I wanted to give my wife a pair of diamond earrings for Christmas, I am not a big shopper and figured this was a product i could buy on line at a relitive discount because the online stores would not have the big jewlery store overhead. I did som research and found a lot of good reviews about Century Diamonds ( Most of which i have now found out were self promoted by them.)
I ordered accordingly based on the guide they had and figured I was going to get a couple of nice diamonds based on the quality i selected and the comments of the order processor when i called to confirm. i place the order thnking they would ship that day as I paid extra for 2 day shipping. it turns out they did not ship for a 4 days which if i would have known it would be that long i would not have paid extra shipping charges. to get to the point of this report - when the diamonds did arrive i anchously opend the box to what 3 weeks pay looks like and I was shocked to find two milk colored dull stones. they did not even look any diamond i have ever seen.
when I called i was told they are real and they "conform to the grade selected" i said I needed to return them and get credit so I can buy my wife a real gift - they kept trying to sell me up to a more expensive product and them reluctanlty gave me a return number. I sent the return to be tracked ant signed for and I am glad I did because it have been a week and when i followed up to see where the return is at they acted like they never recieved it. i then made it clear some one signed for it and i had all of my documentation and all of a sudden they said it in fact had been recieved and is now being reviewed. I will believe the return when i actually see it on my credit card statment but at this point I do not have high hopes. in the future i will pay extra and only buy from reputable stores that have a location I can goto if there are problems.
Sorry for the length of this report, but this is a long story and you need to know all of it to understand my problem with Century.
I bought a three-stone ring from them a couple of years ago, and when it first arrived, the center stone seemed smaller than what they claimed, but we did not know any better, and so we upgraded to a larger one. The second ring looked good until my fiancee was washing her hands, and under the running water, the ring had a very strange look. We took it to a jewelry store in the mall, and they put it under the microscope, which showed a huge “feather” that was cloudy under the running water. They told us that the stone should definitely not have been graded SI-2, as Century claimed. We contacted Century and they said we could exchange the ring, so we just put it down to an honest mistake, and sent it back. The new ring that came looked good and had no major flaws, so we were okay with it.
Fast-forward to a few months ago, when I decided to upgrade the ring, and we chose a solitaire instead of the three-stone. The price was $3,100 for the new ring, and I returned the original one and paid $1,200 for the upgrade. The ring arrived and the stone looked nice but the setting was plain, so we decided to find a new setting. A jeweler who looked at the ring said that he didn’t believe that it was 1.25 ct based on the diameter and height, but he couldn’t be sure without removing it from the setting, which would void the return policy. We took it to a second jeweler who said that he thought it was no more than 1 ct. A third measured the stone and agreed that it was not 1.25 ct. He took a digital photo under a microscope that showed two huge feathers and lots of small inclusions. He said that with one feather it could be an SI-2, but not with both, and he estimated the value at no more than $1,500.
I called Century and told them our concern about the weight, and they had us send the ring back. I felt as if we had been misled, but I didn’t want to alert them to my suspicions, so I did not mention the flaws and our concern about the grading. I wanted to see if they would be honest about the weight, since three different jewelers had disputed it. After they got the ring back, they called to say that they weighed it and insisted that it was 1.25 ct. I said that I did not want it, and they refunded the $1,200 upgrade charge, but would only give me a credit for the original $1,900 purchase. I told them that I did not want to buy anything from them, as I do not trust their grading.
They said that they never claimed that their diamonds are graded by GIA, which is true; but they also do not disclose that they are not graded to GIA standards, even though they use GIA terminology. The stones are graded to the standard of the European Gemological Laboratory, a for-profit corporation, not non-profit like GIA. I did some research and found that EGL uses the GIA grading terminology, but a lower standard, and the same diamond will have a higher grade by the EGL standard than graded by GIA standard. So whatever grade Century puts on a stone, understand that any jeweler using the GIA standard will grade it one to two grades lower.
