I love your outlook on this! While being a victim of theft is definitely not a fun experience, you are turning into something positive! In a way, it's kind of a weirdly freeing experience to be rid of things you no longer love or wear and have the chance to start fresh and really make thoughtful purchases. I'm excited for you and and can't wait to see what you get!
Mourning the loss of my stolen jewelry, but...starting over!
- Thread starter morepennies
- Start date
I just went back to that board after a VERY long hiatus. In part due to the WF drama. I know both WF and BGD get TONS of recommendations on there, but I had much better experience with GOG than anyone else. BRIAN GAVIN is the one who designed the ACA and obvoiusly the BGD stones, HE is the cutter and HE knows diamonds. But for DIAMONDS you can't do worse than either company.
I don't EVER recommend WF for anything more than diamonds. BGD has produced much better work than WF. If it's something you can return if you're not happy with when you get it, go for it. Just make sure it's returnable for your payment (not exchange) in the event you're displeased. You might have an amazing experience with them.
Personally, I am mixed on BGD, and a lot of that is bad blood. I don't personally care for the owners, as I dealt with them at WF, and a few friends of mine have bought from him since and have been kind of irritated but got refunds because they immediately spoke up. But all of them said there were a TON of issues with communication and timeliness after the money was sent. Two of them also had history with them from WF.
That said, a few others have been quite pleased and speak very highly of them with at least two having bought from both WF and BGD. I would say that having seen their diamonds side by side in person, BGD blows the pants off the ACA. It was edge to edge nicer than the ACA. Workmanship wise, BGD was significantly better workmanship than WF. Esp prongwork. I mean, no comparison at all. And I had a lot of issues with the WF prongwork when I dealt with them.
If BGD made an item I couldn't get elsewhere with that quality of diamond, I would possibly reconsider my embargo. But there's SO much bad blood between myself and the owners that I don't expect that to change. Not that I am in the market.
It was bec I just had a butter pecan cone at the casino LOL!That is crazy! So glad you quit that gym.
LOL @ your husband...I wonder if the same Universe told me to buy that butter pecan ice cream when I was in the store about a half hour ago.
OP, I'm sorry for your loss and glad you will be rebuilding your collection.
I know what you mean about wanting only pieces that will get a lot of wear. I am one of those weird people who can't keep things I'm not using, no matter how little space they take up, so I'm constantly purging my collection.
I take tons of photos and I even have molds of a couple of my favorite pieces so they can be remade if lost or stolen. I also keep some pieces in safe deposit at all times, and some are at the BF's place so I never have my whole collection in one place at the same time.
I've been told that a lot of thieves are sending jewelry to the "Cash for used gold" places. Pawning it, keeping it, and selling it on the street are too risky, and the mail-in meltdown places don't ask any questions.
My SIL's place was broken into and the cops even know who did it, but they took so long to interview the guy (a neighbor) that he'd already disposed of everything. He'd thrown away some personal papers in a trash can on his property, and the cops said, "Well we can't prove it was him who put those paper there." So he was never arrested. SIL lost all of her mother's jewelry, except for three pieces she'd given to me. Her generosity toward me really worked out.
I know what you mean about wanting only pieces that will get a lot of wear. I am one of those weird people who can't keep things I'm not using, no matter how little space they take up, so I'm constantly purging my collection.
I take tons of photos and I even have molds of a couple of my favorite pieces so they can be remade if lost or stolen. I also keep some pieces in safe deposit at all times, and some are at the BF's place so I never have my whole collection in one place at the same time.
I've been told that a lot of thieves are sending jewelry to the "Cash for used gold" places. Pawning it, keeping it, and selling it on the street are too risky, and the mail-in meltdown places don't ask any questions.
My SIL's place was broken into and the cops even know who did it, but they took so long to interview the guy (a neighbor) that he'd already disposed of everything. He'd thrown away some personal papers in a trash can on his property, and the cops said, "Well we can't prove it was him who put those paper there." So he was never arrested. SIL lost all of her mother's jewelry, except for three pieces she'd given to me. Her generosity toward me really worked out.
ame,
doreenjoy, I definitely plan to take plenty of pictures of any new pieces. And I love your idea of having molds made of favorites pieces...never thought about that!
That's terrible about the police knowing who did it, but taking so long to interview the thief. You are so smart to have things in different places. I plan to be much smarter about my jewelry in the future.
doreenjoy, I definitely plan to take plenty of pictures of any new pieces. And I love your idea of having molds made of favorites pieces...never thought about that!
That's terrible about the police knowing who did it, but taking so long to interview the thief. You are so smart to have things in different places. I plan to be much smarter about my jewelry in the future.
I would be devastated...I don't think I have anything overly expensive in my collection. I think my pandora bracelet is the most expensive piece I own and I wear that daily, but I have a lot of costume jewellery from my grandmother that I would never want gone. That's the main reason I am leaving the majority of my jewellery at my parents house when I move in with my roommate this weekend. I feel safer leaving it here than taking it to a new place with a roommate I barely know and a landlord I don't know at all. I was told if I wanted everything insured I would have to have it appraised if I didn't have receipts, and I'm not sure if places would even bother appraising costume jewellery? I have a few finer pieces too that I am leaving home but they are fairly new and I purchased them myself, so while I would be p!ssed and sad if someone stole them because they weren't that cheap and I wouldn't be able to replace them for a few years. At least I know I would be able to replace them easily since they are newer styles and widely available at jewellery stores.
Sounds like you have a really cool collection; you're really smart to leave it in a safe place. Every day, I remember something that I will never see again. The pearl drop earrings that I wore on my wedding day, the bracelet I wore...I had planned to pass them on to my daughter. It's really hard because I was looking forward to that. The thieves have no idea that they stole more than my jewelry...they stole an experience that I was looking forward to in the future. But then, this is all just a reminder that I have much more important things to pass on to my daughter than jewelry.
I do have some cool pieces from my grandma and most of them are sort of fancy so I rarely if ever wear them anyway. I probably won't miss them if I leave them here since they aren't every day pieces. My grandma is the type of person that always likes buying new things so she always has bags of jewellery when we go visit that she says is going to the thrift store if we don't want it, so we always get to go through her older things when she buys new stuff. Works for me! Doesn't help that I am allergic to costume jewellery but I take it anyway because it's always nice to have even if I only look at it once in awhile or can only wear it for a few hours at a time.