Whitehall Jewellers

[Giriama]

Very very disappointed on their business practice.
Back in 01/07/2005, I went to the mall looking for a place to have my Graet- Great Grandma Natural pearls necklaces re strung, since I had it come apart during Christmas holidays.
I very "nice" Regional Manager Marcia, convinced me that she had the best person to do the re strung of the necklace, and I requested to have it Apprised (since the only appraisal I have is from Italy done in 1926 when it was last re strung). She told me no problem, she would have it appraised by a very good and certified gemologist. I did pay upfront and was told that would be ready to pick up on the 01/26/2005 after the appraisal was done. (Return from the jeweler that re strung the necklace was supposed to be 01/16/2005.)
I did check on the 01/16 to see if the job was done and they said that was and they had sent it to the appraiser. I came back on the 01/26 and no one could tell me if they where the necklace was or what had been done with it. From that point forward I tried to talk with them every day and no one would talk with me or return my call.
02/11/2005 I was contracted by the very "Nice Regional Manager" Marcia crying her head off, saying that the appraiser had lost the necklace and they where willing to pay me $4000 for the loss, she promptly game me the name and number for the appraiser, and disappeared from the map, would not answer her cell or reply to my messages.
I contacted the appraiser that told me that he never saw the necklace since it was such a unusual one and so old he would remember, he keeps records of every single item that he receives for appraisal and the last pearl neckals he had was several months before.

Well now almost 10 months have gone by and no word from the great Whitehall Jeweler nor even a refund of my money ever been offered by them.
Just heads up before you go and trust your heirloom''s to any Jewellers that sounds good and have a flashy store int eh malls. Find some one form the old continent that is small and get as many references before turning in the items that are so precious to you, not because of their actual cash value but the family story that comes with it.

Just my two cents on how large jeweller operate in this country

 

[pad3006]

You should contact the president of the company and inform them of what happened, and give them the name and number of the appraiser who they claimed lost the peice. If you still dont hear anything you should contact a lawyer.
Real pearls are extremely rare and you should demand your money back to replace them because that is rediculous of them to "loose" them.
Good luck

 

[AndyRosse]

I''m sorry to hear about your loss.

I wish you had had it appraised yourself before giving it to them, since then you would have an approximate dollar amount to demand from Whitehall.

 

[decodelighted]

Honestly, I would phone the police. Sounds like "nice regional manager" Marcia is a thief. I wonder how many other pieces of heirloom jewelry she pilfered before leaving that jewelry store. Report it as STOLEN, and explain everything that happened & see if the police agree with the "STOLEN" analysis. I bet they will.

 

[Blue824]

that just sounds fishy to me...how do they lose a pearl necklace? my threat is always an attorney, I''m young and no one takes me seriously half the time there''s a problem...but then, my entire family is lawyers so it costs me nothing to have them draft letters or call on my behalf...but you should get more of an answer and response. i''d also contact the BBB. contact someone above the woman you spoke with and organize your information, when things were dropped off, amounts, receipts, etc...thats really horrible and i''m sorry you''re having to go through this now

 

[mmorrison]

I think you guys are giving this person a little too much credit, considering:

*(s)he just signed up today
*first post
*makes a fuss about this 10 months after the fact?

 

[denverappraiser]

Giriama,

This is a very fishy story and I can’t help but agree with the above in suspecting that the nice manager Marcia is feeding you a line of bull.
I’ve done work for Whitehall and, at least around here, nothing leaves the store without a paper trail. Nothing. Everything gets logged out and logged back in when it returns. If they actually gave it to the appraiser, they would have that appraisers signature on a log where they accepted it and the appraiser is in a world of trouble both for losing your necklace and lying to you about it. If they didn’t give it to the appraiser in the first place, then the appraiser has nothing to do with it. There will be a similar trail associated with the stringer where they sent it out and then got it back.

I recommend the following:

1) Assemble your paperwork, especially the claim ticket, payment receipt and any other paper that the store has given you. If you’ve got pictures of the necklace, or perhaps you wearing the necklace you should add this to the packet. Include any previous appraisals that may have been done by either you or your mother. Especially important is anything that confirms either the natural origin or the age. Make some copies and never give up the originals to anybody.

