Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/14/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I received my ring March 2022 and I noticed the middle "window" facet appeared blurry (in addition to sizing issues and quality concerns with the band). Assuming there was an issue with how it was cut, I emailed the company just five days after I was proposed to when I first saw the ring in person. When I sent the ring in for inspection, I was gaslit and told the "cloudiness was just build up underneath the ring" so they said they did a ***************** and sent a video of the "fixed" ring. I responded right away by saying "when I **** in the stone still looks blurry in that center window to me." These concerns were completely ignored and no further solution was offered until I decided to reiterate my concerns in September, after I researched what might be causing the issues I was experiencing with my ring and found it's actually due to how it was cut in a way that highlights the doubling effect of moissanite that reputable ******* actively try to hide in the smaller facets since otherwise it makes it look ***************** The company was sure to mention the "approval" process, stating they sent me a faceting chart and videos of the ring before it was shipped, however the videos and a chart does not accurately portray what the ring looks like in person. They offered to replace the stone (for a fee!) in their old-mine cut, replace the stone with one that's exactly the same (??), or keep it as-is. I wanted to see the options in person (since I already learned flaws are not easily seen in the videos they sent) and at the apt I saw the given options did not address my concerns, so I requested a refund. I was denied the refund and further my character was questioned by their owner, who was not even present at the appointment. Still waiting for a resolution after 9 months. This company has no accountability/integrity.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/23/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/12/10) */
  We are very sorry to hear that this client is dissatisfied with their experience with East West. This client attended an in-person showing with her partner in which she was shown the different cuts and facets that we offer to custom cut at East West. The client was satisfied with the stones as seen in person, and decided to proceed with an order with us. We have a strict approval process through the custom design process, as we have a no-return policy and want to ensure clients are satisfied with their stones before we proceed with the next steps in the customization process. Once this client received the stone video for approval, this was approved by the client and we proceeded with the design.
  
  After the client received her piece, she contacted us to with concerns that the stone was cloudy, and wanted to resize her piece - the client did not address any further quality concerns as expressed in her complaint here. Our team promptly responded, and offered to take a look at the stone in person to address her needs. We often find that any cloudiness seen in stones is due to residue build up so our first step when this stone was brought in in April was to professionally clean the stone. Once the stone was cleaned, we did a through quality check and compared to the stones that were seen in the showing by the client and found that this stone passed all of our quality checks. The client picked up her piece after the cleaning in April.
  
  After several months of having her piece, the client reached out again in September to express that she still did not like her stone. We again offered to take a look at this in person, and this was looked at personally by our Founder, who confirmed that this stone passes all checks and looked up to standards with our stones. Despite this stone passing all checks, we still offered to cut a brand new stone for this client in the same facet pattern, or to cut a new stone in the other facet pattern we offer. We hosted this client in person again to show her a side by side comparison of another stone we could offer, and the client was dissatisfied with all of the options we offered. Our team has tried, on various occasions, to provide solutions to this client despite her stone meeting all standards and being up to the same standards as the stones seen in person, and despite the original stone being approved per our process. Unfortunately, as the client is not happy with any solutions we are able to offer, and we have a no-return policy put in place due to our approval process, we have not been able to meet a resolution with this client.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/16/2022

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Date of transaction: March 17, 2022
  Date the order was received: April 29, 2022
  Total amount paid: 2300.00
  The business has committed to provide a *** ***** ********** ring in *** yellow gold with a ************* one year *********
  What happened: The ring was damaged within a couple of weeks of wearing the item. I have attached an email exchange between the business and I along with photos of the damaged item. I was seeking a refund for the item and filed a dispute with my credit card company but because the dispute was not completed within the 60 day time frame, it was favored on behalf of the company. The company has promised to repair the ring free at not cost and that was written in the email exchange. I have already sent the ring back for repair and they have received the item as can be seen in the exchange. I received an email from the company yesterday stating that since the dispute has been resolved in their favor, they are unable to repair the piece moving forward. I was very transparent with the company as can be seen in the email exchange. According to yelp reviews, there have been other customers from this company that have had similar issues with this company. One stated that she filed a complaint with BBB and was able to get her money back. They are currently in possession of my ring.
  Account order number: ****
  Tracking number: XXXXXXXXXXXX

  Business Response

  Date: 09/29/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/09/16) */
  We are sorry that this client is dissatisfied with their experience. This client purchased a custom ring with our company in March of 2022. In May of 2022, the client reached out to our company asking to return this piece, which goes against our policies. All of our pieces are created completely custom to the client, and we have our clients agree to this no-return policy at checkout and have an extensive approval process through production for this reason. Although we cannot accept a return, our team of course offered to repair any issues at no cost to the client, as again is standard in our policies. The client did not accept this offer and threatened to dispute the charge instead of proceeding with a repair.
  
