I have my alexandrite

[Meeshoo]

Having the Safeguard certification is NOT the same. Please don't take this to a normal jewellers - you won't get a proper appraisal - Alexandrite is a speciality stone and it needs to be appraised by somebody who has seen a lot of pieces. Therefore you need to have it professionally appraised/valued by a Safeguard Valuer and there are only 6 in the country who travel around set geographical areas. They will have seen more Alex than any High Street jeweller and will be able to give you a correct appraisal based on fact.

I bet you any money, if you take your ring to 5 different High Street jewellers who have the Safeguard certification, you'll get 5 wildly different valuations and opinions varying from the "it's rubbish" to "it's worth a fortune"!

For your own sanity, please book in with a Safeguard Valuer at one of their open days (listed on the website link I sent you). Please do not go to a normal jewellers.

At the end of the day, if you love the ring (and it sounds like you do) then I would forget the above. Loving a piece of jewellery is THE most important thing.

 

[gemcherub]

I agree with Meeshoo if you love it thats all that matters, if you have any doubts at that price send it back x

 

[Beading Belle]

Another one who loves alex! Its a great gemstone. I agree with all the advice if you love the ring keep it but if you in doubt send it back. Good luck xx

 

[NikkiS]

I've taken it to two other jewellers today, one of whom said "It's probably synthetic" and when she admitted it wasn't, said the stone was worth about £150, and the other who said it was worth about a third of what I paid. whilst I don't necessarily trust those valuations, it's totally demoralised me and really taken the shine off the pleasaure I get from the ring! I am wondering if I will ever feel the same way about it again.

There is a safeguard valuation day in my area on 8th oct but I am not sure I will still ahve it by then..... I do feel so sad about it all!

yet again, I appreciate all your comments and thoughts.

N xxx

 

[Meeshoo]

I'm sorry Nikki but I warned you. Jewellers won't have seen this gemstone AND definitely won't know how to value it. It's not a sapphire or ruby. This is the danger of taking it to jewellers who know nothing about speciality gemstones.

Why are you letting what others think spoil your enjoyment? This morning you said you loved it.

Make sure any decision you make is one that you won't regret. If you love it and think to yourself that it's worth £1k then keep it. If the price keeps getting in the way of you loving it OR you are making yourself love it, then send it back.

What will you do if it's valued at the same price you paid for it? Will you still want it?

 

[NikkiS]

Probably. Like I say, i was hurt by being laughed at three times in a row - but as you've warned me, these people have their reasons. I shall mull it over again - god, what a fusspot I am! I've never bought anything over 1K beofre you see, it's a new experience for me

N xxx

 

[sweetpea]

Probably. Like I say, i was hurt by being laughed at three times in a row - but as you've warned me, these people have their reasons. I shall mull it over again - god, what a fusspot I am! I've never bought anything over 1K beofre you see, it's a new experience for me

N xxx

You are not being a fusspot,it's a lot of money to spend!

I would get the Safeguard valuation as you do seem to like the ring,it may be you that is laughing in the end!

 

[Meeshoo]

Probably. Like I say, i was hurt by being laughed at three times in a row - but as you've warned me, these people have their reasons. I shall mull it over again - god, what a fusspot I am! I've never bought anything over 1K beofre you see, it's a new experience for me

N xxx

It's totally understandable hun. £1k is a lot of money. Look at it this way ......

To say it's synthetic without even testing it shows the lack of expertise of the first jeweller you visited. Ok, I can sort of understand a knee jerk reaction like this because there's a ton of synthetic Alex on the market BUT if RocksTV sell synthetic Alex I'd eat my hat!!! There's no way they'd do that! They'd never risk their reputation.

A professional jeweller, if not sure would check the gemstone's refractive index (if you can get to the stone), look through a loupe for telltale inclusions, test it on a gemstone tester to determine the gemstone family etc etc. At that point, she would have known that the gemstone wasn't a synthetic. To make matters worse she then pulls a figure out of a hat to give you a valuation of £150?????????? Sorry, but that REALLY shows that she knows absolutely nothing.

So let's look at the second valuation. About £350? IF and I mean IF, your Alex is about 1ct, not well cut, has mediocre colour change and a hollowed 18k w/gold shank, it's still worth more than that!!! Perhaps you should have asked the jeweller if he could have sourced and made you the ring for that!!!

