What''s the best/funniest thing you''ve heard from a maul store clerk?

[D&T]

Date: 7/25/2009 11:51:58 PM
Author: arjunajane
I know I''ve relayed this one before, but it''s such a corker I think this thread
deserves it:

When browsing in one of the most high end, snobby stores in my city, I realized through discussion that they were uniformly charging more for 18k white gold over 18k yellow gold (in exactly the same setting, etc). As we know, this is due to trends and white metals becoming more popular..

When I enquired why they had a premium for WG over YG, the very hoighty toighty sales woman, who had the ''I know everything'' air about her, replied in all earnesty:

''Because they have to mine deeper for the white gold than for the yellow gold, hence it is more expensive to produce''.

It was all I could do not to ask how deep they had to go for their platinum

lol- classic- all these stories are hilarious-

 

[princesss]

Date: 8/4/2009 3:26:13 PM
Author: ChicRaccoon
I saw this thread a bit ago, and I had to revive it to tell just two of the many lines that I was fed today while in not a maul store, but one of the most respected stores in my city.

''Most diamonds are graded by examining only 17 facets. They don''t look at anything other than the table. Hearts on fire diamonds are graded using all 53 facets.'' ''It''s hard to believe, but there isn''t a premium price for a hearts and fire. If you were able to find a diamond of similar quality, it would cost the same.''

This is along the same lines as the only real gem I''ve been told so far.

"These (uncerted) diamonds are better cut than those (EGL/GIA) diamonds because they have ALL the facets but none of the extra ones, AND they''re all in the RIGHT PLACE!" She was very proud of this, too. Very proud.


And Todd: You are my hero. Seriously. That story makes me want to buy a loupe. Well, loving diamonds makes me want to buy a loupe. That story makes me want to know how to really USE it.

 

[Snicklefritz]

"No SI grade diamonds have black spots".

 

[ckrickett]

Me: what is the clarity of that diamond
Clerk: G
Me: The Clarity?
Clerk: yes, it is nearly colorless.

that''s one of many!

 

[joelly]

Date: 8/4/2009 5:51:15 PM
Author: ckrickett
Me: what is the clarity of that diamond
Clerk: G
Me: The Clarity?
Clerk: yes, it is nearly colorless.

that''s one of many!

Buahahahahaha.....

Here is one of my experience. Similar but not the same as the above.

Me: what is the color of this diamond?
Clerk: F
Me: wow! F color?
Clerk: Yes....it''s stands for Flawless.
Me:

 

[TripleG]

Date: 7/24/2009 5:15:59 PM
Author: Todd Gray
I accompanied a friend of a friend to a mall store because she was convinced that she could buy a 1.25 carat, F, VS-2, marquise for $2,800.00 (at 50% off the normal price) and took offense when I quoted her a real price based on a legitimately graded diamond. The challenge was thrown down by a few of my friends, the gauntlet tossed and all that, so off we went to the store which was located in the Sunrise Mall in the Sacramento area. We walked in and the clerk greeted her by name, she introduced me as a friend of the family, he produced ''the rock'' which she thrust into my face with a ''see'' look on her face - I politely asked for a loupe (acting dumb) and he handed me a 7x loupe, I asked for a 10x and he indicated that they didn''t have one in the store... No problem I replied, I''ll use mine, he looked a little confused. I asked for a piece of paper and a pen, he produced it and I drew an outline of the diamond, wrote down 1.25 carat, F, VS-2 at the top of the page and proceeded to plot the inclusions, she asked what I was doing, the clerk put his head into his hand and started rubbing his temples while he mumbled ''he''s mapping the stone'' - I marked down a couple of chips, a few diamond crystals, an extensive feather and then I wrote ''fracture filled'' down on the piece of paper along with ''I-1'' and then I held the diamond up to the ring I was wearing on my hand which was a 2.25 carat, SI-2, I color, round and wrote ''M/N'' on the paper, flipped it around so that it was readable by the clerk on the other side of the counter and said ''what do you think about that?'' with a subtle tone of curiosity...


