Tue 24 Apr 2007
The GemsTV website touts their customer service, so let’s put them to the test. I sent this a minute ago:
Dear Gems TV,
I received all 3 items (1 alexandrite ring and 2 pairs of topaz earrings) in my order #182714 today, and am impressed with the speed of your order processing and shipping. The earrings are more beautiful than the photos showed, and my mother and grandmother, for whom I purchased the earrings as Mother’s Day presents, will love them.
I am sadly disappointed by the alexandrite ring, however. The ring setting is flawless as far as I can tell, but the center alexandrite stone looks nothing like the photos online or on the Certificate of Authenticity. The stone is so cloudy from inclusions that the color isn’t even consistent all the way through, and the inclusions are so dramatic that they are really cracks going all the way up to the surface of the stone, such that you can actually feel the cracks by running a finger over the top of the stone. I’m afraid that any slight impact on the stone would crumble it. It really appears as if the stone were dropped on the ground and stomped on with someone’s high heeled shoes.
I’ve searched your site for return information but could find none. I remember reading that you have a 30-day return policy, and would like to exercise that for return of the alexandrite ring. Please provide information to me as to how I may do that, and how I may effectuate a refund for the price of the ring.
Thank you for your assistance.
Cindy [last name]
Sorry that your ring did not provide 100% customer satisfaction. I hope they refund you in full or send you another ring, that’s to perfection! Aren’t they supposed to have inspectors before that stuff is shipped out?
Your description of the stone reminds me of some diamond earrings I received from (a lazy, last minute shopping) ex-boyfriend. I put them on and went to wash my face and could see the black carbon deposits in the mirror they were so big!
Good luck with the return.
Flat Coke – The purchase came with a “Guide to Gemstones” book or something like that, and under Alexandrites, it says that because they’re so rare in nature, an inclusion is not considered a flaw as much as proof of connectivity with nature, like a fingerprint. Okay, there’s inclusion and then there’s pale stone so watered-down in color that doesn’t even look like Alexandrive, PLUS it doesn’t change color AT ALL in any different lighting, and it looks like there’s a cotton ball in the middle of it taking up 50% of the stone! I wonder whether the inspectors think that this crushed stone qualifies as having “an inclusion.”
Ally – Haha, I made the same reference yesterday! I said the flaws were so big that you don’t need a magnifying glass to see it, you can see it from here *stretching hand out as far away as humanly possible while stretching head back*. But the ex may just be so ignorant to diamond selection that he purchased the “best deal”, i.e. cheapest largest diamonds, without wondering WHY it was cheap. Ack, I should talk, that’s the case with my ring.
Hi – I appreciate you are US based but Gems TV UK seem to have a great customer returns reputation – a lot of our friends have also ordered a lot from them and they have only had a couple of problems, which were put right really, really quickly.
Very impressive and by far the best home shopping channel customer service so far. Hope your experience is as good as ours. Good luck.
Steve – so far the customer service HAS been impressive, and I returned the ring yesterday by mail. Thanks for sharing your experience, it makes me feel better about what to expect when they receive the ring.