Date: 2/11/2007 9:57:33 AM
Author: RockDoc
Interesting expose, T and Garry
I am puzzled as to why they went to other merchants to get the values, which were quoted as ''wholesale'', when the seller''s valuations were at retail.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. And as i said the wholesalers were probably disgruntled ex suppliers.
It also appears that the ''wholesale'' values in the story, were very low, thus feeding the sensationalism aspect so commonly done.
Aren''t there indepedent appraisers there is OZ that have to have credentials, and who only do valuation?
They came to me with the rings to perform that role Roc. But since my apparaisals were very close to the vendors, they did nopt use them. I will paste a letter i wrote in conjunction with the Australian Jeweller magazine under neath.
Then it seems nothing was reported about any substance of law that would have educated consumers on what to do if they bought a misrepresented diamond, or any remedies afforded consumers under the law there.
And nothing in that expose that would have been informative as to the gemological programs there ( interesting that the educational credentials of the people grading the diamonds were left out too... )
Guess that''s why I get quite a few people from Australia, having their stones sent here.
i think that has more to do with the logistics of getting the diamonds back to USA Roc - have you ever had appraisals sent from Australia for you to do and themn return
hmmm
Rockdoc
Retailers reeling from TV tale
In another damning incident for the jewellery industry, Network Seven’s national current affairs program, Today Tonight, has accused two prominent retail jewellery chains of questionable trading practices.
Reporter Glenn Connley opened the May 10 airing of the program by stating, “A Today Tonight investigation has revealed all is not what it seems in the diamond industry, with the reputations of many major jewellery chains being called into question. Independent valuations showed huge variations between what Today Tonight paid for two diamond rings and what they were actually worth.”
The program then introduced two consumers, Michael and Carol who purchased engagement rings from Sydney retailer, Nineveh Jewellers, The consumers are in dispute with Nineveh Jewellers, claiming they paid $5,000 for rings valued at $12,000, but a subsequent independent valuation later valued the items at only $1,600. No evidence was presented during the program to support this.
Ninevah Jewelers owner Laheeb Alkhamisi refuted the claims to Jeweller, and advised that the matter is set for a hearing in the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal at the end of the May. Interestingly, Alkhamisi said he was unaware of the television report and that he was never contact by Today Tonight for comment.
The program then, confusingly, moved onto another topic: a self-conducted investigation of the Prouds and Angus & Coote retail chains.
“As part of the investigation, Today Tonight purchased a ring with three main diamonds from Angus and Coote.” Connley stated, during the program. “The price displayed in the window was $3999, but at the counter we were told it was on special at $2,799, which is what we paid.
“Today Tonight was told the ring contained a white diamond with a hint of yellow, and that it was L to M on the Cape Series (colour) scale. At Prouds, Today Tonight purchased a diamond trilogy engagement ring for $799, down from the window price of $999.”
The stones were removed from each ring and then graded by Sydney’s Diamond Certification Laboratory of Australia (DCLA). The process was filmed and DCLA director Roy Cohen confirmed that the lab had no knowledge of where the rings had been purchased.
“The tests run by DCLA showed that all six stones purchased by Today Tonight were brown, which the laboratory said was a major alarm bell,” Connley’s report said.
“The DCLA grader, Roy Cohen, said although it was not uncommon to measure brown diamonds at the yellow end of the Cape Series scale, we should have been told that we were buying cheap, brown diamonds, instead of white.”
Angus & Coote’s chief executive officer Graham Oakes refuted any claim the stones were incorrectly graded or advertised: “The rings were sold with a certificate that clearly identified them as L-M and we stand by that. We have seen nothing that indicates that our certificate was inaccurate.”
However, what the program failed to tell viewers was that Melbourne-based valuer Garry Holloway had been asked to value the rings as part of the investigation.
Holloway spent more than two hours with the Today Tonight staff and was filmed for the program. His assessment contradicted that which the program eventually aired. "I was glad my interview was not aired,” Holloway said. “The story was badly planned and the cost to certify the rings was more than half the cost of the six diamonds. There were no true valuations given; only the opinions of anonymous wholesalers.”
Holloway said he queried the Today Tonight staff about whether wholesalers who had supplied the valuations were ex-Angus & Coote suppliers. “The reporter told me the merchants were not aware that the product came from Angus & Coote, so their valuations could not be biased. That was until I pointed out that the large ring was stamped Angus & Coote in the shank!”
Holloway believes that only the higher values given would approach a fair wholesale value and the program implied they were retail “valuations”.
“One of my insurance valuations was exactly the same (as the original) and one was 14 per cent less than those from the stores. I told the reporters that the prices they paid for the rings were fair given that A&C and Prouds have to make a profit,” Holloway added.
Holloway also believed that the L-M grading with which the stones were sold was accurate: “The CIBJO Blue Book says brownish diamonds should be graded based on their “…. intensity of colour compared to the master stones”. I believe the retailers’ grades were within a grade of DCLA’s.”
