Warning - Diamond Manufacturers

RenStar

I recently lost my engagement ring and because I was under insured, got back lot less than what my ring was worth so I was looking for ways to maximise my money and get as close as possible to what I had before. I saw what seemed to be a great deal with Diamond Manufacturers thought their Amazon website for a 0.69ct G colour, Ideal cut SI1 platinum solitaire for a little under £1500 and thought I was on to a winner. They have tons of positive feedback so I went along and ordered. Their customer service was great and they phoned me through out to inform me of the progress of my order. A few days later, the ring arrived and when I opened the box, the first thing I noticed was how small it was. You see my previous ring was 0.70ct and this ring looked to be about half it's size so I knew instantly something wasn't right. I measured the diameter of the stone and compared it to a diamond carat chart size and it came in at 4.5mm which is not what diamond of that size should measure across. The next day, we want to the jewellery quarter in Birmingham where I compared the ring with other .69ct and 0.70ct stones and it was obvious the ring DM had sent me was a smaller stone. I asked three separate jewellers to give me their opinion of the ring and everyone of them said that based on the measurement and colour, it was probably a 0.44ct diamond and was definitely not a G colour as it shouldn't have that much yellow for a G colour stone. My old ring was an H colour and it was certainly a lot whiter. They all said that if it was an Ideal cut stone, it would sparkle a lot more than it did and they showed me what an 0.69ct ideal cut stone was supposed to look like and the contrast could not be more different. The price difference though was significant and they all said that had the ring been what it was supposed to be then it would have been a steal for the price.

I contacted DM and they agreed to give me a refund of the purchase price and my postage costs as it cost me a fair amount to send it back to them. I have yet to to receive a refund of my postage costs. Anyway, I wrote a review of the product on Amazon and I then received a call from one of the managers rom DM who started by saying that they had weighed the stone they sent me and it was exactly 0.69ct and that high street jewellers aren't aleays trained to be able to assess a stone corrctly. i told him that i took the stone to indpenednt jewellers not the high street and that they knew what they were talking about as they shouwed me what one was supposed to look like and i could see for myself. I also asked him why it measured 4.5mm across and he couldn't explain that. He conceded that the colour grade may have not been as described though. He then asked me if I would remove the negative review on Amazon as it was damaging for his business. Really?! I told him that I would not as nothing I had said was not the truth and believe strongly that people should have all the information necessary to make their own judgement.

I'm really cross with them as they obviously seemed to be getting away faith sending people inferior products to what they advertise. I have seen some other reviews on Amazon which suggests my experience was not an isolated case. If I hadn't known what 0.69ct was supposed to look like, I probably would never have known. They provide their own in-house certificate which frankly isn't worth the paper it is written on. I have since bought a GIA certified stone if the some spec and it did cost me a little bit more but I know I got what I paid for because it is independly certified and no one in the diamond industry will argue against a GiA grading as they are renowned for being strict. I just wanted to warn anyone considering buying from them to do make sure they get their item checked out by an independent jeweller to make sure they have actually got what they paid for.

Pollycat

Interesting post.

One thing I would say is that carat is to do with weight of the diamond, not size.

Maybe the diamond you had really did weigh .69 carat but the weight was in the part of the diamond you can't see rather than the 'table'.

No excuse for a lesser colour though.

You said 'you went along and ordered' - did you choose your actual diamond?

RenStar

Perhaps Pollycat, but it still doesn't explain why every other 0.69 or 0.70ct stone I saw and the one I eventually bought was bigger. The stone was described as Ideal cut and if it really was then you'd expect it to be cut to ideal proportions and not measure smaller according to diamond size charts. All the jewellers used a diamond gauge to measure it and it did not come even close to half carat proportions. If one jeweller had said it, i could accept the discrepancy but not three so am willing to bet if they had weighed it in front of me it would not have been 0.69ct weight.

There was no option to choose your own diamond via their Amazon store, the ring I bought was pre-mounted. I did ask before I purchased whether it was 'eye clean' being SI1 clarity and they replied along the lines of their gemmologists only selecting the finest stones etc. Looking back, it was clear they hadn't actually seen the diamond they sent me.

