If I could rate less than one star, I absolutely would…read more
I recently went to Neifeh to have a stone set into a small pendant. The stone had already been sold to Sotheby's for $15,000, and they had already examined it and sent me a contract. All I needed to do was have the stone set into the pendant, and the deal would be completed.
Unfortunately, I made the mistake of taking it to Neifeh to have the work done.
My experience was good initially, but that changed when I went to pick up the pendant. When I received it, I immediately noticed what appeared to be a small scratch near one of the prongs. I pointed it out to a staff member, who acted very strangely and took it back to the jeweler to see if he could correct it.
When she returned, I told her the mark was still there. She went back to the jeweler again, and when she came back, she said, "Oh yeah, he never even noticed that. That looks like a surface-reaching inclusion to me."
What makes that particularly frustrating is that I never told her that I had previously worked in the jewelry industry as a jeweler for six years. I find it extremely difficult to believe that a jeweler could work on a stone and not notice a mark like this, especially when it was apparently significant enough to be immediately visible to me.
I tried explaining that this was not an inclusion and showed her the AGL certification for the stone. She continued to insist that, in her opinion, it looked like a "surface-reaching inclusion." For the record, that terminology itself raised another concern for me. Perhaps she meant a blemish, but regardless, that was not what was present on this stone.
At that point, I left the pendant with them and gave them the opportunity to investigate the issue. Ultimately, nothing was done, and I was simply told to come pick it up. There was no meaningful attempt to resolve the problem or take responsibility for what had happened.
I then contacted AGL directly. They informed me that when the stone was examined, there were no scratches, marks, blemishes, chips, fractures, or other damage on the surface of the stone.
I also took the stone to four other jewelry stores, including BC Clark and Bartolo's, and simply asked them to look at it and give me their opinion. Without knowing what had happened, they all came to essentially the same conclusion immediately: it looked like the stone had been scratched.
At this point, I honestly don't know whether Neifeh was being dishonest or simply incompetent, but either way, this experience has completely destroyed my confidence in their ability to handle valuable jewelry.
The consequences have now become very real. Sotheby's has informed me that I will have to pay to have the damaged area polished, and because the stone will lose some weight in the process, they will then offer me a reduced purchase price. I will also have to pay to have the stone reset afterward.
So, thanks, Neifeh. I now have to spend additional money to end up receiving less money for a stone that was apparently in acceptable condition before it was brought to your store.
I will say that the staff was friendly throughout the process. However, being friendly doesn't make up for what happened when there was a problem. When something goes wrong with a customer's valuable jewelry, I expect a reputable jeweler to investigate the issue, take responsibility when appropriate, and work toward a solution--not simply dismiss the customer's concerns and send them on their way.
Based on my experience, I would strongly recommend staying away from Neifeh for jewelry repair or setting work, particularly if you are dealing with a valuable or irreplaceable stone. If you simply want to purchase overpriced jewelry, that's your decision, but after this experience, I would absolutely not trust them with my own.
