Tiffany I colour diamonds?

[ame]

In the us they may do a reset for you. You'd have to confirm with Tiffany.

 

[aaluv]

Hi Cupcake!

I came upon your thread and seem to be looking for something similar - Tiffany round brilliant between 1.30-1.5 and considering an I colour now for an upgrade (my existing Tiffany round brilliant is H VVS2). Have you made any more progress on your ring search?

 

[ame]

Everyone has their personal reasons which are not yours or mine to judge. You clearly haven't read as many posts as you perhaps should have before forming your post to understand that several of us on this board are educating consumers on cut quality and getting the best for your money. Even so, many of those consumers don't care, and want the comfort the brand provides. I would assume that a lot of members prefer the brand for the perceived piece of mind that the brand provides and the security of buying from a long time established brand with a set return policy, or for the convenience of buying a preset ring, and the intended service they will receive from the stores around the world. You can get a nice stone from Tiffany, and just as nice outside of Tiffany, just like you can get a dud from Tiffany and a dud outside of Tiffany, and in many cases seriously fleeced outside of Tiffany. Many of these buyers are not educated in diamond buying, and no offense intended, but many jewelers are NOT selling stones with the best interest of the buyer in mind.

 

[ame]

My apologies, I didn't mean the post to come off as harsh or judgemental. Rather, I was just trying to gain some insight and also to make sure that people had a general understanding. Many consumers believe that because their diamond ring came from Tiffany that it is somehow superior to a similar solitaire mount from another source. As you stated, you get some superior diamonds from Tiffany and some not so superior ones as well. The difference however, is that they all cost WELL IN EXCESS of high retail pricing. I believe most would be well advised to use forums such as this to gain knowledge and to seek out a reputable local jeweler providing GIA certified stones.

I tend to prefer and recommend mostly online vendors that provide ASET scope images, Ideal Scope images, and GIA and AGS stones to local vendors. I have not found many brick and mortar local vendors are well versed in AGS, ASET and IdealScope information, or who want to educate the customer on proper cut quality and why it's the most important aspect in diamond buying and most are not willing to be competitive or acknowledge what they are up against.

There are absolutely equal or better stones out there outside of the brand. And as you spend more time on this board, you will see that myself and others have repeatedly pointed that out, and have spent time trying to educate people to those pieces of information. Some people want the brand, and I try to take my time to educate people who still want that brand how to pick out from their available offerings the best available stone there is based on optimal angles for the best light return and fire available based on AGS cut quality standards and a little GIA mixed in. I spend a LOT of time on this board trying to educate the folks on here.

 

[ame]

I would also agree with your comments on some jewelers not looking out for the best interests of their customers. I just had a customer the other day who brought us a TLB stone that had been certified by EGL. The customer was extremely upset to learn that their G SI1 round brilliant stone had a value which was a fraction of another similarly graded stone that lacked the brown tones. Another customer brought us in a large 2ct round that they had purchased locally for a heft sum. The stone was dead and lifeless. The cut was great, as were the color and clarity... the stone just lacked any life at all. Unfortunately, the customer didn't understand. The stone looked great under the jeweler's lights and seemed like a bargain price! Suppose at the end of the day it all comes down to... whatever choice you want to make, Tiffany or otherwise, make it EDUCATED.

BTW.. I am a huge fan of vintage & estate Tiffany jewelry, just not a fan of people spending more then they should or could.

Oakgem is a good one for that. I've found, anyway. Betteridge as well. I feel they're great at identifying good authentic finds.

I hate hearing stories like that. It really offends my sensibilities that there are snakes like that. Customer satisfaction never seems to matter when a sale is made. Ugh.

 

[cupcake34]

Hi Cupcake!

I came upon your thread and seem to be looking for something similar - Tiffany round brilliant between 1.30-1.5 and considering an I colour now for an upgrade (my existing Tiffany round brilliant is H VVS2). Have you made any more progress on your ring search?

Hey

No, unfortunately not... still waiting for any details. I have a feeling that Tiffany's SA don't like to give any detailed information about the diamonds before you actually buy one? I won't let this happen, though... I want to know what I buy.