  On July 11th, this client filed a dispute/ chargeback on this order. On August 17th, the client additionally reached out to our team to send the piece back for repair, while having an open dispute against our company. When the repair was received, our company explained that we cannot proceed with a repair on a piece that has been disputed, which was communicated to the client on August 23rd, and kindly asked that they remove the dispute before we are able to proceed with any work on this piece. No response was received, and the chargeback was not removed, and a determination was made in our companies favor regarding the chargeback on September 13th. On September 14th, this client reached back out to say that the charges were still taken out of their account, and our team explained that we cannot proceed with repairing this piece as the dispute was never removed, per our dispute policies, but that we would be happy to coordinate the return of this piece to the client.
  
  Our team wishes to remain productive in this interaction, in order to coordinate getting this piece back to the client. Unfortunately, the client has resorted to name calling our employees, as can be seen in the email thread provided, while the team is trying to explain our policies and coordinate the return of this piece. We do not tolerate our employees being spoken to in such a manner, and kindly ask the client to keep communication at a professional level so that we may coordinate getting this piece back to them.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/01/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Full complaint in attachment - Placed order on ******** for ******* Received ring, ********* After receiving the ring, I proposed and we noticed quickly that the ring had a significant chip in the stone.
  
  We communicated the stone chip on ******** and they had us ship it back for review around ********* where they notified us that the stone needed to be remade. We were told it would take 4 weeks for the repair/shipping, but it took over 5 weeks.
  
  We received the engagement ring for the 2nd time with a whole new set of issues. Shockingly, they reused the ring setting when replacing the stone, which compromised the prongs. They no longer fit as they originally did, one prong arm was shortened - likely to have been damaged during the stone replacement. The stone itself, was set crooked, and the prongs no longer had symmetry. We then noticed that the band was clamped too hard during the repair and part of the metal was and deformed under pressure. It has visual imprint marks from the equipment used.
  
  After voicing these new issues, their argument was that their artisans claimed the ring was in acceptable condition, and that the quality check had been made and approved. We went back and forth, for a painfully long time and continued to get the run-around. They asked us to return the ring for their 3rd attempt at providing us with a quality ring. We got a second opinion which confirmed the ring setting/prongs were compromised - therefore we knew it was no longer repairable. They would not agree to replace the setting without us shipping it back to them for an evaluation nor would they reimburse for return. We were terrified how the ring would come back the 3rd time.
  
  Currently, we are eating the cost of this ring while working with a local jeweler to start over. It is unacceptable that East West Gemco will not allow a return for reimbursement over quality issues they are unwilling to fix. It should not take several attempts at what was agreed upon from the purchase.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/16/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/09/02) */
  The client received a prepaid label, provided by our team after their initial report of a chip in the stone on the 15th of June. The piece was repaired at no cost to the client. Additionally, we provided a temporary ring to be worn and kept by the client. We also informed the client of the repair process, stating that a new stone would be cut to be set into their already existing setting. The client agreed and we proceeded to repair the piece as agreed. Once the stone was ready, we reached out with a short video of it for approval by the client.
  
  After the ring was repaired and shipped back to the client on the 25th of June the client reached out again expressing concern over the look of the prongs and stone placement, sharing a range of blurry images where the defects are not clearly visible. We agreed to assess the piece to determine the best course of action moving forward. We require the piece to be shipped back to us since the images provided do not show defects clearly and a proper course of action cannot be determined this way.
  
  
  Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/09/06) */
  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  Their response does not address our concerns, nor do they acknowledge our demand for a return for reimbursement. As similar to their responses via email, it is clear they did not read our attachment with the full claim. Due to the original character limit, I stated in the very first sentance of the claim, "Full complaint in attachment".
  
  East West Gemco exhausted their desire to "repair" - as it should not take 3 times to attempt to repair a ring to be in the condition promised upon purchase.
  
