Shipping question for a pricey stone

[cutey TT]

Is the best (and safest) way to ship a $50K loose stone via USPS registered mail w/ insurance?

I''ve successfully used this method to send a $12K stone in the past, but it was still nerve-racking cuz it took ~7 days for the package to arrive at its destination. Anyway, any comments WRT past experience will be greatly appreciated. I was stressing out for that week with the $12K stone, so I don''t know if I can survive that amount of time while a $50K stone is in transit.

Thanks!

 

[Beacon]

USPS limit is 25K I believe. Try Brinks.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/15/2008 2:03:36 PM
Author: Beacon
USPS limit is 25K I believe. Try Brinks.

I think Beacon is right.

 

[bem3231]

I have a similar stone that has made many miles in the last few weeks - from GOG in NY to AGA for appraisal and then back to NY again where it will be with Leon for setting. I know that both GOG and AGA have couriers that they use to do overnight shipping of loose stones with full insurance. Shipping the stone with their couriers cost me between about 100 - 150 each way. Leon did mention to me that he has an arrangement with FedEx to insure up to $50k, so although this is not a standard with FedEx, I would assume that it may be possible by special arrangement.

 

[oldminer]

A consumer has no way to send a loose diamond with full insurance in excess of $25,000. Maybe some appraiser or vendor can arrange a pick-up for them at a business address location or a Fed-Ex or UPS office window with insurance over the $25K limit of USPS, but I have never been successful in getting this done.

You can ship a $50K diamond with USPS. You must declare the full value, but the insurance is only for the first $25K. You will pay a "handling fee" for the excess. It may seem unfair,but that''s the rules.

 

[mrssalvo]

cutey, I think deejay sent her ring to kelege through brinks and i think widget had to ship her''s to Leon through brinks too.

um and what little 50K bauble are your wanting to insure?? is this your long awaited upgrade? can you share any details with us??? inquiring minds ya know

 

[cutey TT]

Okay, wow, this gets a little complicated... I wonder how much Brinks'' services cost? I''ll have to look into that after this post...

Date: 1/15/2008 3:29:06 PM
Author: mrssalvo
cutey, I think deejay sent her ring to kelege through brinks and i think widget had to ship her''s to Leon through brinks too.

um and what little 50K bauble are your wanting to insure?? is this your long awaited upgrade? can you share any details with us??? inquiring minds ya know

mrssalvo, yes - I am finally looking at a stone for my long-awaited upgrade. I was trying to keep things simple by keeping everything in NYC (vendor is there, appraiser is there, setter is there), but we have come across a small wrinkle. The original plan was to have the appraiser "approve" the stone, and then have it sent directly to Leon Mege. Since the time estimate Leon gave me was 3-4 weeks once the work started, the 30-day return period will unfortunately expire while the stone is with him. I was planning to have the appraiser be my "eyes" so to speak, so that I could confidently buy the stone sight-unseen...but nothing is ever that simple, right?!?!

Anyway, now I''m thinking that I may need to have the stone sent to me so that I can exercise the vendor''s 30-day return policy if necessary. However, getting the stone back to NY (and more specifically, to Leon) is why I started this thread.

 

[bem3231]

I went through this very same conundrum with my stone (ie: by the time Leon set it the return period would be over). Given the amount of the investment, we thought that it warranted a 24 hour junket out to NY to see it with my own eyes. Actually, I ended up making two trips just to ensure that I had totally found *the one*. I do not regret the time and expense of making the trip in order to reassure ourselves (and I live in western Canada). I''m not sure if this is an option for you, but given the ''issues'' and expense of shipping, might it be easier to just travel out to NY for a day rather than having your stone make the miles? Just a thought.

 

[QD Rocks]

Hi,

Pls use Brinks or malca Amit if you can and make sure the parcel is insured correctly.

Dont think fedex will cover you for this value..

I ship diamonds everyday and would only ship this value of stone if fully insured.

Kind Regards & good luck.

Paul

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Date: 1/15/2008 6:00:45 PM
Author: bem3231
I went through this very same conundrum with my stone (ie: by the time Leon set it the return period would be over). Given the amount of the investment, we thought that it warranted a 24 hour junket out to NY to see it with my own eyes. Actually, I ended up making two trips just to ensure that I had totally found *the one*. I do not regret the time and expense of making the trip in order to reassure ourselves (and I live in western Canada). I''m not sure if this is an option for you, but given the ''issues'' and expense of shipping, might it be easier to just travel out to NY for a day rather than having your stone make the miles? Just a thought.