Have you made any progress so far?

 

[ame]

That's a sad and annoying fact with most of them. They don't want you being informed, they want you to assume that Tiffany is THE BEST and that there are not any variations in the selection.

 

[cupcake34]

That's a sad and annoying fact with most of them. They don't want you being informed, they want you to assume that Tiffany is THE BEST and that there are not any variations in the selection.

It's really annoying BUT I won't back down. I'll have to get this information prior to purchase.

 

[ame]

I would simply tell this person you will not make a purchase without EVERY piece of data on EVERY stone you ask about so it would be a timesaver for both of you to have it in advance.

 

[aaluv]

Hey

No, unfortunately not... still waiting for any details. I have a feeling that Tiffany's SA don't like to give any detailed information about the diamonds before you actually buy one? I won't let this happen, though... I want to know what I buy.

Have you made any progress so far?

I'm sorry that your experience has been this way so far. Fortunately for me, I am dealing with two SA's at the same Tiffany store and they are on a daily search for me within my parameters. They send me full specs of the ones they believe match what I am looking for. They have even told me that they appreciate that I'm an "informed" (well now I am thanks to PF and Ame, especially!) customer and are having "fun" trying to find me the perfect diamond. The only downside is that it seems to take forever to transfer diamonds to Toronto (where I am located)! As for progress, I am waiting to compare a couple which are on the way..but it will be at least 6 weeks!!

Good luck on your search, keep us informed, I love happy endings and hope you find your perfect diamond!

 

[cupcake34]

I'm NOT pleased at all with Tiffany's customer service.

They refuse to give me any details and just keep on talking that they only use perfect stones, that all their stones are cut to perfection, etc. They even said that they cut the diamonds themselves (I thought they buy them from somewhere?) Anyway, it's been a real nuisance to work with them.

Lately I've been considering to buy the ring (diamond + Tiffany-inspired setting) elsewhere, and I know that there are some good vendors out there but unfortunately I live in Europe. So what would happen if the ring needed to be resized or the prongs had to be checked? Should I send it back to the US or would I have to find a jeweller here?

 

[Monica]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear about your experiences with Tiffany. It's such a shame.
Buying a diamond ring should be a better experience than this...

I live in Europe too. Every quality jeweller/goldsmith is able to do resizing (depending on the setting) and checking of prongs. It's one of the core activities of a good jeweller.

 

[cupcake34]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear about your experiences with Tiffany. It's such a shame.
Buying a diamond ring should be a better experience than this...

I live in Europe too. Every quality jeweller/goldsmith is able to do resizing (depending on the setting) and checking of prongs. It's one of the core activities of a good jeweller.

Yes, I'm very upset about it! I mean, I'm willing to pay a huge mark up and seem to not get what I want!

I know every jeweller can do it but I'm always so scared that they swap the diamond or damage the ring somehow... am I paranoid or is my fear justified?

 

[Monica]

Yes, I'm very upset about it! I mean, I'm willing to pay a huge mark up and seem to not get what I want!

I know every jeweller can do it but I'm always so scared that they swap the diamond or damage the ring somehow... am I paranoid or is my fear justified?

Its good that you are clearly an informed buyer. Too bad the Tiffany service in this particular shop is not geared towards informed buyers... Is there a general Tiffany customer service you could contact about your case? Perhaps it helps to solve this issue.

I would not bring my diamond to just any 'good' jeweller. Only one with a healthy business and an excellent reputation.

 

[ame]

If they're just checking the prongs and polishing the ring they'll do it while you're there and there is no time to swap the stone out, most jewelers don't want to risk the reputation to do that. If there's a legit problem that needs work, you can contact the vendor who made it and send it to them for work.

If Tiffany isn't giving you the service and info you require from them, tell them so and tell them you're going to forgo the upgrade and patronize another elite jeweler who is more interested in providing you the data to prove their merchandise is as well cut as they claim since thus far Tiffany as proven they cannot.