GRIPE LIST: Your Brick-n-Mortar Jeweler Problems/Issues/Rants

[loriken214]

I had an interesting encounter with a "watchmaker" who was doubling as a jewelry salesman. There was a display called "color" and it was filled with pretty colorful bracelets, pendants, etc. I asked to see a particular yellow gold bracelet. It was really beautiful, but I''m wearing white metals these days and asked if this bracelet came in white gold. The response I got was "NO, that would look ugly with those gemstone colors!" HUH?

I then asked if the gemstones were all sapphires. He said "they are all corundum...that is the correct name for them."

I informed him that I was looking for a sapphire bracelet to match the sapphires in my watch and showed him my Omega....his mouth fell open and then he composed himself saying "oh, that must be a new version as I''ve never seen that one before. I would be happy to rhodium plate this bracelet for you...it would look very pretty."

He made me so mad that I was about to jump over the counter and strangle him....THE JERK!

Lori

 

[marcy]

iLander, they really tried to get me to let them find me another tsavorite. I went to the store and the manager finally reluctantly gave me a full refund.

 

[Barrett]

this is a good thread..i like reading about these horror stories..cue jaws music please..duu..nu..duu...nu...

 

[iLander]

Date: 6/20/2010 6:57:56 PM
Author: iLander
@ marcy: why did they even dicker? If you broke something of their''s they''d expect you to pay right away.


@loriken: I am amazed every day that Zales is still in business, I really am.


@blackberry: ''Not a real shape''. LOL! Attention PSer''s your stones are all imaginary

LOL


@rockhugger: wow on the aqua! I think you''re right, if I had a jewelry store, I would hire only GIA''s to sell the stones. I can''t believe you weren''t supposed to mention the radiation! I would never spend big money on a natural blue diamond, because everybody would think I picked it up at (gasp) Zales.


@TL: here''s an example: I went to a fancy store here, and they had a 4 x 6 orange garnet (he said it was a malaya) in this EXACT twin to this LOGR setting:


http://cgi.ebay.com/Diamond-14k-White-Gold-Semi-Mount-Ring-Oval-7x9mm-/390209294780?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Fine_Rings&hash=item5ada4951bc#ht_5162wt_912


He wanted $4,500.00 for the ring.


@klewis: I have scraped gum off my shoe that is more durable than tourmaline. In an e-ring? Scary.

OOPS, meant to say "more durable than tanzanite", in that last line there.

@digitaldevo Please start a thread on how we can spot a natural star versus a treated star stone. I would like to know more about these treatments.

@loriken LOVE that watch! Isn''t it amazing how snotty these salespeople are? Why are they so snotty? Who says to themselves "I have been treated with no respect, so I will purchase now?"

@marcy So glad they gave your money back!

@amethystguy Pity us . . .

 

[chrono]

It is very disappointing to hear of so many scary stories. We all should also give credit to the competent jewellers, spread the word around and give them our business. I’ve been to my fair share of places where they’ve never heard of a garnet, spinel and tourmaline and I do not give them my business. Most independent stores and a select few chain type stores do have the expertise to handle coloured gemstones with an in-house benchperson. When shopping around for a jeweller, I make sure to speak to the benchperson, look at the custom work he/she has done, and talk about gemstones to get a feel of his/her opinion and knowledge/comfort in dealing with stones other than diamonds and sapphires. I’d rather pay more to get a job well done than risk damage to any of my stones. I would also never dare set any stones myself.

 

[snowc]

I have recently been shopping around for wedding bands for the fiance and I. We were in the mall and he was very persistent that he wanted to go to Kays to look. We were in there for a little while and there was a band he liked and tried on, it was wood inlay with diamonds in between. I asked the sales woman if they were fully faceted or chips and she could just tell me the carat weight and that they were real. After asking her if she could find out, she then proceeded to tell me that it didn''t really matter... Needless to say, I will not go back there.

I have dealt with lots of rude sales people, I''m not sure if its because I''m only 20 and considered to be not very knowledgeable or if its the fact that i do not get dressed up to the nines when going out jewelry shopping.

