How to get your money back on a bad diamond deal

It so happens that the diamond business is a very haphazard and risky one. The chances of being tricked are enormous, and those of being extorted are even more so. I am not very proud or happy to say this, but this is surely the case. There are many reasons for that, but the main one is that diamonds don’t come with labels. A diamond might be replaced with a poor imitation and you wouldn’t even know. The only identity of a diamond is the plot of its flaws drawn by appraisers after examining it.

Now, let’s say you went to a reputed retailer and purchased a diamond. Now the God’s honest truth is that jewelers on an average do mess up the color and quality by two grades and the weight by one-tenth of a carat. That average includes the reputed ones too, by the way. So there is always the chance that you have been tricked. Now the Federal Trade Commission says that a diamond must be within one grade of its stated color and clarity, and half a point (two-hundredth of a carat) of its stated weight, failing which you are entitled to a full refund.

Now if you go straight to the jeweler demanding refund, he looks at the stone and tells you that it’s not the one he sold you. So you don’t do that, what you do is go to an independent appraiser and get the thing valuated. Then you go to the jeweler and say you want another appraisal of the piece you bought from him some time ago. He will give you just the previous value, with dollar value adjustments for the period. Then you pull out your independent appraisal. He knows he is busted, you just need to threaten him a little and chances are you will get your money back. That’s the dance, but unfortunately you have to do it if you don’t want to be many a fool of.