treated diamonds- UK law?

[diamondhelp123]

So thanks to this forum and the amazing HCA calculator, I was able to get an amazing sparkly stone I love (more on that later). The reason for the new stone was I hated my old diamond as I wasn't happy with the clarity and all I could see were the flaws. We went to a few places in Hatton Gardens and got a few offers and finally accepted one. A few days ago I received a letter from the jeweler saying after some testing, the stone was treated and to please call. We called today and he said the diamond has been treated and it's illegal for him to sell so he would like his money back. He didn't even say what kind of treatment and we had no idea if it was or wasn't. I didn't like the stone as it always looked cloudy to me and I could see a dark pinpoint almost in the center. Is this true- are there laws in the UK about the treatment of diamonds? What kind of treatment could a diamond possibly have if it didn't look anywhere near perfect?

We're honest people so don't want to screw him over, but we also don't live in London so it's not like we could just pop in tomorrow. It also doesn't seem completely fair that after he and his colleague both looked at it and agreed a price he has changed his mind. We are not diamond experts or gemologists so how do we know if what he says is true or if we give him his money back that he gives us our original diamond back? We haven't had the best luck with jewelers (hence the cloudy stone in the first place!) so I'm a little confused... Anyone have any advice?

 

[telephone89]

That seems a bit fishy to me, but I am not aware of UK laws. Hopefully someone on here will be able to shed some light on the legal aspect.

 

[diamondhelp123]

fishy exactly! And if the original jeweler sold us some sort of treated diamond wouldn't be be liable to give us our money back as well? That's one of the reasons I'm considering giving him his cash back assuming I can be sure it's really my stone he is giving me back. We also had several other offers on the stone from other jewelers in the same diamond district and no one mentioned this issue.

 

[telephone89]

Since no one else has replied, you might want to try calling a different reputable jeweler in the area, and posing the question. Don't say that it was another store that told you this, but just ask for clarification. Then you can at least go back to the first guy and say that you've talked to other jewelers, and that law doesn't seem to exist. Feel free to ask for some proof before giving him anything (unless the other quotes were higher and you feel like it).

 

[TrueBlue]

I have never heard that before. To get a definitive answer, perhaps ask one of the grading labs or a respected, independent appraiser? Or perhaps even Rapaport, who have a general inquiries number in the UK:

International – General
Tel: +44-208-123-0344
Email: [email protected]