EFFY Jewelry - quality and repairs

I know Effy has not been a jewlery boutique on Princess ships for that long so history of customer service has little track record. But was curious to hear of other's experiences.

I bought a diamond band from Effy on my May cruise and less than two weeks later, one of the diamonds fell out. Reading the reviews on Yelp does not make me very happy. Most people reported difficulty in getting repairs. In my case, I'd like them to just replace the ring as it should not be falling apart in 10 days, but if all else fails, at least repair it without having to jump through hoops. Clearly, the posts on the ring are not very sturdy. Many Yelp reviewers report the same situation with their rings.

I tried calling Princess Boutique, but the contact number from the warranty information just loops around getting back to the same push 1, push 2 push 3 option without anyone ever answering. Just a recorded message to make a copy of you receipt. Finally was able to leave a message for a person after contacting general Princess Customer Service. Have not heard back. I am trying to be patient as they are coming off a holiday weeekend.

I did find out, if all else fails, that the Effy shop at Macy's will accept the ring and send it out for repair, but the gal told me it could be 3 months til it comes back. I feel that Princess should stand behind products sold on their ships, even if they don't directly own the company that is selling the product. And so far, not getting that impression.

Would love to hear if anyone has had success in getting repairs/replacement and who it was that helped them. Best phone contact number, etc? I'm feeling pretty frustrated now.

EFFY is a US firm with HQ in New York. The EFFY store onboard should have given you a receipt with picture of the item and the gty on the back, and advice to register it online. At least, the shoreside stores do. The have a website, contact them. they want you to be happy. EM

The EFFy store did give me a receipt with a photo of the item. No instructions to register online although the Macy's EFFY rep told me to do that. The warranty paper says to contact Princess Boutique for customer service. Which I did. I think in the end I will be able to get the ring repaired, even if it means going through Macy's or Effy's website, but the portal to do so is not as effortless as it would seem. And other online buyers (i.e. Yelp reviews) have had their issues. Was hoping to hear some positive reviews from cruisers here.

I feel that Princess should stand behind products sold on their ships, even if they don't directly own the company that is selling the product. And so far, not getting that impression.

I'm just curious what you feel Princess should do to "stand behind products sold on their ships"? I am not aware of princess being in the jewelry business, either sales or repairs. Are you suggesting they should buy back anything sold onboard that breaks? I'm not sure that's a reasonable expectation...

I'm just curious what you feel Princess should do to "stand behind products sold on their ships"? I am not aware of princess being in the jewelry business, either sales or repairs. Are you suggesting they should buy back anything sold onboard that breaks? I'm not sure that's a reasonable expectation...

Princess has picked EFFY as their onboard jewelry outlet and guarantees the quality.I bought my wife a ring aboard Royal Princess and it was so poorly made that different diamonds fell out,twice.Effy repairs had the ring more than we did.After the second failure Princess offered to refund our entire purchase amount since they guarantee EFFY purchases.Personally,I would never buy from them again!

I do not suggest Princess buy back jewelry that breaks. But I do I expect them to answer the phone that is on the warranty card that the store gave me that says to call Princess Boutique for repair and warranty information. That to me infers some responsibility on their part. I also expect expensive jewelry to last more than two weeks. Had I not read many negative reviews after the fact I would not be looking for others who were successful in getting repairs made. Had I read the reviews prior to buying the ring, I probably would not have bought it.

If Princess wanted EFFY to be the initial contact for repair they would have indicated such on the paperwork. By telling me to call them first puts them as the first line of defense. If I don't hear from Princess, I will go directly to EFFY. But again, Princess lists themselves as the initial contact.

Edit: After reading John's comment I would like to add that if my ring continues to lose diamonds I would expect Princess to facilitate a return. No different than buying a ring at Macy's EFFY store. The consumer shouldn't have to sort it out.

I'm just curious what you feel Princess should do to "stand behind products sold on their ships"? I am not aware of princess being in the jewelry business, either sales or repairs. Are you suggesting they should buy back anything sold onboard that breaks? I'm not sure that's a reasonable expectation...

This comes from the back of the warranty card I got.

Lifetime Warranty

Princess Cruises and Effy Jewery stand by the quality and craftsmanship of each product sold; that is why we offer this lifetime warranty. .........

So yes. I do expect Princess to stand behind the products sold in the EFFY store.

I do not suggest Princess buy back jewelry that breaks. But I do I expect them to answer the phone that is on the warranty card that the store gave me that says to call Princess Boutique for repair and warranty information. That to me infers some responsibility on their part. I also expect expensive jewelry to last more than two weeks. Had I not read many negative reviews after the fact I would not be looking for others who were successful in getting repairs made. Had I read the reviews prior to buying the ring, I probably would not have bought it.

If Princess wanted EFFY to be the initial contact for repair they would have indicated such on the paperwork. By telling me to call them first puts them as the first line of defense. If I don't hear from Princess, I will go directly to EFFY. But again, Princess lists themselves as the initial contact.

