2.4ct DIAMOND RING by CARTIER FOR SALE ON EBAY (??) ... WAIT A MINUTE ... BUYER BEWARE BIGTIME!

My post a few days back related to one of my recent shopping experiences. Now, here's one I want to share with you and hope you never become the victim of a "seller" like this.



We were perusing the site, KIJIJI, when we came across an ad for the ring above. Don't go searching for it. You won't find it now. But we did find a link under Kijiji (Toronto) warning shoppers not to fall for this as it was a scam. You can see that notice here: http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-jewellery-watches-SCAM-Cartier-2-4ct-Diamond-Platinum-Wedding-Ring-SCAM-W0QQAdIdZ164545195



But before we saw the scam notice, we contacted the seller. This person wrote back promptly saying she (might be a he) had to sell the ring quickly for financial reasons and $5000 US was the lowest price she could take for this incredible Cartier ring. The ring has a single 2.4ct diamond and the band is stamped "Cartier" as shown below:



She also indicated she couldn't meet with us to show us the ring as she was in the US at this time and that the ring was already with a shipping company, packaged and ready to ship. If we were interested, all we had to do was hit BUY IT NOW at a link he/she provided on eBay. We were unable to locate the ring at all on eBay, so we wrote again. The person sent us this link below in an email:



http:/cgi.ebay.com/Cartier-2-40ct-Diamond-Platinum-Wedding-Ring_W0QQitemZ310157683485QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Fine_Rings?hash=item4836d6ab1d&Item



Well, as you'll see if you click that link now, you'll get an error reading i.e. page not found. But before that, it "redirected" you to the link below which I cannot enable as a link here (you can try copying and pasting but it'll produce an error message now)

http://754654554444554566565.limewebs.com/W0QQitemZ2802163510QQihZ018QQcategoryZ50029QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZVehiclesListingItemListings/

So you might ask me why put all this here for us to read now if neither link brings up a web page? Answer: please compare the two links:



In the first one, you see "ebay" and "cartier 2.40ct diamond platinum wedding ring" etc. That is that url looks legit doesn't it.



So you click on it and get redirected, as we were, to the second url. Now take a close look at that one. Notice, there's NOTHING about ebay on it; no mention of a Cartier diamond ring. In fact, it re-directs you to a site at www.limewebs.com. And notice the last few words again in that url: "vehicles listing item". Vehicles? What's that got to do with diamond rings?



We have since reported this to ebay which is perhaps why you can no longer access anything about this "Cartier 2.40ct Diamond ring) but how very sad all this is! First of all, some scammer has hijacked a legitimate seller's page/identity, set up a page that looks so much like a legitimate ebay page that the unwary can easily be fooled, then actually corresponded with a potential buyer, using the legitimate ebay seller's name, and urged us to BUY IT NOW! Imagine if we'd fell for that!! After all, they were asking $5000 for the ring. Ay yay yay!



I wanted to share this with you, if you're a buyer of anything online, not just jewelry: be very cautious of anyone saying they need the money as they're in financial distress. If they also say they can't meet with you when the item costs this much, and their location is in easy commute of where you live (as this supposedly was), then something's up. Furthermore, become just that little bit more net savvy: study the url, the link you are being sent. Does it look right? If you then click the link out of curiosity (caution here as you never know where it's going to take you ie.. could be a porn site, a phishing site, anything) look at the url showing in your browser to see if it's the same one you were sent (After all, there's no similarity between the two urls above!) If not, you know you've been "redirected" and some scammer is out there just dying to take your money!



Incidentally, this one even told us we were covered up to $10,000 by eBay/PayPal. Yeah right! Under payment, however, they said only by "wire transfer"... another red flag especially given ebay's latest policy of payment only via PayPal. I hate that new ruling as legitimate sellers are happy to take cheque or money order (we do at Ruby Lane) and some buyers prefer to pay that way too. But in situations like this one, eBay's new rule might just prevent heartache.



Saying you can never be too cautious is an under-statement!



And by the way, this same scammer still has the ad running on Craiglist HERE!!!



Someone report this NOW!



While I have you, if you really want a gorgeous diamond ring, top quality diamonds, designer signed too, why don't you check out the latest additions to our Estate Jewelry Showcase HERE

That spectacular ring by COAST, shown below, appraised at over $6900 USD and is being offered on sale now, with the appraisal included, for only $1835! Click the photo to learn more!





