patrick.net

This thread questions a jewelers' trustworthiness in handling your diamonds and precious gemstones.

I've heard many horror stories of customers leaving their diamond or gemstones to the jeweler either for polishing, cleaning, setting or for some repair...

Only to get back a lower quality stones that looks very close to the higher quality stone which the dishonest Jeweler pockets quietly.

I've even heard multiple accounts from many experiences that a dishonest Jeweler with a lot of practice is capable of switching out a stone in even less than a minute.

This has happened to many people in stores like Zales, Blue Nile, Kay Jewelers, Mall Jewelers and I've even heard of this happening to someone who went to a local jeweler that was considered reputable and everyone in the community even said that they could be trusted only to betray that trust by switching stones.

Many accounts are based on solid evidence and facts from independent appraisals and GIA certifications.

Although I will say that they are cases of a Jeweler being falsely accused due to...

1) Either a spouse getting a CZ but telling them it's a diamond or other valuable gemstone. This happened in one very publicized case in the Newspapers and the Jeweler had their reputation unfairly tarnished over it.

2) Druggie son, daughter or relative switching the stone. (One lady broke down crying because she suspected it was her druggie daughter.)

3) False inaccurate over-graded appraisal. Especially if the appraisal is not independent and made by someone not well-qualified to give an assessment. (One Appraiser was falsely accused of switching a diamond because the previous appraiser over-graded the stone. He lost $15,000 dollars in defense costs and for 1 year his reputation in the community was done the drain until he finally cleared his name of the misunderstanding.)

4) Sold a fake or misrepresented stone from the get-go. (This is also a very common scam.)

5) A dishonest "customer" (more like criminal) themselves making the switch. (This has happened as well sadly.)

20/20 ABC News back in the day did a experiment by hiring a gemologist. They brought 6 high-quality diamonds to 6 different jewelers for setting.

All 5 of 6 jewelers switched the stones according to a qualified independent gemologist. That's a pretty scary result to think about.

One professional reputable jeweler once told my friend to never never EVER leave your jewelry to a jeweler. Always kept it well within your site. She said stone switching is very common and freely admitted to what goes on behind back doors.

If you must leave a stone or have them take it out of sight, I've heard from many honest jewelers that you should have it appraised independently beforehand and know yourself stone very well by looking at it with a good high-powered loupe before giving it along with having a picture taken of it in magnification with the receipt describing it accurate to the T.

And than once you receive it, you should look at the stone again under a loupe before leaving the shop.

This protects both the jeweler and the customer.

It's best to watch them set the stone though and if the jeweler refuses... Run (do not walk) from the shop.

Considering shops from many big name jewelers and even so-called "reputable local jewelers" many years in business doing this with FULL DOCUMENTED evidence and proof that would hold up very well in a court of law.

It is very uncomfortable and you pretty much can't trust anybody in this business it seems.

One jeweler commented that a young lady was reluctant to give her diamond for cleaning it where should couldn't watch the jeweler. Her mother told her it's okay. She gave the diamond. The jeweler while in the back with the diamond with a co-worker looked at the diamond under a loupe and said "Jeez, I don't what she was worried about, the stone is a flawed piece of ****."

And this jeweler accidently said this within ear shot as the lady was behind them watching unknown to them and heard every word... She yelled back "Just give me my stone!"... And rightfully so I'll say!

I think this incident also highlights how the majority of jewelers have a complete utter disregard for customers' property. So the stone is not as expensive or top-quality in general for a pretentious snob. But so what? What if that stone is the most expensive gem in their life for that individual in particular?

Many wealthy clients still wear the same cheap diamond for their wedding that they could afford at the time even though they could upgrade no problem but they don't because sentimental value is not replaceable.

A job of a jeweler is not to find a stone unattainable to a customer due to unaffordability according to their wallet. That doesn't do the customer any good and it sure as hell doesn't do the jeweler any good since they will not make a sale. (You can't get blood from a stone. Pun intended.)

I found it shameless and classless that a jeweler would freely tell that incident about themselves and have no apology for it at least if they wanted to relate it.

The jeweler also by his statement implied that if it was not a "piece of ****" she had something to worry about.

Such attitude of this jeweler raises quite an eyebrow at the industry as a whole with the majority of bad apples ruining it for the few good apples.

I know they are very honest people in every field and very dishonest people in every people.

But such horror stories honestly puts me very off and makes me very weary.

I suspect the majority of jewelers switch stones worth switching and get away with it because most people are very misinformed with diamonds, gemstones and jewelry. They can easily be fooled by a lower-quality stones swapped in and even by CZ's sadly.

Worse is this scam: The Jeweler sells a completely real diamond or other gemstones... But when they customer comes back for cleaning, polishing, repair or re-sizing... The cleverly and disgustingly with no shame for ethics swap the stone. No class or dignity with how low they will stoop.

But I know in this world of dishonesty and greed... They are still a few honest people out there because there is a demand for it in business and there always will be. But dishonestly and greed has no demand and never has ever had any demand. Demand is the very foundation of a business.

