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Warranty Sales Pitch: Real or a Scam?

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effie

Rough_Rock
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Jul 12, 2005
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I''ve been looking for a platinum pave''d diamond band to use as my wedding ring, and this weekend I stopped in a Jareds, which I believe is a chain...

Anyway, I looked at one particualr band ( they wanted 1800 dollars for a band of visibly cloudy diamonds, with several visible black specks...the total weight was approx .32...I have seen far better quality for much less. Needless to say I wasn''t buying.) But, the saleswoman launched into a warranty pitch (it would be 150 dollars for the warranty).

She said that in 10-15 years the plat prongs would have to be rebuilt and this would cost 50 dollars per prong/bead. With numbers like that, I couldn''t afford NOT to get it (I guess thats the point).

I''m not purchasing my ring there anyway, but this got me thinking. Before I purchased my engagement ring (which is thoroughly pave''d I scoured pricescope about maintenance, practicality etc. And from what I recall...yes, sometimes the little diamonds do fall out but this can be fixed. But should I believe this woman that after ten years all of my diamonds will fall out of my plat ring? I thought platinum wasn''t supposed to wear away like gold?

Was this just a ploy or is there a lot of truth to this?

Any help would be appreciated because now I''m concerned... thanks!
 
Maybe what she''s saying is that the quality of their items is poor and that she knows they''ll fall out...?

I think there was a thread recently in which one of the appraisers said that in a well made ring, stones should not be falling out.

Mark
 

There’s some truth, but I’m still not persuaded.


For starters, $50/tip for a typical tipping job is pretty high. You might consider shopping this a bit if you ever need to have this sort of work done, especially on other items where the warranty wouldn’t apply. More importantly, the fine print on the warranty can cause people trouble. I believe you are required to have your piece inspected every 6 months by one of their stores. Miss it once and your done. Few people are sufficiently disciplined to maintain this program for the rest of their lives, or even for 15 years. Any repair work done by any other jeweler will likely void your warranty so don’t get it sized, polished or otherwise worked on elsewhere. You are committing to being a Jared customer for life, which is really the point.


If all of this is ok, then a warranty provides a certain amount of stress reduction and it may allow you to enjoy your ring with less worry. In those cases, it’s a good deal. Others may prefer to save the money by shopping at a less expensive source and buy their repairs ala carte from their favorite repair jeweler.


Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver
 
The whole thing sounds bogus - I''m glad you weren''t buying and hope you don''t!
 
Well made jewelry tends to be very durable. Most people have moved, lost their warranty papers, or the jeweler has gone out of business by the time they might think of using their warranty. Self-insurance is something to be considered. You must have health insurance, car insurance, liability insurance, etc, but insurance or a warranty on some things is not terrifically important.

How important is the warranty on a toaster or a garden hose? If it breaks, big deal. Get it fixed or replaced when it breaks. Warranties that cost you money up front are usually figured to turn a profit so on averge you won''t come out ahead of just letting luck take its course. If you are very hard on things then maybe the warranty will be good, but abuse voids nearly all warranties. Regular wear and tear is also a vast subject of what some warranties will not cover. READ THE FINE PRINT before you figure it is a good deal.
 
My "warranty" cost about $10- I purchased a jewelers loupe on Ebay and use it to inspect the ring every so often.

I also like to drop into any random B&M while at a mall and I ask them to clean it and check it out. Of course, I only do this if they''re not busy, and then I browse their selections to appease them.
 
Like what usually comes out of a maul store employee's mouth, it's just a bunch of crap. I'd browse the mall stuff more cept I don't like being bothered by the crap that comes spewing out of the employees' mouths. Every now and then, I get someone who knows what they're talking about, but it's usually when I'm browsing watches.
 
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