Or how about the one below with 1.30cts of incredible diamonds?



It doesn't get better than this at our reasonable prices for truly valuable vintage rings. And you're buying from a reputable seller with hundreds of very happy customers who'll be happy to give us a referral...and do, all the time!

SOME SELLERS WILL TRY ANYTHING TO AVOID A REFUND!

Today I want to fill you in on one of the most unpleasant buying experiences I've had lately. It left me wondering to what lows sellers will stoop to avoid issuing a refund to a dissatisfied customer.

I purchased an unusual ring from a seller. I'd never seen one like this before. The photos looked good and the description left me little to worry about in terms of quality. The ring was described as "mint", free of any scratches or problems and a size 5.5. The ring contained a combination of rubies, diamonds and sapphires and was originally purchased, at great expense (so I was told by the seller) from Bailey, Biddle and Banks years back when the seller was a child. I asked if there were any receipts or proof the ring came from BBB but was told no, they were long lost. Well no problem. It looked lovely and I wanted it. So I paid the BUY IT NOW price and eagerly awaited my ring.

When the package arrived, we all stood around breathlessly as I opened it and removed the bubble wrap. We opened the ring box and it looked great, just like what we'd seen in the photos. It was way too small for my swollen fingers but my daughter who wears a size 5.5 tried to put it on. Not a chance! She got it on her pinky finger, barely. We grabbed the ring-sizer and it showed it as a size 3.5. Ouch! Oh well, maybe we could get it re-sized.

Just as we were discussing if there was enough gold in the band to do that, my daughter noticed a small crack or break in the band where one would normally re-size. We grabbed the loupe to be sure. Yes, there was a crack, perhaps from a previous re-sizing. This was bad news. No way could we risk re-sizing this ring. I checked the seller's ad: yes, she'd said it was a size 5.5 and she said it was in mint condition. Well now, it was neither, and worse yet, I'd paid a lot for it and didn't want it because of these issues.

I immediately contacted the seller, who had stated "no refunds" (should have seen a red flag right there!). She wrote back saying she was in shock. The ring had left her in perfect condition. She'd even had it polished and her jeweler hadn't seen any "crack". So we grabbed our camera and did close-ups of the flaw. Again, she couldn't believe it and started to insist it wasn't there when she shipped it. I asked her about the size too: We sent her a photo of the ring on the ring-sizer. Now this time she got mad and said no way: our ring sizer must be defective or we have different ring-sizers in Canada. I wrote saying I'd purchased the sizer from the US but said, either way, I don't want the ring and wish to return it.

She then offered me $50 to have it repaired. I declined. I just wanted my money back and would ship it back the next day by Express mail, about $30, for insurance and tracking. I asked, since the ring was 'not as described" that she cover my return shipping costs. That's what I'd do for my customers if in some way my ad was inaccurate and the customer wanted a refund. Well, didn't she hit the roof! No way would she cover the return cost because as far as she was concerned, I was merely suffering buyer's remorse and she doesn't cover shipping for buyer's remorse. When I read that, I knew I was in for a battle.

Well I shipped it back in the exact same box next day, at my expense, meaning I'd be out over $60 with original and return shipping costs. The tracking showed it was delivered successfully about a week later. I waited a couple of days to hear from her expecting her to say she'd refund the cost price. Nothing came. So I wrote and asked. Another 2 days went by and she wrote to say she was out of town but her office did confirm the package had been returned and that she'd check to see the ring was the one she'd sent when she got back. Oh really? So now, she was insinuating I'd returned something she didn't send me. Whatever! I waited. Several more days passed with no communication and no refund. I emailed to say if I had no response from her in 48 hours, I'd open a dispute in PayPal. Still nothing. So I opened the dispute. She didn't respond. 3 more days went by and suddenly I got a note from PayPal saying the seller had escalated the dispute. HUH? The seller had escalated the dispute?? I logged in and read what she'd told PayPal. Now it was my turn to be furious.

According to her account, I waited 3 weeks to inform her of problems with the ring! (Remember, I contacted her the day I got the ring). Further, she claimed I must have somehow damaged the ring as the break wasn't there when she sent it but was there now. She said her jeweler looked at it and said it looked like someone had tried to stretch it to fit and that cracked the the ring. HUH? How could I stretch 14k gold? Besides, if I did, how come the ring had shrunk from the size 5.5. she claimed it was to a size 3.5? And her last claim was I was suffering from buyer's remorse and that was my only reason for returning the ring. It was now up to PayPal to decide.