 

[Arkteia]

Rude sales people... I have horror stories to tell.

But first: I am absolutely happy that I found PS (a totally random find!). Now I know that there is a fixed price for a setting, an appraisal with each purchase and a return period. I am not going to mention names - I have worked with a few well-respected jewellers in the area and despite these problems, I shall still work with them. Because they sell good products. I would just say that PS gave me a little bit more confidence.

But here is my true horror story.

- one bright summer morning, I am driving from my CPA and stop by at an outlet mall. Information guy tells me that the only decent jewelry store here is Ultra Diamonds.
- So walk into Ultra Diamonds, feeling super-confident (I got very good news from my CPA), and ask to look at their diamonds. I am just in the mood "to buy meself a diamond". Never had a decent one. I look at their stuff, none of which is too exciting, and I ask to see the best diamond in their store. So, the store manager shows me a 1-ct. G-color VS1 diamond, with an AGL cert, and I buy it on the spot.

A day later, I notice that I really do not like it so much. I actually spotted out what was wrong - the table was too large. Went to my appraiser and he calmly explained to me, that yes, the table of 72% would be too large and the cut was decent but not excellent, either. ("It is not a bad diamond...").

So, I come back to these guys, all angry, and tell them that for the best diamond in the store, they sold me a piece of *processed goods*, to which they calmly point out that the certificate does not state it is an ideal cut. I push my point, hey, you are an outlet for a huge chain, do you want to have a real problem...So they agree to swap this diamond for another one, much better, at the same price.

Well, the price was 1K more, and the diamond was similar, although an ideal cut, but they "forgot" the GIA certificate and only later did they fax it over to me. I went to my appraiser who said that the diamond at least looked similar. I am not sure that the GIA is from the same stone, and there is no laser inscription on the stone. When I called the store manager to discuss the situation, he threw a fit and said he won't ever talk to me again. (I am done with you!...)

The reason I let it be as it was the time I spent on the phone. I just figured out the amount of hours it would take me to fix the problem, drive to Seattle, write letters, what not... I thought that it would cost me way more than the extra I paid for the diamond. I still do want to make life difficult for the store manager, but hey, he did not rob me on the street, either.

And the halo settings they sold came straight from one of our Chinese I-net vendors! And cost $ 1.5K! Ugh!

I still want to call GIA and check the number on the certificate - they probably keep all data and can tell me which stone it was given for, or whether it was laser-inscribed.

And the main reason I mention the name of this store is that it did a very bad job. While I can not call them deceitful, they are not user-friendly. For the store manager to yell at me over the phone was definitely stepping over his boundaries. I have his name, his card, and also remember all personal stories he told me (as well as the fact that he was wearing "a real opal" ring). I guess there is a high index of suspicion re. the GIA certificate but I do not know if I want to pursue it. My appraiser remembers the whole story quite well.

The stone, in fact, doesn't look bad. I just want a better one. I thought it would make a nice e-ring for someone.

Lorelei helped me source out a 0.64 E color VVS1 marquis-cut diamond for my priest's son. With the setting and my discount, it cost him around $ 1850. It had a GIA certificate, came from James Allen and was shipped out in two days.

 

[iLander]

@ crasu: You can check the report on here, if your appraiser weighed the stone:

http://www2.gia.edu/reportcheck/index.cfm

Hope that makes you feel a little better . . .

 

[LtlFirecracker]

I really don''t care to tell the story again. But you can read all about my poor little mutilated sapphire setting. It was fixed, but it will never be the same.

Sapphire fix gone wrong

 

[StonieGrl]

LOL, ammieguy and his Jaws theme!!!

I was told this by my grandpa when I was a small child:

If you show up for a poker game and you look at everyone sitting around the table and you cannot spot the sucker THAT MEANS IT IS YOU! Hehehe, I loved my gramps!

Said it before, saying it again: VISA: It ain''t over til you say its over. Helps even the odds a bit.