I loved this story. I''m new at diamond searches. I just went through an intensive lesson from my FI about the ring he purchased me and the year he spent researching it. We are excitedly getting it on Friday. Can you guys recommend what is the best Loupe to buy to have on hand? I really want to become good at seeing the diamond qualities if I visit the store.

Thanks.

 

[stepcutgirl]

That asscher was a cutting technique not a shape as she showed me an "asscher cut marquise", when I asked if they had any asschers in stock.


Whole story here.
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/local-store-horror-comedy.114206/
ETA-This was a mom and pop place, not a maul...my bad.

 

[Skippy123]

Well today I went to the store and saw some studs and the store gave me info on 60 mo no interest and if I found the exact same studs for cheaper there was a $500 they gave me and beat the price. Well these studs were not certified so how do I compare? Just super weird to me; also it is super SHOCKING to see the Crap they sell out there!

We are really lucky to have Pricescope and such wonderful PS vendors; I am so glad I found this forum!

I personally think we are pretty lucky to have this advantage over the mall jewelers w/best cuts and best prices here.

 

[ckrickett]

wasn't from the maul but I was browsing rings on ebay awhile back and someone was selling a RARE "leopard diamond"

it was brownish orange and had spots!!!

you don't want to know how much the starting bid was (I forget if people were bidding on it)

 

[latebloomer]

These are hilarious, I especially loved Todd's story.

I've been pricing out diamonds for the last 6 weeks or so and had asked to see this jeweller's version of a Tiffany setting. He showed me a horrible version (the only similarity was that it had 6 prongs). I showed him the setting on Tiffany's website and he actually said to me "hmm, Tiffany seems to have changed their setting. Mine is based on the original Tiffany setting."

 

[marcy]

Date: 7/23/2009 11:26:42 PM
Author: Sam82
The SA tried to sell me a .75 carat stone for $2,500. She told me that the clarity was good. It was labeled as I1. When I asked about the cut quality, she told me round. When I told her I meant the quality not the shape, she looked at me with a blank stare.

Wow, I''ve had this same discussion my self except it was a heart shape. She finally just got angry and said "there''s nothing wrong with your diamond. It''s nicer than mine." Enough said, that diamond is now a RHR and I have an ideal cut RB as my wedding ring.

 

[marcy]

Date: 7/25/2009 9:56:47 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
I buy colored stones, so if you think that B&M stores are ignorant about diamonds, you should hear how they are about colored gems. I knew a guy who was a B&M jeweler for over 30 years and he still didn't know the difference between a topaz and a citrine.

Very very sad. It's also sad how these jewelers continue to use ultrasonic cleaners on colored gems that you should never ever in a million years use. There was a recent thread in the colored stone forum about how some poor lady had her tanzanite ring ruined by bringing it in the jeweler for a cleaning and the US ruined the stone. I hear about these cleaning nightmares all the time with colored gems and B&M stores.

So true Tourmaline Lover. I've had some even want to give my emeralds a bath - I grabbed them and ran screaming in to the mall. Help, Help; they are crazy in there. Okay, not really but I wanted to.

BTW, these stories are great.

I know I've heard some whoppers over the years but I've blocked most of them out of my mind.

ETA: okay now that I've finished and had many good laughs I know I will go to sleep with a smile on my face. Thanks for the chuckles.

 

[sparlesthering]

Despite being a total newbie, I do know what an ideal cut is. I browsed a well-known diamond place in Toronto to get a feel for settings and designs. The SA that I was speaking to kept insisting that there is no such thing as an ideal cut, that I buying into the marketing ploys of the diamond industry.

 

[litebrite]

Hah! Leopard diamond, I bet they talked it up as being really rare and "exotic."

