Popped into a Kay’s today & why I’ll never buy a diamond there!

[the_mother_thing]

Was at the mall today and decided to pop into a Kays and browse their cases for nothing in particular (killing time really). Noticed every diamond (including their Leo diamonds) had a ‘GSI’ lab report, so I asked if they carried any GIA or AGS diamonds, and was advised that it’s basically the same lab. Riiiight

She starts touting their Leo diamonds and pops one into their gem scope which displays the Leo diamond’s light show on a big screen for customers. I guess that’s the only way you can see them sparkle is under a microscope? I saw no sparkle or fire; just what looks like a dusting of pepper across the entire diamond. So I ask her about the color & clarity and she says it’s near colorless and ‘SI’ (not a specific color grade or SI1 or 2). So I ask what the grade setting inclusion/s are in that diamond. She pulls the diamond’s GemEx report to look for the list of inclusions, and says they must not be listed for some reason. So yes, I let her know they probably wouldn’t be on the GemEx, rather they’d be on that ‘just-like-GIA’ lab report she had from GSI, which did not identify what any of the inclusions were; just the grade.

Then she explains that alllllll diamonds will show a similar ‘spray of inclusions’ under a microscope, and offers to prove this with the diamond on my finger (my WF/ES VS1), so I humor her ... more-so myself at this point lol because I know this will be fun. She attempts to clean my ring first while I watch, and I could immediately see she left a splotch of ultrasonic water on the table but I didn’t say anything. She puts it under the scope, my diamond is on full display on the monitor, and she points out all those ‘same inclusions as the Leo.’ At this point, I was embarrassed for her that - in front of other customers - I had to explain those ‘inclusions’ were actually the puddle of pond water she left on my diamond’s table. So I clean it myself and let her try again with the scope, and what do you know ... it doesn’t look like the included Leo at all ... just tons of fire and sparkle and not an inclusion in sight ... under the scope and out on my finger.

She compliments my diamond, asks if there was anything else I’d like to see (I didn’t ask to see anything in the first place but whatevs), and mentions some ‘show’ next month where they are “bringing in the very best GIA graded diamonds and a jeweler who will set my selected diamonds while I wait”. As if ...

It was an entertaining 10 minutes for sure, and a great reminder why I didn’t buy from a ‘maul jewelry store’ in the first place. It also made me appreciate all that is/was done behind the scenes at Whiteflash to ensure my diamond was an outstanding performer without the BS gimmicks.

 

[the_mother_thing]

I forgot the most important part (IMO) - this woman advising me on all this diamond stuff was the store manager.

 

[whitewave]

Sounds painful for all

 

[the_mother_thing]

Sounds painful for all

It definitely was for my poor diamond ... getting that half-assed bath in their dirty US. I came home and promptly gave it a proper cleaning.

 

[Karl_K]

It definitely was for my poor diamond ... getting that half-assed bath in their dirty US. I came home and promptly gave it a proper cleaning.

post of the month if not year!!!!!

 

[Dancing Fire]

I wanna go to Kay's and be a naughty boy just to wear one of their $1999 1ct special on my finger.

 

[the_mother_thing]

I wanna go to Kay's and be a naughty boy just to wear one of their $1999 1ct special on my finger.

So you can hurt your CBI’s feelings and have it look at you like:

 

[Bonfire]

How pathetic. Like going into battle with one arm!

 

[Dancing Fire]

So you can hurt your CBI’s feelings and have it look at you like:

Is that Wink?

 

[the_mother_thing]

Is that Wink?

That will be ALL of us if you put one on your finger. Maybe tell them you are in the market for some toe bling.

 

[the_mother_thing]

How pathetic. Like going into battle with one arm!

I know I looked at her like she had 3 heads when she looked for the clarity characteristics on the GemEx!

 

[Bonfire]

I know I looked at her like she had 3 heads when she looked for the clarity characteristics on the GemEx!

And she probably isn’t even aware of how badly she embarrassed herself.

 

[Slickk]

That poor lady. She didn’t stand a chance.
You schooled her.

 

[the_mother_thing]

That poor lady. She didn’t stand a chance.
You schooled her.