 

[scarnesir]

Re: GRIPE LIST: Your Brick-n-Mortar Jeweler Problems/Issues/

Hey all,

I've been lurking around these forums for a month or two, trying to gather whatever information I could before my boyfriend and I take the big step of getting engaged. This is the first discussion I've really felt compelled to participate in because, honestly, the thing that scares me the most right now is getting screwed by (as a previous poster put it) a businessman who decided to open a jewelery store.

I'm a tad on the non-traditional side, so I decided I that I'd like a yellow sapphire as opposed to the traditional diamond... Sadly, every jeweler I've spoken to and asked for yellow sapphires, has responded with puzzled looks or a condescending "No... sorry".

One woman even answered with "Yellow sapphires? They don't exist, it's just a term jewelers use for marketing. They're really just quartz, and we have some over here." And then she proceeded to try and sell me the tiniest, inkiest stones I have ever seen in my life. Ew.

I wonder what her response would have been had I been curious enough to mention padparadscha's.

Not a horror story of course, but my fruitless search for yellow sapphires keeps nudging me closer to maybe buying online.

 

[T L]

Re: GRIPE LIST: Your Brick-n-Mortar Jeweler Problems/Issues/

Hey all,

I've been lurking around these forums for a month or two, trying to gather whatever information I could before my boyfriend and I take the big step of getting engaged. This is the first discussion I've really felt compelled to participate in because, honestly, the thing that scares me the most right now is getting screwed by (as a previous poster put it) a businessman who decided to open a jewelery store.

I'm a tad on the non-traditional side, so I decided I that I'd like a yellow sapphire as opposed to the traditional diamond... Sadly, every jeweler I've spoken to and asked for yellow sapphires, has responded with puzzled looks or a condescending "No... sorry".

One woman even answered with "Yellow sapphires? They don't exist, it's just a term jewelers use for marketing. They're really just quartz, and we have some over here." And then she proceeded to try and sell me the tiniest, inkiest stones I have ever seen in my life. Ew.

I wonder what her response would have been had I been curious enough to mention padparadscha's.

Not a horror story of course, but my fruitless search for yellow sapphires keeps nudging me closer to maybe buying online.

Scarnesir,
Please learn a much as you can about treatments on sapphires too. They are subjected to various treatments which can dramatically alter their color to something sellable and desirable. Even Tiffany & Co., a supposedly highly respected B&M store, commonly treats their gems, and for what you pay, it's just not worth it.

 

[scarnesir]

Re: GRIPE LIST: Your Brick-n-Mortar Jeweler Problems/Issues/

Hi tourmaline_lover!

Regarding treatments, that's something I need to become more familiar with and I'll have to do my own research to make sure I understand it completely. I wouldn't feel comfortable allowing my bf (soon to be fiancé, wow!) to make such an investment without knowing exactly, the ins and outs of what we were purchasing.

We're from Canada so we don't have Tiffany & Co. here as far as I know, but we do have Birks, which I suppose could be our equivalent? Either way, terribly overpriced as well. And the last time I was there, the salesperson kept trying to convince me to look at the diamonds when I had already explained several times that I prefer sapphires. *sigh*

Anyhoo, we digress from the topic of discussion ... Reading all these horror stories is quite scary for someone who's never really made a significant jewelery purchase in her life, LOL. I'm going to keep looking though, hopefully we can find a B&M jeweler soon that we feel comfortable with. Wish me luck!

 

[aviastar]

Re: GRIPE LIST: Your Brick-n-Mortar Jeweler Problems/Issues/

I think we should make a distinction here- it seems that most (not all, of course) of the trouble comes from chains or the store that are indeed owned and operated by non-jewelers- but this can happen with online vendors as well! As an educational forum it is all well and good to voice when you have had an experience with a uneducated/snotty vendor but it seems unfair to direct all this angst against B&M's as a general group when there are certainly wonderful jewelers, lapidaries, and metalsmiths that happen to work out of a physical location, just like the wonderful jewelers, lapidaries, and metalsmiths that operate on etsy. It may be nitpicky but for the sake of clarity I would say that what we are discussing here is a frustration with under/miseducated salespeople and unethical business practices, not physical building vs. online buisness models.

