Potential Fake Diamonds in Ring

[bella_s]

Hello everyone,

I am hoping someone could give me some advice regarding a potentially serious problem with my Ritani engagement ring. I am writing from Australia and a few weeks ago my boyfriend surprised me with a beautiful 1.8 carat platinum Ritani engagement ring in the Ritani Setting (this is the design that has diamonds set in the claws, between the claws as well as in the band). I fell in love with this ring last year when I stumbled upon the Ritani website last year. My boyfriend searched high and low for this ring in Australia - looking for exactly this ring or for something similar. He contacted Ritani and unfortunately there were no stockists here, however they recommended Bill Barnes in the US as a jeweller who sell online and would potentially sell internationally. My boyfriend purchased the ring from Bill Barnes (and received all the paperwork) and he surprised me a few weeks ago - I absolutely love my ring, however I was very upset when a potential problem was discovered this morning.

I took my ring to a very premium jeweller here to have a matching wedding band made. I had to leave my ring at the jeweller so they could match the style of the wedding band (we are getting married in a month’s time). As is normal procedure, before accepting my ring, the jeweller tested the diamonds in the ring with a special machine to ensure that the stones were in fact diamonds. To my horror, at least five of the diamonds in the band tested as synthetic! I was so upset - the jeweller tried to calm me down and they have rushed my ring off to the workshop for further testing. She said not to panic yet - that they would clean the ring and ensure that there was no film on the diamonds that was upsetting the testing and would call back to confirm as soon as completed.

I was a little concerned over the past two weeks (before I took my ring in to the jeweller) with two of the diamonds set in my band - the diamonds in questions did not quite match the other ones. They were just a little different in colour - I pointed this out to my boyfriend who noticed as well (it''s very subtle). Sure enough, these two diamonds tested as synthetic.

I''m trying not to panic yet, however I wanted to ask has this happened to anyone else? I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that there was just something wrong with the machine or that the diamonds were dirty. From my research both Ritani and the jeweller he purchased from are very reputable (the jeweller being endorsed by Ritani). Has anyone else had a similar issue - I am just trying to put my mind at ease until the lab results are back?

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Hmm, I would wait and see what they say when it comes back.
I have had this happen to me with one of my rings. The center stone tested as Moissanite and I know for a fact that it was a diamond.

 

[neatfreak]

I really doubt they are fake PAVE diamonds. There is no logical reason anyone would ever do that. The value of those stones is only a few dollars. Just think about the amount of work that would have to go into this, just not worth it!

So I would take a deep breath, and VERY VERY likely, they hit the metal or something when they were testing them. Sounds shady to me (the testing, not the ring!).

 

[arjunajane]

I''m probably completely wrong, but I would be concerned about the accuracy of those things. Really if they have much experience at all they should be able to tell if a diamond is real or not by inspecting it.
Also, are you familiar with this jeweler and do you trust them? I also live in Australia and unfortunately am all too aware of how disgraceful some jewelers behave when you disclose that you haven''t purchased the diamond from them.
I think if you''re really concerned ask for the ring back and try to find someone who is independent and can appraise it properly for you.

I''m sorry you''re worried! I''m sure if there is a problem then Ritani will fix it.

let us know what happens.

 

[Kaleigh]

Gotta say Ritani has a fine reputation. Never read a bad word about them. Quality through and through. I think that diamond tester is the one that needs to be tested. It could be off, and here you are going through all this worry..... Just saying.. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

For what it is worth I do not like diamond testers being used in my stores.

Experts need a loupe and a few seconds to check stones.
Testers in the hands of experts are a nuisance, and in the hands of salestaff they can be dangerous.

 

[denverappraiser]

I’m with Garry and the above. Separating fakes from diamonds is really pretty easy and a capable gemmo can usually do it in a few seconds even without that tester. It seems highly unlikely that you would have a few fakes in a Ritani bought from an authorized Ritani dealer. There’s something to be said for the satisfying ‘beep’ that they make in the showroom and customers inherently trust machines more than they trust people but, in this case, those tools are not as reliable as you might think. I’m a little surprised that there was no one in the store who could do this before they shipped it off to the workshop. In the hands of a capable operator they work just fine but a capable operator doesn’t need it anyway and in incapable hands they’re problematic.

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

 

[iheartscience]

I agree with the others-it''s very unlikely that your ring has a few fake diamonds in it! Also, if I were you, I would try to order a matching Ritani band instead of getting one made by this jeweler. Is that a possibility for you?

 

[WinkHPD]

Ditto Garry and Neil. EXTREMELY unlikely, not to mention that the sales associate was incorrect in identifying the gems as synthetic diamonds. The tester being used is supposed to separate diamond from moissanite or CZ and does so by testing how quickly heat is dispersed in the gem. In melee the stone is often so small that even though the heat disperses quickly it does not have much room to disperse, resulting in a false positive for not being a diamond.

