Hello, brand new here and desperate for advice. Long story short...
When planning to get engaged, I pushed my boyfriend to use my 'old' engagement ring diamond (I am divorced) as we are both single parents and it seemed impractical to have him spend crazy money while I already have a beautiful diamond and you can't wear 2 at once...well, I wouldn't anyway.
Since he wanted to surprise me on a cruise we went on 2 weeks ago, he took my old engagement ring in to a respected jewellry store, he had arranged this in advance, picked a setting, told them I had a 1 carat Princess cut diamond so that the setting would be made appropriate to accommodate it. When he got there they took the ring in the back and put my stone into the new setting and a CZ into my old setting and then had it sent out for an appraisal (it was gone for 3 days apparently).
Upon receiving the ring on the cruise I thought the ring was beautiful, and I was more admiring the setting which was all pave set diamonds and filigree, etc., and my previous engagement ring had been a simple classic Tiffany-style setting. However, I couldn't help thinking the diamond looked different, and I kept chalking it up to that it didn't look as white or sparkly since it was now side by side with all this 'bling', and/or that it was set so much lower, or that the prongs were maybe different somehow. I thought that the facets on the crown were more noticeable, like the table was now smaller...my diamond always seemed to have a very large table/shallow crown (I know, not ideal)... but it was beautiful.
So, although uncomfortable about it (a little), as it's not my business the cost of the setting, etc., I did ask if it had been re-appraised and could I see the appraisal...well, we got side-tracked over the holidays, but I saw the appraisal yesterday morning and just felt sick to my stomach.
My original ring was from a very reputable old jeweler in Toronto, my ex-husband worked with them tirelessly for many hours over the course of weeks to find the 'right' diamond, and being in high-end retail merchandise, he made sure he was an expert on what he was doing at the time. My diamond was 1.02 carat Princess cut... perfect square (exact length x width 5.58 x 5.5
, D colour, VVS1, good cut... and they said this was being 'cautious' as they actually didn't think it had any flaws, but that calling it internally flawless would be pricey when it came time to insure it. It was set in a Tiffany-style cathedral, ski-tip, knife edge Platinum band. He took it to a very reputable GIA gemologist/appraiser (independent -not with the jeweler or suggested by jeweler, etc), with a zillion certificates and ongoing education, 30 years in the business, etc...and his appraisal also reflected the above characteristics...gave a retail value of $15,000 and another value (replacement/appraisal value?) was below that, that listed $23,000. He did pay a little over $15,000 for the ring. This appraisal also came with the 'gemscan', fingerprint-type picture of the light refracting through the diamond, etc...
The new appraisal lists my diamond as 0.83 carat, F colour, VS1, 5.54 x 5.57mm and with the 48 claw-set VS, G diamond in the Tacori trademarked- brand- band (not copied) 18 kt white gold, it says it's an excellent cut (now), the 'total replacement value' is listed at $9100. How, can this be so different?
We immediately went to the jeweler and asked if the diamond could have mistakenly been the wrong one put in as this did not seem to be my diamond and proceeded to explain why. The jeweler said he didn't know what we were talking about, that they took the diamond from the ring they were given, did the switch and that he doesn't have loose diamonds in the store to just pick another one to put in instead, and sent it to Toronto...and that an appraiser wouldn't do such a thing either, that they just look at the rings, don't ever take them apart, etc. He then went on about how his appraiser is GIA-certified and this is their reputation we are talking about.... and I do understand the implications of what I am asking about, but how can this be? I told him I had a gemscan, etc on the 'my' diamond that I had yet to retrieve (needed to find it), and he said 'well, bring it in', and that was the end of the conversation. I did notice that the letterhead that this 'new' appraisal is on says "GEM Authority, Division of _______ Jewelers" -this same jeweler my fiancee bought the setting from...which doesn't seem exactly 'right' to me....isn't that a conflict of interest? that's his employee.... and the appraisal is so brief...only mentions 4 c's and approximate weights....how can appraisals be so different from one place to the next?
I also don't think it seems right that they would just take a ring and take it into the back without taking measurements and looking through a loupe together with my fiancee, before and after re-setting, to have safe-guarded against this... I don't know.... but the one time I had it cleaned many years ago, the jeweler and I did this.
Is it possible that 2 appraisals are so different and this is my diamond? Should I be going and getting another gemscan done to ascertain if this is my diamond prior to pursuing anything further? Is there a simpler way to tell ? ...like ANOTHER independent appraisal and hope it comes close to the original?
Please help....I am sick over this and my fiancee is too, as he feels like his lack of gemological knowledge/etiquette may have cost me my original higher quality diamond, and this has put a shadow over this happy time for us.
Thank you.
