CoolBlue Diamond

I bought a diamond and setting through Richard for my girlfriend (now wife). Richard was fantastic to work with, as he first educated me and then walked me through my options. He was always available and took the time to help me get exactly what I wanted. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

I had some pieces of jewelry appraised by Richard Mark of CoolBlue Diamond in July 2013 and had a decent experience. He seemed personable, if not a little cocky. I had mentioned at the time that I was probably going to purchase an emerald cut diamond soon. He said he could beat any vendor’s price hands down. So a few months later I was in the market for a diamond. I had been doing a ton of online research for the best deal. I decided to give Richard a chance to see if there were better deals to be had.
I visited him a couple of different times to view stones he sourced for me and was working with him on a custom mount. After many emails, several phone calls, and 2 appointments it didn’t seem like he was listening to what I wanted. For example, I was asking for a diamond depth of 57 — 64 mm to give me a little more spread and he only brought in stones with depths between 68 and 71 mm because HE thought they were better. I also wanted a squarish emerald cut but not as square as an asscher cut, I only saw 2 of 7 or 8 stones that were like this, the rest were either straight asschers or long emerald cuts. Additionally, he kept showing me stones that were above my budget and were EGL certed instead of GIA, which I preferred.
Prior to meeting with him I had found a lovely stone online from Union Diamond. The purpose of meeting with Richard was to see if he could source the same stone for less or a similar one. He could’t and after seeing the stones he was sourcing I became more and more convinced that Union Diamond was the way to go. When I mentioned that the stone I was originally hoping he could source was larger, GIA certed, better specs, and less expensive he got upset and said there was no way that was possible but if it was then I should just buy it online then.
When I asked if we could still work together on the mount he hesitated, stuttered, and then said sure. But then told me that his jeweler doesn’t like to be creative so I’ll need to have my design concrete (I had previously sent ideas for what I wanted). Isn’t that what he or the jeweler is supposed to help me with? Anyway, this was several weeks ago and I haven’t heard from him. I didn’t expect to but what terrible customer service. Once he found out he wasn’t getting a fat check from a diamond purchase his demeanor completely changed. Sad.
I will never go back and cannot recommend CoolBlue Diamond. You’re better off buying online. Union Diamond was amazing to work with and they have a 30 day return policy. They also have a custom design department who will work with you whether you buy a stone from them or not. I ended up purchasing my stone from them and couldn’t be happier. CoolBlue who?