I really tried to be nice about it ... but making my diamond dirtier than when I went in there was just beyond tolerable.

 

[Bonfire]

I really tried to be nice about it ... but making my diamond dirtier than when I went in there was just beyond tolerable.

Cheap parlor trick. Pity the poor blokes that stumble into this web of deception and drop WAY too much money on this junk. Good for you for pulling the curtain back on her nonsense!

 

[the_mother_thing]

Cheap parlor trick. Pity the poor blokes that stumble into this web of deception and drop WAY too much money on this junk. Good for you for pulling the curtain back on her nonsense!

I really don’t think she knew any better.

I told hubby about it when I got home, and he said I should go work there, but I couldn’t ... I just wouldn’t knowingly sell junk to someone, and Kay’s would probably frown upon me referring customers to WF or HPD.

 

[Starfacet]

The saddest thing is, thousands of uneducated diamond shoppers are getting duped by these kinds of stores every single day! And I mean truly uneducated in a PS sense. The kind of "educated" that you get by maul stores sales staff like the manager you encountered doesn't count!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

thank God ive never brought a solitaire
.....and now if i ever do i have found all of you

 

[Athena10X]

About a year ago or so, after my fiancé had my e-ring in his possession, but before he proposed, we were shopping at our local mall and decided to stop into Kay’s to peruse wedding bands. When we walked in we met former coworkers of ours (a wonderful couple). In any case, they were at Kay’s in hopes of upgrading the wife’s original e-ring, which hubby bought from Kay’s. From what I overheard they’d have to spend double.

My fiancé mentioned to them that they should get a second opinion from me, which made the situation awkward. First, I would have loved to have told them to run as quickly and far away as possible, but that would have insinuated that her current e-ring was crappy. I also realized that even if I were to successfully dissuade them from upgrading at Kay’s and try to sell on the open market, they’d be at a significant loss because their diamond was not GIA graded. So I settled with a third option, try my best to teach them about cut and help them select the best option available within their budget. And since I hadn’t planned on spending more than 30 minutes there, I excused myself before I was pulled into selecting the final stone (none of the options would have met PS standards). Still, I hope she’s enjoying her upgrade.

 

[MK Malone]

@the_mother_thing I love this story!!! Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall.

 

[arkieb1]

It's very likely that is all the woman that works there sees in diamonds - she doesn't know much better because what she showed you is the vast majority of their inventory 99.9% of the time.

 

[tkyasx78]

Lol. All diamonds look included under a microscope

Too funny!
Maul stores are truly nuts!

 

[KaeKae]

I cannot decide which possible scenario is worse: that this salesperson truly is so ignorant about diamonds that she happy shares her innacurate ideas with unsuspecting and uneducated diamond customers, OR that she actually knows better but knowingly lies to customers to

 

[RunningwithScissors]

That's a funny experience. I'd love to see the difference in fire & brilliance if you were to wear the Kay's diamond and yours (or any of ours) side by side. I know there will be a huge difference, but it would be fun to see it in person. Hmmm...maybe I'll have to try it when I finally get my CBI!

Sales associates often don't know what they are talking about, even in the higher-end stores. I live in a suburb of Houston and we have a small Tiffany's in our town. While there are a few good/knowledgeable sales people there, there are also some real doozies.

About a year ago when I first started seriously looking to upgrade my e-ring, I pretty much went to every jewelry store in a 100 mile radius to try on different styles and sizes to get a feel for what I wanted. We went to our local, small Tiffany's and perused their solitaires. There were about twenty rings in the 1 - 1.5 ct range, and only one 2 ct and one 3.5 ct. There were none in my range (over 2 ct, under 3). So I asked the sales lady if she had any in that range that I could see. She frowned and told told me that "diamonds over 2 cts are VERY RARE. Tiffany's only has THREE OR FOUR in our whole inventory NATIONWIDE that are over 2 cts."

Ahhh....no. That is totally ridiculous. All I have to do is to drive 45 minutes to the much larger downtown Tiffany's and there are about 10 solitaires over 2 cts in that store alone. (Which is exactly what I did a few days later.)

I can't tell if the sales lady actually believed what she was saying because she had only ever worked at a very small Tiffany's, or if she knew she better but was just try to get me to purchase from her store.