Their website states that a “third-party appraisal certificate” is provided, but does not indicate who issues the appraisal. The appraisal is issued by GSS and signed by someone that the GSS website identifies as a “certified Master Gemologist” but does not indicate his certification. It states that he is “Accredited by the Institute of Belgium” in diamond grading, but I looked online and couldn’t find any reference to that institution. And they don’t give you any of this information until after the fact, so I didn’t find out about the appraisal until after I purchased the ring. The website says that “an independent third-party appraisal certificate ” is provided with each purchase, but GSS has the same address as Century Diamonds. If the appraiser shares an office with them, there is a major conflict of interest that is not disclosed anywhere on their website, and to represent this appraiser as an “independent third party” is outrageously misleading.
I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and Century offered to refund my original purchase less a 40% restocking charge, which is abusive and insulting. I rejected this, and offered to settle for a 15% restocking charge, but have not gotten a response. I have documented evidence of everything that I have posted here, and also filed a complaint with the State of California Attorney General.
I purchased diamond earrings from this company, upon arrival they were not the quality advertised. I purchased diamond earrings for Christmas that were 2 carats, E-VS2 round cut diamonds. The "appraisal" that came with it was valued at $22,584. We got our own appraisal and it came back very different.
The value of the earrings is drastically lower ($4,150)... and the size/clarity is significantly less. In addition to this, it was noted that one of the diamonds has a worn facet. When we purchased these, we were told that it would be no issue to return/exchange. They advertise a 100% guarentee on their website which is incorrect. In addition, they advertise an A+ rating with the BBB and they are not an accredited company.
We have spent almost 2 weeks now trying to get this resolved and each time we call "Mike" the sales manager is in a meeting, busy, or off work. We are tired of the run around from this company.
If you are reading this, you are probably contemplating using Century Diamonds. I am about to save you a lot of time, stop now, and find another retailer! I decided to try Century, despite the bad reviews online, and order a pair of diamond stud earrings for my wife for Christmas. The order was placed on 12/12, and I paid extra to "guarantee" it would arrive by Christmas. All was fine until about 12/20 when I saw that the tracking info had changed and the package was now due to arrive on 12/27?? Not good. That's where the fun began, calling into their customer service department. I was told that there was a problem with UPS, it was something that affected many of their customers, and possibly others. Fine, I understand things like that happen this time of year. All they needed to do was place the order again, same product, overnight it and I would refuse acceptance of the original package. Easy, right?
Except they expected me to pay the $79 overnight fee? Umm, what's that? Why should I have to pay for it? My order confirmation stated clearly that delivery was guaranteed by 12/24/16?? I didn't choose to use UPS, they did, therefore, they should be paying to make it right for their brand spanking new customer, not ask me to pay to overnight it. Well, this went back and forth with a rep who clearly was not able to understand or speak the language all too well. I asked for a supervisor, and it was just more of the same. They made no sense and were just talking in circles, contradicting what they had just said, etc. They were clearly in the weeds. I was told to allow her to look further into it, don't worry she said, I'll call you back. I waited 6 hours, and called back for her. She was on the phone, but was told she will call me right back. Another hour goes by, no call. I call again, ask for manager, and basically get the same run around.
She tells me she will call me back, I am still waiting for that call back! I was forced to go to a store in my area, pay much more for what is probably a better product, but was treated as a valued customer. Century may have great prices, but their customer service is a prime example of what never to do to a customer. Now, I am just hoping that they refund the original in a timely fashion. NEVER use this company, you'll regret it.
I had the same issue occur - milky spots in the diamonds
When I called back they also tried to upsell me. I actually agreed to the upsell but their processing department was not available to do the transaction so the guy on the call told me he would call back the next day. I haven't heard from them since and every time I call the number I am placed on hold for extended periods of time followed by a recorded statement that call volumes are too high so I have to call back. When I showed my neighborhood jeweler the diamonds he laughed at the grading that was done and said that it was not accurate. I have emailed their sales office and I am trying to get a refund but I have not heard anything from these people. I am concerned that his is an elaborate scam that was set up for the holiday season. I would avoid these people like the plague. If I do not get my money back, I will sue these fools and already made a call to the BBB and the state attorney generals office. I will update you on this.
