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Bad flaw in engagement ring
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Bad flaws in engagement ring
Hello all,
Just need some advice on how to react to a situation. My partner brought me an engagement ring from a very well known jewellers with a good reputation. I went with him to chose the ring as he was worried I wouldn't like what he would pick. Anyway, we chose a ring however it had to be resized. The sales lady told us this would be fine and that the diamonds they use are flawless to the naked eye. It was expensive (to me at least) not a massive diamond, but we were paying for a good quality rather than size. The the gap for resizing was too big. They searched and had one other ring left across all their stores that could be sized for me. I was happy and agreed. He picked up the ring after resizing and proposed the bank holiday weekend as a surprise. Obviously I was very happy and couldn't wait to study the ring. I noticed a massive black spec in the middle of the diamond, very clear to the naked eye. I tried to forget about it as I didn't want to come across ungrateful but I remembered that the sales lady said it should be flawless to the naked eye. I went to a high street jewellers the past weekend for a evaluation and to my reassurance he assured me it worth half what we paid as the diamond was neither big in size or of good quality. I felt so angry. I confided in my partner Saturday how I felt and showed him, he was very upset and we took the ring back to show them. Even on the wall they have signs saying "hand picked" and "flawless to the eye". I managed to see the same sales girl, she was pleasant and rang the supplier. They agreed to change the diamond for us (although tried to hint they didn't have too). So now I have no ring for up to 8 weeks. We have an engagement party in little over a month so I may be ringless. Although they have agreed to change the diamond and I am somewhat happy with their service, I do feel a bit ripped off and embarrassed about the situation as they are such a well know company. Do you think it's worth writing a letter of complaint regarding the quality of goods?
Many thanks ☺️
Hello all,
Just need some advice on how to react to a situation. My partner brought me an engagement ring from a very well known jewellers with a good reputation. I went with him to chose the ring as he was worried I wouldn't like what he would pick. Anyway, we chose a ring however it had to be resized. The sales lady told us this would be fine and that the diamonds they use are flawless to the naked eye. It was expensive (to me at least) not a massive diamond, but we were paying for a good quality rather than size. The the gap for resizing was too big. They searched and had one other ring left across all their stores that could be sized for me. I was happy and agreed. He picked up the ring after resizing and proposed the bank holiday weekend as a surprise. Obviously I was very happy and couldn't wait to study the ring. I noticed a massive black spec in the middle of the diamond, very clear to the naked eye. I tried to forget about it as I didn't want to come across ungrateful but I remembered that the sales lady said it should be flawless to the naked eye. I went to a high street jewellers the past weekend for a evaluation and to my reassurance he assured me it worth half what we paid as the diamond was neither big in size or of good quality. I felt so angry. I confided in my partner Saturday how I felt and showed him, he was very upset and we took the ring back to show them. Even on the wall they have signs saying "hand picked" and "flawless to the eye". I managed to see the same sales girl, she was pleasant and rang the supplier. They agreed to change the diamond for us (although tried to hint they didn't have too). So now I have no ring for up to 8 weeks. We have an engagement party in little over a month so I may be ringless. Although they have agreed to change the diamond and I am somewhat happy with their service, I do feel a bit ripped off and embarrassed about the situation as they are such a well know company. Do you think it's worth writing a letter of complaint regarding the quality of goods?
Many thanks ☺️
0
Comments
If you don't want to do that, go back, ask to see the manager, and go through it with h I m/her. Just say you aren't happy and you now want a full refund.
Thank you, will def check it over thoroughly!
http://www.lumeradiamonds.com/diamond-education/diamond-color
Given the expense and clearly visible to the naked eye this isn't acceptable. Watching Rocks and Co a lot they go into great detail about these type of flaws I think I know the chain you are talking about *they have quite a reputation forming for this . Did he pay by credit card? if they refuse to see the problem IMHO just put it in the hands of the CC company. something that visible isn't acceptable
Neither of those statements would probably be true.. Unless your stone was 'hand picked' to maximise profit. Diamonds are graded on the 4C's and decent ones should have a certificate showing it's grading. A large inclusion that's obvious to the naked eye obviously isn't 'flawless to the eye' either. Plus it may also weaken the stone and it end up breaking. So if it was expensive, write the letter because the store may not know if their supplier's pulling a fast one.