The dishonest employees at the Jeweler is also a factor. Some shops are very reputable and the owner would never even think to swap a stone but that doesn't mean their employees wouldn't hold the same standard.

They other risk factor is the shop you go to. I've heard an account that they high-end premium stores for example Tiffanys (They are more high-end shops) would never ever swap a stone in most likelihood.

But the mall jewelers, chain retailers and other shady establishments would not hesitate to swap a stone. It's in fact a industry practice. Illegal and criminal but highly profitable and low risk considering most customers are not gemologists or savvy in diamonds or whatever other gemstones.

One account I heard related that if the jeweler is honest and has nothing to hide... They will not mind at all if you request for the stone to be in your view at all times. If they huff and puff, that is a huge red flag and you should run out of the shop not walk out.

It also depends on how stupid you seem to a dishonest jeweler. If you seem uninformed and like a potential sucker, they will not hesitate to pull a fast one on you. But if they see you know your stuff, they will think twice and not do it. So some jewelers are basically half honest and half dishonest if you want to call it that. Also depending on the value of the stone or jewelry. If it is very expensive and rare of a diamond, they will help themselves. If it's just mid-level and below they won't bother.

Stone swapping isn't they only problem. Internet buying is too.

Clever dealers put out the charade that they offer wholesale prices when in actuality they aren't for the quality of the stone.

Simple specifications don't always give the full story sadly. It sounds illogical but it isn't.

Buying wholesale you CAN get much cheaper prices but you need to be a expert, well-informed and really know what you are doing.

30 minutes of google education will not cut it.

They are actually gimmick wholesalers out there and even the legit wholesalers can give you a bad deal if you don't know your stuff.

Wholesale buying should only be reserved for people who really understand diamonds or other stones they are interested in, are experienced in the jewelry business, gemologists, educated appraisers or well-informed investors who know and understand the entire business along with diamonds and gems.

The pictures are usually very deceptive even among the best of wholesale dealers online.

Basically, not for the faint of heart.

I believe retail is best for most people due to these reasons but even retail has a big caveat according to everything I see...

The majority of retailers are also to put it bluntly a bunch of scumbags, criminals and crooks.

But if you find 1 out of 1,000 thousand jewelers who is honest (Yes, I believe the situation of dishonesty is that bad.) they can help you buy a stone of good quality without dangerous inclusions comprising durability or other major defects in grading making it ideal....

There will be a mark-up though even if you haggle the price. But the peace of mind is worth it.

Wholesalers can sell you a stone with improper grading or not accurate in appraisal. You need to be well-educated to avoid this type of disaster and it can take even a whole decade to be well-informed on what to look for.

I feel the wholesale market place is rigged against you without a serious amount of gemstone IQ and even luck because I am noticing that as internet buying gets more popular the so-called wholesale price of today was yesterdays retail price with the stone not ideal in the 4Cs and not even set in jewelry. In these cases, you should have gone retail to begin with.

But there's a problem in the retail place too...

I feel the retail place is filled with sharks, crooks, criminals, shady individuals and disgusting dishonestly with such devious lows that even Hitler himself would shake his head at.

Some of the ways they try to scam you stone switching is so pathetic and shameless.

What makes it worse is when fraudulent "consumers" also attempt to pull a fast one. That just makes an already bad situation worse in the end.

I do not trust Kay Jewelers, Zales, Blue Nile or other mall outlets nor many other jewelers either. An old lady had once caught a small jeweler shop at the mall switch her stone by looking under the loupe. The priceless look of all the employees showed them to be shocked. They did of course say it was accidental to save face. They thought they were clever and the old lady would have been none the wiser.

Tiffanys seems very trustworthy but I believe they have too much a markup. Like excessive just because of the brand. The positive is that if you buy a 10-carat diamond and take it in for servicing... It is very unlikely they will switch it because they are almost a bit of an authority in providing retail service for the most rarest of diamonds and stones worth millions. Their reputation and endless client list from J.P. Morgan to the Top A-List Celebrities makes it not worth their time or inclination to do such a low-class unprofessional practice of stone switching.

But again the mark-up is too high. Great jewelry at Tiffanys and you can be assured they will not switch your stones like street criminals.

The jeweler industry really needs to be regulated by law more to address these concerns and prevent consumers from being taken advantage of.

It's like stone switching has become a very profitable low-risk way of money-changing.

But even in the high-end market one Jeweler was caught stone switching for very wealthy clients and even the famous golfers Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman were sold worthless jewelry.

Jack Hasson is the name of the jeweler guilty of this.

You can google "jeweler switch diamond"

Try it.

Google will assist in it search and give other similar suggestions on searching. That means it's a common search inquiry and therefore a common concern of customers in the back of their minds.

What do you guys think? Am I right?

I basically hit the nail on the wall?

Jewelers are almost like REALTORs...

I once said on this forum that jewelry is not selling because American men are slowly figuring out that most American woman are unfaithful cheating gold digging whores.

But I think it's also not selling because consumers no longer trust jewelers anymore at all and their scams are beginning to fail. They are running out of tricks.

Feel free to post your horror stories as well related in the jewelry business.

#housing