 

Edit: After reading John's comment I would like to add that if my ring continues to lose diamonds I would expect Princess to facilitate a return. No different than buying a ring at Macy's EFFY store. The consumer shouldn't have to sort it out.

The contact we had at Princess was Char Larkin.Try asking for her!

In our experience, none of the cruise line's stand behind the products sold on their ships. While the jeweler makes it seem like the cruise line stand behind the product, the reality is something different. Perhaps you can get a cruise line executive to take pity and intervene with the jeweler or Effy, but we suspect they look at this kind of an issue as a pain in the behind and will simply refer you to the jeweler. The reason....is that the cruise lines do not own or operate those shops, but simply rent out the space to a contractor. That is why some pretty knowledgeable posters have oft posted that they prefer to buy their fine jewelry at home...where they know the jeweler and can get some service.

The contact we had at Princess was Char Larkin.Try asking for her!

Thank you! That is the person whose voicemail I eventually got to after many loops through the Princess phone system and direct contact with Princess CS. I'll give her a few days and go from there. You don't by chance have her direct extension?

Glad to hear that you were able to sort it out. I hope this is not the first of ten missing diamonds for me. :eek:

In our experience, none of the cruise line's stand behind the products sold on their ships. While the jeweler makes it seem like the cruise line stand behind the product, the reality is something different. Perhaps you can get a cruise line executive to take pity and intervene with the jeweler or Effy, but we suspect they look at this kind of an issue as a pain in the behind and will simply refer you to the jeweler. The reason....is that the cruise lines do not own or operate those shops, but simply rent out the space to a contractor. That is why some pretty knowledgeable posters have oft posted that they prefer to buy their fine jewelry at home...where they know the jeweler and can get some service.

I don't know what type of products you had purchased when you say that the cruise line failed to stand behind the items it sells on their ships, but Effy was very specific in its claims of such.

Lifetime Warranty

"Princess Cruises and Effy Jewery stand by the quality and craftsmanship of each product sold; that is why we offer this lifetime warranty. ........."

Now, for sure there is a lot of mumbo jumbo legalese following that statement on my paperwork. They would like to exclude as much as they can from the warranty. But when a ten day old ring starts to lose diamonds, I expect that to fall under lifetime warranty. By using the word "WE" one would assume it means Princess AND Effy. As I said before, let them sort it out. I just want my ring fixed. (or replaced, or refunded) They can figure out who pays for it without involving me.

My jeweler told me that the quality of Effy jewelry is not that good. I am only telling you what he said. He has been in the business for 40 years.

Tony

I earned a Gemologist Diploma from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in 1989 but retired as a VP Software Engineering, so no sour grapes from me.

Was not impressed with the EFFY jewelry that I saw on the Grand Princess. Small diamonds in some of the colored stone rings were cloudy. In one ring that I examined, the center stone was not on straight. Some quality control issues.

EFFY was named in a class action suit too:

http://www.highya.com/effy-jewelry-reviews

https://brandilawblog.com/category/macys-fake-gem-lawsuit/

Not impressed with Diamonds International either.

Thank you! That is the person whose voicemail I eventually got to after many loops through the Princess phone system and direct contact with Princess CS. I'll give her a few days and go from there. You don't by chance have her direct extension?

 

Glad to hear that you were able to sort it out. I hope this is not the first of ten missing diamonds for me. :eek:

Its been a few years and I think I just asked for her,without an extension.She is a very nice lady but doesn't do things as promptly as I would,in my business.I had the impression that she is overwhelmed with all the EFFY issues.She would sometimes return an email or call a week after I contacted her.Be patient as she really seems like she wants to help.She suggested that we return the ring for credit after I told her I was not confident in the quality.This was a $3500 ring.Good Luck!

Just to tack on our experience a couple weeks ago. In our on-board daily mail one day was a sale ad from the Effy store. My wife was interested in one particular ring shown and went to the store to check it out. They had none. Not none in her size, none of any size. Clerk said they hoped to get one on our stop in Juneau. Didn't happen. Never showed up before we dis-embarked.

Just to tack on our experience a couple weeks ago. In our on-board daily mail one day was a sale ad from the Effy store. My wife was interested in one particular ring shown and went to the store to check it out. They had none. Not none in her size, none of any size. Clerk said they hoped to get one on our stop in Juneau. Didn't happen. Never showed up before we dis-embarked.

You might have saved yourself a bunch of aggravation. :rolleyes:

No call back today about my missing diamond.

If the gal is that busy fielding problems with the jewelry department that it takes a week to return calls, maybe Princess needs to hire another person. Or maybe they need to assess their choice of jeweler!

Just to tack on our experience a couple weeks ago. In our on-board daily mail one day was a sale ad from the Effy store. My wife was interested in one particular ring shown and went to the store to check it out. They had none. Not none in her size, none of any size. Clerk said they hoped to get one on our stop in Juneau. Didn't happen. Never showed up before we dis-embarked.

There is only one thing I can say to you LUCKY!!!!

Tony

I earned a Gemologist Diploma from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in 1989 but retired as a VP Software Engineering, so no sour grapes from me.

