New engagement ring suddenly has a large crevice on the face... Replacement?

[Slackeyed]

I bought it in August, and it was beautiful.

Now, we just noticed that on the very top on the flat face, there is a crevice. A huge crevice that looks like a scratch. It has to be a new scratch. She's been showing it to everybody she knows, google-eyed over it since the summer and she would have obviously seen it.

Now we notice this gigantic gouge out of it so we take it back to the store because we bought the warranty.

The jewelry store's gemologist claims that it had to be there, it's not a scratch. It's physically impossible to scratch. All non-flawless diamonds have flaws, like crevices or inclusions. You can even take it to an independent gemologist and he'll tell you the same thing.

I tell him "I won't take it to another gemologist, I'll take it to small claims court and a judge will read the details of your warranty and determine that you need to replace with a diamond of equal or better value"

He changes his tune and offers for us to come into his shop where they have a microscope and we can check out a few different diamonds.


He says "We can replace this diamond that has a crevice with one that has inclusion."

How do I not get screwed? How do I know if they didn't fill the crevice with some kind of epoxy just to sell it, and now that it fell out, we're stuck?

[Lola24]

I'm confused, did you buy a certified diamond?? You should be aware of all of the flaws of it if it's certfied.....And most diamonds have inclusions, there are very few internally flawless stones. Do you have any idea what the grade is, color, cut, clarity??

[lorihmatthews]

Do not allow him to replace it with another included diamond. You should look at your paperwork and ensure that you receive another diamond that is of equal or greater value. Did you receive a certificate and appraisal with it?

Diamonds can scratch, if they come into contact with other diamonds.

[Slackeyed]

We bought the diamond from a mall jewelry store that I've purchased a few items from over the past few years.

This is an SI2 diamond, I can't remember the color cut or clarity, but I do know that this diamond did not have a visible crack in it when we bought it, and now it does.

[Slackeyed]

Originally Posted by lorihmatthews

Do not allow him to replace it with another included diamond. You should look at your paperwork and ensure that you receive another diamond that is of equal or greater value. Did you receive a certificate and appraisal with it? Diamonds can scratch, if they come into contact with other diamonds.

I'm pretty sure that the diamond had a certificate, but I didn't get a photo, and I doubt that I got an appraisal with it.

We had a house fire in December, and I'm not sure where the paperwork is. I will ask my fiancee to try to find those papers.

[Lola24]

Originally Posted by Slackeyed

We bought the diamond from a mall jewelry store that I've purchased a few items from over the past few years. This is an SI2 diamond, I can't remember the color cut or clarity, but I do know that this diamond did not have a visible crack in it when we bought it, and now it does.

well SI2 is your clarity rating which means slightly included the scale goes as follows clearest stones to visibly included (via 10X magnification to I stones which can be seen with naked eye to some extent):
-flawless F
-Internally flawless- IF
-very very slightly included VVS1-VVS2
-very slightly included VS1-VS2
-slightlly included SI1-SI2, sometimes SI3
-included I1, I2, I3

vvs1 is better then vvs2, si1 better then si2 etc., etc.,

it's hard if you don't have a certified stone, mine is certified as VVS2, there are two minor inclusions in the entire stone and they are marked out on my certification so I would know if there was something new that popped up in/on my stone......

[lorihmatthews]

Generally speaking, in the US, you will always receive some sort of certificate with any stone over 1/2 carat. Is it that size or bigger?

You may need to take it to another jeweler for a 2nd opinion.

Is it insured? If so, your insurance company would have required an appraisal, so maybe your fiancee has that paperwork somewhere.

[lorihmatthews]

Just thought of something else. Was this stone clarity enhanced? If so, this procedure can compromise the structure of the stone. That might explain the crack.

[Label Addict]

although diamonds are hard they can still be fractured if caught at the wrong angle all diamonds a "clevage" if the diamond is cut wrong or there is impact at teh clevage this could fracture the diamond this may explain the poblems but have it checked out further

[Slackeyed]

Yeah, but I know that the diamond did not have this cavity when we bought it, and the jewelry store maintains that it was there.

