Zales Diamond Store Zales Switched my brilliant Diamond for a diamond of a lesser value East Tennessee Area Tennessee

Omg a very similar incident happened with me at zales! My fiance and I went to the local Zales store to buy my engagement ring . I picked out this gorgeous half carat round solitare ring. It didn't have a lot of info on it except the carat and color. It was too large so I had to get it put down to a size 6 and we sent it off right away as soon as we bought it. 2 weeks later it came back and my fiance and I went to get it and the guy gave it to us, I tried it on and it fit perfectly. The sizing work was done beautifully but there was one problem the diamond had visible marks . It looked the exact same but it had visible marks on it that I could see very well even my fiance could see them when looking at my hand and he asked why their was marks on it and the guy told us it just needed to be cleaned good so he went up front and cleaned it then came back and they were still there. I told him that this is not how my ring looked when I bought it and he told me that maybe I just didn't see it. But I promise that you would see this right away. So I had a couple pics on my phone that I had taken of the ring when we bought it to show my family and I showed the guy and you could see a dramatic difference. He then said what happened was the jewler must have been sizing it and the diamond cracked and he told he that they would order me a new one, he offered to send  it off and replace it and I didnt want that cause I wanted to wear it so I left with it and he said when he got the new ring it I could come and exchange it.

So after we left the store a few days later we visited another local store just browsing for wedding bands (because I wanted a custom band zales didn't carry) and I found one similar to what I wanted but again it needed to be sized so I told the jeweler I was afraid to do that because of what had happened with my engagement ring, and he lookEd at me funny and said that diamond don't crack from sizing and if it did then it would be a freak accident. He then educated us very well on diamonds and the 4 cs and explained to us that each diamond had a finger print. He then asked to see my engagement ring and used something called a loupe and a microscope stand he had and showed me the marks and said that those marks aren't cracks, they are fingerprints and he told me if my original diamond didn't have those then it's not the same diamond that I got back after sizing. He said you can't magically make marks appear in a diamond so basically if it's there it's always been there and that heat will not make it bigger. I showed him the pics and he said (yep that's a different stone) and said that I was a victim of a switching. I told him we got it at zales a trusted chain retail store obviously and he said that it was shocking that zales would do that but that it's not impossible. So we bought mu wedding band and he sized it right there in front of us and told us we needed to return to zales immediately and said he would write out something saying that he inspected my diamond and based on his (visual) knowledge of diamonds it's not the same as the one I bougot he said that's as far as he could go because he could not accuse someone else of something without certification and further proof and facts. He told me it might even be a good idea to think about contacting a attorney if zAles didn't make it right but we were hesitant to do all that because were kinda low key people. But anyway We went back into zales and insisted to them that the rings diamond had been switched and they right away said that has never happened before there and they can't imagine their jewler doing that. They said he didn't work with them that he was a local jewler that did their sizing and repairs because zales took too long on sizing and customers were complaining about that. He called his atore manager and spoke to him and he told him to replace it any way possible whatever it took to make it right. The guy never said it wasn't switched he just said they would make it right. So he asked me what it would take to make things right and we told him just give us a dimaond that doesn't have any marks on it.

So he actually offered me a dimaond of the same size and same exact style but of a higher quality and a little more pricier and allowed us to make payments on the price difference and then knocked 300$ off the price difference. They apologized profusely and gave us a 50$ coupon for future purchases so my fiancé used that later on to buy his wedding band there instead of at a mom n Pops shop. So if you just nicely tell them what you think happened they should make it right. I know it sucks but I really don't thibk Zales wojld do this I think it's the people they contract To do repairs because Zales was excellent about this. It's been awhile since this happened and we are now married and I love my ring still! It's possible that if its not certified that they really can't keep track of them so maybe think about switching it out for a certified Gia diamond and I wish you the best of luck. I understand your assumptions and concerns I would think the exact same thing and I did when it happened but I learned not to jump to conclusions because Zales probed to me that they are wonderful at making things right  so my advice is to give it s try because it worked for me and I do know how you feel but if anything hold independand jewler accountsble and not the retail store ya know :)

There are a few things you need to probably think about here.  Cut, Clarity, Color, Carrat Weight.

The better each one of those are the higher the value of the diamond.  You were general in Clarity and Color, left off the cut and Carrat Weight.  So it is impossible to tell you if this $1000 diamond was as good as you are making it out to be.

So first of all was the diamond a "certified" diamond?  If so then your fiance has a certificate with a serial number.  That serial number is laser engraved on the diamond.  You can take that certificate and diamond in question to ANY jeweler and they can compare the numbers.  If for some reason the Serial Number was not laser engraved, the certification will have an exact description that again can be verified by any jeweler as being the same or different.  If they are different, then you may have a case.  But if they are the same you have just lost all claims.

If it is not certified, does he have any original paperwork of the grading of the diamond that can be used to compare the one now?

Now, just taking what you have described.  Is this $1000 just the solitare price or was it the total price of the solitare and mounting?  Taking it as just the solitare price, in order for it to be "reasonable" the size would be at best a 1/3 carrat stone.  So if the stone is bigger or the $1000 included the ring, the diamond may not have been as perfect as you thought.

But your descriptions get even more confusing.

Your first description of the "new" diamond.

This diamond they had replaced mine with was a yellow tint, it had a big crack in the center that you could see well with the naked eye if you looked close enough. It was poorly cut, and almost looked like a cluster diamond

But then just a few sentences later....

