About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean"

[kent_man]

I'm about to buy a ring and diamond from James Allen. In their FAQ it days you can ask for the diamond to be checked to see if it is eye clean. So before my purchase and in a chat I asked how I go about asking them to check to see if it was eye clean. The lady I was chatting with asked for the diamond number. After a few minutes of chatting back and forth she said the diamond was perfectly eye clean and she said it looked beautiful, yada yada yada.

Earlier today I stumbled across an old post questioning an eBay listing that had a certain diamond for sale that was also listed on James Allen's site. Anyways the post questioned the legitimacy of the eBay sellers claims that all diamonds were owned an in inventory. It was determined that the diamonds are a part of a virtual inventory. Anyway what I'm getting at is does James Allen actually have these in stock? According to their site you can come to the New York location and view up to 3 stones in person. Is the lady bs-ing me about seeing the stone. They say they have gemologists and I assumed that she made a call and they checked to see if it is eye clean. From the 40x image it looks pretty good and I'm sure it is eye clean. I just don't like being lied to. I've never purchased online and am slightly wary, but a lot if the local jewelry are so full of themselves and very shady and I just don't want to give them my business.

 

[msop04]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

I'm about to buy a ring and diamond from James Allen. In their FAQ it days you can ask for the diamond to be checked to see if it is eye clean. So before my purchase and in a chat I asked how I go about asking them to check to see if it was eye clean. The lady I was chatting with asked for the diamond number. After a few minutes of chatting back and forth she said the diamond was perfectly eye clean and she said it looked beautiful, yada yada yada.

Earlier today I stumbled across an old post questioning an eBay listing that had a certain diamond for sale that was also listed on James Allen's site. Anyways the post questioned the legitimacy of the eBay sellers claims that all diamonds were owned an in inventory. It was determined that the diamonds are a part of a virtual inventory. Anyway what I'm getting at is does James Allen actually have these in stock? According to their site you can come to the New York location and view up to 3 stones in person. Is the lady bs-ing me about seeing the stone. They say they have gemologists and I assumed that she made a call and they checked to see if it is eye clean. From the 40x image it looks pretty good and I'm sure it is eye clean. I just don't like being lied to. I've never purchased online and am slightly wary, but a lot if the local jewelry are so full of themselves and very shady and I just don't want to give them my business.

I think she is BS-ing you. It was my understanding that JA owned all of their diamonds and had them... otherwise, how would they be able to make videos, photos, and be able to pull the stone for you for inspection?? It has been my experience that those who do not sell diamonds online like to "poopoo" online vendors and/or make the consumer hesitant about them.

Eye-clean is subjective. To me, if I can't see any inclusions without a loop or getting super close (like 4 inches), then it's eye-clean to me. From what I've read/seen here on PS, JA's gemologists are very honest when describing stones.

 

[YoungPapa]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

Hi Kent,

Thank you for considering James Allen for your diamond purchase and best of luck, regardless of where you ultimately decide to shop.

As to your questions, there are a few things that might help.

First, regardless of whether or not we own a particular diamond, the Customer Service Representatives in Marland are looking at the same diamond information and videos as you are. Keep in mind, however, that in the vast majority of cases, they have the experience and history of having done those same (or similar) comparisons hundreds of times over, and will use that knowledge when trying to assist you by phone, chat or email.

In this particular instance, I was not part of the conversation, nor do I have any details as to what diamond you had spoken with us about or what specific action was taken. I can hazard to guess, however, that if the diamond you inquired about was a higher clarity (say VS2 or above) or had only subtle inclusions visible in the highly magnified movies, the staffmember would have been confident in assuring you the diamond was 'eye-clean'. If the eye-cleanliness of the diamond was questionable, most of our staff would have suggested you place the diamond on hold to have it inspected by one of our gemologists. That is a service we do quite often for clients, is free of charge, and does include a physical inspection by a member of our staff. If that initial confirmation over the phone led you to believe the diamond was being physically examined while you waited, my apologies. There was never an intent to deceive or misguide.

As to the question of inventory, our company is like no other in the diamond space. While we own a signifcant amount of diamonds, we also rely on a small, exlusive network of diamond partners. Every diamond in that program is brought into our office for photography by a member of our staff prior to being listed on our website. In the case that a purchase is made, each diamond is carefully inspected by a gemologist prior to being shipped to the client (assuming the diamond is sold loose), or inspected both prior to setting then once again after the ring/jewelry is completed (in the case of an engagement ring, set of earrings, etc).

All the best,

 

[jimyhoff]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

The first post says you allow customers to view diamonds in person at your NYC location. Is this accurate? If so, one of your phone reps lost a sale for you this week.

I had a diamond held and asked if I could see it since I'd be in the city Monday morning. I was told no that it was both a security risk and a time waster for your "small" office.

I dropped the hold and two other vendors that morning were happy to send a runner and let me see the exact stone, which I purchased (they beat your price by 3% too). Your website is great but it's always nice to hold something in your hand before you buy it.

 

[kent_man]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

Hi Kent,

Thank you for considering James Allen for your diamond purchase and best of luck, regardless of where you ultimately decide to shop.

As to your questions, there are a few things that might help.

