Diamonds International Help

Isn't that what Bernie Madoff told his victims?

 

 

Hank

If he said that, it might have been the only true thing he uttered. :eek:

I'm sorry about the disappointments some people have had with DI. We were never tempted to even 'look'. For some reason, that store never attracted us but I can't put my finger on why.

I am in a similar situation. I traded in my engagement ring diamond for $5500 in st Thomas. I paid an additional $6500 for a new diamond. Now I'm in it for $12,000. My diamond appraised for $5300. Conveniently for DI, they were off by 1 color and 1 clarity so DI said they are within the terms and conditions of their receipt and won't give me a refund. I am disputing this with my credit card. I don't know what else to do. Let me know how you are progressing in your fight. Thanks.

Traded in your "engagement" ring at DI in St Thomas (or any DI for that matter) and gave them more $$$'s :eek::eek:. What were you thinking :confused::D Hopefully you will avoid this jeweler on your next cruise..I know we have "never" felt the urge to make major jewelry purchases/decisions under the influence of cruising.;)

There is not too much we can suggest except to say to contact their headquarters.

Keith

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

I am so sorry that the value of the ring was less than what you paid.

Since your wife loves -- you have the comfort knowing that.

But I do agree that you should write letters to both the cruise line and Diamonds International and let them know what happened.

This thread was started in March and we have not heard from OP since.

Wonder if he had 'any luck'?

WORD OF CAUTION NEVER BY FROM DI ESPECIALLY SINCE THE CRUISE LINE GETS A KICK BACK FROM THEM.....DO NOT BUY FROM ANY JEWELER THAT THE CRUISE LINE RECOMMENDS....YOU WILL BE TAKEN...:mad:

We were on a land tour and my wife talked our friends out of buying an overpriced watch. The guide was mad at her the rest of the tour! I wonder how much she would have gotten from that sale?

As I understand it, D.I. is run by the cruise industry.

 

john

Diamonds International, through parent company Almod Diamonds Ltd., is a member sightholder of the Diamond Trading Company, the sales and distribution arm of DeBeers, via a joint venture between the DTC and the government of the Republic of Namibia known as the NDTC.

WORD OF CAUTION NEVER BY FROM DI ESPECIALLY SINCE THE CRUISE LINE GETS A KICK BACK FROM THEM.....DO NOT BUY FROM ANY JEWELER THAT THE CRUISE LINE RECOMMENDS....YOU WILL BE TAKEN...:mad:

A kick back is the seller's return of part of the purchase price of an item to a buyer or buyer's representative for the purpose of inducing a purchase or improperly influencing future purchases. The cruise lines aren't getting kick backs from DI. They are, however, paid to recommend the store. Pretty much every store that the cruise lines recommend in a port are because they are paid to do so. That's advertising, not a kick back.

Any non-expert who buys a diamond thinking that he will wind up with something of value equal to or greater than what he paid should ask one simple question: how does the seller of that diamond cover his expenses (rent, staff salaries, cost of carrying inventory, etc.) and earn a profit (why else would the seller be in business in the first place if not to sell his goods for more than they cost him)? And the only way even an expert can come out even or ahead is if he is so much better at it than the seller that he can detect hidden value.

At the very best, the buyer will have a diamond whose value is less than what he paid by the amount of the seller's cost and the seller's profit. Depending on how greedy the seller is, that can be a huge amount.

It is a continuing mystery why some people think that diamonds are worth more in the US than in the Caribbean.

Buying a diamond to celebrate a moment or creat a memory is a wonderful thought: just think of it that way. If you focus on how badly you were taken, you will only tarnish that moment or memory.

We bought a diamond ring thru DI on St Maarten in March 2013. Paid $2200.00 and back home we had a verbal appraisal for $950.00. What a disappointment. Also one of the diamonds are loose. Trying to get a written appraisal to fax back to DI, but is it worth the time and additional cost? What a rotten scam being backed by the cruise lines. Our Anniversary will always remind us of being duped-taken...Has anyone been successful in returning their jewelry or getting reimbursed on their credit card?