I'm lucky though- I found a second generation, local, four person, everything designed and hand made on site family jeweler right in my backyard. And they love colored stones! So perhaps I am biased in the other direction

In fact, Scarnesir- you should contact them about yellow sapphires: http://www.huntcountry.com- Claire cuts her own so she can readily address the treatment issue. I didn't know I liked yellow stones until I fell in love with one of her yellow sapphires!

 

[Arkteia]

Re:

I find this pretty funny. It''s as if you were expecting jewelers to be somehow different than any other business person ? Many people in many businesses will say anything in order to sell their stuff.

The fact is that some "jewelers" are not jewelers. They are sometimes business people who have little idea about what they are selling and who hire others to do every part of what had traditionally been referred to as being a "jeweler". Ask them anything and they will need to refer to the person that they''ve hired to do that particular job. Often they will hide this need to refer to others by acting as if they know what they are talking about and it often comes out as a bunch of smoke and mirrors. The customer is either left totally baffled and believing something which isn''t true, (the cost of a Chatham emerald being valued as highly as was mentioned), or left with very poor work, (in the case of the Rolex...whose repairs are supposed to be handled by certified Rolex repair people).

While all of this is a problem, it would only be fair to mention that the majority of jewelers are quite honest and forthright people who do not act this way. The only reason that the scoundrel types persist is that their customers either don''t know that there is a difference or don''t care. The key to getting good quality and fair prices is in the customers being caring and educated enough about what they are buying. This will allow them to ask the right questions BEFORE doing business with the wrong people.

My advice in dealing with a jeweler is to see if they have a bench person or gemologist on site. I would then find out if you can talk with the bench person and see how much experience they have, see if they have a portfolio and whether you like their previous work. In these sorts of places the owner is either the bench person or has some experience at the bench or is a gemologist. They will know what they are talking about and will be honest about it if they don''t have an answer for you and need to obtain an answer from an associate of theirs. Honesty and being able to talk freely without the constant sales buzz is the key here. After all selling is 80% listening to find out exactly what you want...the rest is supplying it to you.

Doctors are different, lawyers are different, plumbers are different and car dealers are different...so is everyone else. Like it or not, it is up to you to find the proper people to do business with. Since you are gaining enough knowledge here to have an educated conversation with a number of jewelers, you can filter out those would would take advantage of your previous ignorance and maybe even help some of your friends and acquaintances as well. Rants can be fun, but the point is to avoid having to make them at all. I''d keep looking for the right place AND keep practicing your own setting skills. When are we going to see some of your handiwork anyway ?

True. Unfortunately, with the economy, many good jewelers lost businesses because they were not business-savvy.
I can not say I have had horrible experience with my jewelers. I just think I can find better ones. One has a concept of "you set it in diamonds, it will look good", the other one knows more about colored stones but unfortunately, does not have much fantasy and can not offer interesting designs. To add to it, a GG certificate does not necessarily mean a good gemologist. I think PS-ers have commented on it many times.

A couple of times I felt pressed to buy something expensive. Only once did I succumb to pressure and still feel bad about it. But luckily, I never bought diamonds since I felt I did not know enough about them. I was lucky, since I was offered "great diamonds below the market price" which for a certain reason could not be GIA-certified (the story behind the offer was very believable and could be true). I refused. By that time I knew about laser-drilled holes but not HPHT treatment, so I consider myself pretty lucky.

As I came to know, the prices for the first stone the jewelers sourced out for me was "a bait", and then came real ripoffs.

I am still looking for a good bench jeweler. As I have said, I can not complain since mine are not the worst ones but I can definitely find better ones. Even if you use good diamonds and offer good prices, you have to feel the stone you are setting - Michael, your answer to my question about setting included stones was an eye-opener.

