12-5-08
In June my husband and I took a cruis on Royal Caribbean. During a day visit to Cozumel we visited one of Diamonds International shops and my husband purchased a diamond ring for me as a surprise anniversary present. We felt quite confident that the merchant would be safe since Diamond International's Forum was highly recommended by representatives from the Cruise line as being a highly reputable merchant.
Upon our return home we met with a reputable local jeweler to have the ring appraised so that it could be added to our insurance policy.
With great shock and disappointment we were told that the ring had serious flaws in its color and clarity and the appraiser declined to remove the stone from the setting for further examination for fear that the stone would actually break.in addition they indicated that the diamonds' dollar value was at least 65% less than the cost we were charged!
We immediately initiated actions to stop payment on the charge from Diamonds International and make arrangements to secure an approved independent GIA appraisal Laboratory so that we could return the ring for a full refund per the procedure stated in DI's Terms and Conditions which clearly states a full refund will be given if an appraisal by an approved Appraiser indicates that the stone is lower than 2 levels on either Color or Clarity
Upon receipt of a third party appraisal from a GIA Laboratory in California, we learned that the Color was at least one level lower than stated on the DI Appraisal and the Clarity was at least two levels lower than stated.
In addition, we learned that the ring was appraised for only $2820 rather than the purchased price of $7650 U.S. And the final theft was when DI submitted the charge to American Express as $8,083.30, not the $7650.00 us dollars that we signed for on the American Express bill.
Diamond International is an unscrupulous merchant. They are highly skilled at misrepresenting their merchandise and use every loop hole and devious tactic they can to get away with and perpetuate their scam. Diamond International continues to misrepresent not only the ring and its value but blatantly lies about what actions were or were not taken.
Now after more than 4 months of dialogue, discussion and presentation of information to DI which supports our demand for a full refund, DI says that our claim is invalid because we did not submit an appraisal to them within 30 days of purchase even though DI s own Terms and Conditions clearly does not state any limitation on when we can submit an Appraisal.
They have used the tactic to say that the appraisal is invalid because the stone was not removed during the appraisal yet turn around and say they will not accept the ring back if the ring has been altered in any way, including stone removal by anyone other than Diamonds International.
And then they say that regardless of what $dollar value the ring is appraised at, they will not accept it since an appraisal process is not an exact science and extremely subjective therefore refunds will not be issued due to discrepancy in perceived value!
Most recently we have offered to fly the ring to Diamond's International office in NY where they can remove the stone and then we would hand carry the ring to the NY GIA Laboratory for a full unbiased appraisal of only the rings color and clarity.
Our experience with Diamonds International thus far has been terrible! We strongly recommend that you do not buy from them.
We are awaiting their response.
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