I was going to suggest the same thing. For a stone of that price, it is worth taking a trip to make sure the stone is the one that you want [unless you are traveling from Bangkok or someplace like that].

OTOH, what you might want to do is have the vendor ship the stone to you. If you like it then you can carry it to NYC and Leon sets it and ships it to you. If you don''t, I am sure the vendor would take care of the insurace for the return shipping.

Also, I don''t understand the issue of the 30 days being up by the time Leon sets it. Why would one have Leon set a stone one is not sure of to begin with?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I agree. Once Leon sets it, I can't imagine then deciding to return the stone!

I am confused, though. I thought you were letting the appraiser be your eyes. So why do you now feel you need to see it? Is it an ideal cut stone?

If you do need to see it before setting it, I do think it would cost about the same for you to fly and see it as it would to pay for Brinks back and forth. Plus you'd get to meet Jon and Leon, hopefully!

 

[mrssalvo]

I think with the amount you all are spending, a trip to NY would be a great idea. you could see the stone, have it appraised and get it to Leon, catch a broadway show and dinner out all in one weekend

.

 

[cutey TT]

bem3231 - I would love to make a trip out to NY, but that''s not possible...not that I live so far away (Houston), but with two little kids (3 years and 8 months), I don''t see that happening. I lived there prior to moving here in 2000, so if it was feasible, I would''ve loved it (being able to see the diamond in person, meeting Leon to discuss details about the setting face-to-face, hanging out with old friends...the list goes on and on!).

DiamanteBlu - I was hoping that the 3rd party appraisal would be enough for me to buy the stone sight-unseen...and then for simplicity''s sake, have it sent directly to Leon for setting so that I wouldn''t have to deal with shipping back and forth. I''m realizing though that thinking I would be able to buy a stone in this price range without looking at it with my own eyes was not realistic.

I am still waiting for the final output from the appraiser before I make a decision one way or the other... I had a preliminary conversation with the appraiser earlier today and as a result, have some doubts and now feel like I need to examine it myself.

I haven''t spoken to the vendor about shipping it here and possibly working with them to ship it back to get it to Leon, etc. But it sounds like working with them might be my best bet. I appreciate all your help!

 

[cutey TT]

Date: 1/15/2008 7:31:51 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
I agree. Once Leon sets it, I can''t imagine then deciding to return the stone!

I am confused, though. I thought you were letting the appraiser be your eyes. So why do you now feel you need to see it? Is it an ideal cut stone?

If you do need to see it before setting it, I do think it would cost about the same for you to fly and see it as it would to pay for Brinks back and forth. Plus you''d get to meet Jon and Leon, hopefully!

Oh no! I thought I could just buy it (or not buy it) based on the appraiser''s report. So, once I sent it to Leon, I wouldn''t have returned it and thought it would be okay that the 30-day return policy expired while the stone was in Leon''s most capable hands.

I already had the stone appraised this morning. Yes, it is an ideal cut stone (AGS0). I don''t have the final report yet, but I had a phone conversation with the appraiser earlier today...and let''s just say that the appraisal didn''t match up completely with the AGS report. The stone is an H, and I was already slightly concerned about the color...so it looks like I *really* need to see it in person to be sure that this stone is the right one for me. My husband thinks that it will be fine, and that I''m being super paranoid, but my current e-ring is an F. With this upgrade stone being so much larger, I am concerned about the body color that''s going to be visible from the side. I''m confident that the stone faces up beautifully white, so I''m not worried about that at all.

Hope this makes sense. I know it''s all very confusing b/c my original plan was a little flawed.

 

[mrssalvo]

cutey, I don''t blame you one bit for wanting to see the stone in person. I would be they same way. What kind of Leon setting are you thinking of putting it in? I''m so excited for you. I know you''ve waited a while for this upgrade, how fun for it to finally be turning into reality!!

 

[bem3231]

Hi cutey...

Someone mentioned meeting Jon - are you buying this stone from GOG? That''s where my stone came from, too, so on each of my two trips to NYC (within 10 days of one another!) I had the extraordinary pleasure of not only meeting Jon, but having him share with me his extraordinary insight as we considered several stones. I also met with Leon on each of those trips, which was also very very helpful.