  As we mentioned in the attachement of our initial claim, we appreciated the fashion ring ($99) for our situation, however, it was supposed to be temporary, not a ring that could be shown off during our first few months of engagement. We have every intention to return the fashion ring with our engagement ring for a FULL REFUND.
  
  They also did not address that this has caused us stress due to potentially not having a ring for our wedding. Undue stress that no one should have to deal with. Therefore, we could not accept their solution and had to move forward with another jeweler and purchase a new ring.
  
  Please see the images below. They are not blurry unless they are not downloaded.I would like to include the approval video they sent was extremely blurry, we ********** trusted their expertise that it was flawless on their second attempt.
  
  Bottom line, their claim for "quality inspection" is unacceptable. I want a return for reimbursement.
  
  
  Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/09/13) */
  We understand that the client is requesting to return the piece, and can assure the client that we have read their request and concerns in full. We do want all of our clients to be completely happy with their pieces, and this is why we have requested to have the piece sent back to us so that we may evaluate any issues that they may be seeing on their end to ensure this is amended by our artisans. We cannot determine the best course of action without evaluating the piece in person.
  
  When the stone was determined to have a defect, we recut this stone with our cutter and set it into the same setting, as is a very standard procedure and should in no way affect the structural integrity of the piece or the prongs. As expressed via email, we can see that one prong is slightly out of place in the photos, which we of course would repair, but we are unable to see any further issues with this piece based on the photos provided, and need to evaluate a piece in person with our own artisans in order to determine where the issues lie and what we can do to amend these, as we cannot determine this based off of the clients report of their third party jeweler evaluation.
  
  When a ring is sent to us for evaluation, we are then able to determine if there are issues that require a recast (new setting), and of course if there are any issues that our artisans deem to be irreparable we would recast the piece complimentary for the client. We cannot recast a piece with out first evaluating whether there are issues that require it, and we cannot make that determination based on pictures and the word of another jeweler.
  
  We are unable to accept this piece as a return, as we are completely custom and thus have a no return policy that is clearly stated on our website and at check out. That said, we are fully offering to amend this issue at no cost to the client, but need the physical piece to evaluate and proceed with this solution.
  
  We sincerely understand the emotional frustration of having these issues coincide with the clients wedding and having to wait for the piece, so should the client want to have this piece fixed we will prioritize any work to be completed under the direct supervision of our Director of Operations, ********, at an expedited timeline. If the client would like to proceed with these expedited repairs, we encourage them to reach out to our email directly via *********************** at ATTN: ********.
  
  
  Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2022/09/15) */
  (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
  We do not accept East West Gem Co.'s rebuttal response.
  
  On East West Gem Co.s "Receive Business Response" on 09/02/2022 - they claim, "sharing a range of blurry images where the defects are not clearly visible."
  
  On East West Gem Co.s "Received Business' Rebuttle Response" on 09/13/2022 - they claim, "we can see that one prong is slightly out of place in the photos, which we of course would repair".
  
  
  East West Gem Co.'s communication has been prompt, but extremely inconsistent as shown above.
  
  
  Ultimately, they have not fulfilled their initial promise of a quality good in exchange for purchase. They broke an initial promise and secondary "repair" promise. Under the Sale of Goods Act, the law says that any goods you buy must be: of satisfactory quality; fit for any purpose made known to the seller, and as described.
  
  I question East West Gem Co.'s ethics, and feel that it is their duty to offer a refund for the defective quality, after two attempts. If they want to make us happy as they claim, "we do want all of our clients to be completely happy with their pieces", they would offer a return for refund due to our experience because it is the right thing to do.
  
  Again, in addition to the unacceptable quality, this became a time issue with our wedding and we could not risk the unpredictable timeline on East West Gem Co.'s end due to their repetitive, broken-promised communication, shipping delays and "repair" quality. We had no choice but to purchase another ring for our wedding. East West Gem Co. was unable to fulfill their promise, twice.
  
  
  This has been a devastating experience and has taken so much away from us during what should have been an enjoyable engagement.
  
  
  Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, I don't think so.
  
  
  I want to return the engagement ring for a full refund, and I will return the complimentary fashion band as well. I will gladly pay the shipping label. I want this done. If accepted, we expect a confirmation from East West Gem Co. via rebuttle response on BBB. We are choosing to maintain all communication via BBB moving forward.
  
  If East West Gem Co. continues to deny our request, our next step outside of the BBB is to request a chargeback from the bank, where we will disclose our entire dispute.