Help! Cracked/damaged sapphire

[Saphgem]

Thank you. I needed this.

Another point to add:
When I spoke to the vendor on the phone, they said it might be silk which is common among untreated stones. I've also read about it too. I have seen silk in stones while I didn't think it was silk, I couldn't be sure.

If the vendor also said to you there is a possibility of silk, he did not notice it before? He sounds uncertain about his own gem...

 

[mahaha]

He's said multiple times if he was happy with the colour he would have kept the stone so *my* post highlighting this was not the tangent. *Yours* was.

@theredspinel I just wanted to clarify that it was my initial thought. After the advice of others and thinking about it more, the crack was a secondary main issue for the return.

I appreciate the comments, but I just want everyone to be clear that: I DID NOT DROP THE GEM AND/OR the GEM JAR AT ALL.

Which brings me to my next point. Vendor basically told me that he wrapped it securely (in shop paper towel and cardboard and bubble wrap) and that it would be impossible to damage it. He said that it was because it was dropped. I assume he's implying that I dropped it.

Now that rules out silk...

I took care of this gem more careful than a baby in the less than 48 hrs I had it. It was never dropped, didn't even touch a hard surface. I dunno what to do now

 

[gingercurls]

How did you pay for the stone? Via Paypal? If so, file a claim with them. You paid for an undamaged stone and that is not what you received.

 

[Arkteia]

I see a line on your photo but I can not tell what it is. (To people who read photos of the stones well - does it really resemble a crack?). Is there any chance you could stop by any jeweler's shop and ask them to inspect the stone? Could it really be silk, not a crack? I have seen much better color at Gemfix, but it is a matter of taste, while crack is a totally different issue.

 

[mahaha]

How did you pay for the stone? Via Paypal? If so, file a claim with them. You paid for an undamaged stone and that is not what you received.

Yes, I will do this after I hear back from the John. He asked for some time to think about this so I will wait for his response. Is it likely that they have insurance? He never mentioned anything about it.

 

[gingercurls]

Other lapidaries that I have purchased from, like Jeff White and Richard Homer, have insurance policies that cover anything that might happen to a stone during shipping. John has a good mix of inventory; with some inexpensive stones and several expensive sapphires. It would have been negligent on his part to not have an insurance policy and/or not at least ship the stone with enough insurance to cover its full value.

 

[qubitasaurus]

Sorry, this sounds like a lot of stress for both you and the vendor. The vendor should have a shipping insurance policy. I am sure he is currently looking into whether this will cover the losses. It is a shame there are no photos of the packaging -- this is something I imagin the insurer would have liked. Try not to let varying opinions upset you, the only thing that matters is what you, the vendor and the insurer think.

 

[PrecisionGem]

Insurance through the Post office I think, would only cover this if it were to be lost in the mail, and even then it's a big hassle to deal with the post office.

I have a few questions: Do most of you prefer the plastic round gem jars, or the square ones it's the glass?
Or would you prefer gem papers? In the trade pretty much everything is done in gem papers, and they to me have a more professional feel.

 

[chrono]

Gene,
I very much prefer the square glass ones. The round plastics crack too easily and although the papers take up less space for storage purposes, it's not as pretty nor easy to look at the gem.

 

[mahaha]

Hi all, issue resolved. The vendor took it back at an agreed lower price, so I received a partial refund.

I'm ok with the partial refund because in the end, it's none of our faults and I don't want him to be the only one to suffer a loss. I also appreciate him taking it back.

Thanks again for your advice and opinions

 

[chrono]

Thank you for the update. I agree that that solution seems best.

 

[theredspinel]

Oh excellent! Really happy for you, good outcome.

 

[Saphgem]

Great that it's resolved! Sorry to hear that you suffered some loss still and hope Gemrite has some insurance to recover as well.

I'm sure he has learned too for next time. Mind you gingercurls also experienced damaged gems from Gemrite twice already...Otherwise your situation may happen to another customer next time. Understandably, it would be absolutely terrible if customers had to pay part of the damages each time... would've loved to hear he had refunded entirely. Glad to hear your update

 

[minousbijoux]

I'm so sorry you experienced this, mahaha. I feel as if trade members such as the vendor you purchased from have an obligation to 1) pack packages extremely well with enough padding so that if an elephant stepped on it, it would be undamaged; and 2) have insurance - or understand the risk is theirs should they decide not to cover their stones. Based on how you said it was packed, I would not be surprised if it was cracked during shipping.

Fwiw, I have "learned the hard way" a number of times regarding gem buying/collecting. Every time I have, I look at the money lost as part of my education. It sounds like you've already moved past it, but in case you're beating yourself up at all about it, I hope what I wrote helps...

 

[mahaha]

Thank you for your kind words. @Saphgem I also wish he refunded it entirely, or at least offer to take a smaller cut, but he was extremely nice and I don't want any hard feelings. But like what @minousbijoux said I do treat it like an educational experience. I also hope that others on this forum could also benefit from my experience. Thanks!

 

[minousbijoux]

Thank you for your kind words. @Saphgem I also wish he refunded it entirely, or at least offer to take a smaller cut, but he was extremely nice and I don't want any hard feelings. But like what @minousbijoux said I do treat it like an educational experience. I also hope that others on this forum could also benefit from my experience. Thanks!

Congratulations, you have passed the PS test! You are now a "seasoned" member who has a story to share with newcomers. Your advice will be so much more impactful as a result of your experience.

 

[PrecisionGem]

What always scares me are people pulling off the top of the gem jars and the stone go flying out. I had this happen one time with a jeweler. The tops are tight, and if you don't pry them off with the back of tweezers or something else, often the stone goes flying out. In this case it few out, landed on his glass counter and a large chunk chipped off. He put the stone back and the jar and said sorry.

