# Broken engagement Ring



## CocoBeans (2 Jun 2009)

Hi All,

We brought our ring in Antwerp six months ago, We had it valued when we returned to Ireland and it apparently worth double the cost. We brought using visa and insured it against our house policy.

Recently a small diamond fell out of the claw - .1 ct I was upset as I rarely wear the ring and I never wear it while doing chores etc...

I brought it into the jeweler in Dublin and he told me that it wouldn't touch the ring, that the diamonds had been set using tension and when he (from the shop we brought it) sized the ring down they loosened the settings. I brought it to 3 or 4 Jewelers before the last one told me to claim it on my insurance either using Visa or the house insurance and if that failed he would reset the ring from scratch. He showed me the ring under the magnifrying glass and lots of the diamonds are about to go - in fact I'm not sure how they are hanging in.

Does anyone know if I'm covered for this sort of thing? I tried ringing the shop once or twice but no answer.

We thought we'd gotten a great deal in Antwerp but I wouldn't buy there again.

Thanks


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## LDFerguson (2 Jun 2009)

I'm not a general insurance broker, but your situation sounds like faulty workmanship at point of sale and I doubt if any insurance policy will cover that.  I think you should keep trying to contact the shop where you bought it.


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## Sue Ellen (2 Jun 2009)

Sorry to hear about your ring.

Why would Visa have anything to do with this faulty workmanship?

Sounds like it will be necessary to have a whole new ring made as resetting can be more trouble than its worth.  A friend had stones reset a few times to no avail.

Try a reputable jewellers like Goldfingers, South Anne St., Dublin 2. Phone: 01-6714203 or Fields and they might be able to give you some advice.

There is a key post on AAM that might help http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=88121


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## samanthajane (2 Jun 2009)

It will all depend on what is on your insurance policy? 

Is it just ensured for thieft/loss or does the insurance policy cover damages.

I would get onto the shop as well since it does seem to be their fault according to what the jewellers have said here in dublin. 

I'm not sure if rings come with a guarantee, what does it say on your reciept? 

My engagement ring was hand made in Turkey 3 years ago and i've never had any problems what so ever and i never got a reciept either so good job nothings gone wrong. Since your was brough in the EU i'm sure there has to be some law about this sort of thing. Maybe ask your jeweller what he would do if someone brought a ring from him and this had happened. Would he have to fix it or even refund.


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## CocoBeans (3 Jun 2009)

Thanks for the advice.

I was hoping Visa would cover it as I feel I was robbed - you are not supposed to size rings designed like this.


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## LDFerguson (3 Jun 2009)

I'd imagine that the definition of robbed in the Terms & Conditions of your Visa cover would be dictionary definition, i.e. it was stolen from you.  

Try http://www.eccdublin.ie/ - they may be able to help.


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## CocoBeans (4 Jun 2009)

Thanks I will - a word of warning to anyone thinking of visiting Antwerp - one jeweler said he saw this sort of thing all the time


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## Hybrid Boss (10 Jun 2009)

Not sure if this will work, you should get onto your credit card company & see if they will do a charge back.


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## SineadM (25 Aug 2009)

CocoBeans said:


> Hi All,
> 
> We brought our ring in Antwerp six months ago, We had it valued when we returned to Ireland and it apparently worth double the cost. We brought using visa and insured it against our house policy.
> 
> ...


 
I think the lesson here is 'If it seems too good to be true.....!' If you could buy a ring in Antwerp of identical quality as that in Ireland for half the price, we would all be doing it!! Antwerp is the diamond finishing capital of Europe but the place is full of poor quality diamonds on sale for half nothing!


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## SineadM (25 Aug 2009)

I used to work in the business. Also saw some National Geographic programme on it years ago.


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## SineadM (25 Aug 2009)

The rings you buy in these sort of places usually but admittedly not always use inferior diamonds. With diamonds it comes down to the ' 4 c's'; cut, carat, clarity, colour. The diamonds you see on sale in Antwerp are usually the ones that the U.K., Irish and American dealers don't want as they aren't of good enough standard. Most worldwide diamonds end up here for finishing, the above dealers come along, buy the best ones and leave the rest for the local market. This is what is sold to the tourist as a bargain. You usually get a huge rock that has no colour i.e. isn't clear and is poorly cut i.e has no light refraction. That is not to say that you might get a better deal over there in some cases as obviously some Irish jewellers rip you off but by and large, you get what you pay for over there. As I mentioned, I used to work in the wholesale industry but can assure you that I hold no bias now.


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## SineadM (25 Aug 2009)

It says it was apparently valued at double! Not sure what that means but maybe she got a rough idea valuation without them looking at the thing. I seriously doubt it would be valued at double unless she got bargain of the century. If the jeweller looked at it in any great detail then he would have spotted the obvious flaws which have led to her problem now i.e. the thing being poorly made.


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## SineadM (25 Aug 2009)

Fair enough, I haven't read the other reports you mention. All I know is when I was getting married, we looked into the same thing and when factoring in a similar quality ring, the cost of the trip over etc. you didn't save any money and more hassle if something was wrong with the thing due to distance. We bought in Ireland and got 20% off for cash purchase.