So even at the higher end stores, there's a lot of BS! (or at least misinformation.)

 

[hypermom]

I wanna go to Kay's and be a naughty boy just to wear one of their $1999 1ct special on my finger.

My husband doesn't understand why I buy online when there's such deals at the Jewelry Exchange.

 

[hypermom]

This was from the Sat/Sun WSJ 7/27-7/28. Talked about e buying and what you shouldn't e buy.

 

[Austina]

Reminds me of the time a sales person was trying to diss my AAAA Tanzanite, asked where I’d bought it, I told her, and she said “I thought so” rather sniffily, so I said “Yes, I bought it from XXXX because you don’t sell anything of this quality” and walked out!

 

[tfc_diamondlvr]

Was at the mall today and decided to pop into a Kays and browse their cases for nothing in particular (killing time really). Noticed every diamond (including their Leo diamonds) had a ‘GSI’ lab report, so I asked if they carried any GIA or AGS diamonds, and was advised that it’s basically the same lab. Riiiight

She starts touting their Leo diamonds and pops one into their gem scope which displays the Leo diamond’s light show on a big screen for customers. I guess that’s the only way you can see them sparkle is under a microscope? I saw no sparkle or fire; just what looks like a dusting of pepper across the entire diamond. So I ask her about the color & clarity and she says it’s near colorless and ‘SI’ (not a specific color grade or SI1 or 2). So I ask what the grade setting inclusion/s are in that diamond. She pulls the diamond’s GemEx report to look for the list of inclusions, and says they must not be listed for some reason. So yes, I let her know they probably wouldn’t be on the GemEx, rather they’d be on that ‘just-like-GIA’ lab report she had from GSI, which did not identify what any of the inclusions were; just the grade.

Then she explains that alllllll diamonds will show a similar ‘spray of inclusions’ under a microscope, and offers to prove this with the diamond on my finger (my WF/ES VS1), so I humor her ... more-so myself at this point lol because I know this will be fun. She attempts to clean my ring first while I watch, and I could immediately see she left a splotch of ultrasonic water on the table but I didn’t say anything. She puts it under the scope, my diamond is on full display on the monitor, and she points out all those ‘same inclusions as the Leo.’ At this point, I was embarrassed for her that - in front of other customers - I had to explain those ‘inclusions’ were actually the puddle of pond water she left on my diamond’s table. So I clean it myself and let her try again with the scope, and what do you know ... it doesn’t look like the included Leo at all ... just tons of fire and sparkle and not an inclusion in sight ... under the scope and out on my finger.

She compliments my diamond, asks if there was anything else I’d like to see (I didn’t ask to see anything in the first place but whatevs), and mentions some ‘show’ next month where they are “bringing in the very best GIA graded diamonds and a jeweler who will set my selected diamonds while I wait”. As if ...

It was an entertaining 10 minutes for sure, and a great reminder why I didn’t buy from a ‘maul jewelry store’ in the first place. It also made me appreciate all that is/was done behind the scenes at Whiteflash to ensure my diamond was an outstanding performer without the BS gimmicks.

"spray of inclusions" - I like that very technical gemological term there! Your story is a very good reminder about the pitfalls of 'maul' jewelry shopping

 

[tfc_diamondlvr]

Reminds me of the time a sales person was trying to diss my AAAA Tanzanite, asked where I’d bought it, I told her, and she said “I thought so” rather sniffily, so I said “Yes, I bought it from XXXX because you don’t sell anything of this quality” and walked out!

Wow! Was this at a maul jewelry store? That's a pretty BOLD statement to make to any customer. Pretty hilarious - but super rude!

 

[the_mother_thing]

@RunningwithScissors I thought about asking her to put the Leo & my WF diamond’s side by side under that scope to display on the screen, but figured she had been embarrassed enough already.

@hypermom Mine totally understands why I research/shop/buy online; years ago, he worked in a ‘maul’ jewelry store for a short period to earn extra money, so he knows all too well the crap they sell in them.

@Austina That was rude as hell! If the manager yesterday had directly dissed my diamond like that, I’d have sent her home early for the day crying, in front of her other customers.