My strangest experience was with a jeweler who I called with a request to source out a good alexandrite. It was about 2 years ago. Having asked me several questions, he said, "lady, you do not know much about colored stones. I would advise you to read more, then go to a gem show and buy one good stone. Do it yourself. Try again. Learn, and then we'll talk." A very unusual advise - 90% of vendors would jump at an opportunity to make $$ on a new, inexperienced customer. I was not on PS. I just started collecting. He did not know me at all. No one did at that time and I got his name at random, from a guy who was not in jewelry business. He does not live close by and hence I never went to his store, but I want to look at him. The only reason I am not posting his name is because I am not sure that such an answer is not against the rules of the trade.

 

[TheDoctor]

Re: GRIPE LIST: Your Brick-n-Mortar Jeweler Problems/Issues/

The jewellery business, the actual production and trade and retail combined, has tradionally been knowledge and ability-based.
Sadly, in this new century, it has become "what is the minimum we have to do to get the money" kind of business, run by neophytes and their accountants. There are people teaching courses in jewellery design and manufacture in the U.S. who have basic degrees in metalsmithing and NO EXPERIENCE in the technical realm. In short, it's a case of the blind leading the blind. We have all seen countless examples of poorly executed work, and it appears as though the race to the bottom in terms of cost of salaries has caught up with the hands-on sector of the trade.

The brick and mortar jewellers go through the same pains as any other businesses that ply their trade in shopping centres. The leases are preposterously expensive, and so much currency needs to change hands before the business owner has enough margin collected to pay the rent that there is often desperation evident in the business practices. The neophytes, who can't seem to accept the simple fact that owning a retail jewellery establishment is NOT A LICENCE TO PRINT MONEY, will blindly open new shops or buy existing shops threatened with failure and then run them into the dirt by treating customers like cash couriers-their own big egos and blind aspiration blinding them to the reality that they may know money, yes, but they sure as hell don't know a damned thing about jewellery. Really, what's to know?

Let's get this straight, really solidly straight;
Mall "jewellers" are doomed in North America. Not simply because they are crooked, or criminal, or deceptive, or poor managers with lousy salespeople. Nope.
It's because they have no idea what they are doing, and they become victims of those who will milk them until they are dead...backed up by teams of lawyers employed by mall developers who will watch the corpse being dismembered and take full account of every scrap.

The landlords, their agents, and their much smarter accountants and legal team are very good at making sure that the business owner feels dutifully obligated to the "master", who will, without mercy, raid the business owner's bank account monthly to the tune of the cost of a house in suburbia every year, even when they are fully aware of the paltry sales numbers in depressed economies.
It's no wonder...that the business owner can quickly stop thinking of their customers as human, and begin to see them as "marks"...because that is the realm that they entered when they optimistically signed on the dotted line many times in their lease negotiations.
They become carnival barkers, their pitches suck, their products are off the map in negative quality, and they hire people to tell lies for them so that they don't have to takefull responsibility.

Any one of you can call yourself a jeweller, jooler, jeweler, jewler, or any one of the other spellings that Google will autocorrect, and open a shop tomorrow.There are no whistle-blowing associations which will use their legal powers and networks to make sure you conduct yourself and you business within certain guidelines. It's the WILD WEST. Nobody will tell you that you are not qualified. That is the difference between other professions and jewellers...and how the web has enabled the invisible masses of opportunists to thrive. Yes, there are a good few, as the cream rises to the top, but there are tens of thousands that are just plain bad...or worse.
In the U.S. and most of Canada, a person calling themselves jeweler or otherwise can have as little as no experience. When you meet one of these (fishermen, let's call 'em) it is because they are in the places where the best fishing occurs...shopping malls, and that is where they manage to catch enough "fish" to survive.

Boilermakers, chefs, welders, and pest controllers all need licences to work, and must prove their education and ability before working in their trades. Not so with jewellers, not in North America. All you need is a business licence and a lease, and a line of credit to buy from a list of thousands of suppliers who market stuff made overseas in sweatshops. Pitch hard and reap great rewards!