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## thomas1234 (7 Sep 2009)

Girlf said:


> But why was it valued at twice the price here?



i work in the industry. a number of the valuers in the dublin area are not particularly good. one ring i sold was valued by one of them for six times the purchase price. i can assure you it wasn't worth that!!!

they won't risk putting themselves in a position whereby they give a value that is too low, and open themselves to professional negligence claims. far better to lob a huge value on, and have the customer go off feeling happy, and like they got a huge bargain. 

also, it's easy to tell someone "oh, it's worth ten grand". they're not putting down money on it.


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## John Rambo (7 Sep 2009)

CocoBeans said:


> We thought we'd gotten a great deal in Antwerp but I wouldn't buy there again.


 
I was once served a dodgy pint in a bar on Baggot Street...as a result I refrain from drinking anywhere in Dublin and I recommend others do the same.

I've never heard anything as ridiculous in my life. There seem to be vested interests at play in this thread. As someone who bought an engagement ring in Antwerp (and did detailed research along the way), I feel I'm better qualified than most to comment on this topic. The prices charged by jewellers in this country are ludicrously inflated. Irish wholesalers go to places like Antwerp, source diamonds and then sell them to Irish jewellers. Antwerp guy makes a turn, Irish wholesaler makes a turn and then Irish jeweller makes a turn. Because of the value of diamonds and gold and the holding costs this "turn" is usually a 50-100% mark up. Even the jewellers who source their own products in Antwerp are making a massive turn on any retail sale. So why not cut out the middlemen and go straight to the source? And there's nothing to fear about fraud because there are worldwide standards for measuring the quality of diamonds and recognised bodies which classify them (e.g. the GIA). Just ensure your diamond has the appropriate certification (i.e. read up on it). I saved about 60% by going to Antwerp. That's comparing the same ring and the exact same classification of diamond. Assuming I could have negotiated a 20% cash discount as SineadM suggested and factoring in the travel/accomodation costs I saved 43%. And guys, it's Belgium not Nigeria you're going to. Of course there are cowboys there. That's the case anywhere. I mean, I wouldn't buy an engagement ring from a jeweller in Heuston Station so why would I do it in Antwerp. Search AAM and use Google to get (genuine) recommendations. It's worth it in my view.


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## TLC (11 Nov 2009)

It's not only in Antwerp or abroad you get problems - my son & fiance bought a ring in Dublin recently after going thru the process with the jeweller of picking the right stone, design etc.  A few month later there is a crack appearing in the diamond - a fault which should have  been obvious at the time.  Now the jeweller is saying it must have "got a knock" which is not true.  They have spoken to the jeweller many times but no joy.  Their only adviced was to claim on their household insurance!  They have since heard of another 2 couples this happened to with the same "reputable" jeweller.  A very shoddy service for people who trusted them.


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## Claimsman (11 Nov 2009)

TLC said:


> It's not only in Antwerp or abroad you get problems - my son & fiance bought a ring in Dublin recently after going thru the process with the jeweller of picking the right stone, design etc. A few month later there is a crack appearing in the diamond - a fault which should have been obvious at the time. Now the jeweller is saying it must have "got a knock" which is not true. They have spoken to the jeweller many times but no joy. Their only adviced was to claim on their household insurance! They have since heard of another 2 couples this happened to with the same "reputable" jeweller. A very shoddy service for people who trusted them.


 
I am not a jeweller but i have come across instances where a crack or a "cleavage" or "inclusion" has developed in a diamond. This, i have been reliably informed by many different jewellers  can happen as a result of a sudden knock to a diamond. That is not to say this is the case with your son, but, it does and can happen.


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## johnymc2010 (18 Jun 2010)

Hi John Rambo,
May i ask who you would recommend to go see when in Antwerp.
I've been recommended to go to Harolde Phillipe plus an Irish girl
working there whom friends purchased from. As I am going there 
it would be helpful to have as much good leads as possible??


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## Pat Bateman (18 Jun 2010)

TLC said:


> Now the jeweller is saying it must have "got a knock" which is not true.


 
A knock from what? Superman?

I thought diamond was the hardest substance on Earth.


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## dublin27 (20 May 2012)

TLC said:


> It's not only in Antwerp or abroad you get problems - my son & fiance bought a ring in Dublin recently after going thru the process with the jeweller of picking the right stone, design etc. A few month later there is a crack appearing in the diamond - a fault which should have been obvious at the time. Now the jeweller is saying it must have "got a knock" which is not true. They have spoken to the jeweller many times but no joy. Their only adviced was to claim on their household insurance! They have since heard of another 2 couples this happened to with the same "reputable" jeweller. A very shoddy service for people who trusted them.


 Would love to know who the jeweller is out of curiosity - I dont understand why insurance companies have to pick up the cost for cowboy jewellers.  Not that I care about insurance companies, I just dont want my premiums to raise.  Is this not a small claims court case?
With the threat of negative publicity against the jeweller, they would probably just pay you to make you go away.
If I buy something and it breaks or is faulty, I go back to the source, I never would think of involving my insurance company


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## PaddyBloggit (20 May 2012)

Probably sorted at this stage .... the thread is almost 2 years old!

And ... I don't think Brendan would be too happy with a '_cowboy jeweller_' being named on AAM.


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