Anyway, I''m going off on a tangent - what I was GOING to say is that if you are working with Jon he would likely be more than willing to shoot a video comparison for you of any stones that you are considering. He did two videos for me - both are posted on the GOG site. The first was comparing a 3.01 Eighternity that I was considering. Although I loved that stone, I wasn''t *totally* sure. Jon worked with me to locate two other stones that he brought in for me to look at and compare with the Eighternity on my second trip. All were amazing stones, but when I saw my 2.68 FVS2 it was *love* . There is a video comparing my 2.68 to the Eighternity and a 3.0 GSI1 that I was also looking at.

I posted on GOG''s videos a while back - despite the fact that I ended up seeing the stones in person, Jon''s access to video technology is an amazing asset for anyone making a purchase sight unseen.

Just my 2 cents!!

 

[cutey TT]

Date: 1/15/2008 8:18:39 PM
Author: mrssalvo
cutey, I don''t blame you one bit for wanting to see the stone in person. I would be they same way. What kind of Leon setting are you thinking of putting it in? I''m so excited for you. I know you''ve waited a while for this upgrade, how fun for it to finally be turning into reality!!

I know, right? Now that it''s almost time to "pull the trigger," I''m finding that it''s not so easy! It was all fine and dandy when I was just *thinking* about it, but now that it''s almost a reality, I just want to make sure that everything is perfect. If that makes sense...

Anyway, I have exchanged a few emails with Leon already, and had a phone conversation with him as well. I''m think I''m going for simple solitaire, a la Harriet''s (except with double prongs instead of single). Originally, I was going to do something like LE''s non-cathedral setting...funny how there have been several recent posts about how the ring showed up on Leon''s website, and then was taken down...then put back up.... Well, I was among those who initially saw it way back when, and wrote down the style #. Then I noticed shortly thereafter that the pictures disappeared, so not too long ago, when I sent Leon an email asking about that particular ring and the pictures that were taken down, he emailed me back saying that the pictures were back on his site. I''m assuming LE''s fiance had the ring at this point, so it was okay to put them back up!

I really, really thought I would be okay not seeing the stone in person. However, I''m just so worried about the color...! I had been looking for a stone with these cut parameters, size, color, price, etc. for a long time now... When this one popped up, I was super-excited, yet still concerned about the color. Cut was perfect though (and confirmed by the appraiser). It''s an AGS0 H&A (HCA=1.2), which I''m finding is pretty rare in this size... Originally, I did not want to go below G...but I visited the Tiffanys and De Beers stores here in Houston, and checked out G, H, I and even a J in the 3-carat size range and was pleasantly surprised. Obviously, I was looking at already set stones under jewelry store lighting, so not sure how telling that was...AND I''ve always admired the beautiful H and lower-colored stones here on PS.

 

[Beacon]

I think you owe it to yourself to see the stone IRL. Another PSer had trouble with an AGS appraisal that seemed to inflate the color rating as I recall.

I did this with two over the limit stones: the vendor fedexed it to a mutally known appraiser local to me. The vendor had a Fedex contract that insured the stone fully. Then when I wanted to send a stone back to this vendor, they gave me a Fedex airbill from their account that I used to send it, again fully insured.

Maybe your vendor can facilitate such a scenario on your behalf and even use their airbill to send it to Leon for you.

 

[cutey TT]

Date: 1/15/2008 8:41:12 PM
Author: bem3231
Hi cutey...

Someone mentioned meeting Jon - are you buying this stone from GOG? That''s where my stone came from, too, so on each of my two trips to NYC (within 10 days of one another!) I had the extraordinary pleasure of not only meeting Jon, but having him share with me his extraordinary insight as we considered several stones. I also met with Leon on each of those trips, which was also very very helpful.

Anyway, I''m going off on a tangent - what I was GOING to say is that if you are working with Jon he would likely be more than willing to shoot a video comparison for you of any stones that you are considering. He did two videos for me - both are posted on the GOG site. The first was comparing a 3.01 Eighternity that I was considering. Although I loved that stone, I wasn''t *totally* sure. Jon worked with me to locate two other stones that he brought in for me to look at and compare with the Eighternity on my second trip. All were amazing stones, but when I saw my 2.68 FVS2 it was *love* . There is a video comparing my 2.68 to the Eighternity and a 3.0 GSI1 that I was also looking at.

I posted on GOG''s videos a while back - despite the fact that I ended up seeing the stones in person, Jon''s access to video technology is an amazing asset for anyone making a purchase sight unseen.