In Germany, and other areas of Europe, you can't touch client's work without proper accreditation. A fixed-term apprenticeship is required to set stones, otherwise you will not work. The examinations are onerous. This is the history of the trade, broken in modern times in this part of the world. Dumb greed rules, not by those who wish to be jewellers, but by those who will yoke them and make them slaves to their own purposes.
The mall ain't brick and mortar for jewellers, it's the place where they go to die. They don't need your pity, they don't get your money, and they won't be around for long enough to be a brand. It's a classic case of the real world. There is no easy way to make a buck, and the trade in jewellery may be one of the most difficult.
If you find a good B&M jeweller, love them, and encourage others to do the same. If you find one that sucks, don't waste your time or money with them and sleep well knowing that they have earned their imminent fate because they didn't deserve to be there in the first place.

 

[Arcadian]

Re: GRIPE LIST: Your Brick-n-Mortar Jeweler Problems/Issues/

The only one I had issue with was Barmakians but not because they did a terrible job (they actually did great work), but because they were such snots!

I would only use them when my regular guy was too busy or on vacation (he's now retired so I go to Kismet's ppl )

But go back to Barmakians even though they're 5 minutes from my house? no thanks. I'll take the scenic drive to Arlington any day.

-A

 

[FinleysMom]

Now I am leery of buying anything!
Finley

 

[lilmosun]

Re: GRIPE LIST: Your Brick-n-Mortar Jeweler Problems/Issues/

The only one I had issue with was Barmakians but not because they did a terrible job (they actually did great work), but because they were such snots!

I would only use them when my regular guy was too busy or on vacation (he's now retired so I go to Kismet's ppl )

But go back to Barmakians even though they're 5 minutes from my house? no thanks. I'll take the scenic drive to Arlington any day.

-A

I use a local independent jeweler who was a bench guy at Barmakians for many years (decades?). I've had no issues with his work and in fact, he's fixed a lot of mistakes others have made. He is good about pointing out possible risks/issues. His prices are very reasonable. That being said, he is not a gemologist and does not know colored stones at all...so his prices can be all over the place (depending on what he paid and perceived value). He is old school and can be arrogant....about his work, his taste/choices and what he thinks something is worth (although now he tells other customers I know more about CS than he does). Sometimes to the point of frustration but I do think he is honest, has lower markups than most, guarantees his work and will sell me a ring contingent upon a lab report.

 

[FinleysMom]

Chain jewelers serve the not so consumer savvy customer. There is a huge market for it, I get a kick out of the hard sell when I shop one.

My parents never had a lot of money in their life but I was impressed that their wedding rings were purchased from actual jewelers located in a high rise in a major city downtown high rise building filled with real jewelers. It was THE place to go for jewlery at the time. Yes, it was the 1950s ..prior to malls and chains but their wedding set ( platinum and gold..small diamonds) always looked great! My folks are gone and sadly, their rings reside in a box that my sister stores. I suggested that she enjoy moms' pretty wedding band and wear it but she doesn't. I wear my late aunts wedding ring (1959 illusion setting)

That downtown building is long vacant of jewelers as suburbia has taken over but I have a fond memory of heading downtown in the late 1980's to purchase a London Blue Topaz to have set into a diamond ring that I had purchased from a department store ( don't judge!) . The ring has a horseshoe of small diamonds with an open center that was just waiting for a pear shaped stone to complete it. So off I went to get it done. I felt so grown-up making that modest purchase! The jeweler was very nice and did a great job IMHO. To this day it is one of my favorites rings! Thus, my love affair of colored gemstones bloomed! I should wear it more often. Tiday is that day!

FinleysMom

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

FinleysMom, that is a beautiful ring! Thanks for the lovely story!

