Dear Diamonds International,

Buying an engagement ring should be one of those special moments in your life.

You took my money said the ring would be ready by the third week of January and never even bothered to call me when the time came and went.

Not one single phone call to say when it would be ready or that it had been delayed.

I thought buying from Diamonds International meant that I would receive great service.

All you have been is rude and not even concerned about the distress you have caused me and my partner.

Could you please refund my $3135 you have my money I have no ring?

1. On the 28th of November 2015 I paid a $3135 deposit to the respondent being on a $10450 engagement ring

2. The agreement is in part oral and in writing at Diamonds International Brisbane City

3. The salesperson stated that delivery would occur by the third week of January

4. My recollection is absolutely correct and clear that she physically consulted a calendar and gave the specific deliver time

5. I have raised with them the failed delivery of the ring in an email on 25-01-2016

6. I asked for a refund of the deposit

7. The ring has not been delivered

8. I received a reply to my email stating that I would be contacted Wednesday 27-01-2016 with an update but no contact has been made with me via phone or email. I affirm my position.

9. It is absolutely unreasonable to accept money for an engagement ring and not deliver it by the due date and then to further not provide your customer with any date for delivery.

The below is my partner’s version from her statutory declaration

On Saturday the 28th of November 2015 Dean and myself had concert tickets to Ed Sheeran so we had booked accommodation in the city.

To past time while we were waiting for the concert to commence we decided to browse some shops on the Queen St mall.

It was Deans suggestion to go to look at Diamonds International (which I may have mentioned during the week as a place to go as we had heard the advertisement for their half yearly sale on the radio and who can resist 40% off)

On entering the store which must have been after lunchtime so I would say about 2, we were greeted by the sales assistant who offered us her assistance with trying on some of the rings we had seen in the display counters.

After trying on the 'usual engagement rings' I did find one in particular which style really suited me but being my second marriage I wanted something different which was when I started trying on different coloured jewels.

The salesperson did ask us if we had a price in mind and as I really had no idea we were even getting engaged, I felt it was Deans decision. there was never mention of a price from Dean. He just said to try on what I liked. At no point did we ever say no it was too much money. It was completely my choice.

So after deciding the style I really liked she said she had a ceylon sapphire stone out the back that she recommended we could set into the style I had chosen.
When she showed us the sapphire, surrounded by the diamonds in the style I wanted, that was it. It was exactly what I wanted.

It was decided right then that we would purchase the ring ( at no time did I enter Diamonds International twice that day to go off and think about it. It didn't happen. I know what I want and was not going to miss out on that gorgeous ring and the great price they had priced the ring at )

I was present when they took Deans card and made the deposit payment, processed the receipt and was there when she shook our hands and quite clearly heard her say that the ring would be ready by the third week of January as it was
Christmas time and understandably it was a busy time of the year

She did also say that she would try her best to get it processed as quickly as possible as she realised how much we wanted the ring so we could officially be engaged.

She also said that from that point on any communication would be made with Dean as clearly as I knew what ring I was getting but she understood that there needed to be some surprise when it came to asking me to marry him

I have to say that I asked Dean within a fortnight if he heard anything from them- No and I'm not telling you if I did.

I even hoped that they had pulled some strings and that on Christmas day when I saw the little box that she had got the ring made earlier and he was asking me on Christmas Day but No it was my lovely necklace he got from Diamonds International ( of course he would of gone there again. We wanted the best)

Then it was New Years...I had a feeling they wouldn't let us down then

How can something that is supposed to be fairly straight forward come to this?

Approximate cost: $3135

Well… what a fabulous experience from start to finish. Absolutely delighted with my beautiful engagement ring from Diamonds International Brisbane. My fiancé now considers himself a bit of a diamond expert and we both felt really involved in the whole process, from selecting the setting, then the perfect diamond and then it took just over a month until I had it on my finger. We can’t stop looking at it, it is just so sparkly and perfect! Thanks so very much to Shirley and the wonderful team at Chermside. We will be back for the wedding bands soon!..