We've only cruised twice but we are tired of always having diamond jewelry stores saying what a great buy you can get @ 40% off!!! No more cruises for us.

We've only cruised twice but we are tired of always having diamond jewelry stores saying what a great buy you can get @ 40% off!!! No more cruises for us.

What do jewelry stores have to do with cruising?

We've only cruised twice but we are tired of always having diamond jewelry stores saying what a great buy you can get @ 40% off!!! No more cruises for us.

This is cutting off your nose to spite your face. :rolleyes: To stop cruising because you are upset about being taken by DI makes little if any sense. As for tired of the diamond jewelry stores, you can walk straight by, no one is forcing you to go in or even glance at them. Yes the cruise lines are complicit in promoting these con artists but you can ignore, like we do, the "port talks" which are not all that thinly disguised sales pitches. Art sales on board are also a ripoff at times, but no one forces you to go.

We bought a diamond ring thru DI on St Maarten in March 2013. Paid $2200.00 and back home we had a verbal appraisal for $950.00. What a disappointment. Also one of the diamonds are loose. Trying to get a written appraisal to fax back to DI, but is it worth the time and additional cost? What a rotten scam being backed by the cruise lines. Our Anniversary will always remind us of being duped-taken...Has anyone been successful in returning their jewelry or getting reimbursed on their credit card?

We've only cruised twice but we are tired of always having diamond jewelry stores saying what a great buy you can get @ 40% off!!! No more cruises for us.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Sorry we won't be seeing you again. We have been on 34 cruises and have not bought a diamond on any of them. JUST SAY NO!!

We bought a diamond ring thru DI on St Maarten in March 2013. Paid $2200.00 and back home we had a verbal appraisal for $950.00. What a disappointment. Also one of the diamonds are loose. Trying to get a written appraisal to fax back to DI, but is it worth the time and additional cost? What a rotten scam being backed by the cruise lines. Our Anniversary will always remind us of being duped-taken...Has anyone been successful in returning their jewelry or getting reimbursed on their credit card?

We've only cruised twice but we are tired of always having diamond jewelry stores saying what a great buy you can get @ 40% off!!! No more cruises for us.

Rethink about giving up cruising if you enjoyed your shipboard expereince.

Give up shopping for diamonds and jewelry in the Caribbean.

Actually, don't give up on your pretty ring. IMO

Try to wrap your head around the fun Anniversary Celebration you were enjoying. The beautiful ship, the wonderful service, the nice people you met and the nice memories and photos you have as reminders.

Then remember the fun and excitement you had while purchasing that ring as a momento of that lovely time. You walked out of that store with the pretty ring you purchased together on a happy day. SO WHAT if you found out it is worth less money. The monetary value is only as weighted as you permit it to be. You didn't buy that ring as an investment to put toward your retirement funding (I hope) and you didn't buy it to 'make money on it' (I hope). You bought it with joy and happiness and if you permit that joy to be taken from you, that is your doing and not DI.

Don't let them 'rob' you of the happiness and pleasure. Forget the darn money and enjoy what that ring represents to you. The more negative you attach to it and fret about the lost money, you will make it impossible to enjoy what you surely thought was a lovely piece of jewelry with great sentiment attached. THAT is what matters. The few more or less dollars are so insignificant in the whole scheme of your lives together.

JMO.....

If that is the worst mistake you ever make in your life, you will be extremely fortunate and it is unlikely to be the case. ;) We all make missteps and we learn from them.

Book another cruise!!! :D

What do jewelry stores have to do with cruising?

It is my understanding that all cruise lines in north America have big investments in D.I. Have you ever seen a D.I. store in a city NOT visited by a cruise ship?

john

My wife and I have bought a couple things from DI and have been happy, but I did read online once that if you buy jewelry on a cruise and then take it to a local jewelry store to be apraised, lie and tell them that you inherited it. Reason being, they get upset that you didn't buy from them and purposely lower the value of it.