First, regardless of whether or not we own a particular diamond, the Customer Service Representatives in Marland are looking at the same diamond information and videos as you are. Keep in mind, however, that in the vast majority of cases, they have the experience and history of having done those same (or similar) comparisons hundreds of times over, and will use that knowledge when trying to assist you by phone, chat or email.

In this particular instance, I was not part of the conversation, nor do I have any details as to what diamond you had spoken with us about or what specific action was taken. I can hazard to guess, however, that if the diamond you inquired about was a higher clarity (say VS2 or above) or had only subtle inclusions visible in the highly magnified movies, the staffmember would have been confident in assuring you the diamond was 'eye-clean'. If the eye-cleanliness of the diamond was questionable, most of our staff would have suggested you place the diamond on hold to have it inspected by one of our gemologists. That is a service we do quite often for clients, is free of charge, and does include a physical inspection by a member of our staff. If that initial confirmation over the phone led you to believe the diamond was being physically examined while you waited, my apologies. There was never an intent to deceive or misguide.

As to the question of inventory, our company is like no other in the diamond space. While we own a signifcant amount of diamonds, we also rely on a small, exlusive network of diamond partners. Every diamond in that program is brought into our office for photography by a member of our staff prior to being listed on our website. In the case that a purchase is made, each diamond is carefully inspected by a gemologist prior to being shipped to the client (assuming the diamond is sold loose), or inspected both prior to setting then once again after the ring/jewelry is completed (in the case of an engagement ring, set of earrings, etc).

All the best,

It is actually an SI1 and I meant it looked good with respect to it being an SI1. Compared to others I've seen it looked a lot cleaner.

 

[kent_man]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

Here is an excerpt of the chat transcript. The way it reads it sounds like she actually looked at the diamond. I'm fine if she didn't I just want to make absolutely sure it's eye clean, that is my main concern. I will be making this purchase tonight when I get home. I just don't want to have to send it back and taking precautions to avoid that.

Angelia: What is your diamond number?
you: 288433
Angelia: Thanks!
Angelia: Have you found a setting yet?
you: yes
Angelia: What is your setting number?
you: 17040P
Angelia: I love this setting!
Angelia: Nice choice!
Angelia: What is her ring size?
you: 6
Angelia: Your diamond is totally eye clean. It looks amazing.
you: Awesome thank you
Angelia: The angles are on the money, and it will look like a disco ball in person.
Angelia: You've done some homework.
Angelia: You are so welcome!
Angelia: I would have picked this one out myself.
Angelia: How long have you been looking?
you: a couple of months but reasy to make a purchase in the past few weeks
Angelia: That is awesome!
Angelia: It is always good to do some research before you purchase. You have done a great job.
you: thanks
Angelia: I have your diamond on hold for you now.
Angelia: What is your billing and shipping address?
Angelia: When are you planning on popping the question?

 

[SHOWBIZ]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

I bought from James Allen recently and went through something similar to you. I don't think the online chat representatives actually take a look at the diamond in person or even call a gemologist to ask them if they can check it. That being said, that SI1 looks quite eye clean to me.

I ended up putting a few diamonds on hold to have a gemologist check how "eye clean" each one was. I have very sharp eyes so I asked if they could check that the diamond was eye clean from all angles from 3 inches away. Some vendors define "eye clean" as arms length, or 10 inches, or 7 inches, etc. I wanted to know it was eye clean based on how close I can see, but the limitation there is the gemologist can only check as close as they are capable of. Luckily in the end, since it was a VS2 I am unable to see anything with the naked eye. I think as long as you stay away from any black inclusions then it should be eye clean.

 

[jimyhoff]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

I had a number of phone conversations with them and they also gave an opinion on whether a few diamonds were eye-clean, but never represented that they were holding the actual diamond in their hand. Instead they were clear that the diamond was either off-site or in the vault.

If I wanted someone to look in-person the wait was something like 3 days which seemed like a long time.

I don't think this is bad. It's not realistic that anyone could own all the diamonds listed on their site. I found from my short time in NYC that everyone seems to have access to the same diamonds and if you find someone willing to take a smaller profit you can do a bunch better than the onlines.

 

[MarionC]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

The first post says you allow customers to view diamonds in person at your NYC location. Is this accurate? If so, one of your phone reps lost a sale for you this week.

I had a diamond held and asked if I could see it since I'd be in the city Monday morning. I was told no that it was both a security risk and a time waster for your "small" office.

I dropped the hold and two other vendors that morning were happy to send a runner and let me see the exact stone, which I purchased (they beat your price by 3% too). Your website is great but it's always nice to hold something in your hand before you buy it.

My experience is that a slightly higher % reflects better policies for returns, upgrades, life time service, etc.
Anyway, I hope the vendor you used gave you all the discounts!

 

[jimyhoff]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

It was a vendor that is frequently recommended on these forums (forum sponsor) and they were great to work with.

 

[MarionC]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

Great!

 

[kent_man]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

It was a vendor that is frequently recommended on these forums (forum sponsor) and they were great to work with.

Why not say what vendor? Anyway for me it's not worth 3% to buy somewhere else then pay to have it shipped and set.

 

[jimyhoff]

Re: About to make a purchase, few questions about "eye clean

I'm not sure it's great to say which sponsor undercut another sponsor, but it wasn't an immaterial amount and they have all the nice policies (free shipping, returns, etc.) as the larger vendors. They also sell settings.

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