Tiffany experience

[Lorelei]

Wink, I wish Pricescope had a Like button! Your posts are so delightful. And thank you for the chocolate (which was in my house for all of 30 seconds)!

I have shopped at Tiffany, though never for diamonds, and have really enjoyed it.

I agree Tourmaline, Wink's posts are always so kindly and thoughtful, but I wouldn't want to make him blush....

 

[WinkHPD]

Awe, shucks...

 

[marcy]

I haven't browsed or shopped at Tiffany's often but I do like to look over their jewelry cases.

Once I started looking for a better quality wedding band I kept finding Tiffany's on the list for great looking bands. I bought an Etoile band from them in April and I absolutely love it. It is thick, smooth and very comfortable. The 2 pointers in it aren't shabby. I doubt I've ever decided to buy something that expensive that fast. I said "sold" the minute I slid it on my finger and looked at it on my hand. I usually debate it with myself, seek an opinion from my husband then debate some more. Not that time.

Coincidently I took my band in this weekend to have it cleaned and polished. They send you to customer service, you set down at a private desk, you ring a bell and someone appears to help you. I had my ring buffed and cleaned in about 5 minutes.

Overall I've had a good experience with Tiffany.

 

[Lorelei]

I haven't browsed or shopped at Tiffany's often but I do like to look over their jewelry cases.

Once I started looking for a better quality wedding band I kept finding Tiffany's on the list for great looking bands. I bought an Etoile band from them in April and I absolutely love it. It is thick, smooth and very comfortable. The 2 pointers in it aren't shabby. I doubt I've ever decided to buy something that expensive that fast. I said "sold" the minute I slid it on my finger and looked at it on my hand. I usually debate it with myself, seek an opinion from my husband then debate some more. Not that time.

Coincidently I took my band in this weekend to have it cleaned and polished. They send you to customer service, you set down at a private desk, you ring a bell and someone appears to help you. I had my ring buffed and cleaned in about 5 minutes.

Overall I've had a good experience with Tiffany.

Lovely choice Marcy, I love that band and that's very cool you made your mind up so quickly!

 

[Lorelei]

Awe, shucks...

 

[msop04]

I haven't browsed or shopped at Tiffany's often but I do like to look over their jewelry cases.

Once I started looking for a better quality wedding band I kept finding Tiffany's on the list for great looking bands. I bought an Etoile band from them in April and I absolutely love it. It is thick, smooth and very comfortable. The 2 pointers in it aren't shabby. I doubt I've ever decided to buy something that expensive that fast. I said "sold" the minute I slid it on my finger and looked at it on my hand. I usually debate it with myself, seek an opinion from my husband then debate some more. Not that time.

Coincidently I took my band in this weekend to have it cleaned and polished. They send you to customer service, you set down at a private desk, you ring a bell and someone appears to help you. I had my ring buffed and cleaned in about 5 minutes.

Overall I've had a good experience with Tiffany.

Oh yeah!! Tiffany's bands are

 

[marcy]

Thanks Lorelei and MSOP04. It is my favorite ring.

 

[proto]

yes we know gia only grades loose stones.

didnt know it was limited to rb within that size range though.

they cant rely in egl israel to support their grade. they cannot deny gia as an independent lab.

that provision is to protect them from spurious claims of D flawless grade from dans diamond shack grading facility.

(quote above should have said J colour, I2 clarity)

In the "Tiffany Guarantee", it didn't say which party was to choose the independent lab... it would seem that it would almost have to be GIA/AGS/HRD to apply. Do you have any info or a link with further explanation of this, proto??

Theres only one sensible way to read their provision and there is no way that Tiffanys is going to hide behind crap diamond lab report if you make a claim with a GIA/AGS grading report stating that their Tiffany's certificate gave the diamond a higher grade than it deserved. It is to stop you making a claim through random grading report that the tiffanys certificate inflated the rating of the diamond.

I dont really know how else to explain it.

The reason people can buy with confidence and trust the tiffanys certificate over the other in-house grading guides is that unlike other places with in-house grading, tiffanys provides a lifetime warranty on their grade. On top of that a warranty from tiffanys is worth a lot more than a warranty for a local jewellers which may not be there in 5 years time. It allows peace of mind shopping, (although you wont get superideal cuts and its murderously expensive).

As for unsetting, if you got it independently graded, the stone has already been removed from the setting, so what is the problem?

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

yes we know gia only grades loose stones.

didnt know it was limited to rb within that size range though.

they cant rely in egl israel to support their grade. they cannot deny gia as an independent lab.

that provision is to protect them from spurious claims of D flawless grade from dans diamond shack grading facility.

(quote above should have said J colour, I2 clarity)

In the "Tiffany Guarantee", it didn't say which party was to choose the independent lab... it would seem that it would almost have to be GIA/AGS/HRD to apply. Do you have any info or a link with further explanation of this, proto??

Theres only one sensible way to read their provision and there is no way that Tiffanys is going to hide behind crap diamond lab report if you make a claim with a GIA/AGS grading report stating that their Tiffany's certificate gave the diamond a higher grade than it deserved. It is to stop you making a claim through random grading report that the tiffanys certificate inflated the rating of the diamond.

I dont really know how else to explain it.

The reason people can buy with confidence and trust the tiffanys certificate over the other in-house grading guides is that unlike other places with in-house grading, tiffanys provides a lifetime warranty on their grade. On top of that a warranty from tiffanys is worth a lot more than a warranty for a local jewellers which may not be there in 5 years time. It allows peace of mind shopping, (although you wont get superideal cuts and its murderously expensive).