2) If you’re insured, call your insurance agent and file a claim. They can supply useful pressure. If you don’t have a jewelry policy, file under your homeowners.

3) Call the manager who replaced the ‘nice’ lady and find out if they even know that there is a problem. If not, explain it to them. Be as nice as you can but be very clear. You gave them a necklace - they didn’t give it back. What do they plan to do about it? Write down the answer, the manager’s name and store number Find out who the stringer was.

4) Call the appraiser and get it in writing that they never received the necklace from Whitehalls. Most appraisers are very compulsive people who generallly keep meticulous records of what gets left with them, when they got it and when they gave it back.

5) Call the stringer and ask the same questions that you asked the appraiser. Did they receive the pearls, did they string them and when did they return them? It can probably be tracked by the number on your claim ticket and your last name. Ask if they remember anything about the pearls, like the size and count. This might be in their billing records or in their own logs.

It would be a good idea to get on this quickly. Memories fade and 10 months is a long time. Don't let it stretch even longer. Assuming that you've got a valid claim, there's a pretty good chance of you getting paid if you push on it but, unfortunately, it seems unlikely that you will ever see the necklace again.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[Giriama]

I have an Appraisal from 1926, and was not cheap

, the only problem is that is made in Lira''s, and the Lira value has changed several times in the past 80 years and is quite hard to translate it to today''s US Dollars for a normal person like me.

My point was more on getting people to know how the Whitehall jeweler dealt with this situation, yes I tried to contact the main office in Chicago and I got the run around

Was a lesson well learned and the Appraiser is the only person that has actually tried to get things shorted out, he told me that I will never be able to obtain the Natural pearls back, since they are becoming almost extinct, but he has been trying to get the same number back for me and get a similar necklace together.

 

[denverappraiser]

The most important thing on that 1926 appraisal is the description, not the price. Actually, the date is pretty important too because that predates culturing of pearls.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 9/12/2005 5:43:19 PM
Author: Giriama
... he has been trying to get the same number back for me and get a similar necklace together.

Is the appraiser selling you a replacement necklace? How does he know the size and count? Is Whitehall aware of this?

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[Giriama]

Neil thanks so very much for your advice.

Giriama,

This is a very fishy story and I can’t help but agree with the above in suspecting that the nice manager Marcia is feeding you a line of bull.

I’ve done work for Whitehall and, at least around here, nothing leaves the store without a paper trail. Nothing. Everything gets logged out and logged back in when it returns. If they actually gave it to the appraiser, they would have that appraisers signature on a log where they accepted it and the appraiser is in a world of trouble both for losing your necklace and lying to you about it. If they didn’t give it to the appraiser in the first place, then the appraiser has nothing to do with it. There will be a similar trail associated with the stringer where they sent it out and then got it back.

I recommend the following:

1) Assemble your paperwork, especially the claim ticket, payment receipt and any other paper that the store has given you. If you’ve got pictures of the necklace, or perhaps you wearing the necklace you should add this to the packet. Include any previous appraisals that may have been done by either you or your mother. Especially important is anything that confirms either the natural origin or the age. Make some copies and never give up the originals to anybody.
I have the paperwork from the store when I left the pearls, payment receipt and delivery dates. I have the Original appraisal from 1926 in Italian, and I have pictures of my grandma (In a magazine and personal ones) and Great Grandma and My Mother and Myself with it. My Mother has the letter from my Great granddad to his wife on his travels while buying the pearls to make the strand.

2) If you’re insured, call your insurance agent and file a claim. They can supply useful pressure. If you don’t have a jewelry policy, file under your homeowners.

I have insurance, but what I would love to have is the necklace back since is the family value for em more than the actual cash value.
3) Call the manager who replaced the ‘nice’ lady and find out if they even know that there is a problem. If not, explain it to them. Be as nice as you can but be very clear. You gave them a necklace - they didn’t give it back. What do they plan to do about it? Write down the answer, the manager’s name and store number Find out who the stringer was.

