Robbins Jeweler said they can''t set a stone without insurance

[paulsiu]

OK, I am confused. I purchased a stone from Good Old gold. I wanted to sent the stone to Robbins for the setting since they were one of the Ritani dealer near me.

Today, I get a message from Robbins Diamond that they want to have insurance on the diamond because they have to sent it out to Ritani. I''ll gladly do that except that no one really insures loose stones. So I can''t sent them the stone without insurance, but I can''t get insurance for the stone. I am totally confused. After talking with the salesperson, she indicated that they want to make sure that it has the right certifcate and that there were no problems with the girdle. I am not entirely clear on how this works?

I was under the impression that:
1. Good Old Gold insures it while the diamond is in their possession.
2. It is mailed to Gem Appraiser. During transit, the package is insured by the carrier, when it reach Gem Appraiser, their insurance covers it.
3. The stone gets transported to Robbin. Robbin''s insurances covers it.
4. Robbins mail the diamond to Ritani for the setting. Ritani insures it.

At least that was my impression, but now I am not so sure. How can I do this without losing my diamond due to some bureucratic snafu? Should I be looking at a different dealer like Baily Biddles and Banks. I like Robbins a bit better so far because they are close to Gem Appraiser and the people were nicer, but if they''re not used to doing this then I am afraid that they''ll screw up.

Paul

 

[DonaBella]

Date: 2/2/2006 3:06:00 PM
Author:paulsiu
OK, I am confused. I purchased a stone from Good Old gold. I wanted to sent the stone to Robbins for the setting since they were one of the Ritani dealer near me.

Today, I get a message from Robbins Diamond that they want to have insurance on the diamond because they have to sent it out to Ritani. I''ll gladly do that except that no one really insures loose stones. So I can''t sent them the stone without insurance, but I can''t get insurance for the stone. I am totally confused. After talking with the salesperson, she indicated that they want to make sure that it has the right certifcate and that there were no problems with the girdle. I am not entirely clear on how this works?

I was under the impression that:
1. Good Old Gold insures it while the diamond is in their possession.
2. It is mailed to Gem Appraiser. During transit, the package is insured by the carrier, when it reach Gem Appraiser, their insurance covers it.
3. The stone gets transported to Robbin. Robbin''s insurances covers it.
4. Robbins mail the diamond to Ritani for the setting. Ritani insures it.

At least that was my impression, but now I am not so sure. How can I do this without losing my diamond due to some bureucratic snafu? Should I be looking at a different dealer like Baily Biddles and Banks. I like Robbins a bit better so far because they are close to Gem Appraiser and the people were nicer, but if they''re not used to doing this then I am afraid that they''ll screw up.

Paul

Hi Paul...sorry to hear of your dilemma...

First of all, you should have an initial appraisal that came with the diamond. I bought from GOG and feel very comfortable asking them questions. Did you have a good experience and do you feel good about troubleshooting with them? The only thing I can recommend is sharing with you my experience and see if maybe it might help.

I received my cushion stone and had it independently appraised by RockDoc and then sent the stone to Topper''s Fine Jewelry to be set. I contacted Chubb insurance via RockDoc and they reassured me that my stone did not need to be insured until it was set in the setting. Chubb and Topper''s agreed that Topper''s assumed liability for my stone since they were working on it. Now, I know that with an appraisal that accompanies the purchase of a stone you can get that insured most likely with a rider on your home policy. Then, afterwards, if you want to stay with the home policy, you can give them the updated appraisal that includes the setting or you can start a new policy with Chubb.

Please check into the options I listed here. It may or may not be the same for you, but its worth looking into.

Good Luck!

 

[Iceman]

Some jewelers dont want to take responsiblity for diamonds that are not theres to replace. Make sure your diamond is insured before they set it.

We have the mounting sent to us so we can set the diamond and its in the hands of one of the best goldsmiths in the country to set it.

 

[paulsiu]

GOG indicated that if we send them the settings, they can set it. However, the are not a Ritani dealer. Charlie at GOG did indicated that some Jeweler are nervous about getting an outside loose diamond since diamond do break. He recalled only two cases for the life of GOG.