I do not know if it was clarity enhanced. It was never brought up, so I assume it wasn't.

The stone was over .5 carats, so I think it's certified. There are three stones, two small ones and one big one...Total carat weight is ~.75 carats.

But I bought a diamond with no cavity, and now there is one. I'm steaming mad about this deal.

[lorihmatthews]

Well, I'm not going to assume anything, but it sounds as if you could have bought some sort of inferior diamond that was compromised in some way. Just because you weren't told the diamond wasn't clarity enhanced doesn't mean that it wasn't. That could have been conveniently left out. Your best defense is to get the paperwork and also your receipt. Have another jeweler look at it (I would stay away from mall jewelers -- go to someone independent) and you may have to sue the jeweler in small claims court unless they replace it. But definitely make sure you have all your ducks in a row and all your paperwork so you can build your case.

Was this a chain store? You may also want to tell them you are going to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. You can do this online. Good luck!

[Slackeyed]

Originally Posted by lorihmatthews

Well, I'm not going to assume anything, but it sounds as if you could have bought some sort of inferior diamond that was compromised in some way. Just because you weren't told the diamond wasn't clarity enhanced doesn't mean that it wasn't. That could have been conveniently left out. Your best defense is to get the paperwork and also your receipt. Have another jeweler look at it (I would stay away from mall jewelers -- go to someone independent) and you may have to sue the jeweler in small claims court unless they replace it. But definitely make sure you have all your ducks in a row and all your paperwork so you can build your case. Was this a chain store? You may also want to tell them you are going to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. You can do this online. Good luck!

Yeah, we had a house fire in December and we're afraid the paperwork was burned. She's headed down to the store now to see if they can give her a copy of the certification papers...the receipt may be destroyed.

UPDATE

The store doesn't keep certification records? Does that sound right?

[lorihmatthews]

If the stone is marked with a serial number, you can get the certificate from the gem lab that did the certification. But ... not all stones have serial numbers marked on them. (Mine does not.)

The store probably doesn't keep records on file for all the rings it sells. That would take up a lot of storage space.

I'd suggest the following.
1. Take the ring to another jeweler (preferably not a chain) and see what their opinion is on the damage. Find a gemologist who is GIA certified to do this. Get something in writing. Ask them if this is something that could have happened after you purchased the ring.
2. Did you pay for the ring with a credit card? If so, see if you can get a copy of the receipt from them.
3. Compare the appraisal of the new gemologist with your old receipt. make sure they match. If not, go to the store and demand a new stone of equal or greater value.
4. If the store does not budge, escalate it to a district manager or higher. Tell them you were sold an inferior stone and you will contact the BBB, and maybe even suggest you will file a police report for fraud. That should get someone's attention. If you paid with a credit card, you can also open a dispute.

Please keep us posted! We are rooting for you!

[Bagluvluv]

Something like this happened to me too...

I bought a double ring that I adore....and it seemed perfectly fine..even though the color was not all that great.....

Later, when I looked closer with a magnifing Lens...it had like a very slight scratch/crack on one of the middle stone....I was sooooo mad....

The jewler explained to me that she opted to have these inclusions for the look rather than carbon spots or others that might show up and ruin the look....after I took it to several jewlers for their opinion....she gave me the option to upgrade...with her paying half and me the other....but my hubby told me to hold off and just enjoy it for the look b/c it was a bit less than .5 each.....

I do still love the look of the rings but I feel abit off about the purchase....the price was ok though...so I dont have regrets.....

[isus]

Diamonds are not "certified" ,but, rather, what diamonds have are reports. Such as a GIA report, or an AGS report....some stores even issue their own reports but they are generally not considered as accurate as the expert reports from GIA or AGS...unless they are from a large house like Tiffany.

So....I do not know what happened here....but I hope you get it worked out and I'm sorry you're going thru this....