We bought a diamond ring thru DI on St Maarten in March 2013. Paid $2200.00 and back home we had a verbal appraisal for $950.00. What a disappointment. Also one of the diamonds are loose. Trying to get a written appraisal to fax back to DI, but is it worth the time and additional cost? What a rotten scam being backed by the cruise lines. Our Anniversary will always remind us of being duped-taken...Has anyone been successful in returning their jewelry or getting reimbursed on their credit card?

We've only cruised twice but we are tired of always having diamond jewelry stores saying what a great buy you can get @ 40% off!!! No more cruises for us.

Sail7Seas had great advice for you - the only thing I would add is that you paid $1,250 for a lesson. Remember it: considering what Bernie Madoff's "students" paid, you didn't do too badly. You still have a souvenir of a time away together -- and hopefully you will not let that sour aspect of the memory turn you away from a great way to travel.

If you don't like what you bought, you can get a 100 percent trade in on other jewelry at DI, if you retain the receipt. I did that and got some beautiful pieces in exchange.

If you don't like what you bought, you can get a 100 percent trade in on other jewelry at DI, if you retain the receipt. I did that and got some beautiful pieces in exchange.

Yes, in that case you will get something equal in value to what you turned in, but if you paid too much for the thing you turn in, you still wind up with something worth less than what you paid in the first place.

Yes, in that case you will get something equal in value to what you turned in, but if you paid too much for the thing you turn in, you still wind up with something worth less than what you paid in the first place.

My point is to not let the value of the diamond ring they bought only be measured in dollars.

Forget the dollars....... focus on the happy memories of the anniversary, the cruise and all the wonderful aspects. Forget the money. It's been spent.

My wife and I have bought a couple things from DI and have been happy, but I did read online once that if you buy jewelry on a cruise and then take it to a local jewelry store to be apraised, lie and tell them that you inherited it. Reason being, they get upset that you didn't buy from them and purposely lower the value of it.

That's just plain silly. Jewelers don't ask where you have purchased something when you take it to be appraised. Even if they would, you're under no obligation to tell.

Yes, in that case you will get something equal in value to what you turned in, but if you paid too much for the thing you turn in, you still wind up with something worth less than what you paid in the first place.

Not true in my case, not by a long shot.

It is my understanding that all cruise lines in north America have big investments in D.I. Have you ever seen a D.I. store in a city NOT visited by a cruise ship?

 

john

I don't understand your point. Poster has bad experience at DI and then states they will never cruise again. One is not forced to enter or purchase anything at DI because they are on a cruise. They are not related. It's a ridiculous statement.

I do not believe that any cruise company "has a big investment" in DI, though they certainly receive payment for steering cruise passengers to the stores:

Diamonds International, through parent company Almod Diamonds Ltd., is a member sightholder of the Diamond Trading Company, the sales and distribution arm of DeBeers, via a joint venture between the DTC and the government of the Republic of Namibia, known as the NDTC.

I don't understand your point. Poster has bad experience at DI and then states they will never cruise again. One is not forced to enter or purchase anything at DI because they are on a cruise. They are not related. It's a ridiculous statement.

 

I do not believe that any cruise company "has a big investment" in DI, though they certainly receive payment for steering cruise passengers to the stores:

 

Diamonds International, through parent company Almod Diamonds Ltd., is a member sightholder of the Diamond Trading Company, the sales and distribution arm of DeBeers, via a joint venture between the DTC and the government of the Republic of Namibia, known as the NDTC.

Last year in Skagway our guide told us proudly that 'Skagway had a law

that eliminated chain stores from the area'. I then asked him why D.I. was there. His reply was simply that the chain of D.I.controlled by the cruise lines, and Skagway had no say in the matter!!!

john

john

That's just plain silly. Jewelers don't ask where you have purchased something when you take it to be appraised. Even if they would, you're under no obligation to tell.

I collect antique watches and when they been appraised or worked on, just about every watchmaker I've ever dealt with have asked me where I got them in casual conversation. I'm sure most Jewelers are the same and people like to talk.