I tried to talk to Ritani, but they said the Robbins sales person should contact their rep, but Ritani did indicated that particular model would be better off begin set at Ritani.

Robbins did not said it would be a problem before... Sigh!

Paul

 

[mrssalvo]

Paulsiu, why not just call chubb and get the stone insured? you can still take it to robbins brothers and they can send it to ritani. then you won''t have to worry about it.

 

[paulsiu]

mrssalvo, neither Chubb nor Jeweler Mutual will sell me a policy that covers loose stones. They won''t cover it until I have the stone set in a ring. I can''t have it set until I get insurance. Catch-22. Is there another company you would suggest?

I''ll try to talk to various insurance company and ring places tomorrow.

Paul

 

[mrssalvo]

I thought i read somewhere that chubb would cover a loose stone..i guess not.
I honestly don''t know what to tell you. There are a couple of Ritani owners around, maybe they will jump in. Maybe you could by a cheap temp setting and get your ring insured, that way the stone would be covered while it was being reset?

 

[RockDoc]

Date: 2/2/2006 9:13:35 PM
Author: paulsiu
mrssalvo, neither Chubb nor Jeweler Mutual will sell me a policy that covers loose stones. They won''t cover it until I have the stone set in a ring. I can''t have it set until I get insurance. Catch-22. Is there another company you would suggest?

I''ll try to talk to various insurance company and ring places tomorrow.

Paul

What state are u in?

Once I know I will suggest a Chubb agent that will cover the stone for you. ( Not all agents of Chubb are the same - and few understand this type of coverage they offer.)

Rockdoc

 

[paulsiu]

I live in PA.

I did notice one of the Chubb agent explaining to me that he won''t sell me a policy without a homeowner''s insurance. Since I don''t even own a house, the point is moot.


I''ll check again tomorrow. May be if I explain the situation to JM or Chubb, they''ll have a policy for me. I can''t believe I am the only person having the same problem.

 

[sfritz]

Date: 2/2/2006 9:13:35 PM
Author: paulsiu
mrssalvo, neither Chubb nor Jeweler Mutual will sell me a policy that covers loose stones. They won't cover it until I have the stone set in a ring. I can't have it set until I get insurance. Catch-22. Is there another company you would suggest?

I'll try to talk to various insurance company and ring places tomorrow.

Paul

Paul: Jewelers Mutual will insure a loose stone that is being set. We ask that you get an appraisal/insurance evaluation for the stone and the setting BEFORE it's set. The policy for the finished ring needs to be in place BEFORE the diamond is set. Then, you're covered.

Sue Fritz
Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company

 

[paulsiu]

Thanks Sue,

I''m going to talk to Robbins today and see if I can get this to work with the insurance. I was hoping that vendors like Robbins would educate me on the availability of such policies. It would be good for profit, but perhaps they don''t make enough profit off the setting to bother with it.

I am pretty sure Chubb has a similar policy, so I will investigate. Previous conversation with JM and Chubb had involved loose stones, which neither will insured. I guess I was asking the wrong question. As a note, I notice that Chubb policy may be the same everywhere, their agent varies so you''ll have to do the legwork to find a good agent. I recall GOG telling me that some of their customer had problems getting Chubb.

Paul

 

[RockDoc]

Here's an agent for you that can write Chubb in PA.

Bill Castro

www.totaldollar.com

They have a toll free number, and you won't have to buy homeowners' insurance.

Chubb only has this program available with specific agents, which depends on lots of other factors.

Rockdoc

 

[paulsiu]

Update
Talk to a Chubb Agent in my area and Jeweler Mutual. It appears that price is the same for both insurance.

Jeweler Mutual will underwrite the policy.

Chubb agent said her underwriter won''t do it. He said liability of the initial setting is the responsibility of the Jeweler. He will not insure the item uniless the stone is already set in the ring.

I guess I have to go with Jeweler Mutual then

RockDoc mentioned Bill Castro, but since JM and Chubb have the same premium, I figure I''ll just go with JM just so I don''t waste more time.

Paul