Century Diamonds Reviews
I wanted to give my wife a pair of diamond earrings for Christmas, I am not a big shopper and figured this was a product i could buy on line at a relitive discount because the online stores would not have the big jewlery store overhead. I did som research and found a lot of good reviews about Century Diamonds ( Most of which i have now found out were self promoted by them.)
I ordered accordingly based on the guide they had and figured I was going to get a couple of nice diamonds based on the quality i selected and the comments of the order processor when i called to confirm. i place the order thnking they would ship that day as I paid extra for 2 day shipping. it turns out they did not ship for a 4 days which if i would have known it would be that long i would not have paid extra shipping charges. to get to the point of this report - when the diamonds did arrive i anchously opend the box to what 3 weeks pay looks like and I was shocked to find two milk colored dull stones. they did not even look any diamond i have ever seen.
when I called i was told they are real and they "conform to the grade selected" i said I needed to return them and get credit so I can buy my wife a real gift - they kept trying to sell me up to a more expensive product and them reluctanlty gave me a return number. I sent the return to be tracked ant signed for and I am glad I did because it have been a week and when i followed up to see where the return is at they acted like they never recieved it. i then made it clear some one signed for it and i had all of my documentation and all of a sudden they said it in fact had been recieved and is now being reviewed. I will believe the return when i actually see it on my credit card statment but at this point I do not have high hopes. in the future i will pay extra and only buy from reputable stores that have a location I can goto if there are problems.
Sorry for the length of this report, but this is a long story and you need to know all of it to understand my problem with Century.
I bought a three-stone ring from them a couple of years ago, and when it first arrived, the center stone seemed smaller than what they claimed, but we did not know any better, and so we upgraded to a larger one. The second ring looked good until my fiancee was washing her hands, and under the running water, the ring had a very strange look. We took it to a jewelry store in the mall, and they put it under the microscope, which showed a huge “feather” that was cloudy under the running water. They told us that the stone should definitely not have been graded SI-2, as Century claimed. We contacted Century and they said we could exchange the ring, so we just put it down to an honest mistake, and sent it back. The new ring that came looked good and had no major flaws, so we were okay with it.
Fast-forward to a few months ago, when I decided to upgrade the ring, and we chose a solitaire instead of the three-stone. The price was $3,100 for the new ring, and I returned the original one and paid $1,200 for the upgrade. The ring arrived and the stone looked nice but the setting was plain, so we decided to find a new setting. A jeweler who looked at the ring said that he didn’t believe that it was 1.25 ct based on the diameter and height, but he couldn’t be sure without removing it from the setting, which would void the return policy. We took it to a second jeweler who said that he thought it was no more than 1 ct. A third measured the stone and agreed that it was not 1.25 ct. He took a digital photo under a microscope that showed two huge feathers and lots of small inclusions. He said that with one feather it could be an SI-2, but not with both, and he estimated the value at no more than $1,500.
I called Century and told them our concern about the weight, and they had us send the ring back. I felt as if we had been misled, but I didn’t want to alert them to my suspicions, so I did not mention the flaws and our concern about the grading. I wanted to see if they would be honest about the weight, since three different jewelers had disputed it. After they got the ring back, they called to say that they weighed it and insisted that it was 1.25 ct. I said that I did not want it, and they refunded the $1,200 upgrade charge, but would only give me a credit for the original $1,900 purchase. I told them that I did not want to buy anything from them, as I do not trust their grading.
They said that they never claimed that their diamonds are graded by GIA, which is true; but they also do not disclose that they are not graded to GIA standards, even though they use GIA terminology. The stones are graded to the standard of the European Gemological Laboratory, a for-profit corporation, not non-profit like GIA. I did some research and found that EGL uses the GIA grading terminology, but a lower standard, and the same diamond will have a higher grade by the EGL standard than graded by GIA standard. So whatever grade Century puts on a stone, understand that any jeweler using the GIA standard will grade it one to two grades lower.
