Gesner Estate Jewelry — Local services in Tampa

Exactly a year ago I bought a beautiful art deco ring from Gesner Estate from money left to me by my Mum when she passed away. I was swayed by all the great reviews but was really nervous as I was an overseas buyer and knew it would be harder to remedy things if anything went wrong - which it did. It all went pear shaped when I took my ring in to be sized at a reputable New Zealand Jeweler. I was told the shank was too thin and it would snap if it was re-sized. I was advised to get a 1/2 reshank - total cost to me NZ$700. I emailed Frank Gesner and he was adamant the ring needed nothing done to it. He said my Jeweler did not know what he was talking about and knew nothing about Vintage rings. The emails went back and forth and then it then turned a bit unfriendly, so I paid the $700 to fix it and hopefully forget about it. 3 months later one of the small diamonds fell out - I had to pay NZ$250 to replace it. Once again after contacting Frank there was no offer of compensation/assistance - Nothing. I then proceeded to try and forget about it and didn't even post a bad review because I found the whole thing quite upsetting, and I even didn't want to wear the ring because it had soured the joy of purchasing it. Now, nearly 1 year later the setting of the main diamond has a piece out of it on one side and I have been advised not to wear the ring. The quote to repair is NZ$2000 to replace the whole setting. If I go ahead, the ring would have cost me nearly twice as much as I paid for it.

I have not contacted Gesner Estate about this latest development with the ring because I doubt they would stand behind their reputation and come to a reasonable solution once again.

If you are an overseas buyer, I would advise you get your ring examined by a trusted Jeweler in your country before the short guarantee time runs out so you can return it...

Fake ring! My husband bought me a ring for $2500 for our anniversary around 5 years ago. Unfortunately, we are getting a divorce. I brought the ring back in to see if I could get a different ring and, even though they have a promotion where you can bring your ring back in for an exchange, they were fairly sketchy about trading it in. They said they didn’t keep records from 5 years ago, but if i could find something for $1000 I could trade it in. Long story short, my ex husband lost the paperwork, so I brought the ring to an appraiser to see if I could sell it somewhere else, and it was cubic zirconia, and worth about $100, only for the metal. Don’t believe their appraisals. They told me my ring was worth $4000 and they were discounting it at $2500. It was NOT an antique and not real at all. If they are experts, they would have known.

EDIT: Hello, and thanks for responding. I promise you that is exactly what happened. There were two gentlemen who helped me that day. They did not seem interested in taking that ring back. They very much told me that I could exchange it if I found something in that price range. In the records, does it say that it was cubic zirconia, or did it say that it was diamonds?

You'd think you'd be more apologetic for the mix up. No, let's imply that my divorce has some bearing on my emotional state. Let's buy into stereotypes of "crazy females and their emotions." That's sad, and you should be ashamed. If you must know, because apparently you do, my divorce is not emotional in the least. It was a mutual decision made after 15 years of friendship became just that. Friendship. So, no, I'm not emotional. I'm just upset that I was lied to, and that my ex husband spent so much money on that...

I am never one to give bad reviews. I usually hand out 5 stars on anything like it is my religion. But I was really not happy with the service we received last night when we walked into the store. This jewelry store is one of my moms favorites. She is the jewelry queen. My whole family is constantly finding new things for her. & we brought her into the store last night after our dinner. It was 20 minutes before the mall closed so we were like okay we have a little bit of time. Let's just look.... So we walk in & within 10 seconds of entering the store. Both employees blatantly explained to us that they were closing (20 minutes before closing time). We were like okay no problem ! Then two minutes later, they start covering everything up. & I'm pretty sure this guy was the owner. (I don't know I never pay attention to who is in there) He turned to my mother & said, "I'll give you my card, you can look everything up online. Or come back tomorrow when we open." Definitely not the treatment we expected. Especially seeing that what my mother wants.... My mother gets. But after that wonderful experience. Sadly we will not be back. I hope no one else gets treated like that. I understand the possibility of having a bad day. But don't take it out on...