Diamonds International Poor Workmanship New York New York
I purchased an Asher Tanzanite and Opal ring from Diamonds International while my husband and I were on our cruise to the Caribbean. I had the ring approximately 3-months when the opal stone fell out. I have contacted Diamonds International and they said they would repair the ring for a fee of at least $100. I spent alot of money on this ring and repairing it for another $100 is just plain unacceptable.
I went to this company because it was highly recommended by Carnival Cruise Lines. Now I have this $700 ring that I cannot wear because of the opal stone falling out. I have contacted this company and they are rude and have given me no satisfaction.
I want my money back for this item beings I keep getting the runaround with the company. They have done nothing to make my purchase an enjoyable one. All they want to do is repair the ring, at my cost, when I already spent almost $700 on the ring to begin with.
Daun
Trout Run, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Chris
Delta,British Columbia,
Canada
This is easily fixed and not Diamonds Internationals Fault.
#3UPDATE Employee
Thu, April 19, 2007
Hello Daun,
I am a jewelry professional that has worked closely with hundreds of jewelry stores (including Diamonds International) and thousands of Cruise Ship guests.
It is unfortunate that something that you bought to remind you of your wonderful vacation has caused you such stress. You have my sympathy and I do hope you have found resolution since this post. There are many different paths you could have taken to get this resolved without heart ache.
The number one route is to contact Asher directly and use your Brand Warranty. If you bought an Asher certified ring it is covered by their lifetime warranty and they will make every attempt to replace your ring.
There is difficulty though, if to save a few dollars, you bought an "Asher Style" ring. I hate to say it but, $700 for a Tanzanite and Opal ring sounds a bit low to me. The trouble with Australian Opal is, it does't make a good everyday ring. These are occasional rings. They are the silk stockings of the jewelry world and you must treat them with extra special care. The smallest bang or dent can affect the integrity of the ring and your opal will fall out.
Once an Australian opal falls out it is near impossible to put back in the ring and very time consuming to try. This is why Diamonds International would have felt the need to charge you a fee. To tell you the truth, most stores wouldn't have touched the repair at all. DI is a manufacturer as well as a wholesaler and they must have thought you were valuable enough as a client to make the attempt.
You are not alone. I do this for a living and also have a $650 ring (that I bought at a different recommended store) that I can't wear anymore because I bought something that looked like Kabana instead of buying the brand name Kabana. Just like you, I had it for a short while before the opal fell out. I call it my first lesson in jewelry buying and carry it with me to every seminar just to show the guests what could happen and does happen very easily. This is a case where you absolutely get what you pay for and I would never buy an Australian opal again that wasn't set by the company Kabana or Asher.
Next time you buy a ring, if you chose not to go brand name, INSIST on looking at the opals under a jewelers loop. Each store should have at least one magnifier at their disposal for you to borrow. If the stone has ANY black between the gold and the opal, that stone WILL eventually fall out. If the store won't let you look at your ring with a loop run don't walk to the next store on your recommended map and report it to your Shopping Expert onboard the Cruise Ship. The odds of this happening are very very slim.
Now you know for next time Daun. Go get that dream ring!!
All the best,
Chris
Aafes
Viernheim,Europe,
U.S.A.
Find a local jeweler
#3Consumer Comment
Wed, June 14, 2006
Find a local jeweler and take the ring to have the stone reset. It is not a difficult procedure and if you check around it will likely not be very expensive depending on the setting.
If the prongs have simply loosened it is only a matter of removing the stone, cleaning it, and resetting it tightening the prongs.
If the prongs are 14K or higher gold, it is typical for them to loosen over time with daily wear. The stone is hard, the prongs relatively soft (softer the higher the gold content) and even microscopic debri between the prongs and the stone can cause the gold to abrade away.