shape
carat
color
clarity

setting my rock....is the warranty worth it?

Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.

surfnrg

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 1, 2007
Messages
33
1st post...been absorbing the great info for over a year however.

After all the extensive research, finally bought an engagement setting and center stone. Purchased a fantastic loose diamond online, and the white gold setting at a Zales. The setting was 3-4x more expensive than online--but my GF fell in love with it.

Have yet to set the center stone with the ring. Zales offers their "lifetime protection plan" for $150. Includes repair, refinishing, and replacement for lost/chipped stones (8 princess channel set). Would not include the center stone, of course.

Questions: Is the plan worth the $150 upfront? How often will I need to rhodium plate (I''m sure their finish is mega-thin)? What kind of repairs should I anticipate (6prong cathedral setting). Also, is a 14kt white gold head ok vs platinum?

And a props to Denver, Wink,GoodolGold and so many of the other IdealRocks.....Now I understand why this little sparkly thing this worth more than my car.
emteeth.gif
 

Lorelei

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
42,064
Welcome to PS and out of lurkdom!

It depends on what the plan offers and what you need to do to keep the plan valid ( read the small print carefully) but as it doesn't include the centre diamond, I would rather use that money towards insuring the centre stone - make sure it is insured whilst being set, accidents are rare, but can happen.

With the setting, the rhodium plating might want redoing on occasion and the prongs checking, but hopefully it will be relatively trouble free. The 14 kt gold head is fine, many - myself included have worn these for many years without a problem!
 

surfnrg

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 1, 2007
Messages
33
For $150 total, lifetime refinishing or repair if needed. Needs to be inspected every 6 months.

As far as insuring...I assume I''ll need an appraisal. Is homeowner''s the most common way? What would a rider cost for say, $17,000 replacement value?

Is insurance really necessary for something that will always be on her finger?
 

Lorelei

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
42,064
Date: 8/2/2007 3:49:20 AM
Author: surfnrg
For $150 total, lifetime refinishing or repair if needed. Needs to be inspected every 6 months.

As far as insuring...I assume I'll need an appraisal. Is homeowner's the most common way? What would a rider cost for say, $17,000 replacement value?

Is insurance really necessary for something that will always be on her finger?
1) Check the small print carefully as I have heard that in some instances if you are late in having the inspection done, it can void the warranty, so make sure you read thoroughly.

2) If you purchased online, then many vendors give you an appraisal that can be used for insurance, sometimes these are for more than the actual cost of the diamond, but you wouldn't get that back if you needed to claim - you would get back the cost to replace the diamond or a replacement. It is best to insure for what the diamond is actually worth or replacement cost. Check out Chubb or Jewelers Mutual as many insure with them here, their websites should give you the info you need, or maybe Sue Fritz can chime in as she posts here.

3) Insurance is VERY NECESSARY for something that will always be on her finger!!!! Diamonds can get damaged, chip, crack, break, fall out of settings, get lost, stolen etc etc etc. Unless you can afford to replace the diamond without financial pain, then insurance is a must in my opinion.

www.chubb.com

www.jewelersmutual.com
 

oldminer

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Sep 3, 2000
Messages
6,691
To be perfectly cold and realistic, companies would never offer a warranty plan which they feel is a money loser for them. They have every intention of making some money with the program while providing benefits to a relatively small, hopefully controlled number, of customers. A major compnent of many warranty plans hopes to succeed in getting you back into the store every so many months. They spend a ton of advertising money to get most warm bodies in the door and warranty buyers who pay attention to the dates, come in after having paid for the privilege. Its win-win for the store.

Now, a warranty is a nice thing if and when you lose a stone or have a refinishing problem. If you are a careful user, a problem of any real financial importance may never occur. If the wearer is an athletic type who rough houses wearing their jewelery, then the chance of a damaged or lost stone increases. Warranties generally do not cover 'abuse", so read the fine print.

I have people who believe they need jewelery insurance when they do not have health insurance in place. Their priorities are wrong. You can pay more for nonsense insurance than you need to. Make sure you prioritize your needs and cover the most important things with insurance. Health, disability income protection, convalescent care, life, mortgage, real property and general liability. Then, consider the rest of potential coverages such as jewelry, identity theft, appliance warranties etc, etc.

Hope this help guide you a bit. I am feeling old and preachy this morning.
 

surfnrg

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 1, 2007
Messages
33
wow. definitely got an answer with that one.....give me some time to chew on that Dave.

Thanks again guys.
 

Tacori E-ring

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 15, 2005
Messages
20,041
This is my rule of thumb re: insurance (of any kind). If something were to happen could you afford to replace it out of pocket? If not than you should get insurance. Things happen in life. The stone could crack, fall out, the ring could get lost or stolen. Better to be safe than sorry.
 

oldminer

Ideal_Rock
Trade
Joined
Sep 3, 2000
Messages
6,691
Exactly. Circumstances dictate your choices.

When I used to have a large inventory, I found a way to afford relatively large losses on my own. Our insurance for loss had a $200K deductible. That's a good sized risk we took on and we saved a lot on insurance over that amount. Now I have far less of value in the office and have a far smaller deductible in place. Still, the deductible is what I personally feel comfortable with writing my own check for if there were to be a loss. No one can say what amount another person can afford to cover on their own. Accepting that life is full of risks leads to good decision making over the long haul.
 

Iceman

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Aug 25, 2000
Messages
1,374

Dave you sure hit it on the head there.




Look for the fine print that says if the diamond or mounting has been abused or damaged then they are not responsible for it. What they are saying is they can not lose sleep at night if your girlfriend is outback chopping wood with the ring on.

Example that happened. A client brought in a ring that was missing a small sapphire. They asked this local jeweler how much to fix the ring. They saw the stamp of a mall store inside that boasts about there life time guarantees. They said this is not my ring and so we will charge you for another sapphire and labor it will cost you $25. The customer replied that the store said they would replace the sapphire for free but it would be $50 for labor that they would have to pay.



Here is another way to test the theory, go into one of these stores with the lifetime guarantee and purchase a .25 carat solitaire diamond ring. Walk around the corner and get out your tweezers and pull back the prongs , take the diamond out (your thinking a free replacement means a set of earrings :) ) Ok march back to the store and say "hey! I don't know what happened it just fell out and I want it replaced ~ you know life time guarantee?". They are going to say abused or damaged, just like anything else you have problems with. I see them skate around it all the time.



Around here they charge a three year free rhodium policy for $40. In three years maybe it might have to be rerhodium plated and most of our local stores charge $20 for this.








People, you have to take care of this product , what's going to happen is that your ring is going to be either lost or stolen and that is what insurance covers.

Think about taking a new car off the car lot and your run the car into a pole. Take it back to the dealer and ask about the bumper to bumper warranty on it ? Nope, its been abused or damaged.



Jewelry is not a mechanical piece there are no moving parts, if you take care of it , have it checked and you will have limited to minor problems if any.

 

surfnrg

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 1, 2007
Messages
33
ok...made up my mind. thanks oldminer. Even for $150 upfront...why give them even more money? rather go to my local jeweler, and pay $20 for plating every year or so.

deep thoughts oldminer. i''m still chewing on the earlier reply.
 

surfnrg

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 1, 2007
Messages
33
and thanks also Iceman. the response i was looking for.
 
Status
Not open for further replies. Please create a new topic or request for this thread to be opened.
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top