I would have been a lot happier if they had just admitted they made a mistake as they can happen but I don't believe for a second that the stone they sent me was what it was described.

Martintaylor

How did you get on with recieving your money back?

I am currently awaiting a refund of £4200 for an engagement ring. I will keep you posted on my progress...

somethingcorporate

They did get their money back...just not for the postage.

Docproc_2

I have just had a similar experience. Bought what i thought was areal bargain for just shy of £1600 swings as a local store had quoted £4000. Ordered the ring, selected the diamond after lots of research and chose an I colour si2 quality and ideal cut. The ring turned up and initially looked stunning. Then I noticed it. The diamond looked yellowish. From all my research and talking to gemologists you should not be able to see yellow under normal light with your bare eyes on diamonds I coloured or higher. I took it to 3 independent jewellers for valuation one had studied at the international gemmology institute in diamond grading and all of them said the diamond was of a K colour not an I as I had been sold and paid for. The jeweller who was a diamond expert also pointed out that the diamond was extremely loose in its setting and about to drop out. He also placed the ring at a value of £800-£1000. Not the £1600 I paid or even more so the £4100 vashi valued it at!!!! I'm sure there may be some deals to had but get your jewellery checked by an independent jeweller or you may not be receiving what you expected!

meer53

Is it me or am i the only one who wouldn't pay for a diamond without seeing it myself first ?

Pollycat

meer53 wrote: »

Is it me or am i the only one who wouldn't pay for a diamond without seeing it myself first ?

No, you're not the only one, meer53.

Docproc wrote: »

I have just had a similar experience. Bought what i thought was areal bargain for just shy of £1600 swings as a local store had quoted £4000. Ordered the ring, selected the diamond after lots of research and chose an I colour si2 quality and ideal cut. The ring turned up and initially looked stunning. Then I noticed it. The diamond looked yellowish. From all my research and talking to gemologists you should not be able to see yellow under normal light with your bare eyes on diamonds I coloured or higher. I took it to 3 independent jewellers for valuation one had studied at the international gemmology institute in diamond grading and all of them said the diamond was of a K colour not an I as I had been sold and paid for. The jeweller who was a diamond expert also pointed out that the diamond was extremely loose in its setting and about to drop out. He also placed the ring at a value of £800-£1000. Not the £1600 I paid or even more so the £4100 vashi valued it at!!!! I'm sure there may be some deals to had but get your jewellery checked by an independent jeweller or you may not be receiving what you expected!

If this poster took the ring to 3 independent jewellers for valuation, I'm surprised that only one pointed out the stone was 'extremely loose'.

geerex

Diamonds are a cartel and only cost so much because of the gullibility of females based on a hugely successful marketing campaign decades ago.
The fact is, their price is kept artificially high due to one company restricting supply.
Don't believe me? Locate a source of diamonds and open a mine. De Beers will pay you millions to close it down or mothball it.
Still don't believe me? Buy a diamond today for the best price you can find. Try to sell it on tomorrow without at east a 30% loss.

tl;dr : Cartel, gullibility.

PenguinJim

Exactly. For example:

RenStar wrote: »

I recently lost my engagement ring and because I was under insured, got back lot less than what my ring was worth...

What it was worth? Or how much was spent on it initially by someone with significant faith in marketing hype and willing to pay over three times what it was actually "worth"?

kaya

Worth and cost are commonly confused words, diamonds don't have any value other than the one created by marketing as any pawnbroker will tell you when you pop in to have your diamond ring granny left you valued.
There are a few different ways to manufacture diamonds and as the name of the company you chose suggests maybe they were indeed "manufactured" rather than geological(even synthetic diamonds are diamonds) ? Diamonds are measured in carats and that is a weight measurement as opposed to a physical dimension everybody thinks it is, maybe a synthetic or manufactured diamond is a little more dense in its structure ? I have brought lots of jewellery for my wife and I would be insane to think I would get anything like what I paid for it on the secondhand market but it makes her happy. Diamonds and brand new cars are two shining examples of very poor investment choices people make but I brought diamonds for my wife to make her happy which is more valuable to me than any financial losses or gains incurred, have you asked if they are geological or manufactured?