Kay Jewelers - Diamond swappers?!

I think it had to do with larger center diamonds and not diamonds that come on the bands. Those diamonds are usually lower grade on the GIA scale due to their size. I wouldn't worry too much but you can always have your bands appraised after you get them back from Kay's for piece of mind.

Https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal/women-say-kay-swapped-their-diamonds?utm_term=.og5lAbAWR#.vqGqRbR3o

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kay-jewelers-accused-of-swapping-diamonds-with-fakes/

I heard this as well and I'm not sure how true it is, but they are currently in the middle of a lawsuit due to it.

We avoided Kay/Jareds/other chain jewelers because you just dont get the same amount of service and attention and because we felt as though we were getting a better deal at a local jeweler (as well as being big advocates of supporting local businesses). We looked around at a Kay and found everything to be very generic and they treated us like it was very much JUST a sale to them. where as the local jeweler really seemed to care and listen to what we wanted and take care of us better. However, the bad press only helped us feel more confident in our decision

I have to say ... Aside from the diamond swapping kays is expensive for the low quality they offer ... is return and go to private jewler ... example I bought fh a gold chain for the same mm and length it was 1700 at kays and hallow ... I went private payed $550 for solid gold ...

I would definitely not trust Kays with my jewelry after how many horror stories I have heard about them. They're like the Walmart of jewelry stores. Honestly, I wouldn't trust ANY jeweler that had to send out jewelry for repairs to be done. Go to a local jeweler! You will get much better quality and service. If I were you, I would definitely get an appraisal from a local, independent jeweler and I would not take your bands to be soldered at Kays. That's something a local jeweler can do for you.

I had my ring purchased and resized at Kay. They took pictures of the ring under microscope and sent them to my email. When I picked up, they put the ring back under the microscope and pulled it up on a screen with the pictures and I verified it was the same middle diamond. If the stories are true it seems they are taking precautions. One bad apple can spoil the bunch but please know this can happen anywhere. It just may not have been caught yet.

I had mine resized at Kay. It was a truly awful experience. They didn't call us to tell us that they had screwed up the order so they had to get additional approval from us. This caused my ring (and proposal) to be about 2 weeks later than intended and we had a time limit for it.

I later had my cousin who is a diamond importer take a look at it. Luckily there was no tampering with my diamond but I wouldn't go back after the experience.

Agreed with PPs. I had a terrible time with having my ring resized. They quoted me $275 to resize because they (assumed) the people doing the resizing would need to add a half shank to the ring. Well, they DIDN'T... and I still had to pay $230. Which made NO SENSE, to me. I would think that it would cost more than $45 for a shank (if that thought process makes sense). And they told me I would receive a phone call when it came back from the shop. I called a couple of times per week after the date when they said it would come back and they kept telling me that they hadn't received it yet. On the 3rd week past due, I finally just went in and they told me they had had the ring for 2 weeks. SERIOUSLY? On top of that, they were super judgey about the fact that FH bought my ring secondhand, instead of brand new from them. We know it's a Kays ring because the paperwork came with it. But the girls behind the counter thought it was terrible that he bought it used. Who cares? We didn't want to spend a ton of money on it, and didn't. I love it, and that's what matters. Now I take it to my locally owned jewelers for cleaning and will order the wedding band from there or TwoBirch. Never dealing with Kays ever again. No matter what!

No, no issues. However, I always use their diamond scope to verify the diamond ID before handing over my ring and I check it when they give it back to me.

We had no issues at Kay's. My fh got my e-ring and our wedding bands from Kay's. So far, we always have a positive experienced with them.

Both my rings are from Kay's, I have not had any issues. I had to send it twice for things. Both times it was back within the timeframe promised and my diamonds were untouched. I'm sending it to get dipped and not worried about it at all.

From my experience with Kay, they charge way too much for repairs that take much longer than they should only to have the items break over and over again. I've had far better luck, higher quality purchases, less wait times, and all around better service from local privately owned jewelers.

@PP, my band includes free soldering and free lifetime resizes (and will include my e-ring once soldered). That was one of the things that sold us on purchasing from Kay. Also, our best friends purchased their rings from there and have had no problems.

Good to know about the ability to look at our diamonds through the diamond scope. I see that all GIA graded diamonds should have serial numbers, but would this only apply to larger stones? My e-ring is a composite and is made up of one larger diamond and 10 smaller diamonds surrounding it, in addition to 12 other diamonds that are channel set. From what I have researched online, the serial number is added to the outer edge of the diamonds, which I would not be able to see unless the diamonds were disassembled.

I had a great experience with Kay's! I got a channel set diamond band and It didn't look like it was tampered with. Helzburg was awful and I wouldn't suggest buying from them at all.

@FallBride, thanks. That was my thought too was to have them appraised elsewhere and use that appraisal for insurance purposes. And if for whatever reason the appraisal comes back at less than what we purchased it for, I will be returning it.

(Band is a size smaller than my e ring currently)

Don't have any experience with Kay's specifically, but any modern large diamond has a serial number on it layered on it, so I think swapping is unlikely. You can always ask the jeweler to show you before and after so you can verify.

I read about this. There was a shareholder class action lawsuit about it, not sure where it went:

https://www.law360.com/articles/833037/kay-parent-co-faces-investor-suit-over-jewel-swap-scheme

Kay Jewelers is the place that was sexually harassing female employees a few months ago. I wouldn't go here if it were the last jeweler on the planet.

My rings are custom made by Kays and they are absolutely beautiful. No issues at all.

All of my jewlery is from Kays and ive never had a problem.......i had to send my engagement ring out so that it could be fitted with my wrap wedding band, and they magnified the stone and took a photo and circled imperfections (there was one small knick)......then when i got it back they magnified it again and i could see without a doubt it was the same stone ....i cant speak for all kays stores but weve never had an issue and i have earings, necklaces bracelets and rings from there. i go every 6 months for my inspections and have them cleaned.