Upgrade policy experiences

[martinitaylor]

I have been carefully reviewing the policies in general and I noticed that whiteflash offers as a standard loose diamond purchase an independent gemologist appraisal. My question is has anyone used WF'S appraisal or did you have to get your own regardless? Secondly how have your upgrades through WF experiences been? I'm afraid since I bought the diamond online my local jeweler will not clean it when I get the ring in for it's yearly check ups. Thanks!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I have never had an additional appraisal on a WhiteFlash diamond because it isn't necessary. The diamonds were graded by a neutral third party (AGS) and I can compare prices for other hearts and arrows stones right here. However, I never use their provided insurance valuation because like most insurance valuations, it is inflated. I always insure using the sales receipt and copy of the AGS report.

Upgrades are extremely easy assuming the diamond hasn't been damaged. They check the stone to determine if it is still in the original condition and then you have the credit for the original amount paid (not including any shipping fees, of course, but that usually is free) towards the new stone that you want to buy.

 

[yssie]

Are you buying stone and setting from them, and are you choosing a branded stone (ACA, ES, PS)?

The appraisal (they specify that it is actually a "letter of verification", whatever the distinction is) overly inflates the value so for insurance it's probably worth getting another appraisal for a more realistic valuation. If you don't choose a WF branded stone this would be even more important if you choose a provider that replaces with "like kind and quality", since the letter of verification doesn't contain much info at all (if it's a branded stone you're safer in that "like kind and quality" is limited to that brand).

I've upgraded through WF multiple times - it's painless as long as the stone is undamaged, as DS says. You ship it back, they inspect it and credit you the amount agreed on, you buy something else If the stone has been damaged the process would be more complicated, as you can probably expect, but they aren't going to go *looking* for silly things to void the policy over - it's not like trying to get your Best Buy warranty to cover a repair, say!

 

[kenny]

Keep in mind upgrade policies only give you the original price you paid.
If retail price have risen 50% since then they do not give you 50% more, but you can bet your bippie they WILL sell it for 50% more.

If this is the case you might do better selling it privately, like on diamondbistro, or see if your vendor will consign it.
Trading in a diamond you bought over 5 years ago may be hassle free but you are basically giving the vendor thousands of dollars of YOUR money.

On the other hand if prices happen to fall a great deal trade in policies work to YOUR favor.

Another bad thing about trade in policies is it restricts you to buying your new diamond at one vendor.

 

[yssie]

Keep in mind upgrade policies only give you the original price you paid.
If retail price have risen 50% since then they do not give you 50% more, but you can bet your bippie they WILL sell it for 50% more.

If this is the case you might do better selling it privately, like on diamondbistro, or see if your vendor will consign it.
Trading in a diamond you bought over 5 years ago may be hassle free but you are basically giving the vendor thousands of dollars of YOUR money.

On the other hand if prices happen to fall a great deal trade in policies work to YOUR favor.

To add to that - depends on the policy/vendor/stone. Some vendors offer only partial upgrades on some stones - 80% of original purchase price, other vendors require that you spend double... definitely make sure you get the terms of the upgrade policy for *your* stone in writing on the receipt/work order/whatever.

 

[Alexiszoe]

Keep in mind upgrade policies only give you the original price you paid.
If retail price have risen 50% since then they do not give you 50% more, but you can bet your bippie they WILL sell it for 50% more.

If this is the case you might do better selling it privately, like on diamondbistro, or see if your vendor will consign it.
Trading in a diamond you bought over 5 years ago may be hassle free but you are basically giving the vendor thousands of dollars of YOUR money.

On the other hand if prices happen to fall a great deal trade in policies work to YOUR favor.

Another bad thing about trade in policies is it restricts you to buying your new diamond at one vendor.

I concur. My diamond was purchased when prices was at an all time low, but to utilize the same vendor using their upgrade policy now (even though it was 100% trade up) means I am making a bigger loss than if I were to try to sell it privately or work out a trade with another vendor.

Also, if you intend to upgrade a couple of times along the way, you might want to check that the vendor has a more liberal upgrade policy. The original vendor I worked with only accepts certain popular shapes and cuts, which means my current dream of a pear stone (my tastes have changed quite a bit over the last 10 years) either has to be abandoned and to work within their parameters (since they do not accept certain shapes as part of their lifetime upgrade policy), or switch vendors.