These machines were originally developed when pawn brokers keep buying cz's as the real deal, and really are not intended to be relied upon by professionals. The moissanite detectors were developed to determine whether or not a stone was genuine diamond for someone incapable of looking into the gem to detect the facet edge doubling that goes with a strongly doubly refractive stone such as moissanite.

I join the crowd who thinks you have little to worry about, although if you are concerned you should get an opinion from an independant appraisor, not a competing vendor.

Wink

 

[diagem]

There were rumors a few months ago (which were strongly refuted) that a huge Diamond Manufacturer was mixing some synthetics with natural production!
Anyone else hear of that?

 

[LGK]

I use one of the testers you''re talking about at work a bit- I work at an antique mall, and often customers want reassurance that they''re buying a diamond not CZ, hence that "beep" makes them happy. And if someone drags in grandma''s ring and wants to know if it''s a diamond, we can tell them yea or nay... so true that people trust a machine more than a person with a loupe. I would be able to tell people whether a diamond was real or not with just a loupe, but for some reason people will trust a machine more than, say, a goth chick behind a counter.

There are several ways you can screw up with the tester. First, melee is tiny, and when it''s dirty, it''s filthy. A dirty diamond will not test as real.

Second, those testers have several settings, and if you''re inexperienced with it, you will never get the thing to beep! You have to have several dials set to the right setting, or nothing happens. These things ain''t idiot proof. (And, you can set the dial so it will beep from testing anything- not that I would ever DO that, but you can. At least, the one I use can be set in this way.)

And yeah, fake melee would be pointless. Melee is cheap. The "synthetic diamond" comment would leave me thinking someone with no idea what the diff between a synthetic diamond vs. a simulant is, would perhaps have no idea how to operate a diamond tester.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Date: 5/5/2008 7:52:04 PM
Author: LittleGreyKitten
The ''synthetic diamond'' comment would leave me thinking someone with no idea what the diff between a synthetic diamond vs. a simulant is, would perhaps have no idea how to operate a diamond tester.

Wow!!!!
that is the best comment on this thread

 

[bella_s]

Date: 5/4/2008 11:06:59 PM
Author:bella_s

Hello everyone,

I am hoping someone could give me some advice regarding a potentially serious problem with my Ritani engagement ring. I am writing from Australia and a few weeks ago my boyfriend surprised me with a beautiful 1.8 carat platinum Ritani engagement ring in the Ritani Setting (this is the design that has diamonds set in the claws, between the claws as well as in the band). I fell in love with this ring last year when I stumbled upon the Ritani website last year. My boyfriend searched high and low for this ring in Australia - looking for exactly this ring or for something similar. He contacted Ritani and unfortunately there were no stockists here, however they recommended Bill Barnes in the US as a jeweller who sell online and would potentially sell internationally. My boyfriend purchased the ring from Bill Barnes (and received all the paperwork) and he surprised me a few weeks ago - I absolutely love my ring, however I was very upset when a potential problem was discovered this morning.

I took my ring to a very premium jeweller here to have a matching wedding band made. I had to leave my ring at the jeweller so they could match the style of the wedding band (we are getting married in a month’s time). As is normal procedure, before accepting my ring, the jeweller tested the diamonds in the ring with a special machine to ensure that the stones were in fact diamonds. To my horror, at least five of the diamonds in the band tested as synthetic! I was so upset - the jeweller tried to calm me down and they have rushed my ring off to the workshop for further testing. She said not to panic yet - that they would clean the ring and ensure that there was no film on the diamonds that was upsetting the testing and would call back to confirm as soon as completed.

I was a little concerned over the past two weeks (before I took my ring in to the jeweller) with two of the diamonds set in my band - the diamonds in questions did not quite match the other ones. They were just a little different in colour - I pointed this out to my boyfriend who noticed as well (it''s very subtle). Sure enough, these two diamonds tested as synthetic.

I''m trying not to panic yet, however I wanted to ask has this happened to anyone else? I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that there was just something wrong with the machine or that the diamonds were dirty. From my research both Ritani and the jeweller he purchased from are very reputable (the jeweller being endorsed by Ritani). Has anyone else had a similar issue - I am just trying to put my mind at ease until the lab results are back?

Hello again,

Thankyou everyone for your comments and advice, after reading these I was not stressed at all about the results of the further testing. Further to my original post, my jeweller rang yesterday and sure enough confirmed that all the stones in the ring were in fact diamonds and as suspected, the testing machine was being rather temperamental.
I contacted the jeweller my ring was originally purchased from regarding the results of the initial tests and they were most helpful and basically reiterated everyone''s comments on the forum that it was more than likely that the machine was giving an incorrect reading. The second jeweller doing the testing apologised for the mistake (which was a little late as I spent a day being rather worried!).
Thankyou again everyone - I have certainly learnt quite a bit about diamond testing over the last couple of days!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Hhuman conquers machine

 

[strmrdr]

When dealing with this issue you want a gemologist's opinion not a sales person.
How do you tell the difference?
A sales person pulls out a tester, a gemologist pulls out a microscope.