I am a guy that didn't know much about diamonds before hand and received amazing service from Gail, Assistant Manager. She is not only a lovely person but a real professional who worked with me the entire time within my budget. I would highly recommend Diamonds International at Carindale to anyone looking for a once in a life time ring for their wife to be :-)

Thank you - Brent

I would like to say a massive thank you to the team at the Indooroopilly store. Being a fairly stereotypical man, I walked into the store knowing very little about diamonds. My lack of knowledge coupled with my indecisiveness and fairly tight budget meant that the team had their work cut out for them. I was in the store for hours and at some point or another I had help from every member of staff in store that day. They were all very professional, knowledgeable and most importantly patient! They sat me down and explained all the confusing numbers and letters relating to the diamonds with pictures and laminated print outs, that really helped me to get my head around what I was looking at. This was one of the biggest decisions I was ever going to make, and the team at indooroopilly helped to take the stress out of it and made the whole experience very enjoyable. I could not be happier with the service I received and the quality of the ring I purchased. 5 stars!!

Rebekah and the Team at Chermside Diamonds International were spectacular. I had to put a lot of faith in Rebekah due to working away and she guided me and kept me well informed through the whole process. The end result was a stunning diamond ring that my fiance is absolutely in love with.

Karen and the team at the Brisbane office gave us such professional service and made the experience an amazing one . This is the second time I have purchased their amazing rings and won't go anywhere else!! So In love with my new engagement ring ️

I would just like to recognise Ron from the Brisbane City store on his high level of professionalism and courteousness in my dealings with him over the past few months. When my wife's engagement ring was required to be remade, he was very helpful in explaining the process to me, as well as continually keeping me updated on the ring's progress. When the remake got delayed by a number of months, he was very apologetic and thanked me for my patience while keeping me regularly updated, which I appreciated. Additionally, Ron offered to rhodium replate my wife's wedding ring free of charge to further apologise for the delay with the engagement ring. His customer-focused attitude is to be commended.

I dealt with Sam from Diamonds international in Edward street and she made the whole process from start to finish trouble free. I had been to a couple of other stores to shop around but when I walked in and started speaking with Sam I felt un-pressured and she kept me updated with progress whenever I called/emailed. Would happily recommend dealing with her and I will be going back to get our wedding bands shortly!

My partner purchased my engagement ring through DI at Chermside. We both went in to start the design process and pick the stone for the setting. I will admit that the design process was not what i was expecting but still enjoyable. 10 weeks later my engagement ring was ready for collection! The quality of the ring is excellent and we are both really happy that they were able to produce a ring within our budget and to a high standard as well as meeting the brief of what I wanted in my ring.

Overall we had a great experience with DI and we would recommend them to anyone who was looking to buy a special item!

To improve our experience in the design stage it would have been great to actually sit down; we had to lean over the counter and honestly it felt as though we were just another sale and not 'special'. We had hoped for a higher level of service and intimacy from our sales consultant (she was lovely however really didn't work for the sale). A private area to discuss budget and go through the design would have made us both feel more comfortable. Of course I didn't want everyone knowing what my ring was going to look like and my partner didn't want everyone to know what he was spending.

Communication could have been better. I know that the team says 6 - 8 weeks for the ring to be made, however not once did someone from the team phone either myself or my partner to let us know how it was going nor that the time frame would be increased. After spending so much money on an investment like this and waiting so long for the ring, it would have been nice for someone to call and just touch base.

So overall we are so happy with the actual ring that was produced. it is incredible and I just cant stop looking at it! The production team is incredible and we have no reservations about returning to have our wedding bands made by DI as well. We were just ever so slightly let down with the face to face service in store but we will return!

A big thank you and appreciation to Joy from Diamonds International Carindale. Joy made the experience fun and enjoyable whilst remaining professional, sharing her knowledge and experiences in her trade. Thanks again Joy for all your help.