A valuation is about replacement value (not the actual value of the ring). So, basically how much would you need in your pocket to buy the same stone again, the gold and the accent diamonds if your ring was lost or stolen.

Let me give you an example ...... I have a phenomenal 3ct Alex. It's been valued at 4 times the amount of another 3ct Alex I have. Why the difference? Colour change, clarity and cut. That's why you need to let somebody who knows what they're talking about have a look at it.

Put today behind you, put the ring in it's box and get it out tomorrow with a fresh mind. See how you feel when you're feeling less stressed about it.

 

[Tabs]

I've been reading this thread with interest, but decided not to comment until now. There are jewellers out there who will give derogatory valuations for 2 reasons, 1 because they know nothing about the gemstone, and 2 because of their "grudges" against shopping telly jewellery sellers.

Re your Alex ring, £1000 is a lot of money to spend on a ring, so you need to be completely in love or happy with it, if not send it back. It seems to me you loved the ring and its colour change last night, before the jewellers tainted your view. If you are totally happy with what you are seeing, and would miss it terribly if you sent it back then keep it..if you are going to sit in your jewellery box to look at occasionally and think "why did i keep this?" send it back and try again.

Good Luck making your decision.

 

[Klosblue]

I've just read this thread and my "Twinny" Tabs has taken the words right out of my mouth - must be in the genes!

Anyway, just reiterating, you could take any piece from Rocks TV or any of the TV jewellery channels to a High Street jeweller and they'll all tell you that it's rubbish! I read a very interesting item on the internet some time ago where High Street jewellers were getting together to discuss how to deal with these other oulets. They agreed to either refuse to give valuations on them or to value only at the price paid evidenced by your receipt! What's the point in paying for a valuation only for it to be deliberately valued at what you paid for it?? They cannot compete with price, variety, quality etc. so they will do is exactly what they did to you NikkiS - make you feel an idiot for buying rubbish! It's absolutely ridiculous especially when you consider than a large percentage of these High Street jewellers don't even know the quality of the diamonds they're selling let alone knowing what an Alexandrite is!

Listen to Meeshoo and if you want a true, honest, expert valuation then make an appointment with Safeguard when they're in your area.

On the subject of CS, it's great to see Steve and Tony still go the extra mile for their customers. Sadly that's becoming very uncommon these days. I was a wee bit disappointed one of the last times I bought from Rocks TV as when I received my order one item was missing. I had to call up only to be told there were none left and they wouldn't be getting them back in. Fair enough but a wee email or note in the parcel telling me this would have been nice rather than me having to phone up. Only a minor blip I'm sure as I've read some fabulous Rocks TV CS stories here so keep up the great work!

 

[jacqualina]

I hope you are feeling better this morning Nikki. I know £1,000 is a lot of money, but there is no reason to feel down about the ring just because of the valuations of a couple of high street jewellers. Meeshoo gave you fair warning and she really is an expert, so please do try to forget your trip to the jewellers' and follow her advice about a Safeguard valuation. I have a feeling you'll be very pleasantly surprised.

 

[Beady Belle]

Hi Nikki, for what it's worth, I just want to second, third, fourth and fifth what everyone else has said.

I can wholeheartedly endorse the suggestion to get the ring valued by Safeguard. They are totally independant and unbiased. Apologies to anyone who's already heard this story, but a few years ago, I bought a AAAA Tanzy (OK, I know there isn't such a thing, but that's what it was called). I found out that Safeguard was coming to my local high street jeweller so booked an appointment. The girl in the jeweller asked me where I'd bought it from and I told her. She sneered and said "I thought so", so I turned round and said "Yes, I bought it from XXXX because you don't sell anything of this size of colour in your store" That shut the snotty mare up.

Anyway, when the Safeguard valuer looked at it, I asked him about the colour, the cut, etc., and he was extremely complimentary. Said it was an extremely good stone, that the cut was also extremely good, and valued it at just over twice what I had paid for it. I thought this was a realistic valuation, not something dreamt up within the realms of fantasy, and I was a happy bunny. They also give you a comprehensive valuation certificate, which your insurance company may need if you intend adding it to your policy.

If after having the valuation, you decide not to keep it, that's fine, Rocks' no quibble MBG is exactly that, but don't let a few people who don't know their A's from the elbows put you off a ring that you were initially so happy to own.

For me, the actual monetary value is not the key issue, if I love something that's the only reason I keep it, (altho' of course it is nice to think you've got a good deal :4: )