 

[diagem]

Date: 5/8/2008 2:33:12 AM
Author: strmrdr
When dealing with this issue you want a gemologist''s opinion not a sales person.
How do you tell the difference?
A sales person pulls out a tester, a gemologist pulls out a microscope.

A gemeologist with the right knowledge and experience....

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 5/8/2008 3:13:05 AM
Author: DiaGem

Date: 5/8/2008 2:33:12 AM
Author: strmrdr
When dealing with this issue you want a gemologist''s opinion not a sales person.
How do you tell the difference?
A sales person pulls out a tester, a gemologist pulls out a microscope.

A gemeologist with the right knowledge and experience....

true but it don''t take a lot I can separate them under a scope.

 

[diagem]

Date: 5/8/2008 3:46:21 AM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 5/8/2008 3:13:05 AM
Author: DiaGem

Date: 5/8/2008 2:33:12 AM
Author: strmrdr
When dealing with this issue you want a gemologist''s opinion not a sales person.
How do you tell the difference?
A sales person pulls out a tester, a gemologist pulls out a microscope.

A gemeologist with the right knowledge and experience....

true but it don''t take a lot I can separate them under a scope.

That would be able to tell a real vs. fake Diamond??? You certain?

I am not with you on that one..., I have witnessed quite a few "experienced" Diamond dealers that fell for good samples of fakes!

You are making it sound tooo simple

.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

My microscope is covered in dust.

Therefore I am a bad gemologist?

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 5/8/2008 4:16:36 AM
Author: DiaGem
That would be able to tell a real vs. fake Diamond??? You certain?

I am not with you on that one..., I have witnessed quite a few ''experienced'' Diamond dealers that fell for good samples of fakes!

You are making it sound tooo simple

.

I was 5 for 5 on picking out the cz at 6mm and 6.5mm from real diamonds under a scope.
They were signity stars so they were some of the better cut ones also.
moissanite I have only seen one under a scope and the differences were easy to spot.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 5/8/2008 4:25:15 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
My microscope is covered in dust.

Therefore I am a bad gemologist?

non-super hero gemologist would grab a scope, Id just hand you a loupe or a pro IS.
hehehehehehe

 

[diagem]

Date: 5/8/2008 4:25:15 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
My microscope is covered in dust.

Therefore I am a bad gemologist?

No..., but I''ll bet you..., you will notice the difference with the un-aided eyesight based on the life of the Diamond..., no tools necessary!
But your experience is not comparable to the average gemologist (in the thin sense of the word!)

 

[diagem]

Date: 5/5/2008 1:04:46 PM
Author: DiaGem
There were rumors a few months ago (which were strongly refuted) that a huge Diamond Manufacturer was mixing some synthetics with natural production!
Anyone else hear of that?

No comments???

or

Too touchy!!!

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 5/8/2008 4:37:23 AM
Author: DiaGem

Date: 5/5/2008 1:04:46 PM
Author: DiaGem
There were rumors a few months ago (which were strongly refuted) that a huge Diamond Manufacturer was mixing some synthetics with natural production!
Anyone else hear of that?

No comments???

or

Too touchy!!!

against the rules... last time I answered that it was deleted.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Date: 5/8/2008 4:36:10 AM
Author: DiaGem

Date: 5/8/2008 4:25:15 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
My microscope is covered in dust.

Therefore I am a bad gemologist?

No..., but I''ll bet you..., you will notice the difference with the un-aided eyesight based on the life of the Diamond..., no tools necessary!
But your experience is not comparable to the average gemologist (in the thin sense of the word!)

You saying I''m fat?

 

[pyramid]

Date: 5/8/2008 7:11:10 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)

Date: 5/8/2008 4:36:10 AM
Author: DiaGem

Date: 5/8/2008 4:25:15 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
My microscope is covered in dust.

Therefore I am a bad gemologist?

No..., but I''ll bet you..., you will notice the difference with the un-aided eyesight based on the life of the Diamond..., no tools necessary!
But your experience is not comparable to the average gemologist (in the thin sense of the word!)

You saying I''m fat?

Garry is one of the best looking guys on Pricescope, natural good looks. REALLY!

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 5/8/2008 2:33:12 AM
Author: strmrdr
When dealing with this issue you want a gemologist''s opinion not a sales person.

How do you tell the difference?

A sales person pulls out a tester, a gemologist pulls out a microscope.

Q: What’s the difference between a gemologist and a mineralogist?

A: A gemologist can tell with reasonable certainty what a gemstone is. A mineralogist can tell you with absolute certainty what it used to be.

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

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Pyramid you are biased (but beautiful)

Date: 5/8/2008 7:41:08 AM
Author: denverappraiser

Date: 5/8/2008 2:33:12 AM
Author: strmrdr
When dealing with this issue you want a gemologist''s opinion not a sales person.

How do you tell the difference?

A sales person pulls out a tester, a gemologist pulls out a microscope.

Q: What’s the difference between a gemologist and a mineralogist?

A: A gemologist can tell with reasonable certainty what a gemstone is. A mineralogist can tell you with absolute certainty what it used to be.

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