Their website states that a “third-party appraisal certificate” is provided, but does not indicate who issues the appraisal. The appraisal is issued by GSS and signed by someone that the GSS website identifies as a “certified Master Gemologist” but does not indicate his certification. It states that he is “Accredited by the Institute of Belgium” in diamond grading, but I looked online and couldn’t find any reference to that institution. And they don’t give you any of this information until after the fact, so I didn’t find out about the appraisal until after I purchased the ring. The website says that “an independent third-party appraisal certificate ” is provided with each purchase, but GSS has the same address as Century Diamonds. If the appraiser shares an office with them, there is a major conflict of interest that is not disclosed anywhere on their website, and to represent this appraiser as an “independent third party” is outrageously misleading.
I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and Century offered to refund my original purchase less a 40% restocking charge, which is abusive and insulting. I rejected this, and offered to settle for a 15% restocking charge, but have not gotten a response. I have documented evidence of everything that I have posted here, and also filed a complaint with the State of California Attorney General.
I purchased diamond earrings from this company, upon arrival they were not the quality advertised. I purchased diamond earrings for Christmas that were 2 carats, E-VS2 round cut diamonds. The "appraisal" that came with it was valued at $22,584. We got our own appraisal and it came back very different.
The value of the earrings is drastically lower ($4,150)... and the size/clarity is significantly less. In addition to this, it was noted that one of the diamonds has a worn facet. When we purchased these, we were told that it would be no issue to return/exchange. They advertise a 100% guarentee on their website which is incorrect. In addition, they advertise an A+ rating with the BBB and they are not an accredited company.
We have spent almost 2 weeks now trying to get this resolved and each time we call "Mike" the sales manager is in a meeting, busy, or off work. We are tired of the run around from this company.
If you are reading this, you are probably contemplating using Century Diamonds. I am about to save you a lot of time, stop now, and find another retailer! I decided to try Century, despite the bad reviews online, and order a pair of diamond stud earrings for my wife for Christmas. The order was placed on 12/12, and I paid extra to "guarantee" it would arrive by Christmas. All was fine until about 12/20 when I saw that the tracking info had changed and the package was now due to arrive on 12/27?? Not good. That's where the fun began, calling into their customer service department. I was told that there was a problem with UPS, it was something that affected many of their customers, and possibly others. Fine, I understand things like that happen this time of year. All they needed to do was place the order again, same product, overnight it and I would refuse acceptance of the original package. Easy, right?
Except they expected me to pay the $79 overnight fee? Umm, what's that? Why should I have to pay for it? My order confirmation stated clearly that delivery was guaranteed by 12/24/16?? I didn't choose to use UPS, they did, therefore, they should be paying to make it right for their brand spanking new customer, not ask me to pay to overnight it. Well, this went back and forth with a rep who clearly was not able to understand or speak the language all too well. I asked for a supervisor, and it was just more of the same. They made no sense and were just talking in circles, contradicting what they had just said, etc. They were clearly in the weeds. I was told to allow her to look further into it, don't worry she said, I'll call you back. I waited 6 hours, and called back for her. She was on the phone, but was told she will call me right back. Another hour goes by, no call. I call again, ask for manager, and basically get the same run around.
She tells me she will call me back, I am still waiting for that call back! I was forced to go to a store in my area, pay much more for what is probably a better product, but was treated as a valued customer. Century may have great prices, but their customer service is a prime example of what never to do to a customer. Now, I am just hoping that they refund the original in a timely fashion. NEVER use this company, you'll regret it.
I had the same issue occur - milky spots in the diamonds
When I called back they also tried to upsell me. I actually agreed to the upsell but their processing department was not available to do the transaction so the guy on the call told me he would call back the next day. I haven't heard from them since and every time I call the number I am placed on hold for extended periods of time followed by a recorded statement that call volumes are too high so I have to call back. When I showed my neighborhood jeweler the diamonds he laughed at the grading that was done and said that it was not accurate. I have emailed their sales office and I am trying to get a refund but I have not heard anything from these people. I am concerned that his is an elaborate scam that was set up for the holiday season. I would avoid these people like the plague. If I do not get my money back, I will sue these fools and already made a call to the BBB and the state attorney generals office. I will update you on this.