 

[lilmosun]

Although it wasn't at a b&m store but at a gem show, I'll share my long horror story:

- I was at a gem show looking for inexpensive settings for two trillions and went to a vendor introduced to me by the person who cut one of the stones. I bought two settings and the vendor offered to have the stones set. I went back at the end of the show and my rings weren't there. I was taken to another booth where there were other customers waiting for their rings. I could tell the setter was under pressure because the show was closed. I should've taken my stuff back but alas I didn't...even commenting to others waiting to "let him take his time because you don't want your stones wrecked". When I got the rings, I put them on and left.
- I get home (stopping for dinner along the way) and one of the stones was MISSING (backtracked but never found). All I could think was that I must've knocked it somehow but on closer inspection one of the prongs on the other rings looks like it's barely holding a corner, so I put the ring back in the box since I am leaving town.
- When I get back, I open the ring box and the other stone had fallen out. Now I realize my trillions must not have been set right. I contact the setting vendor who is away on holiday but says he'll call me to address the situation when he gets back. He does not. I wait a couple of weeks and contact him. He tells me he will send a Fedex label to send back the settings and will arrange for a stone replacement. He does contact the vendor who sold me the stone but he does not send the Fedex label. Time has passed so I decide to file a claim with the credit card company before it's too late and see the credit on my statement.
- Vendor does not respond to emails and I decide to cut my losses. I am out a stone but figure i can sell the setting to cover that loss (the stone vendor feels bad since he referred the setting vendor and offers to replace the stone for free but I decline because its not really his fault). My local jeweler resets the other stone and shows me how it wasn't notched properly and the prongs were cut too short.
- Months later I get a notice from the credit card company saying the vendor has rejected the claim saying he "does not set stones" and a copy of my receipt with the credit card slip covering the word "Set"!!! I send my a copy of my receipt with the word "set" on it and the credit card company agrees to refund me...although he did not technically set the stone, the service was contracted through him...but says the credit card company explains that because the vendor has been paid and refuses to return the money, it will be filed as a "debt write-off" and I will need to pay income taxes on it Now I am pissed...not just on having to pay income taxes but vendor's deceit.
- I file a claim with the show vendor with all the documented lies by the setting vendor...and the setting vendor tells them he can't talk to them because I've taken legal action (which I have not ). After a lot of back/forth and escalations, the show vendor offers a credit for the empty setting and said they would deal with the vendor who they admitted they've had issues with. So between the credit card refund and the buyback, I was close to whole with the loss stone and setting but what my skin crawl is that the vendor is an AGTA member and still doing business at the shows.

I should post the name of the vendor to warn others but unfortunately, the guy is too scary with all his lies and I have no idea what he would do if he found I named him publicly. (The show vendor suggested I notify AGTA but I didn't for the same reason). The whole situation took almost a year of angst and stress that I don't want to relive.

A painful experience with a lot of lessons learned:
- I thought I could trust the vendor because he was recommended by someone knowledgeable who had used the vendor. But the real test of a vendor is when something goes wrong.
- Make sure your receipt has all the details. Fortunately, the vendor had written "set" on my invoice otherwise I would not have had a valid claim when he denied involvement.
- Never rush a bench or have a stone set while waiting at a gem show...the bench used is actually pretty reputable for their work (I've since learned) but it was clear he was rushed with many of us waiting for our rings at the end of the show.
- You need a knowledgeable bench to set trillions (which I personally love).
- Do NOT wait to file a credit card claim when something goes wrong..even if the vendor says they will fix it. Just put the hold on the payment until it is fixed. Once the vendor gets payment you lose recourse.

I don't want to knock gem show vendors. I have been going for over 30 years and never had an issue before. I left a stone to be set by another gem show vendor. It never arrived and we learned Fedex held the box because it had been tampered with. They immediately offered the option of me finding another stone and they would arrange payment even if it was more than what I paid for the original stone. In fact, they offered me options they found which were double the price. I decided to start again and they reimbursed me in full including the cost of the stone (which they didn't even ask for proof of). This was a vendor going above and beyond. Again, the sign of a good vendor is how they deal with things when they go wrong.