Well I phoned PayPal as I'd had no chance to rebut her comments since she'd now escalated the dispute and got a nice gal who listened to and wrote down everything from my side of the story. I also informed her that I had an earlier email from the woman (when I'd tried to resolve this amicably) in which she said she used to have another shop on this site but closed it because people were always buying stuff, suffering buyers remorse, damaging the item and then returning it to her for a refund. Oh really? So this had happened to her on many occasions had it? Funny 'bout that.

Well in the end, I'm happy to say PayPal did rule in my favour and issued a full refund, including my return shipping costs. That must have upset her again as she immediately filed an appeal. To my satisfaction, she lost the appeal. Justice had prevailed.

Now, one last thing: after all this happened, I went back to her photos of the item. We found one that showed some of the band. While the detail wasn't as clear as we make our photos, all of us could see that break! There was no question. It had been there all the time. That she or her jeweler didn't see it means nothing. It's easy to miss such things ... isn't it...?

Point of all this sad tale? As a buyer, we need to look very carefully at anything we buy online as soon as it arrives. We don't have the luxury of close scrutiny as we do in the real world in the jewelry store. So, a word of caution when you're buying: read the ad carefully; study the return policy and when the item arrives, examine it immediately, under good light. Invest in a loupe if you need to. Magnifying glasses are limited. And before you return the item, take photos of it as you got it. Even take a photo of the re-sealed box with date of returning stamp so there can be no questions that you sent it back. And, according to PayPal, always return the item with tracking and signature required. No signature and a seller can claim they never got the item. It could be left in a box, on a doorstep, whatever. The tracking will show successfully delivered, but without a signature, how do you know the right person received it!

BEAUTIFUL DIAMOND & GEMSTONE RINGS AT VINTAGE JEWELRY SHOWCASE at RUBY LANE

I've decided to do something a bit different in this blog post. I was looking through all the gorgeous diamond and gemstone rings we currently have listed in OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE, as well as those tucked away in our safe and yet to be shown on our site, and thought why not create a video of our jewelry? This is a first attempt at something like this and I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out. Don't be afraid to play the video: it's safe! And do turn on your speakers to hear the lovely guitar playing in the background. It's very soothing. It's a pretty little tune that one of our favourite musician colleagues, BILL BRUCE wrote and named after me some years back. It's called simply, "Viga's Song". I find it restful and appropriate to looking at beautiful rings like these.

I've organized the video to showcase our diamong rings first, and they're grouped by era or occasion. Then we head into the various gemstones: sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and assorted other beautiful stones. I'm very proud of our collection and hope you enjoy looking at this and sharing it with your friends and family. I think I might even do some more videos like this as time permits. I really hope you'll take a moment to comment on this effort. It was hard work but a lot of fun putting it together. Sometimes you just have to challenge yourself, don't you!

And with the exception of the magnificent cornflower blue sapphire and diamond ring shown first under sapphires, all the rings in this video are currently available in our shop. But you never know for how long. Our rings are our biggest seller, so check them out now. Thanks for watching!

ARE YOU REALLY GETTING THE BEST DOLLAR FOR YOUR BEAUTIFUL VINTAGE GOLD JEWELRY?

I don't care what others say but there's something perverse about those gold parties where you bring your beautiful real gold pieces, your mom's diamond's rings, your grandmother's unique pendant, or that gorgeous gold bracelet your hubby purchased for your anniversary and offer it up to a 'gold buyer" for the "best dollar".

For me, it's gross and it's been spawned by the greed generated by the surge in gold prices over the past 2-3 years. When you couple that greed with the dreadful downturn in the economy over 2008, with all the job losses, the defaulting on mortgages, and families desperate to make ends meet, you create a money-making situation for those fast enough to capitalize on your distress: the gold jewelry buyers. They promise you top dollar for your family heirlooms ... except ... are you really getting what that piece is worth?

Most of these buyers are not buying these beautiful pieces, like the one shown at the top of this post and available from OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE even as an investment. Truth is, if you know anything about buying gold as an investment, you know it's gold bars, ingots and coins that are the investment, not gold jewelry! So what's the deal with these gold-buying parties? What do these buyers want? They want your gold to sell to a gold refiner, that's what! They'd sell a gorgeous old bracelet like the one above (which happens to weigh 87 grams of 18k gold) to refiners for the best dollar they can get from them.