So the same type of thing could happen with a customer, of they could drop the stone, chip it, and then call at tell you the stone is damaged, and they want to return it.

 

[theredspinel]

What always scares me are people pulling off the top of the gem jars and the stone go flying out. I had this happen one time with a jeweler. The tops are tight, and if you don't pry them off with the back of tweezers or something else, often the stone goes flying out. In this case it few out, landed on his glass counter and a large chunk chipped off. He put the stone back and the jar and said sorry.

So the same type of thing could happen with a customer, of they could drop the stone, chip it, and then call at tell you the stone is damaged, and they want to return it.

Yep. My first ever loose gem I got (in a gem jar) went flying because I had no idea I should *gently* prise the lid off...

Now I definitely know to shimmy it on all sides and ever sooo slowly prise it off..with the utmost care. But with your first - you just don't know that.

 

[Arkteia]

All is well that ends well. I wish Mahaha good luck with finding the stone of his fiancee's dream, and I wish John good luck with this unheated sapphire (that, judging from the previous thread, is pretty large). Limited as my experience with John B. was, it was always positive.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Quick note about the gem jar question: I've learned to turn the round ones upside down and slowly pull off the original bottom part. It's much easier to open that way and stuff doesn't go flying.

 

[mahaha]

Thanks, Sparklies for the tip!
Sorry to revive this thread, but here is the new post of the stone:
http://gemrite.com/home/237-blue-sapphire-483-cts.html
"This is an incredible untreated large blue sapphire. The tone is a nice medium blue and the stone's color is vibirant. Very small silt inclusions that are undetectable by the unaided eye that shows it has no signs of heat. Also there is a veil that is in the stone and very difficult to see but only when viewing from under the pavilion. The stone was re-cut to bring out the true beauty of this stone. Comes with the original certification from the lab from Sri Lanka showing no signs of heat as well as a US lab certification showing no heat."

This is the current description of the stone. Just curious if the "crack" from before is described by the veil or the "silt"? I assume he means "silk" (rutile needles)? I've searched the internet and found that

1. Veils: small bubblelike inclusions arranged in layer structures. These inclusions can be wispy, flat or curvaceous. (http://www.wikigempedia.com/gemstone-inclusions.html)

I'm guessing it's the veil? I just want to educate myself so I can make a connect between the description and what I saw with my eyes (for future buying reference).

 

[minousbijoux]

Well if there is no crack, you should get a full refund. If there is a crack, it should be fully disclosed, so I don't like this at all! I honestly don't know what he means, whether there is a crack or whether the "crack" is accounted for in his description of silk...

 

[mahaha]

I just want to know whether silk and veils are inclusions that can be caused by impact (through shipping). If silk and veils are inclusions that are natural, then I agree he should either give me a full refund or change his description.

It's also interesting that in the new pictures and videos, the inclusion cannot be seen. It just leaves me wondering...

 

[theredspinel]

Well if there is no crack, you should get a full refund. If there is a crack, it should be fully disclosed, so I don't like this at all! I honestly don't know what he means, whether there is a crack or whether the "crack" is accounted for in his description of silk...

Absolutely agree with this

 

[minousbijoux]

I just want to know whether silk and veils are inclusions that can be caused by impact (through shipping). If silk and veils are inclusions that are natural, then I agree he should either give me a full refund or change his description.

It's also interesting that in the new pictures and videos, the inclusion cannot be seen. It just leaves me wondering...

No, they are inherent to the original formation of the stone and are not the result of shipping damage.

Mahaha: please report back your results with the vendor; if Gemrite has changed their policy and now charges a restocking fee, we would all very much like to know.

 

[Saphgem]

Minousbijoux is right. This is extremely unethical of gemrite.

Were you advised of a restocking fee at the time of when you purchased? If you paid for what he told you was a "damage", but he charged it as a restocking fee, then he cheated basically and you should get a full refund.

When mahaha mentioned John had asked whether it was silk, I already thought he clearly did not know enough about the sapphire he sold to you and I doubted whether the "damage/silk" (at that time) already existed before it was even shipped as he did not know his gem well.

In addition I cant see the veil in his post so this sounds like it will be a repeat of what happened to you to the next buyer... It seems difficult to see and the camera can't pick it up? Good eye you have mahaha.

Out of curiosity can you let us know how he handles the settlement and details of what he said about the damage, so we know for ourselves?

Does anyone know whether its still disputable through PayPal as he was issued a partial refund?

 

[elle_71125]

Well if there is no crack, you should get a full refund. If there is a crack, it should be fully disclosed, so I don't like this at all! I honestly don't know what he means, whether there is a crack or whether the "crack" is accounted for in his description of silk...

Agree with this 100%
If the same stone is now back up for sale, I'm guessing there is no crack. If the OP didn't damage the stone, then he should receive a full refund.

 

[minousbijoux]

John is a standup guy, so I doubt very much that it will be necessary to know Paypal's policy, but it can't hurt to know, I suppose.

 

[digdeep]

Minous, I'm not sure my definition of a 'stand up guy' would be putting the gem back on the market without cleaning up the issue with Mahaha--with a full refund. Further, for the seller to negotiate a charge from Mahaha after receiving the stone and seeing that it was natural inclusions, not trauma externally, is not stand up behavior.... Clearly this vendor needs to make this right....... the sooner the better! Mahaha, please let us know if this vendor refunds you the amount you paid assuming it was damaged........

 

[mochiko42]

Ugh, so sorry to hear that, mahaha. I had previously looked at some gems on Gem rite's site but considering the headache you are going through, not to mention the unethical aspect of not disclosing the damage in the new listing (if the stone was indeed cracked), I don't think I personally would buy anything from them anytime soon! I hope John B follows up and provides you with fair resolution to your case.