Sorry for the long read...I've always been torn between wanting to vent about this and putting it behind me..but everytime I read about a bad vendor, it all comes back...I feel better now

 

[FinleysMom]

So sad...I cannot imagine your frustration. Sometimes we have to just move on....BUT I would have taken the the stone jeweler up on his generous offer to replace the trillion...he buys wholesale..we pay retail...just a thought. And I understand where you were coming from too. It was nice offer...you will do business with him again...
FM

 

[737liz]

I'm glad and sorry I'm not the only one to have problems. I have gone into may mall stores and been blatantly lied to about everything from synthetics being real to hollow gold being more durable. A few have been very honest, like the European store orfelis, who sell clarity enhanced diamonds and are aggressively transparent about it. I walked in and asked about some studs, and the salesperson launched immediAtely into a speech about how these diamonds used to have terrible ugly inclusions, but that they laser their diamonds to be whiter, and that the average consumer wouldn't know the difference, but that a jeweler could tell immediately under a loupé, etc etc. It was refreshing to see that. They are bound by law to disclose it, which help.

Even high end stores like HW etc have had very uninformed salespeople. I try to stick to small standalone jewelers now, mainly to avoid markup and because I like being able to talk to the creators.

1) took my sapphire and mount to be set by a very experienced bench. He had his apprentice son set it, and the notches were wrong, the prongs weren't flat, and each prong was 'unique'. Asked them to rework the prongs, was told it was fine. Came back a week later and said that the prongs were catching on everything. They proceeded to scratch my sapphire while hammering at the prongs with a mallet as I watched in horror. I took the ring back and never returned. Upside is it only cost me 60$.

2) tried out a new jeweler who had lovely work in the window. Asked him if he did everything in house. He proudly said he was a one man show. Asked him if it was possible to set a garnet in a semi mount. I knew it was a tight fit as this stone was deep. He said, yes, should be fine. I specifically told him to call me if it wasn't going to fit, that I didn't want to rhodium plate it, that slightly yellow prong tips were actually what I was after. Come back and the man has put new ugly wonky melted lava prongs on, none of the prongs are actually touching the stone properly, and they are not at all equidistant from each other. He wants to charge me 3.5 times the quote. I ask him to fix at least the way the prongs are holding the garnet. He launches into how he send out all his stones to be set, and that he would have to pay the setter again, which would cost ME money, and that by his expert estimation, this ring is excellent and very pretty. I'd already learnt my lesson at the last jeweler, so, after paying way more than I wanted,took my damaged goods and left.

If a jewelry can't do it right the first time, and doesn't see how they have fallen short, I don't bother trying to get then to fix it. They'll just damage it further.

Now, I have a great jewelry who is very very expensive, but always quotes me the MAX price a project would come in at. He knows I'm never in a rush, puts my projects on the backburner for slow days, and discounts the final bill in accordance to my wait time. The in house setter is amazing. He's honest too; I wanted to set my green 3ct sapphire and he hesitated, told me my sapphire may be too perfectly saturated to be real, didn't want me spending a lot on a synthetic, had it evaluated for free, then came back and apologized for making me worry while it was being tested... because it was real! I can trust that when he says 'I get what you are after, I'll make it nice, and then we can tweak if you aren't happy', that he really will spend time on the aesthetics.

It's worth shopping around for a good independent bench. They are out there. I'm still looking for someone who can do intricate art deco style stuff, but am wary of stones being ruined. Plus, there is hardly any consumer protection where I live.

 

[arkieb1]

I have a long list but probably the worst two most recent ones was I took an antique diamond into an award winning local jewellery store to see what they could do with it (to support local Aussie business) and the sales assistant dropped the diamond, chipped the culet as the diamond went bouncing across a hard show room floor and then denied damaging it, claiming it was included and like that when I took it in there. Needless to say I did not use them to make me a ring.

Next example was a well known Aussie vendor at a large gemshow. I bought 3 rubies, one of which was several thousand dollars they swore blind they had no treatments at all I sent them to a lab in Sydney and all 3 were glass filled and worth a fraction of what I had paid. I knew where they lived and took them back and got my money back. So they are happily selling thousands of dollars worth of glass filled rubies worth $20 to $100 per stone to people who probably don't take the time to check them.