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Ebay Makes Changes to Help Engagement Ring Shoppers.
Buying a diamond engagement ring on ebay can be hazardous to your wallet and we have blogged on this in the past: Ebay diamond listings: Caveat Emptor
Recognizing this, eBay last week announced a change in its listing rules for diamonds, synthetic and natural, and imitation diamonds. To be listed as a real diamond, stones must be natural mineral “consisting essentially of pure carbon, crystallized in the isometric system with a hardness of 10, a specific gravity of approximately 3.52 and a refractive index of 2.42.”
Synthetically-produced stones must be preceded by one of the following words, spelled out in full: created, lab-created, man-made, synthetic, manufactured, laboratory-grown, laboratory-created, or [manufacturer name]-created.
When listing a product in the “Diamond” category, the seller must also specify a sub-category. Only naturally mined diamonds that have not been enhanced may be listed as “Natural”.
Naturally mined diamonds that have been enhanced to reduce flaws may only be listed in the “Natural Enhanced” sub-category. Laboratory-grown stones with the same mineral composition as a naturally mined diamond may only be listed in the “Synthetic” sub-category.
Imitation stones, including Cubic Zirconia, Moissanite, quartz, etc. may be listed as diamonds only if the word “diamond” is immediately preceded or followed by the words “simulated” or “imitation”, spelled out in full. Sellers must also include the real name of the material (such as ‘Cubic Zirconia’) in the item description and in equal visibility to other terms.
In our opinion this move by eBay should have been instituted a long time ago but is better late than never and no doubt the result of numerous consumer complaints as well as negative publicity on several Diamond Internet Chat Forums.
No question that this move will help consumers from getting ripped off.
In our opinion if you are seriously considering buying a diamond engagement ring from an eBay Vendor make sure it comes with either a GIA (Gemological Institute of America) or AGS (American Gem Society) lab grading report. These diamond grading labs are the best in the world for their accuracy, strictness, and consistency in diamond grading. Accept no substitutes.
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Comments
I think that by giving an honest and consistency on what a person is buying is always a good thing. Ebay is so large that people will always try their luck and sell something that is not quite what it is. As long as you go to a person or company that you trust you are get exactly what you pay for.
Posted by: david 'www.vertigodiamonds.com on July 23, 2007 5:42 PM
I think that by giving an honest and consistency on what a person is buying is always a good thing. Ebay is so large that people will always try their luck and sell something that is not quite what it is. As long as you go to a person or company that you trust you are get exactly what you pay for.
Posted by: david 'www.vertigodiamonds.com on July 23, 2007 6:28 PM
There are other trusted Labs. Internationally, HRD and in the U.S. GCAL which financialluy guarentees 100% the accuracy to the purchaser that the certificate is correct. AGS and GIA does not do this.
Posted by: Stewart on July 23, 2007 9:15 PM
I think ebay should only allow sellers to sell diamonds that are certified by the few main certificate companies, that way you are sure to get what you purchase, there are to many sellers selling diamond with there own certificate company.
Moshe
Posted by: Moshe on July 26, 2007 5:09 PM