Just my 2 cents!!

bem - No, this stone is part of James Allen''s in-house stone inventory. I really wanted to work with Jonathan @ GOG for all the reasons you mentioned above. Buying remotely can be worrisome, but with all the analysis he does (and especially the video stuff), I knew if I worked with him, I would be able to trust buying a stone sight-unseen. James Allen provides a magnified pic, an idealscope image, and a Sarin report for all their stones, in addition to a copy of the cert. Unfortunately, in this case, their Sarin machine was down, and the stone was too large for their Idealscope set-up. I do have a magnified pic of the stone though...

Anyway, since James Allen doesn''t provide the thorough analysis that GOG does, I proceeded to have the stone appraised... The appraiser is saying that the stone is top-notch from a cut perspective (ASET, Megascope, etc.), but it''s just the color (and he knew I was most concerned about this from the get-go). So here I am...not sure what to do...

BTW, I did see the videos Jonathan shot for you. You got a beautiful stone! Which setting are you having Leon make for you?

 

[cutey TT]

Date: 1/15/2008 9:05:36 PM
Author: Beacon
I think you owe it to yourself to see the stone IRL. Another PSer had trouble with an AGS appraisal that seemed to inflate the color rating as I recall.

I did this with two over the limit stones: the vendor fedexed it to a mutally known appraiser local to me. The vendor had a Fedex contract that insured the stone fully. Then when I wanted to send a stone back to this vendor, they gave me a Fedex airbill from their account that I used to send it, again fully insured.

Maybe your vendor can facilitate such a scenario on your behalf and even use their airbill to send it to Leon for you.

Yep, I''m thinking so. I will have to call JA tomorrow to see what they can do for me. They have been extremely great to work with so far...

 

[bem3231]

Hi again Cutey...

Thanks, I do love

my stone! I am getting Leon to do a custom setting - a split twisted bright cut shank and a four prong head with pave on the prongs and double plane pave on the basket detail. I''m couriering my signed workorder to him tomorrow - I can''t wait!!

Just as a further suggestion, if you are having second thoughts about the James Allen stone and are interested in looking further afield, Jon will work with you to track down whatever you are looking for. When we went ''back to the drawing board'' after seeing the Eighternity, he e-mailed me the broker''s list of stones in the parameters that I was searching for. We identified five that we were most interested in, and he personally called the vendors to get additional details about the stones. From there he suggested his ''top three'', which we brought in for me to look at.

Having worked with Jon, if I ever purchase a stone sight unseen I would completely trust his judgment. GOG also has lifetime buy-back/trade-up on their H&A stones. I have been bitten by Jon''s enthusiasm and am now working with him to find some studs.

Good luck to you!! I can''t wait to see pics of whatever you decide on!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Now I see what you mean! Yes, it was Harriet that bought an AGS stone that was appraised differently than the AGS cert. There must be something about 3 carat stones that they have trouble with the color grading! I''m sorry that I, too, thought you were dealing with GOG. So I do agree with the color issue you probably should see it.

 

[surfgirl]

For that kind of coin, the only pair of "eyes" I would trust are my own! "Nice", even "amazing" are subjective. Your opinion is the only one that matters on such a huge purchase. If you cant get to NYC to see the stone first, I''d have it couriered. The cost isn''t that much to send it back the same way it comes to you, right?

 

[cutey TT]

bem - your setting sounds unique and beautiful. I can''t wait to see the finished product in SMTR!

diamondseeker - yes, I don''t know what the issue is with these larger stones, but I read Kenny''s old thread about how larger stones of the same color grading appear more tinted. That may be the case here. It is graded an H by AGS, but because of its sheer size, it looks more like an I. Unfortunately, that may just be the way it is, but I was already kind of iffy about an H, so when I heard that it looks more like an I, panic set in.

surfgirl - I am going to call JA today and see what kind of shipping arrangements can be made so that I can see the stone in person...and how much it will cost, etc. Hope to have more info later!

 

[cutey TT]

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with Jim Schultz, and he let me know that shipping back and forth using their fedex account was not a problem. It will cost ~$100-150 each way, but it''s overnight delivery, fully insured through their private insurer. In fact, they even have a partner here in Houston who would be able to package the stone for me, so that I wouldn''t have to hassle with the multiple fedex boxes, etc. I would just drop off the stone and they would take care of getting it back to NY from there. At which point, should I decide to proceed, James Allen would courier the stone to Leon.

So, I am just going to wait for the final appraisal report (hopefully will get it tomorrow or so), and then go from there. But for peace of mind, I think the back and forth shipping will be totally worth it.

Thanks for all your help!