aviationgirl
Rough_Rock
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2016
- Messages
- 10
This is my first post, but I've learned so much while diamond shopping, I figured I owe it to this group to share my experiences so far.
In December, I cracked the diamond in my engagement ring on my porcelain sink. I had a half bezel set 1 ct. platinum ring that I still liked, and really had not even considered a new ring.
First, the claim:
My insurance company, USAA, asked me to ship the ring to them so they could evaluate the damage, and their intention was to replace the diamond. That scenario made me feel uneasy not being able to see the diamond first, but I shipped them the ring and waited to hear back. (it took them a week to email a Fedex shipping label, and once they received the diamond, another week to locate it in their building). I got a call from an employee reading a script letting me know that they had my ring, but that they couldn't guarantee they wouldn't damage it getting the diamond out, and did I want to deal with my own jeweler? The employee couldn't answer any questions at all as to how the process was going to work. Do they work with the jeweler? Do they write me a check? The kid just reread the script to me. I gave them feedback on that scenario online, and first thing the next morning a manager called me, and let me know I could either try to have a jeweler work with my current setting or I could start from scratch, and they would pay out the entire amount the ring was insured for as long as I got something equal or better than what I had (obviously, decided I might as well upgrade a bit). After finding out that I really couldn't melt the platinum down, I decided to start from scratch. After plenty of strange local jeweler experiences, I opted to purchase my diamond online. USAA has asked me to send them my original ring back with the damaged diamond. They only mentioned this request for the first time yesterday (2 months into the process). For sentimental reasons, I'd like to buy it back, and I'm hoping they can come up with something reasonable. Yesterday the claims agent told me I could keep my setting, and they would refund me $2100 less than the agreed settlement amount (the amount of my new setting). Seeing as I was offered $190 for scrap, that didn't seem too prudent to me, so I'll be sending the setting and the diamond back to them). Still waiting on a final answer there, because the agent really wasn't sure how to handle a buyback. While they seemed somewhat slow (and sometimes uneducated about their own process), I will say USAA seemed to be fair (if they had decided to replace my diamond on their own, I may have not come to the same conclusion). I sent the the receipt for the diamond and the setting this week, and they already have the check in the mail to reimburse me. I am paying out of pocket to go with a slightly larger and better quality diamond.
Now, for Blue Nile:
I ordered a 1.5 ct. diamond and a setting from Blue Nile. Online it said both the diamond and the setting would be available to be shipped in a few days. I called before making the order, and was told the same thing. Once I called and put the order in, all of a sudden it was going to be 4 weeks before I would see the ring because the setting was going to be a special order (Monique Lhuillier halo). Since I was waiting on the setting, I asked if they could ship me the diamond so I could inspect it outside of the ring. They said the only way they could do that is if they cancelled my entire order, and reordered only the diamond separately. Then that would put the production of the ring back to the beginning. I opted to continue with the original plan, in hopes to have a jeweler look at the diamond once I received the entire piece. Well, when I received the ring, I knew immediately it was going to go back. The G colored (GIA xxx) diamond looked yellow (I have since purchased another G colored diamond that looks fantastic. The setting was even worse. The prongs (4) were uneven (not parallel to the ring), and one prong was smaller than the rest. The pave was a disaster (bumpy and uneven on one side), and the diamond was not set evenly in the ring. Also, the ring was advertised to have three rows of pave, and there were only two. I shipped the ring back, and they did reimburse me for the return shipping based on the quality of the ring. The customer service has been a mixed bag-some has been great, and some has been terrible. At one point, I honestly felt like I was making a phone order to Kmart for a $15 purchase rather than a $15k purchase. I'm still waiting on a refund check (for whatever reason, they were unable to refund my credit card). They told me the check was cut and sent last week, and when I followed up today, they told me the check was not cut until Monday. I hope this is not one of those "check is in the mail" cases. Not once did they suggest finding me a better diamond and setting, or even just a diamond so I could set the ring locally. They completely lost the opportunity to sell a diamond because they didn't make any effort. Photo of Blue Nile ring is posted.
James Allen and B2C Jewels:
Next stop, I ordered a diamond from both JA and B2C to compare side by side. Customer service with James Allen was great (although they initially gave me a ship date of 3 days from my order, and then the date changed to more than a week out (diamond was coming from Mumbai), but I ended up receiving the diamond only a day later than the original quote. The diamond was exactly as advertised, but when comparing it to the other diamond from B2C, it was a no brainer that B2C was the better diamond (JA crown angle was just slightly steeper and the B2C diamond was visually more appealing). B2C DID provide photos and 2 videos for each of their diamonds I considered, and were also very responsive. So, even if you don't see photos or videos online, ask them, and they will email you. Pricewise, B2C was also better. Both diamonds were GIA xxx, JA was 1.65 ct G VS2 (slightly steep/deep), and $100 more than B2C which was 1.67 ct. G VS1 with a more appealing cut (while both GIA excellent, HCA was better on the B2C with better crown/pavilion angles, and visually, it was a much more appealing diamond). I brought both diamonds to the jeweler who will be setting my diamond, and they agreed, and also confirmed that the diamond I purchased from B2C is a great diamond. They couldn't come close on price with their inventory, but the jeweler is now trying to find me a diamond with as close as he can get to the exact specs as mine and offer me 5% less than I paid for my B2C diamond. We'll see how that pans out-he needs to find it within the next week, and I'm already pretty excited about the diamond I chose. I just returned the JA diamond yesterday, so no word on how fast they manage a return. Hoping they are more efficient than BN. While I didn't ultimately end up with a JA purchase, I did feel that their customer service was very good, and I received exactly what I ordered.
