Purchased platinum, but given white gold by Kay Jewelers.

edenisle

Hey ladies, I'm just wondering who has any experience with Kay Jewelers?  Or any advice on my situation below?

My fiance decided to go to them for my engagement ring (though, after reading reviews, I'm really thinking this might have been a bad idea).  He had my ring custom made, which took awhile- like 2.5 months, though I figure that is somewhat normal for custom made rings.  When purchasing the ring, he specified and paid for platinum as the metal.  I received the ring and immediately tried to initiate the insurance paperwork with an insurance company.  I was told by the insurance company that I needed a more elaborate appraisal of the ring (side stones, etc.), so I contacted Kay to see if they could help.  Several weeks later (and still without insurance coverage), I went to Kay to speak with them in person (again) and asked them to clean the ring while I was there, which they do free of charge.  The associate who cleaned my ring was talking about my GIA report with me and was showing me where my laser inscription was placed on the diamond.  After looking at the ring under the scope, the associate said that we had a problem (not with the diamond, we verified the inscription)- the ring was actually 14K white gold, instead of platinum. 

After several calls to the factory by Kay, it was confirmed that they, indeed, did make a 14K ring, instead of platinum.  They said that they will fix it at no cost to them.  However, we have our engagement photos scheduled for the last weekend of March, and since I was told I won't get it back for several weeks, I was told that I could keep it until then. 

After discovering all of this, I decided to do some research online (mostly because I am worried about sending my ring out) and I came across a scary amount of extremely negative reviews regarding Kay Jewelers, their tendency to damage the rings during repair/etc, and their unwillingness to work with customers after the fact. 

Obviously, I'm extremely worried about relinquishing the ring to them, as well am disappointed in the way that this is all turning out.  It is bad enough that it was like pulling teeth to get information from them for the insurance, but what makes it worse is that they discouraged me from getting an appraisal from another jeweler, saying that it would be super expensive and not worth it because they could just get me the paperwork.  In addition, I fear that the fact that my ring being custom-made and having a wide split shank is a recipe for disaster. 

Has anyone else dealt with Kay or had any similar issues?  If I'm overreacting or over thinking this, please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

southernbelle0915

Well, it sounds like you have two options:

1) allow them to try and fix this, at no cost to you (make sure you write down the employee names, dates, times, details every single time you talk to them)

OR

2) tell them you'd just like them to refund you the difference between platinum and white gold and stick with your current ring.

edenisle

@sourthernbelle0915 thank you.  That's pretty much what I was thinking too.  Definitely agree with writing everything down!  Thanks for your response.

teddygirl9

If you DO get it fixed by them:

Get insurance for it with the white gold or whatever it is currently.

Get an independant appraisal ASAP. It's really not that expensive, and any company who tries to shoo you away from that already sounds shady.

There are so many things that can go wrong with a re-set, these will protect your investment should anything go wrong and Kay decides they don't want to take responsibility. 

 

I'm not sure why you think why a wide split shank setting is a recipe for disaster though? At least its not pave!

edenisle

@teddygirl9 Thank you.  I agree.  Scheduled an appraisal with an accredited appraiser this week and was quoted $95!  Not the "$450" Kay 'warned' me it would cost.

Thanks for your help!  Trying cover all of my bases. 

pinupbride6189

Oh man. FI bought my ring at Kays and after reading this, I'm a little bit worried. It wasn't custom or anything, and the people we worked with seemed to be very up front with us and answered all of our questions. It's supposed to have a lifetime warranty as long as I take it to be cleaned and adjusted every 6 months, but now I'm not sure I want to leave it with them for the 20 minutes it would take me to walk around the mall. 

Definitely follow through with your appraiser and whatever you decide, insure that puppy ASAP. You can always adjust your policy later if you have the stones reset.

Also, I love that you have an inscription on your stone! I just discovered that that was a thing, and thought it was a really cool alternative to having the band engraved!

Blue_Bird

OMG that is crazy. I'm so sorry this happened to you. I hope it works out, and thanks for giving us all a heads up about Kay Jewelers.

edenisle

@pinupbride6189 That's exactly how I felt.  They seemed very upfront and helpful.  Then all of this stuff started building up, and I'm remembering little things, such as when I went to a different Kay than the one where the ring was designed, the manager said she needed to look at something in the computer.  She spent a long time on the computer and then looked at the ring under the scope for awhile.  When she came back, she just changed the subject to ideas about our wedding bands.  I never really noticed that she never told me what she needed to look up and stuff like that.  However, when I called her a few days later to ask if I should just get an appraisal from an outside source since the Kay where the ring was designed (up in Atlanta) was taking so long to get the insurance paperwork to me, she insisted that appraisals run around $400-$450 dollars, so it'd be wise for me to just wait for the paperwork.  Tomorrow, I have an appraisal booked with an appraiser (who is accredited, found him on the GIA website) for $95.  It's just so shady.  I've got the ring insured now, and we are going to see what the appraiser says Tuesday, and go from there.  Thank you for the input!

@Blue_Bird Thanks!