Ruby woes. Jeweler lost my stone. Naturals.

[terracentric]

I bought a gorgeous heated (well...with flux healing). It was beautiful. It was being set. Then, I call the jeweler to follow up. They lost my stone! What?! So now I''m on the hunt for another lightly included brilliant ruby.

So I find one. 1.1 ct. It''s not as red as the lost stone. It''s on the red/magenta side. It''s got an AGL cert:
-"Classic" Mogok Burmese unheated ruby
-70-90 average brillancy
-3-4 very good cut
-71% depth,4 good finish
-TQIR Excellent-very good.

I zoom in on the digital image the seller emails me (not an image on the cert). I see nicks below the girdle (?) So now, there are "naturals" on the stone.

What the hey are "naturals?" Supposedly, if the stone was cut to get rid of the naturals (2 small, 1 larger in the back) it would go from 1.1 ct to 0.12 ct. So the fact that it''s a beautiful stone, with naturals graded with 3-4 very good cutting by AGL, means the gem cutter was extremely talented!

Help! Any thoughts on naturals? Thanks!

 

[T L]

Please do not use the same jeweler to set your Mogok Burma ruby stone!!! I would be furious. How in the heck does a jeweler lose a stone!

 

[geckodani]

Oh no!

Definitely find another jeweler! I''m so sorry that happened to you.

 

[cushioncutnut]

Date: 10/16/2008 9:27:39 AM
Author: geckodani

Oh no!

Definitely find another jeweler! I''m so sorry that happened to you.

Indeed!

 

[gladyskristen]

I don't know much about naturals, but just wanted to say tt I'm so sorry to hear about your lost stone. My first thought was to actually wonder if they stole it and sold it for a higher price.

Hope you find out that you love just as much! And ditto what geckodani said!

 

[DearBuddha]

I''m sorry to hear about your ruby. I''d be devastated! How does that work, when a jeweler loses your stone? Do they reimburse you? Provide you with a choice from their stock? What do they do?

My mother has a .36 H VS2 diamond that she hasn''t worn in years, and I was thinking of resetting it for her as a birthday gift. My grandmother has an older eternity band with both sapphires and emeralds that she''s recently offered to my mother. I wanted to take those stones and add a halo of alternating sapphires and emeralds, but honestly I''m a bit worried about leaving stones with a jeweler, especially when I hear such horror stories. I''d be furious if someone lost something I was so excited for.

 

[terracentric]

Thanks everyone! It think you''re the only ones who can understand the emotions involved with gemstones and all the work it takes to find one you love and the expense...oh, the expense...

Gladys, I want to give the jeweler the benefit of the doubt but I do think that''s a possibility...that the jeweler sold my stone for a higher price especially it has an AGTA cert as Burmese with minor residue in fissures (still a rare stone for the excellent color and extreme transparency).

DearBuddha, I bought the stone from the jeweler. He reimbursed me for the stone in full and will reimburse me for the cert as soon as I give him back the original. So all in all, I''m not out any money.

He did call in for more stones and showed me 6 Burmese rubies. The best one of the bunch didn''t come close to the stone he lost and was more expensive. The stones were darker and didn''t take my breath away.

I''ve contacted a vendor recommended here; I hope everything works out. I''m considering a small unheated ruby now. I might end up with a stone that''s inferior in appearance than the lost stone but if it''s unheated, then that might be o.k. We''ll see...I probably won''t be able to afford it and go back to a heated stone. Or maybe a fabulous spinel or non-red stone (pink sapphire?).

I''m trying to be optimistic. But what bad timing huh? With the Burma embargo, financial crisis, ruby prices going sky-high and it''s only getting more expensive.

Thanks again everyone...

 

[MMT]

So sorry this happened to you I hope they are compensating you appropriately.

 

[T L]

Date: 10/17/2008 2:01:46 AM
Author: terracentric
Thanks everyone! It think you''re the only ones who can understand the emotions involved with gemstones and all the work it takes to find one you love and the expense...oh, the expense...

Gladys, I want to give the jeweler the benefit of the doubt but I do think that''s a possibility...that the jeweler sold my stone for a higher price especially it has an AGTA cert as Burmese with minor residue in fissures (still a rare stone for the excellent color and extreme transparency).

DearBuddha, I bought the stone from the jeweler. He reimbursed me for the stone in full and will reimburse me for the cert as soon as I give him back the original. So all in all, I''m not out any money.

He did call in for more stones and showed me 6 Burmese rubies. The best one of the bunch didn''t come close to the stone he lost and was more expensive. The stones were darker and didn''t take my breath away.

I''ve contacted a vendor recommended here; I hope everything works out. I''m considering a small unheated ruby now. I might end up with a stone that''s inferior in appearance than the lost stone but if it''s unheated, then that might be o.k. We''ll see...I probably won''t be able to afford it and go back to a heated stone. Or maybe a fabulous spinel or non-red stone (pink sapphire?).

I''m trying to be optimistic. But what bad timing huh? With the Burma embargo, financial crisis, ruby prices going sky-high and it''s only getting more expensive.

Thanks again everyone...

Since I''m always very suspicious, by nature, did this possibility ever occur to you? Did he realize the stone was better and more valuable than what he originally sold it to you for, and now he''s claiming he lost it so he can sell you a cheaper stone? Like you said, these rubies are getting more and more valuable because of the embargo, and perhaps he had a another buyer interested in a stone like that, and he did a switch. I don''t mean to be horrible, but he should get you a stone with the same exact quality as you expect, and you shouldn''t have to take an inferior stone because of HIS mistake, even if it costs more. I just don''t see how a jeweler could lose a stone. I would contact the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (I think that''s the right name of the organization) and complain. You''re very nice, I would have fumes coming out of my shirt collar. If I bought a valuable stone fifty years ago and it I only paid $200 for it, I would expect the jeweler who lost the stone to get me one of the same comprable quality, regardless of the price.

 

[kcgunesq]

Date: 10/17/2008 2:01:46 AM
Author: terracentric



DearBuddha, I bought the stone from the jeweler. He reimbursed me for the stone in full and will reimburse me for the cert as soon as I give him back the original. So all in all, I''m not out any money.

Why would he want the certificate back? It seems he should refund everything, even without the certificate. If there is some legitimate reason he might want the certificate out of circulation, it seems you should at least have the right to mark it "void" or "stone lost" in fat, permanent marker across the face. It seems to me that if he did keep it with the intent of reselling, he''d want the certificate back to use for the next customer.

 

[T L]

Date: 10/17/2008 8:22:33 PM
Author: kcgunesq

Date: 10/17/2008 2:01:46 AM
Author: terracentric



DearBuddha, I bought the stone from the jeweler. He reimbursed me for the stone in full and will reimburse me for the cert as soon as I give him back the original. So all in all, I''m not out any money.

Why would he want the certificate back? It seems he should refund everything, even without the certificate. If there is some legitimate reason he might want the certificate out of circulation, it seems you should at least have the right to mark it ''void'' or ''stone lost'' in fat, permanent marker across the face. It seems to me that if he did keep it with the intent of reselling, he''d want the certificate back to use for the next customer.

Exactly my thougts as well.

 

[terracentric]

I''m not sure why he''d want the cert back, they made a colored copy of it before giving it to me. Maybe it''s for his audit or insurance. He said the stone''s insured. I wonder he much he insured it for??? I''ll email AGTA to let them know the cert is void (Report #98003211 dated 8/27/0.

I contacted another vendor I found out from this forum. Maybe they have a good small unheated stone to replace my lost heated one. I''ll post the results on the thread but it might take a while.