My engagement ring - we've been conned

Charliezoo

Just got some bad news, my engagement ring isn't what I thought it was. We bought it from a large posh jewellery shop in San Francisco (a chain of 3 shops with a seemingly good reputation over there) almost exactly a year ago. I chose the platinum ring setting and diamond and they set it overnight. Like most jewellery in the US it wasn't hallmarked which is totally normal. We were supposed to receive the insurance paperwork through the post but never did. We phoned a few times and they always said it would be re-sent but we still never got it.

Today we went looking for our wedding rings. I mentioned that I'd like my ring hallmarked and the local jewellers where we were looking said they'd be happy to send mine off. He had a quick look at my ring and I saw his face change - it turns out my ring is not entirely platinum and would not even pass hallmarking tests. They have used some other metal to solder the claws to the band. It means we were mis sold the ring. If I had chosen platinum for allergy reasons I would probably have a reaction to it.

I'm deeply upset and my partner is livid. I'm tempted to phone them up but what do I say, where on earth do I stand? I happen to have a job which means I could go out to San Fran relatively easily if they promise to replace the setting.

My head's all over the place, can anyone give me any advice?

whitewing

A vaguely similar thread in another forum (but not to do with USA) said to try The Chamber Of Commerce. Don't know who but you won't lose anything by trying.

There's one in San Fran :

http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/zones/export/international-chambers_1/usa.html

How did you pay? If by Visa card, you could speak to Visa about the possibility of doing a chargeback but you are outside the 180 day limit. (Don't know if you could argue that it has only just been brought to your attention). May be worth getting the facts on this so that if it is a possibility it may help to negotiate with the shop.

Can't think of anything else.

Charliezoo

It was visa debit as far as I remember. I just wish it hadn't been so damn expensive, we paid a fair price if it was what it was supposed to be but way over the odds for what we got.

I'll look into the info you've given me, thank you.

whitewing

Visa debit is still covered by Visa chargeback scheme. Some preliminary info by which? magazine: http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/sale-of-goods/your-rights-when-paying-by-credit-card/chargeback-on-credit-and-debit-cards/

Afitos

I know this will sound a bit silly but are the jewellers good ? I ask this because I sold alot of my oldgold recently and the first shop I went in to which is a big chain didn't know what they were looking at. I had a gold ring from america which was 14k along with lots of earings that weren't hallmarked. When I went into an independant jeweller he could tell that it was all 'real' straight the way. Might it be worth getting someone else to check it for you ?

Good Luck

london00

Sorry to hear that.

Is the diamond the same on you were told you were sold? Might be worth having that appraised too, especially if they fitted it into the mount out of sight, like it sounds they did.

Good luck.

LEJC

If you purchased the ring in the US then as you rightly say there is no compulsory need for the ring to be hallmarked. The UK is one of only a few countries how has guidelines to hallmarks and as such you cannot make your ring fit the UK standard as it was not made here.

The US as Afitos pointed out do have different gradings on metals and you are unlikely to be able to buy 9 or 18 carat gold the Americans tend to use 14k...I have never purchased platinum from the US but have several 14k pieces...none of which are hallmarked ...each of them are gold and whilst not hallmarked to British standards were sold and bought legally IN the US....

I am extremely surprised that the jeweller you took your ring to was able to tell you what composition your ring is...without testing it..he would not have been in a position to give you any information on its composition...even the most trained jeweller would not be able to tell you that by just looking at the ring during your visit to his shop!!

I do not really understand why you were not given paperwork for your ring at the time of purchase .....do you have a receipt with details of the transaction on?

I am possibly going to be quite contoversial in what I say but in honesty I dont believe you have been "conned"...more that you have purchased a ring that conforms to US standards rather than British...The jeweller who told you that it was not made of platinum has perhaps jumped the gun on making that remark....what he should have said is that the ring because of its origin would not be able to obtain a UK hallmark...It possibly has been made from a "different platinum mix " and therefore could not warrant a UK hallmark....not because it is of a substandard quality ... more of a different quality.


If in the future you wish to sell your ring then you MAY find that its value is a little less than the equivilent UK ring but again its my guess that one of the reasons you purchased abroad was that it was an attractive price and cheaper than UK equivilent rings?

Were you given details of the diamond?...Diamonds are graded by the GIA to a set standard...if your diamond was graded this way thenyou know that that element of your ring is sound...however some companies do their own grading which is not recognised by the GIA and as such sometimes cheaper diamonds are used...
This doesn't mean again that you have been "conned" by not having a recognised certification..it just means your diamomd has been graded by the company who sold it to you rather than the regulatory body..

Lots of people buy diamonds and rings that are ungarded or not hallmarked....it doesn't mean youve bought a "dud" I can understand that you are unhappy ... but I guess your ring still sparkles and just because it doesn't have a certificate isn't a reason for you to not like it...

If your receipt does'nt show details of the ring then I would be tempted to write to the US jeweller who sold you the ring to request the details again so that you do have documented paperwork should you ever need to make a claim on your insurance especially if your ring is worth more than £1500 which will possibly be the highest single article limit on your household insurance.

Have a read through this from the birmingham assay office re platinum hallmarking its a very informative site and should be able to explain why buying your ring in the US doesn't mean it can be hallmarked in the UK on your return

http://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/phe.html

Charliezoo

Thank you for the all the help and useful information. The jeweller who looked at my ring said that he could see yellow metal near the claws which suggests it was soldered using gold rather than platinum, apparently this means its unlikely to be unlikely to pass hallmarking standards. I wish I'd never let him look at it now, we were shopping for our wedding rings and it turned into a bit of an upsetting day as we were convinced we'd been sold a dud.

We have a receipt with details but they said they would send us the certification paperwork in the post which we haven't received - I will phone them tonight to chase this up as its obviously important. The diamond is a D colour, SI-1. Is this the same GIA grading in the UK?

I still love the ring, it was just upsetting to have a jeweller say it wasn't up to UK standards

LEJC

You will need to check the diamond certificate to see who it is issued by...most companies follow the similar structure of colour and clarity etc but to keep costs down they produce their own certificates...which whilst grade the diamonds they have not been inspected by the GIA.

Could it be that the ring you purchased was a plantinum band and a different mount or setting...hence the appearance of a different colour metal on the joints...again this isn't uncommon?

You have 2 choices really...
pay and get the ring independantly appraised and valued...this will have to be at your cost but it will put your mind at ease as to what you have purchased....prices..you could be looking at a one off payment of £45+ depending on who values it and/or a percentage of the value of the ring.This process could value the ring at more than you paid...what you paid or less than you paid...but bear in mind if its valued less...because of the exchange rate or economic situations you probably wouldn't have much to go back to the jewellers that you bought it from with...also you need to take into account that you are returning the ring many months after purchase

or

you can just enjoy the ring you have bought and not worry about the comments made to you about the ring.

ellay864

I know it must be realy annoying but you've had and loved the ring all this time....the ring hasn't changed, it presumably still looks exactly the same to you, and all the memories associated with the proposal, the trip to the US will still be the same, so really there's no reason you should love it less. Deep down you wouldnt say you really loved it because it was worth X amount of money and now it's not the same? My ring is quite a cheap dress ring really but I couldn't swap it because of what it means. Just remember what went behind the ring and what it means to you, not any arbitrary values assigned to it by 'experts'...and remember nobody will be any the wiser if you don't tell them

jackieglasgow

You should really have the ring properly appraised anyway for insurance purposes.