USA Certed Diamonds Review - Hard to Beat Awesome

[chillybear]

I just wanted to firstly say thank you very much to pricescope, as well as Lorelei in particular. Both the site and Lorelei have been quick, responsive and very patient in answering all my questions and I cant say enough good things.

Now on to my testimonial for USA Certed Diamonds (http://www.usacerteddiamonds.com/)

I am in the Toronto, Canada area and am in the market for a ring.

I begin to research and self teach myself about the 4C's, the different grading within each C and also about diamonds in general.

This led me to this site, as well as me searching in other forums. I initially was working with some other folks in my search for a diamond locally but was not able to find the "deal" that I wanted locally from a brick and mortar store.

I understand that there are still people out there that are hesitant to buy something "sight unseen" but the cost savings buying online were just too great a temptation.

I did the usual rounds of searching on Blue Nile, James Allen, Brian Gavin and the pricescope search engine itself to name a few places I looked.

Bluenile had great customer service, with a simple easy to use website but lacked the detail I wanted. James Allen had the detail I wanted but not the diamond I wanted, well at least not within my budget. Brian Gavin was a good mix between the two but again I was a little hesitant buying totally 100% online, as I did also want to have some level of local connections in case I need any thing else for the ring. I dont want to pay for shipping back for re-sizing or a cleaning.

I was nearly ready to pull the trigger on a diamond, but realized that the person I was dealing with while excellent at first lacked the extra level of detail that Martin was able to provide. The person I dealt with also had a similar business model as Martin (drop shipper) but definitely was not as good. I had asked for some diamond recommendations and was provided about 20 diamonds, none of which honestly jumped out at me. When I asked for a more larger list, I was met with some resistance where the person said that they usually only generate only about 10 diamonds for a customer usually. Fine, I then look over everything again and was recommended one diamond that I thought had potential, but wanted to confirm how the diamond looked with a picture or any further details. This is where the person started to show that lack of personal touch and wanting to go that extra bit (cant provide pictures, as vendor wont do it - alarm bells anyone? ).

So after just about giving up searching around, I came across USA Certed Diamonds and thought why not get in touch and see what they can do for me, as others have written some good reviews about them.

The first thing that will jump out at you when you go to their website is that it looks like its a relic from the 1990 era of websites. Thats ok with me, as long as I know that the company (Martin) is busy helping me find the perfect diamond for me instead of tweeting, blogging or posting videos. I dont care much about a flashy website, as long as I get the perfect diamond. My wife will be wearing the diamond everyday, not the website

Not to knock other companies, as other companies are larger in scale and have more resources but again they seemed to lack the personal touch and attentiveness Martin had.

I sent an email and did not receive a reply immediately (thats fine emails can get lost and buried), so I decided to give the company a call. I got the voice mail but got a call back within an hour. From that first phone conversation I felt totally at ease working with Martin. He wasnt pushy, knew what kind of questions to ask and said to let him do his part and begin the search. From that point on, he was excellent in replying and updating me via email as well as telephone.

Martin has access to all the diamonds other dealers have as well, and his pricing is very competitive right along the lines of blue nile. After some back and forth, he sent me a large number of diamonds to review and I also sent him a few I was interested in. I had found a few diamonds on my own and asked that while he was searching that he also take a look at the few that I was interested in as well, which he gladly did.

He actually got right back to me about one of the diamonds I had sent to him, and said that this was definitely the diamond he would recommend given the measurements and its other features, and that he actually went ahead and had already called the vendor that owned the diamond. He said that he spoke to him to confirm a few things, as well as put it on hold for me and to get back to him my thoughts.

I called him back, and after a few conversations he was able to confirm the diamond indeed met my criteria, as well was able to attain a picture for me. A picture is definitely worth a thousand words, and in this case I was sold. I had a bunch of questions about the inclusions on it, which he went over with me in detail and I honestly felt confident that this was going to be it.

I visited his office today and saw a whole wall of certificates dealing with diamonds and diamond grading, which I also read about before as well. It definitely is a confidence booster when the person you are working with isnt just a sales associate trying to push whatever they have on hand to you.

I could tell Martin is quite a busy guy, so that some what explains why his website isnt the most up to date, but I have to admit he did "wow" me with his customer service.

He answered all my questions, did not have any shady answers. He didnt brush off any of my questions, and if he wasnt sure he went and got me the answer and was willing to work with me.

I have seen some people where they have worked in an industry for so long, that they get "snobby" and show much less tolerance to hearing out new ideas, or dealing with questions. I had met a few people locally where they just brushed my questions aside as if it were nothing to them, which makes me wonder what kind of after sales service am I getting myself into.

Martin was more then willing to work with me on any concerns I had.

I am still waiting for the diamond to come in, but I am sure everything will go smoothly. I will post an update as things move along, but so far I cant say enough nice things about Martin.

 

[chillybear]

Its been hectic for me, so I havent had a chance to update this thread till now.

The diamond finally came in after a short wait (under a week from first order) and upon first viewing it I knew that this was the one.

I went to Martins office, sat down and he pulled out the shipping box that the diamond was stored in. To my surprise, the diamond was actually sealed in 2 boxes (one smaller then the other) within a few more padded envelopes (I guess thats how they ensure its secure!).

It helps my confidence a lot that there is no sort of "switch a roo" going on, as Martin did not open the box until I was there in front of him. Due to some scheduling conflicts I wasnt immediately available, so I am thankful Martin waited on me to open the box officially.

Martin gently laid it on the table under the light and bam I was sold

He took his time examining the stone under a microscope to ensure it was the correct one and there was no mix up from the vendor.

He also measured it quite a few times to get its measurements in width and depth, and also had a special sort of scale to confirm its carat weight.

Overall, confirmed through measuring, microscope, weight, and a short comparison from a master stone set of its color that this was indeed the stone.

Now at this point, I have no idea next steps. I had been so focused on getting the stone itself that I paid little attention to what kind of setting to get. Martin recommended me to Victor to get my engagement ring set, and thankfully Victor also said he would insure against anything happening with the ring while setting.

So I made the trip downtown, and while down there went to Harold Weinstien for a double check that the stone was as advertised as well I wanted to get an independant appraisal done as I wanted to get insurance on it through Jewelers Mutual (one of a few places to insure a loose stone). I also called my home insurance (TD Meloche Monnex) and was informed that they would also insure the loose stone, though their prices at the end of the day could not beat Jewelers Mutual.

After taking out insurance, I made the trip to Victor (located in Dundas square). Again I must admit, his office lacked the fancy show cases I was expecting but knowing Martin had recommended him and reading a few reviews I was confident in his work.

After a short discussion, and admitting that I was thinking of getting a "temporary" setting he showed me a few pre cast rings he had on hand, and with a deposit he would set my diamond in the one I choose so I can propose, as well as after the proposal I could come back with my significant other and use the initial deposit I had put down with him to reset the stone in a custom setting.

I am still figuring out how to propose, so still need to make a final trip back to Victor for the final setting, as well I need to see Martin for final appraisal.

I am attaching a few pictures, and please forgive the poor picture quality as I took these with my cell phone. Apparently macro mode on a cell phone camera still isnt very good!

Any comments would be welcome

 

[smnlng]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I appreciate it!