What info “should” sellers disclose

[Ionysis]

Hi all, I have a bit of an “am I being unreasonable” question for you.

I just received a stone that I purchased from an online seller and I’m very disappointed with it. It wasn’t expensive but I feel slightly aggrieved that the description was inadequate and the photos / video obfuscated an issue with the cut.

Last year I bought a nice little pair of cabochon imperial topaz which I had made into earrings. Great experience with the seller.

This year I wanted to buy another similar stone from the same website so I could have a ring made to match.

I bought the stone, which was described as a “good” cut and a “square cabochon”. However on receiving it I see that one side of the stone is just sheared off without any polishing at all. This is clearly a poorly cut stone and when I have reviewed the pictures online I see that they were taken at an angle which largely conceals this issue and the video of the stone shows it lying in a paper fold with the rough edge downwards, once again making it very difficult to see this issue.

Personally, even if the price reflects the stone isn’t perfect, I feel this kind of feature (obvious cutting asymmetry) should be included in the description of the stone if the seller is communicating honestly.

Am I being unreasonable to feel aggrieved and as if I no longer want to deal with this seller?

 

[tkyasx78]

Can you add some pictures showing the problem?

 

[Ionysis]

Can you add some pictures showing the problem?

Now I know it’s there and what I’m looking at it is visible below. The side circled is literally just cut straight across. A flat plane. Not even polished. You can stand the stone on its side on that edge. Whereas the other three sides are graduated up the dome of the stone (actually “cabochonned”).

This is a fairly huge cutting deficiency to fail to mention.

 

[tkyasx78]

What is the sellers return policy?

While many cabs are bezel set, making the sides basically invisible, for those who want to prong set a stone, an edge with a “cliff” instead of a rounded edge that differs from the other 3 sides would be a problem!

 

[Ionysis]

That is exactly it - a cliff. Even a bezel wouldn’t cover that edge. Surely that level of problem with a cut should be highlighted. No?

They are happy for me to return the stone or will swap it for a similar but better cut one.

But that refund is not going to cover my shipping costs (there and back) and the import duties on a stone I would never have bought had it been accurately described.

Just frustrated. Also I was about to buy a much, much more expensive stone from this seller and it has made me think again as I now don’t trust the accuracy of their images or descriptions.

 

[Kevin Bryant]

As much as he knows, from treatment to wear it came from, and if he does not know he says he does not know, if your going to spend real money on a gemstone or a ring a report from someplace like GIA is cheap and will provide the piece of mind needed.

 

[Anne111]

Above a certain price class, the answer is:
Everything known and unknown.
Of course it's not realistic to expect somebody with 10 bucks margin to spend hours accumulating vast data on a $100 gem.

 

[Ionysis]

Well this was only a couple of hundred bucks but I still expect a cutting issue like that to be highlighted.

I will probably take the offer of a swap to the better cut stone but I remain unhappy with the sellers lack of disclosure.