City Gems 'Jewellers' Siem Reap-Read Before Buying ANYTHING
 

City Gems
Road 30
Tropieng Sez
Kokchok commune,
Siem Reap Town
In June 2012 whilst visiting the wonders of Angkor Wat, I decided to propose to my girlfriend. She thankfully said yes.
As we were in Cambodia we decided to buy the engagement ring there and then. We eventually found the above shop after visiting 4 other shops. The ring we bought, price USD 3500.00, was according to the shop staff and owner and proof of authenticity a
genuine diamond.
On returning we got this valued for insurance purposes. It was then discovered that the 'diamond' was in fact zirconia and worthless.
When we contacted City Gems they denied it was a fake BUT said that they would refund USD 3150 (if it was not a fake then why would they agree to a refund ? You decide if they are con artists ).
The only way they would refund is if we sent the ring back to them. This we were not prepared to do as if they cannot be trusted to sell genuine items they cannot be trusted to say they received the ring.
As we paid by credit card ( City Gems said they would give better discounts if we paid by cash ! Again you decide if they are con artists ) I contacted my bank who took this up on our behalf. After nearly 3 months we were given a full refund.
There are many reputable jewellers in Siem Reap, but this is not one of them.
I have sent the above to many Cambodian tour operators.

With all allowance for the enthusiasm of a successful suitor, what on earth were you doing handing over that kind of money to a random jeweler in a foreign country??? Talk about asking to be taken.

Which is why I paid by credit card.
My post is to:
a) Warn others about this 'jeweller'
b) A reminder to use credit cards and not cash

btw, I sent an email to a lot of tour operators and around 70% of them thanked me and would make note of this 'jewellers', so a least something positive has come out of all this.

Why post a 'holier-than-thou' comment ?

If this is legit, thank you for trying to spare others the great unpleasantness that you experienced and congratulations on your engagement.

You understand that it makes some of us uncomfortable when a first-time poster signs on purely to slam some commercial enterprise. Often the motivation is an admirable desire to help others; occasionally the purpose is a fraudulent pose designed to undermine a competitor. I expect that any continuing discussion on this thread will make the legitimacy of your statements very clear.

Hi Myra
I can assure you that I am very legit on this. I not only have the City Gems certificate of 'authenticity' but also a certificte from a renowned gem stone valuers stating the diamiond is a fake. This was mandatory from my bank which was why I got a full refund.

I hope that you have since found a lovely ring worthy of the occasion! if not, good luck with the next round of shopping.

I'm sorry this happened to you.

I'm glad you were able to get this take care of through your credit card. We really can't tell how well the jewelers would have dealt with it, as you were unwilling to send the ring. back.

For future reference, diamonds are internationally priced, so there is no advantage to buying a diamond in Cambodia. Sapphires and rubies, which are mined in the area can be very good deals IF you know what you are doing in buying gems.

So you did not return the ring and you got the full refund. That means you got a ring for free. Is that so?

That's a pretty amazing story that you got a refund through your credit card, simply by getting a letter from another jeweler about the zirconian ring. I would have expected quite an ordeal for this to happen. For example, how did they know you didn't bring some other zirconian ring to a jeweler for the appraisal then claim it was the one you bought in Cambodia? Most banks will want quite solid evidence of your being defrauded. Perhaps you can explain in more detail to us how you successfully dealt with your credit card company so that others who find themselves in a similar position can use the same strategies. Many of us return home with "souvenirs" that were not quite what we thought.

I agree that this is a very appropriate, very interesting post for a travel forum. Congrats, OP, on your engagement and your CC refund skills!

@Kathie. We eventually sent the ring back using a well known courier company and that the receiver had to sign for it. We only did this once my bank insisted on it. This way the onus was on my bank not me.

@Mohan. No. Read my comment above.

@FromDc. We were expecting an ordeal but once I contacted my bank, they sprang into action detailing exactly what I had to do.
Simply put they wanted:
1) Written details of any conversations we had with the seller
including seller offering a refund
2) Scanned/emailed copies of credit card receipt and sellers 'proof of authenticity'
2) Any emails about to/from the seller
3) Scanned/emailed valuation from a bank appointed/recognised valuer
4) Reputable courier whereby the receiver had to sign. I then scanned/emailed the waybill to the bank

What I did not mention, and it answers your question, is that because we got engaged, there were SOOOOOOOOOOOO many photos of the ring, that it was obvious it was the same ring,buying to valutation.

I then left it to the bank to sort it out. It may have helped that I did mention that I would never be paying the money back if they did not refund and was more than prepared to go through the courts with maximum publicity. This is not recommended if you are trying to con the bank !

All in all, it was less stressful than we were expecting and I can only recommned that should anyone buy high valued goods, at home or abroad, that you only ever use a credit card, keep all receipts, proof of authenticity receipts ( insist on these ) and take photos.

Any other questions, please ask.

lesson learned---buy at home, or know who you are dealing with...

what does the new ring look like??

Well she likes it so that means I like it :-)

Thanks for all of the details of obtaining the assistance of the bank.

No problem. Just know your rights before you leave and intend to buy abroad.

I think we all wish for a bank as cooperative. Which one was it?
Btw, those details were very helpful, especially the information about the photos.

Hello. I just bought jewelry from city gems and read this post! I'm now in Thailand. Where did you find a phone number for them? I can't find any contact info for them on the web. I wish I read this before going into the store!! Please post a contact number for them if you have one! Thanks