The replacment is almost clear like glass.

So it starts of being a Yellow Tint with a big crack, then all of the sudden becomes almost clear as glass?  Which by the way is ALMOST how you described the original diamond

You then go on to say....

To the average Jane....it would appear the same or not much difference.

- The key words are "not much difference".  So don't you think that the "average Jane" would question a diamond even if it is "not much difference"?

My fiance bought me a beautiful diamond engagement ring from Zales February of 2015 ( Inside our local Mall). The ring is a diamond solitaire engagement ring, the diamond is almost completely colorless an flawless and a near perfect cut and depth.

When he bought it he was going to get it sized and the sales lady insisted to not do so, for me to try it on first and then go from there, the manager kept pushing him to size it...but the sales lady insisted that he should prevent sizing it if at all possible. So he purchased the ring ( over a 1000$) and also purchased insurance on the ring. I was not with him during the purchase and he suprised me with it during a proposal days later. He did not size the ring at the time of purchase. He purchased it straight out of the store and brought it home. When I got the ring, it was beautiful and near brilliant. I loved it and it was exactly what I had always wanted. However, it was a little snug, enough to where I safely needed to go up in size a little bit incase of swelling. So we took the ring in to be sized. We went into the store and no one offered to help us, they were too busy trying to sell jewlery to possible customer and ignored us. We finally had to say EXCUSE ME can we please get some help. After all we were a customer already and had made a purchase. We told them we needed the ring sized. The lady said they used a local jeweler for sizing (someone not assocaied with Zales) which i found a bit odd. But she said they trusted them and I would get my ring back sooner than if I were to send it off to corporate Zales to be sized.

I recieved my ring back 3 days later. My fiance went to pick it up and brought it home and surpised me with it, and said look honey youre ring is back. I was very excited. He handed me my ring and I was quickly distraught, It was NOT the same diamond. I knew immediatley that it was not the same diamond. This diamond they had replaced mine with was a yellow tint, it had a big crack in the center that you could see well with the naked eye if you looked close enough. It was poorly cut, and almost looked like a cluster diamond (Which in this case is a BAD thing). It looked like a 300$ Diamond instead of a 1000+ $ diamond. I was furious. I tried to tell myself I was just crazy. But nope, I am correct. I have a million before and after pictures and its RIDICULOUS how perfectly you can CLEARLY see that its NOT the same diamond. I will however say, for someone whose not very smart , they would not have noticed this and would have went on with a lesser diamond and never have known. But who ever switched my diamond picked the wrong person, because I could tell right away. The jeweler did a good job making it look the same for someone who wouldnt know any better, but I knew better. The replacement is the same size but poorly cut, poor quality, poor color, and makes my ring look like I bought it at walmart for 300$ instead at Zales for over 1000$.

The replacment is almost clear like glass. And all sorts of nasty lower quality stuff going on with it. Like I said, if I was just an ordinary person who knew nothing of my original diamond and knew nothing of its looks and quality then I would probably have never known the difference. To the average Jane....it would appear the same or not much difference. But its not the same diamond, and I know its not. I called Zales and spoke to a lady, I told her I was furious and that my diamond had clearly been switched and WHY had it been switched. She scared me, because she acted like this happens every day. She never said a word, except " Bring it in and the manager will take care of it". Unsettled by the conversation, and her lack of action and concern, I called back a second time. This time I said "Excuse me, but im just so confused why you arent making a bigger deal out of this, I mean if someone called my store and said this  I would have the jewler on the phone, corporate on the phone, my manager on the phone, and would be freaking out, but yet youre not and youre acting like this happens every day and you arent doubting me one bit". She STILL didnt say a word excep " Just call my manager and he will fix it" and I said is that really all youre going to say?! And she said "umm, Im sorry???" Just bring in it and he will take care of it. So we hung up...

I have contacted my lawyer and a gia expert as well as other people to try and figure out what to do about this. But my diamond was stolen, and I am shocked because I thought Zales being a chain store and reputable I would not have to worry about something like this! I dont care if the manager offers to give me a new ring for FREE worth 200,000 dollars. I dont want that! I want MY diamond back, and NOW! I want the diamond my fiance proposed to me with, and nothing else. I want THAT diamond. Its sentimental. Zales has ruined my RING experience for my engagment. Luckily my fiance and I have a strong enough relationship that this hasnt affected it in any way, but its just sad that someone would do this, and it makes me wonder if Zales is doing this or if its the independant Jewler? Either way, its still Zales because it happened on Zales' Watch and under their name, I dont care what jeweler they use, thats NO excuse for this! My thought is that maybe Zales is Selling people beautiful diamonds, having it sized or repaired and then switching the diamonds for a lesser quality diamond, then taking the original beautiful diamonds and putting them BACK on the shelf for the next unsuspecting, unknowing customer to buy it and be scammed the same way. I would NOT say this unless I was 100% sure Zales switched my diamond for no good reason. When sizing the diamond should never be removed or touched, and no it doesnt break during sizing, not likely, and if it does and should they need to replace it then they should notify us, and then replace with the SAME quality diamond as the original and NOTHING LESS.. so therfore Zales commited theft and stole my original diamond. That is NOT part of their contract at all. And im not sure what to do about it yet, im consulting my family lawyer, and other professionals. And after looking online, ive found this has happened to other people with Zales. Any suggestions or offers to help, or even if youve experienced this with Zales or anywheres, then please feel free to share. Thank you