As for unsetting, if you got it independently graded, the stone has already been removed from the setting, so what is the problem?

As I recollect Tiffany began issuing their own certs after the GIA CertifiGate affairs about 10 years ago. Some GIA graders were taking kickbacks for giving better grades.

 

[Sunstorm]

Now we have said many pros and cons, thank you Wink for chiming in. I too love looking at jewelry stores when I go on trips or go anywhere, I especially love auctions, antique jewelry stores, oh yeah and visited the Faberge exposition in Vienna several times, that was great inspiration, well, why not, after all this is my passion. Sometimes I am a bit sad that I am not "only" a consumer anymore (although I am too and I love wearing jewelry), if I was maybe I would even buy a Tiffany key or that Cartier Panthere.) I have a thing for Cartier and when I bought my Art Deco diamond watch at auction I tried on several Cartier watches, I really loved them, especially one particular style but sadly it did not look good on me. Oh and when I find some beautiful designer pieces at shows, well, I can certainly appreciate the beauty others create and yes especially when it is unexpected. I do own a Wempe bracelet but it was preloved, so in all fairness I cannot say I am against brands.

 

[Sunstorm]

Garry that would make sense if it was when it happened. We know the issues with certificates even from GIA, sometimes they say if you submit the same stone on two different days then you may get a different grading. I really believe that could be the case; I have stones in particular one in which case I truly believe that the GIA certificate is completely off. I have even considered resubmitting. I hear this a lot from wholesalers but of course they still do and I do too prefer a GIA cert in most cases because it is independent and is highly respected in general (in fancy colors it is the first to send stones to). I know that particular case you are talking about was totally different. I have also been told by people in the trade that most labs have at one point or another had scandals, apparently I was told that IGI never has. That said after visiting both IGI and HRD, IGI was like a kindergarden and HRD like visiting the FBI. I never intended to visit EGL, it started with them stating a clarity grade of WSI on their brochures, everyone laughed for days but this is a different story at a different time. I also know that after meeting wholesalers that certify their stones by GIA mostly and those that tell you if you like you can have an EGL cert (and after having seen their stones), I would never want an EGL certed stone or buy from a person who seriously wants to send their stones there to be certified. Argh, I am being bad again, doing threadjacking, sorry guys. Very tiring day and now enjoying reading PS.

 

[MollyMalone]

As I recollect Tiffany began issuing their own certs after the GIA CertifiGate affairs about 10 years ago. Some GIA graders were taking kickbacks for giving better grades.

Tiffany & Co.'s issuance of their own certificates actually predates the 2005 GIA scandal by a couple of years. That every Tiffany engagement ring was receiving a Diamond Certificate, reflecting the evaluation conducted by its corporate laboratory, is something Tiffany & Co, touted in their 2003 Annual Report & Tiffany told the Wall Street Journal reporter who contacted them in the wake of the GIA scandal that "it grades all of its diamonds through its own laboratory and doesn't rely on the GIA... although it occasionally uses GIA certificates."
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB113513196439928122

 

[proto]

just to clarify, GIA doesnt certificate diamonds, only grading reports. this is why they say the same stone sent in on different days may not get the same grade.

tiffanys provides a certificate which does guarantee the qualities of the diamond. this is linked to their (paraphrasing) "where on the border of two grades, tiffanys will always choose the lower grade for the certificate"

 

[Sunstorm]

Thank you Molly, I did not actually know when they started issuing their own certificates.

Proto, thanks for the correction, I just used the wrong term since most people refer to GIA reports as certificates, technically that would be incorrect. Graders are humans too and consistency is not always possible and perhaps I was referring to a special case. I am not bashing GIA at all since I think they offer very valuable services, there are specs I would not have the equipment to verify. I am very thankful that reputable labs do exist, it is just that perhaps reports are not the only things we should rely on.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Thank you Molly, I did not actually know when they started issuing their own certificates.

Proto, thanks for the correction, I just used the wrong term since most people refer to GIA reports as certificates, technically that would be incorrect. Graders are humans too and consistency is not always possible and perhaps I was referring to a special case. I am not bashing GIA at all since I think they offer very valuable services, there are specs I would not have the equipment to verify. I am very thankful that reputable labs do exist, it is just that perhaps reports are not the only things we should rely on.

We sent 16 stones sent to three labs and none got the same color and clarity grades from all 3 labs!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

just to clarify, GIA doesnt certificate diamonds, only grading reports. this is why they say the same stone sent in on different days may not get the same grade.

tiffanys provides a certificate which does guarantee the qualities of the diamond. this is linked to their (paraphrasing) "where on the border of two grades, tiffanys will always choose the lower grade for the certificate"

I do not doubt their color and clarity grading. They have their head in the sand with cut grading. Maybe their head is in the 1970's?

 

[Lorelei]

just to clarify, GIA doesnt certificate diamonds, only grading reports. this is why they say the same stone sent in on different days may not get the same grade.

tiffanys provides a certificate which does guarantee the qualities of the diamond. this is linked to their (paraphrasing) "where on the border of two grades, tiffanys will always choose the lower grade for the certificate"

I do not doubt their color and clarity grading. They have their head in the sand with cut grading. Maybe their head is in the 1970's?[/quote]

 

[proto]

I kind of like those watches...

clearly born in the wrong decade

 

[Lorelei]

I kind of like those watches...

clearly born in the wrong decade

Ahem....I remember wearing one as a schoolgirl Proto back in the day, it certainly wasn't from Tiffany but I remember it well. It was similar to the white metal one on the left, big and chunky, you had to hit a button to display the time, very now and wow back then.