When planning to get engaged, I pushed my boyfriend to use my 'old' engagement ring diamond (I am divorced) as we are both single parents and it seemed impractical to have him spend crazy money while I already have a beautiful diamond and you can't wear 2 at once...well, I wouldn't anyway.
Since he wanted to surprise me on a cruise we went on 2 weeks ago, he took my old engagement ring in to a respected jewellry store, he had arranged this in advance, picked a setting, told them I had a 1 carat Princess cut diamond so that the setting would be made appropriate to accommodate it. When he got there they took the ring in the back and put my stone into the new setting and a CZ into my old setting and then had it sent out for an appraisal (it was gone for 3 days apparently).
Upon receiving the ring on the cruise I thought the ring was beautiful, and I was more admiring the setting which was all pave set diamonds and filigree, etc., and my previous engagement ring had been a simple classic Tiffany-style setting. However, I couldn't help thinking the diamond looked different, and I kept chalking it up to that it didn't look as white or sparkly since it was now side by side with all this 'bling', and/or that it was set so much lower, or that the prongs were maybe different somehow. I thought that the facets on the crown were more noticeable, like the table was now smaller...my diamond always seemed to have a very large table/shallow crown (I know, not ideal)... but it was beautiful.
So, although uncomfortable about it (a little), as it's not my business the cost of the setting, etc., I did ask if it had been re-appraised and could I see the appraisal...well, we got side-tracked over the holidays, but I saw the appraisal yesterday morning and just felt sick to my stomach.
My original ring was from a very reputable old jeweler in Toronto, my ex-husband worked with them tirelessly for many hours over the course of weeks to find the 'right' diamond, and being in high-end retail merchandise, he made sure he was an expert on what he was doing at the time. My diamond was 1.02 carat Princess cut... perfect square (exact length x width 5.58 x 5.5
, D colour, VVS1, good cut... and they said this was being 'cautious' as they actually didn't think it had any flaws, but that calling it internally flawless would be pricey when it came time to insure it. It was set in a Tiffany-style cathedral, ski-tip, knife edge Platinum band. He took it to a very reputable GIA gemologist/appraiser (independent -not with the jeweler or suggested by jeweler, etc), with a zillion certificates and ongoing education, 30 years in the business, etc...and his appraisal also reflected the above characteristics...gave a retail value of $15,000 and another value (replacement/appraisal value?) was below that, that listed $23,000. He did pay a little over $15,000 for the ring. This appraisal also came with the 'gemscan', fingerprint-type picture of the light refracting through the diamond, etc...The new appraisal lists my diamond as 0.83 carat, F colour, VS1, 5.54 x 5.57mm and with the 48 claw-set VS, G diamond in the Tacori trademarked- brand- band (not copied) 18 kt white gold, it says it's an excellent cut (now), the 'total replacement value' is listed at $9100. How, can this be so different?
We immediately went to the jeweler and asked if the diamond could have mistakenly been the wrong one put in as this did not seem to be my diamond and proceeded to explain why. The jeweler said he didn't know what we were talking about, that they took the diamond from the ring they were given, did the switch and that he doesn't have loose diamonds in the store to just pick another one to put in instead, and sent it to Toronto...and that an appraiser wouldn't do such a thing either, that they just look at the rings, don't ever take them apart, etc. He then went on about how his appraiser is GIA-certified and this is their reputation we are talking about.... and I do understand the implications of what I am asking about, but how can this be? I told him I had a gemscan, etc on the 'my' diamond that I had yet to retrieve (needed to find it), and he said 'well, bring it in', and that was the end of the conversation. I did notice that the letterhead that this 'new' appraisal is on says "GEM Authority, Division of _______ Jewelers" -this same jeweler my fiancee bought the setting from...which doesn't seem exactly 'right' to me....isn't that a conflict of interest? that's his employee.... and the appraisal is so brief...only mentions 4 c's and approximate weights....how can appraisals be so different from one place to the next?
I also don't think it seems right that they would just take a ring and take it into the back without taking measurements and looking through a loupe together with my fiancee, before and after re-setting, to have safe-guarded against this... I don't know.... but the one time I had it cleaned many years ago, the jeweler and I did this.
Is it possible that 2 appraisals are so different and this is my diamond? Should I be going and getting another gemscan done to ascertain if this is my diamond prior to pursuing anything further? Is there a simpler way to tell ? ...like ANOTHER independent appraisal and hope it comes close to the original?
Please help....I am sick over this and my fiancee is too, as he feels like his lack of gemological knowledge/etiquette may have cost me my original higher quality diamond, and this has put a shadow over this happy time for us.
Thank you.
Taking it back to Gemprint in Thornhill for a 2nd gemprint and appraisal and see where we go from there.
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