 

Was not impressed with the EFFY jewelry that I saw on the Grand Princess. Small diamonds in some of the colored stone rings were cloudy. In one ring that I examined, the center stone was not on straight. Some quality control issues.

 

EFFY was named in a class action suit too:

http://www.highya.com/effy-jewelry-reviews

https://brandilawblog.com/category/macys-fake-gem-lawsuit/

 

Not impressed with Diamonds International either.

The highya article talks about mislabeling stones, etc. I had an OBC to use last month, and I looked at a pair of Tanzanite earrings. When he looked at them he noticed that the color didn't change with the viewing angle, so didn't think that they were actually Tanzanite. I went downstairs and bought 3 pieces of Swarovski and some candy for about 1/2 of the amount.

Same experience as some of the others with Effy:

My daughter picked out an engagement ring and bought it several years ago. Before the night was over, the diamond fell out! Luckily it was at Vines, and we noticed it immediately. And we felt very lucky that we were able to return it immediately and have the money returned.

I will never get anything from them, that's for sure!

Duplicate

I've not been impressed with their jewelry either. I purchased two rings (at different times) -- both of which ended in disappointment. On one, the stone knocked loose due to insufficient prongs and they would do nothing for me on Princess. Kind of got the run around and never any solution. On the other, I lost the stone completely....not sure where it ended up and I was pretty sick about it. I have purchased jewelry on Celebrity (not EFFY) and have had excellent results. One of my rings, tanzanite and diamonds, is worn often and I have had it for over 2 years ... no signs of wear or broken prongs.

Lessons learned and I no longer buy jewelry on Princess.

This is pretty depressing. I was hoping to read some positive stories about the great pleasure people received when wearing their EFFY jewelry and how any issues they had were handled quickly and professionally, but instead all I am reading is negative reviews.

I do have a question. I thought EFFY was fairly new to Princess. Some of you mention purchases made several years ago. Was that an EFFY purchase, or one from what I believe was a store called FACETS? Really does not matter all that much in that I was asking about Princess' response to your issues. And clearly that's been not so great. Curious if both outlets are having the same issues with quality.

My ring is also missing the prongs that held the small diamond that fell out. The hole left by the missing diamond (or chip.. as it's pretty small!) is quite noticeable.

And no... no call back from Princess yet! :(

OP,

I am very sorry that this happened to you.

The fact that EFFY jewelry is sold at Macy's should tell you something.

Macy's is not a place to buy fine jewelry even with their constant 50% off sales, that too should tell you something.

For those who would like to buy jewelry on the ship as a souvenir of your cruise, go out and buy yourself a 10x triplet jewelers loupe. Practice at home looking at scratches on your current jewelry. With a 10x loupe, things should be in focus 1" from the loupe. It is also great for removing splinters from hubby's fingers.

Inspect the jewelry you are about to buy, look at the prong work, look for gaps between the prongs and the stones, ensure that the prongs cover the stone, check to see that the mounting is symmetrical. Look for porosity in the metal.

Look at the stones themselves? Any cavities or scratches on the surface? Any nicks along the girdle (between the top/bottom)?

I had a very nice chat with the EFFY manager on the Grand Princess in April. She was impressed that I got my Gemologist Diploma from the GIA and said I probably knew more than she did. We talked about the jewelry trade a bit, she told me that she was recently transferred to the Grand Princess because that location was at the bottom of the list in sales performance. Her job was to "move" the jewelry, she was not looking out for the pax best interest. It really bothers me when I hear them stretching the truth in their sales presentations.

Good luck in the future, but for me I am happy with my Reflections DVD.

Cflutist.. appreciate your input. To be honest, I had never heard of EFFY and would never think to buy my fine jewelry at Macys. In fact, I don't wear much jewelry and this was a special treat.

The pieces in the EFFY store were overpriced. That wasn't hard to figure out. The salesperson was willing to negotiate immediately. I am usually a careful shopper and search out reviews on the internet before making a big purchase. Alas, I was away from my computer. But while the price of the ring was way more than I would normally allow for a trinket from a trip, having some OBC that needed to be spent made it more palatable. (I will add that some of the OBC was refundable so that part hurts.) We agreed to the purchase when our saying that we were leaving (for the third time) was not met with an additional discount.

I think if the diamonds were more substantial I might have been more concerned about their quality, but given they are mainly little chips, I figured they did not need to be (nor did I think they were) of the highest quality. They sparkle.. that was good by me! :p (Unfortunately, glass sparkles too!!) However, diamonds of any quality falling out of a ring is not a good thing.The prongs are broken and I wonder about the status of the rest of them. It is a ring I plan to wear every day so it needs to stand up to normal day to day use.

Needless to say, this is the last time I buy anything of value on a cruise ship. I have managed to stay away from all the jewelry stores in port on our last 9 cruises. I guess I figured the guarantee from Princess was worth something. We will see if that is the case. I'm hanging in for a return call from Char.

I would personally never purchase jewelry on a ship. I know many do so and seem to be happy with it but I don't find that it is less expensive onboard and I prefer to be able to go back to the local jeweler if there is an issue of any kind.