 

[risingsun]

Date: 7/26/2009 10:17:02 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 7/25/2009 11:51:58 PM
Author: arjunajane
I know I''ve relayed this one before, but it''s such a corker I think this thread
deserves it:

When browsing in one of the most high end, snobby stores in my city, I realized through discussion that they were uniformly charging more for 18k white gold over 18k yellow gold (in exactly the same setting, etc). As we know, this is due to trends and white metals becoming more popular..

When I enquired why they had a premium for WG over YG, the very hoighty toighty sales woman, who had the ''I know everything'' air about her, replied in all earnesty:

''Because they have to mine deeper for the white gold than for the yellow gold, hence it is more expensive to produce''.

It was all I could do not to ask how deep they had to go for their platinum

I am totally stealing your emotie

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

''Because they have to mine deeper for the white gold than for the yellow gold, hence it is more expensive to produce''.
Wow - amazing!!!

I was in a Tiffany store 3 months ago - a mature aged salesman showed me a green gem ring and said "you probably think this is an emerald, but it is not" I aksed what it was and he stammered "its, aha, some other gem" and promptly returned it to the display case!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/5/2009 4:30:13 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
''Because they have to mine deeper for the white gold than for the yellow gold, hence it is more expensive to produce''.
Wow - amazing!!!

I was in a Tiffany store 3 months ago - a mature aged salesman showed me a green gem ring and said ''you probably think this is an emerald, but it is not'' I aksed what it was and he stammered ''its, aha, some other gem'' and promptly returned it to the display case!

 

[drogba1803]

this doesn''t relate directly to the thread. What I don''t like about high st jewellery stores is that the sales people/owners seem to be bothered when I want to hold or visually inspect jewellery. I think they are afraid that I''m going to run off with it or something, this is why i don''t enjoy buying jewellery in person. Online, there is so much more information on an item and it can be returned with no questions asked. I hate to say it, but buying diamonds online is much easier and more enjoyable than in person, which sounds weird but true.

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 8/5/2009 4:30:13 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
''Because they have to mine deeper for the white gold than for the yellow gold, hence it is more expensive to produce''.

Wow - amazing!!!


I was in a Tiffany store 3 months ago - a mature aged salesman showed me a green gem ring and said ''you probably think this is an emerald, but it is not'' I aksed what it was and he stammered ''its, aha, some other gem'' and promptly returned it to the display case!

ha ha..classic Garry. You think if he''s going to pull that kinda thing, he''d like the info to back up his pitch!

Yeah, I still love the white gold/yellow gold thing...That was also from a mature age lady who I know has been there for many years.
It was from a store you likely may have heard of - Starts with "R" and ends with "ffs"...

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Date: 8/5/2009 5:22:09 AM
Author: drogba1803
this doesn''t relate directly to the thread. What I don''t like about high st jewellery stores is that the sales people/owners seem to be bothered when I want to hold or visually inspect jewellery. I think they are afraid that I''m going to run off with it or something, this is why i don''t enjoy buying jewellery in person. Online, there is so much more information on an item and it can be returned with no questions asked. I hate to say it, but buying diamonds online is much easier and more enjoyable than in person, which sounds weird but true.

Drogbai you have an awuful aka!
But you make an excellent point

When I first decided this was th industry for me it was one BIG issue I adressed.

Most retail stores have the counters around the outer areas of the store so the staff have a position of power with you, the customer, in the middle totally exposed. If the store is a little larger they add an island of counters in the middle with staff in the center and then you, the poor customer, totally and absolutely surrounded. Talk about form a circle with the wagons!

I have never had a store design that gives more power to the sales staff than the clients. It is already a daunting task for many people to enter an upmarket store.

I also always sit in the least powerful seat with my staff.

 

[beaujolais]

Not funny but ignorant. They told me my "P" colored OMC (avitar) was "terrible" because of it''s color.

This was not actually a mall store but a small private store. They also insisted my sphene was a peridot and that my sapphire was a tanzanite.

I deal with them sometimes as their benchperson actually does a nice settings at great prices but the sales help - eeesh.