Now think about it: on the current market, with gold at 1,053.70 USD / Troy Oz, that bracelet is worth $2211 USD today (October 8, 2009) just to melt down! Wow, that's a lot of money. But wait a minute: the gold-buyer won't offer you that because after all, he/she wants to make money on your bracelet. They can't pay YOU what the gold-refiner will pay them. So they'll offer you less, sometimes much much less. After all, they want to make as much as they can on the bracelet or ring they buy from you. So they'll give you as little as they can.

So if you're hell-bent on getting some money for your wonderful heirloom gold jewelry, you might try to locate a gold-refiner directly yourself. At least you'll get more for your pieces than if you attend a gold buying party.

But that said, now let me say what I really feel: how could you sell a bracelet like the one up top to a refiner so he can just melt it down? That gorgeous bracelet was given to the mother of one of my friends by her husband over 50 years ago during a trip to Spain. When mom passed on, she left the bracelet to her daughter. I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw this piece: I'd never seen any gold bracelet that even comes close for quality, design and overall beauty. And just look at that construction:

How could you let something like this be destroyed?

Well, if you feel as I do, that gold vintage jewelry is very special and worth keeping in your family, take a closer look at this bracelet in OUR SHOP AT RUBY LANE. Granted, this one is expensive but well worth it if you can afford it. And if not, while you're over at our shop, do look at some of our other gorgeous gold necklaces, some with rubies, some with sapphires, and some with diamonds. Jewelry like this will be around longer than any costume pieces, is less subject to damage over time, and will always gain in value that no refiner or gold buyer will pay you.

From Waxahachie, Texas, to France for $5.00 Round Trip!!!!

I'm doing something I rarely do in my blogs i.e. sharing with you a great story sent to me by one of my customers. This was so good I really thought it deserved to be read by anyone who hunts down and collects jewelry. Thanks Cynthia for sharing this gem with me and my followers. Enjoy!


Sounds like one of those old fashioned "come-ons" doesn't it? Well, read on!

Anyone who knows me, knows I love "antiquing," especially for vintage
jewelry treasures. But for me, purchasing the item, is only the start of
the adventure. In this case, my purchase of $5.00 was for a completely
blackened bracelet. It was so blackened,it was impossible to see what
designs were on the tiny disks comprising the bracelet.

Why on earth buy something covered in the blacks, browns and/or greens,
encrusted by time and neglect? I hope that can I try to restore as many
pieces as possible to a condition where they can carry their beauty down
through further generations. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes not.

Cleaning a piece takes patience, but I feel such a thrill at what might be
under all the gunk.

Three cleanings latter, my little bracelet, had turned into a tiny
treasure. Each of its 10 disks were stamped on one side with a flower,
and the other side with a cathedral, or an image of the Virgin Mary. There
was no writing on any of the disks, but luckily, a small charm matching
the others, but hanging from the bracelet was marked ""Cathedrale de
Reims."

Thank heavens for the Internet! It makes research sooo much easier. Reims,
is another spelling for Rheims, France. It was on the sight of the
cathedral that Clovis, the French king, was converted to Christianity by
St. Reim. The church built to commemorate that event was built in 496
A.D. When this church burned, a cathedral was built on the site. It is
one of only a triad of churches built in the "High Gothic" or "Classical
French" styles of the 13th Century. Latter, it became the traditional
place where the Kings of France were crowned. The center portion is
dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and dominated by a a stained glass window of
a rose.

My little bracelet was yielding up its secrets! Each of the pictures of
the cathedrals on the bracelet exactly matched the photos on the Internet.
And I felt the presence of the images of the rose and the Virgin Mary
were explained by the center portion of the cathedral itself.

But what of the other flowers? The little bracelet can be worn so either
only the flowers show, or only the cathedral and the images of the Virgin
Mary show. In addition to the rose, I identified a pansy, a sunflower, and
a daffodil. In the "language of flowers" a rose symbolizes love and
purity; a pansy, loving thoughts; a sunflower, pure and lofty thoughts;
and a daffodil, chivalry.

My guess is these flowers were a prayer, the wearer asking through the
symbolism flowers to embody the virtues they represent. I could of course
be totally off the mark, but this somehow feels right.

My little bracelet lies on my desk beside me as I write this. It will
never make anyone gasp! on Antique Road Show. It won't make my fortune.
But it did take me to France and back for $5.00!