Done that and still no reply never managed to get anywhere have all the names and dates

4) Call the appraiser and get it in writing that they never received the necklace from Whitehalls. Most appraisers are very compulsive people who generally keep meticulous records of what gets left with them, when they got it and when they gave it back.

I have it from the appraiser in writing.
5) Call the stringer and ask the same questions that you asked the appraiser. Did they receive the pearls, did they string them and when did they return them? It can probably be tracked by the number on your claim ticket and your last name. Ask if they remember anything about the pearls, like the size and count. This might be in their billing records or in their own logs.

Whitehall never released the name of the stringer to me or to the appraiser
It would be a good idea to get on this quickly. Memories fade and 10 months is a long time. Don''t let it stretch even longer. Assuming that you''ve got a valid claim, there''s a pretty good chance of you getting paid if you push on it but, unfortunately, it seems unlikely that you will ever see the necklace again.

I believe you are right Neil and I''m very sad about that part

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver
There''s never a crowd when you go that extra mile

 

[ame]

Get thee a lawyer.

 

[Giriama]

I think you guys are giving this person a little too much credit, considering:

*(s)he just signed up today
*first post
*makes a fuss about this 10 months after the fact?

Good Point, but I just found this forum today and seems to be a good place, all the others that I have seen where more like lets sell stuff and didn''t seems to be helpful at all.

I decided to post in here because I did see that there where several people that knew more about this kind of situation and where whiling to give their opinion.

Thanks for the reply

Giriama

 

[blueroses]

Ditto what AME said. Get a lawyer. Prontissimo!

 

[Giriama]

When they did the ticket at Whitehall I was there and made sure that they counted the pearls and measured them so on the ticket states the following:

"19"cream color pearls necks lg 8mm to 5mm = 67 pearls & one 9mm cobalt grey pearl wth clasp inbuilt. Rest. Necklaces 20 inch strand restrining using old clasp"

And after I meet with the Appraiser he has been ever since trying to find the best matches to make a new strand for me, never will be the same but at least he is trying.

 

[denverappraiser]

Date: 9/12/2005 6:05:18 PM
Author: Giriama

I have insurance, but what I would love to have is the necklace back since is the family value for em more than the actual cash value.

I''ve no doubt . this is the reason you''ve been paying for the insurance. There is a side benefit that the insurance company is likely to have their lawyers go after the jeweler and they are much better at this than you would be. If they recover them, they will be happy to sell them to you in exchange for a refund of any payment they make to you. When you bound your insurance policy, how did the insurance compay value the pearls in order to set your premiums?

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Independent Appraisals in Denver

 

[Giriama]

I''m a foreign and never truly understood this lawyer thing that seems to be the norm here in the US.

A hand shake and a good word where I come from is all it takes

And I''m getting the Idea that this is not the way things are done in the US and that makes me sad.

Giriama

 

[Giriama]

They took the actual value from my grandma will and translated to US, at least is what I think they did never really asked and is together with several Items.

Example: 27 Items = total value $xxxx the only things they actually listed are the Diamonds and those they had re appraised and I have a nice appraisal form with pictures

I will call the insurance and ask, since I never did.

 

[AndyRosse]

I''m sorry, but today we live in a very litigious society in the US, and sometimes threatening a lawsuit or obtaining legal representation/advice is the only way to make performance actually happen.

 

[MissAva]

Giriama, I sincerly hope that you are able to track down the store manager... If she stole them then she will know what was done with them...ie pwn shop or other wise. First thing in the morning go to your local Kinko, Quick Copy or whatever and make 3 sets of photocopies of everything you have. Send one to your insurence agency, give one set to the police and keep the originals and an extra set for yourself. I am not sure what else you can do at this point. I am sorry.

 

[louisesam]

everyone else has given you good advice. i just want to say good luck in your search for the missing pearls. hope you iron things out soon.

 

[fire&ice]

This should be a no brainer. I don''t understand why you are getting the run around. You have the paper work stating that you dropped off the necklace? Correct? They "lost" (most likely Marcia is sporting those pearls) it. They should either replace it or pay you full value. Write them a demand note.

Unless the necklace is schedule under your homeowner''s policy, I doubt you will have coverage.

TIME is of the essence.