Carpetbaggers (Ketchikan, Skagway: home, shops, appraisal)

[Barkingowl]

I've been looking at posts on a jewelry discussion forum that I lurk on. Today's topic seems to be Diamonds International. If you've ever been in one they're the bane of many a fair port around the world. You can either get a fantastic bargain or wind up with a piece of crap. Here are some Alaskan tales of woe.

Chuck
Juneau, Alaska
U.S.A.
Alaska local on diamond business and cruise ships
I’m a local resident of Alaska in a tour town, (Juneau) and to kinda answer
something for you, the cruise companies do have the diamond business in
there back pockets; here’s a little info for you.
In Juneau, all the diamond shops downtown, are all owned by the cruise
companies, and are only open in the summer; our downtown area is a ghost
town in the winter. And Diamonds International is a bad company anyway. My
own experience with them made the decision of not shopping there easy. I
went in there in the summer to find a ring for my girlfriend, and the first
question they asked me was, are you a local or tourist, I said, local, and
the salesman right then said well I'm sorry, we don’t deal with locals, and
then just walked away. My mouth hit the floor, I walked over to him to
basically tell him that was a load of crap, and he said that if I didn’t
leave the store now, he would have me arrested, I said it was BS and said a
few bad words at him and walked out.
They are that way in Ketchikan as well, but so you know, when you buy
something in a tourist town, like, Ketchikan, Skagway or Juneau, that the
cruise ship recommends, like, jewelry, that money does not stay in town, it
goes right back to the cruise ship your off of. Next time you're in Alaska
and in a tourist town, go to a local diamond shop, as they pretty much know
better what there doing. There are a couple in town here, if you ever stop
in, that are great, and will treat you with the respect you deserve, as you
are spending lots of money there. Anyhoo, better luck next time, and sorry
you had to deal with crappy Diamonds International and the cruise lines.

On June 19, 2007 we purchased a diamond necklace from Blue Diamond Inc in Ketchikan Alaska. The salesperson was the son of the owner and he stated that the diamonds were a vs1/vs2 and showed us on the clarity chart that the diamonds were clear. He also stated that we trust him and that we could take to our jeweler and have him look at it as we had 30 days, no questions asked. He never stated that we had to have an independent jeweler do an appraisal and submit that to him. He made it sound like it was so easy to do business with him if we were not satisfied.

We also felt safe shopping there because Celebrity Cruise Lines recommended them.

We came back home and had our jeweler take a look at it and do an appraisal. We never had one from Blue Diamond; they were mailing it at a later time. Our jeweler stated the clarity was much worse and there were flaws in the diamonds. We sent an e-mail right away and that is when we found out about all the 'return policy' that the owner’s son told us nothing about.

Then about a 2 weeks after we were home, a diamond fell out of the necklace and couldn't be found. We also contacted them right away to alert them of this problem. They were really hard to work with.

We feel that the Blue Diamond Inc store misrepresented the flaw factor and now diamonds were falling out.

We will be spreading the word about Diamond International and Blue Diamond Inc. Also, never trust Celebrity Cruise Lines. They must be in their back pockets.

Scott
Minocqua, Wisconsin
U.S.A.

[Metlakatla]

Those offshore jewelry stores are best avoided.

If anything good comes out of this recession, it might be that they no longer will be able to do business in SE (or elsewhere in AK).

[blueflames50]

Dang....Tried to rep ya but I gotta spread it around!!! nice post, can ya put it on the cruise ship forums??? lots of people must get sucked into this.

[Barkingowl]

Here's a link to a PDF file about DI in Mexico. Its about 14mb. If you download it you probably will never do business with any cruise related jeweler.
http://www.adamasgem.org/pdfs/dintern.pdf

[Barkingowl]

Originally Posted by blueflames50

Dang....Tried to rep ya but I gotta spread it around!!! nice post, can ya put it on the cruise ship forums??? lots of people must get sucked into this.

Honestly I'm not going to bother. Most people won't believe it.

Alaska is known for unique jewelry. To go into a DI & expect something unique just isn't going to happen. Its the same jewelry no matter where you go in the world.

[blueflames50]

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

Honestly I'm not going to bother. Most people won't believe it.

Alaska is known for unique jewelry. To go into a DI & expect something unique just isn't going to happen. Its the same jewelry no matter where you go in the world.

hey I've been looking for a good "home" jeweler as I have quite a few nice stones I would like to have set. But figured I'd do it before getting to Alaska as figured it would be more expensive. yes...no?? ahhh on the personel side....did the number work on the OS program or haven't you got'n to it yet??

[Metlakatla]

You're right, Bark; most people won't believe it. It seems the average cruiser isn't that sophisticated anymore. It would be nice to see a return to the kind of cultural tourism that used to happen in AK before those floating food bins showed up.

[Barkingowl]

I talked with a friend that works for Microsoft. He told me that the numbers are unique. So I guess I'll be getting a fresh copy. But thanks for everything Bonnie.

Maybe it would be a good idea to list some Alaskan jewelers with unique merchandise & good service.

[blueflames50]

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

I talked with a friend that works for Microsoft. He told me that the numbers are unique. So I guess I'll be getting a fresh copy. But thanks for everything Bonnie.

Maybe it would be a good idea to list some Alaskan jewelers with unique merchandise & good service.

the numbers are unique??? WTF is that?? My brother installed it but it wasn't a Mac??!! interesting I am sorry it didn't work for you.

[Barkingowl]

Originally Posted by blueflames50

the numbers are unique??? WTF is that?? My brother installed it but it wasn't a Mac??!!

So that people won't make copies. You can use a copy for 30 days before you have to reinstall it.