Wrong C.. it's this one
http://www.lumeradiamonds.com/diamond-education/diamond-clarity
And might be P2-P3 if it's euro-graded. A bad cut can also look like an inclusion sometimes if the points aren't cut properly.
I wish I knew about the reputation before! Yes he paid on credit card.
It was very clearly visible, I know there would be flaws under x10 but this was very clearly visible..... You could see it at arms length away
Thank you, this is what I was thinking. And if unchecked some people may not notice the bad quality till too late. I did also check their website stating the 4 c's just to put my mind at rest, again it says they never use any stone with marking visible to the eye. I was happy I saw it in writing!
Def wasn't the cut, it was smack bang centre, you could see it from all angles.
Smaller ones around it too. Funnily enough the sales girl had also just got engaged. My partner asked if she would be happy with this, she said no.
The quality difference between a VS1-2 and an I2-3 stone makes a big difference to price, and normally 'decent' diamonds would be VS1 or 2, maybe an I1 if they're lower priced. The individual stores may not notice flaws and the store may not know if there's a supply problem. Check the replacement carefully and ask what quality they certify against.
I just wish now we went to a highstreet jewellers, as this bigger store sounds like a rip off
It may have been an honest mistake, but see how the replacement goes. Personally for stuff like that I'd either make it myself, or go to an independent jeweler. Some of the chains don't really know or care about what they're selling.
I'd walk away and choose a ring elsewhere, as this experience has been upsetting for you, and not helped by the self-imposed pressure of wanting to have the ring in time for your party.
I would 100% tell them its so noticeable and if that fails go down the faulty good route with the credit card. Internally flawless can be really expensive so a few flaws as you wrote can be expected but not that noticeable
I really hope you can get it sorted
A good diamond is worth a good amount. If you're getting a supposedly good quality diamond for a price that seems a little cheap, there's probably a reason for it.
I hope your new diamond is everything you want.
Oh.. it can be
It depends on the ring and how much resizing is needed. So if it's a simple single stone setting, it's easier. Cut a piece out of the ring & re-weld/braze/solder it together again. Enlarging is that process in reverse, ie fitting a new piece in. Where it gets difficult is if the ring band has fancy work, ie engravings, lattice work or multiple stones like traditional eternity rings.
Agreed, but many people still go to the chain stores, and not every town has a decent jeweller. Which is a shame given there's a bunch of neat technology tempting me to start making jewellry again, like design software and 3D printers to make lost wax casting fun!
why would an engagement ring be a one-off
surely most jewellers produce standard designs, setting, band and jewel weight.
If it helps just think all the people who have lost their partners or, like me, have yet to find one. People are more important than things and you're lucky to have someone to spend your life with - even if it is full of annoying thing things like unscrupulous shops!
Because the engagement is meant to be a one-off
Yep, they're the bread & butter stuff but the fun comes from doing custom pieces & commissions. Luckily there are some standards for typical stones, ie diamonds should be the same dimensions for a given cut/weight, so you can get standard settings ready made. So basic jewellry making is a fairly simple hobby to get into.
The sizing was difficult because it was bigger than 5 sizes which apparently can be difficult?
Well I will wait for the ring to return and hopefully it will be fixed. Because of the store it came from it does come with a certificate but was def not the diamond type it says it was.
Curious who issued the certificate and what it says about the stone. If it's not one of the industry standard certification bodies, it may be a bit more dubious. If the stone doesn't match the grade shown on the certificate, then it might be worth writing to the certification body as well.
shape
cutting style
measurements
weight
colour grade
clarity grade
cut grade
finish (polish and symmetry)
fluorescence
They've stitched you up once. I'd still walk away.