

 

[EricaR]

Stay away, stay away!

 

[Dancing Fire]

without a return policy ??

i would''nt lay down $60k even if Marcel Tolkowsky came out of his grave to cut that diamond.

 

[Indira-London]

That is truly shocking that they allow no flexibility especially as fancy shapes such as pear vary greatly in their outlook - some people like short fat pears, some like them longer and slimmer so the beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder when poor performers (based on experience of the vendor/trader have been eliminated as there are no ideal widely agreed proportions for pear diamonds). Without seeing the diamond how can you be sure that a given particular pear diamond will appeal?

I get requests regularly from clients who want to order unseen but I refuse as in my opinion fancy shapes are best seen and chosen in person though I know that many PS do order fancy shapes online based on photos, ASET etc which again is more than you are being provided!

To illustrate how pears vary in their shape - here is a picture showing 3 pears all DEF VS that are all just over 3 carats each - you can see that the shape varies enormously!

 

[Lorelei]

Run Forrest, run.

 

[Imdanny]

Rude. I don''t care if it were the policy in all of Singapore, I wouldn''t do it.

 

[arjunajane]

Sounds like the financial crisis is effecting Singapore aswell..who wants to bet that "policy" was created in the last couple months, lol..

Yup, please, RUN !

 

[amazinglywonderful]

Sounds skeevy, RUN AWAY!

 

[isaku5]

Not a chance I''d go along with that! I''ve seen the Gabrielle diamonds and they''re not worth one cent more than many others I''ve seen.

 

[denverappraiser]

I guess business is better for high end jewelers in Singapore than in most other places. Most jewelers are tickled to see $60k customers and will fall all over themselves to earn your business while these folks want a $30,000 non-refundable deposit to prove that you're serious before they'll even SHOW you a diamond from inventory! Incredible. I suppose they can set whatever policies they want and only they get to decide if this one is working for them but as a customer I would want nothing to do with it.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Alexiszoe]

Date: 12/17/2008 1:43:42 AM
Author: Dancing Fire
without a return policy ??

i would''nt lay down $60k even if Marcel Tolkowsky came out of his grave to cut that diamond.

LOL!

Date: 12/17/2008 4:02:47 AM
Author: Indira-London
That is truly shocking that they allow no flexibility especially as fancy shapes such as pear vary greatly in their outlook - some people like short fat pears, some like them longer and slimmer so the beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder when poor performers (based on experience of the vendor/trader have been eliminated as there are no ideal widely agreed proportions for pear diamonds). Without seeing the diamond how can you be sure that a given particular pear diamond will appeal?

I agree. if other jewelers can source for stones for me without me paying a huge deposit, i don''t understand why this can''t be done.


ironically, a local acquaintance with a fatter budget than mine faced some problems with them as well - in the end she took her business to another Singapore jeweler who was more accommodating.

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 12/17/2008 11:26:18 AM
Author: Alexiszoe

ironically, a local acquaintance with a fatter budget than mine faced some problems with them as well - in the end she took her business to another Singapore jeweler who was more accommodating.

OK, now I’m confused. Why did you choose this particular store in light of the above comment? It seems like the obvious next step is to add a little more wear to the path from jeweler A to jeweler B and don't look back. What am I missing?

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[Alexiszoe]

Date: 12/17/2008 11:37:25 AM
Author: denverappraiser

Date: 12/17/2008 11:26:18 AM

Author: Alexiszoe


ironically, a local acquaintance with a fatter budget than mine faced some problems with them as well - in the end she took her business to another Singapore jeweler who was more accommodating.

OK, now I’m confused. Why did you choose this particular store in light of the above comment? It seems like the obvious next step is to add a little more wear to the path from jeweler A to jeweler B and don''t look back. What am I missing?


Neil Beaty

GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA

Professional Appraisals in Denver

I only got to know about this after my trip to the store. I am trying to wrangle the contact information of the second jeweler though