I am once again outraged and my heart broken by the jewelry industry. Today another couple came in who had been hoodwinked, cheated, misled, lied to and taken advantage of.
This couple purchased their engagement ring with innocence and trust in their local independent jeweler. They were told the diamond they were purchasing was certified, of good quality and great value. When they picked up the ring, there was no certification. They didn't feel comfortable and asked for the diamond certificate. He said the diamond didn't have one, and the receipt was just as good. They didn't feel comfortable and demanded a certificate. Their jeweler sent the ring in for 'certification' and they got a 'certificate' back stating the value of their diamond. However, they didn't notice their 'certificate' was different from their receipt and appraisal. They took the jewelers word as they now had what they thought was independent verification.
They brought their ring in to me to have sized as they didn't feel comfortable going back to their original jeweler. We noticed their was a heavy concentration of inclusions that reached the surface and wanted to make them aware that they should be careful with the diamond as inclusions that reach the surface, especially on the table (the top flat part) and the girdle (the rim that goes all the way around the diamond), make the diamond susceptible to fracturing with even a slight impact.
They were alarmed as they thought they had a good quality stone. When I asked them what they were told the quality of the stone was I was shocked, as it didn't come close to the quality of what I had inspected and was still holding in my hands. I showed them the diamond under a microscope and they too were alarmed. I asked them to bring me the certification they had received so I could see why there was a discrepancy.
When they showed me their receipt, appraisal and certification red flags went up immediately as there was no correlation between them. The appraisal, written and signed by them, stated the center diamond was an H color SI-2. The 'certification' from a well known diamond grading house stated the diamond was a G color I-1. The value difference between the quality of what they were told and sold and the 'certified' quality of the diamond was over 40%!!!
That wasn't the worst of it, their 'certificate' was really just an id card of the ring that had been graded with the diamonds already in the ring and not an actual diamond certificate, in fact I have never seen a 'certificate' like it and doubt its legitimacy.
They are going to go back to the jeweler and see what he can do to rectify the situation, however they have lost all faith in him and are even unsure of how he can rectify the situation as they were misled when last they tried with him.
This event has strengthened my resolve to grow a studio whose every building block if founded in Integrity and Openness.
With Everything,
Justinder