I have a bezel set Mark Patterson setting on order from my local jeweler (Wixon in Minneapolis) who has gone above and beyond, and will post once I have it in hand.
In December, I cracked the diamond in my engagement ring on my porcelain sink. I had a half bezel set 1 ct. platinum ring that I still liked, and really had not even considered a new ring.
First, the claim:
My insurance company, USAA, asked me to ship the ring to them so they could evaluate the damage, and their intention was to replace the diamond. That scenario made me feel uneasy not being able to see the diamond first, but I shipped them the ring and waited to hear back. (it took them a week to email a Fedex shipping label, and once they received the diamond, another week to locate it in their building). I got a call from an employee reading a script letting me know that they had my ring, but that they couldn't guarantee they wouldn't damage it getting the diamond out, and did I want to deal with my own jeweler? The employee couldn't answer any questions at all as to how the process was going to work. Do they work with the jeweler? Do they write me a check? The kid just reread the script to me. I gave them feedback on that scenario online, and first thing the next morning a manager called me, and let me know I could either try to have a jeweler work with my current setting or I could start from scratch, and they would pay out the entire amount the ring was insured for as long as I got something equal or better than what I had (obviously, decided I might as well upgrade a bit). After finding out that I really couldn't melt the platinum down, I decided to start from scratch. After plenty of strange local jeweler experiences, I opted to purchase my diamond online. USAA has asked me to send them my original ring back with the damaged diamond. They only mentioned this request for the first time yesterday (2 months into the process). For sentimental reasons, I'd like to buy it back, and I'm hoping they can come up with something reasonable. Yesterday the claims agent told me I could keep my setting, and they would refund me $2100 less than the agreed settlement amount (the amount of my new setting). Seeing as I was offered $190 for scrap, that didn't seem too prudent to me, so I'll be sending the setting and the diamond back to them). Still waiting on a final answer there, because the agent really wasn't sure how to handle a buyback. While they seemed somewhat slow (and sometimes uneducated about their own process), I will say USAA seemed to be fair (if they had decided to replace my diamond on their own, I may have not come to the same conclusion). I sent the the receipt for the diamond and the setting this week, and they already have the check in the mail to reimburse me. I am paying out of pocket to go with a slightly larger and better quality diamond.
Now, for Blue Nile:
I ordered a 1.5 ct. diamond and a setting from Blue Nile. Online it said both the diamond and the setting would be available to be shipped in a few days. I called before making the order, and was told the same thing. Once I called and put the order in, all of a sudden it was going to be 4 weeks before I would see the ring because the setting was going to be a special order (Monique Lhuillier halo). Since I was waiting on the setting, I asked if they could ship me the diamond so I could inspect it outside of the ring. They said the only way they could do that is if they cancelled my entire order, and reordered only the diamond separately. Then that would put the production of the ring back to the beginning. I opted to continue with the original plan, in hopes to have a jeweler look at the diamond once I received the entire piece. Well, when I received the ring, I knew immediately it was going to go back. The G colored (GIA xxx) diamond looked yellow (I have since purchased another G colored diamond that looks fantastic. The setting was even worse. The prongs (4) were uneven (not parallel to the ring), and one prong was smaller than the rest. The pave was a disaster (bumpy and uneven on one side), and the diamond was not set evenly in the ring. Also, the ring was advertised to have three rows of pave, and there were only two. I shipped the ring back, and they did reimburse me for the return shipping based on the quality of the ring. The customer service has been a mixed bag-some has been great, and some has been terrible. At one point, I honestly felt like I was making a phone order to Kmart for a $15 purchase rather than a $15k purchase. I'm still waiting on a refund check (for whatever reason, they were unable to refund my credit card). They told me the check was cut and sent last week, and when I followed up today, they told me the check was not cut until Monday. I hope this is not one of those "check is in the mail" cases. Not once did they suggest finding me a better diamond and setting, or even just a diamond so I could set the ring locally. They completely lost the opportunity to sell a diamond because they didn't make any effort. Photo of Blue Nile ring is posted.
James Allen and B2C Jewels:
Next stop, I ordered a diamond from both JA and B2C to compare side by side. Customer service with James Allen was great (although they initially gave me a ship date of 3 days from my order, and then the date changed to more than a week out (diamond was coming from Mumbai), but I ended up receiving the diamond only a day later than the original quote. The diamond was exactly as advertised, but when comparing it to the other diamond from B2C, it was a no brainer that B2C was the better diamond (JA crown angle was just slightly steeper and the B2C diamond was visually more appealing). B2C DID provide photos and 2 videos for each of their diamonds I considered, and were also very responsive. So, even if you don't see photos or videos online, ask them, and they will email you. Pricewise, B2C was also better. Both diamonds were GIA xxx, JA was 1.65 ct G VS2 (slightly steep/deep), and $100 more than B2C which was 1.67 ct. G VS1 with a more appealing cut (while both GIA excellent, HCA was better on the B2C with better crown/pavilion angles, and visually, it was a much more appealing diamond). I brought both diamonds to the jeweler who will be setting my diamond, and they agreed, and also confirmed that the diamond I purchased from B2C is a great diamond. They couldn't come close on price with their inventory, but the jeweler is now trying to find me a diamond with as close as he can get to the exact specs as mine and offer me 5% less than I paid for my B2C diamond. We'll see how that pans out-he needs to find it within the next week, and I'm already pretty excited about the diamond I chose. I just returned the JA diamond yesterday, so no word on how fast they manage a return. Hoping they are more efficient than BN. While I didn't ultimately end up with a JA purchase, I did feel that their customer service was very good, and I received exactly what I ordered.
I have a bezel set Mark Patterson setting on order from my local jeweler (Wixon in Minneapolis) who has gone above and beyond, and will post once I have it in hand.
It all
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