I visited the Diamonds International Store in Nassau, Bahamas on August 2, 2010. I had been told about the Crown of Light diamond that was sold at this store. My husband and I traded my diamond wedding band toward the purchase of a new ring. The manager of the store valued my ring at $1600. The Crown of Light ring that I picked out was valued at $5400. I put the difference on my Visa card to be paid when we returned from our cruise. The Carnival Cruise line shopper was there with us and approved of our purchase.

I returned to my hometown and had my ring appraised so that I could have it insured. The appraiser said the ring's value is $2800. He said that the weight of the ring and the color and clarity of the center stone are not what is printed in the store's appraisal.

When we took this trip we had no plans to purchase a new ring. We got caught up in the romance and excitement of our trip and made a really stupid purchase. We normally educate ourselves about almost everything we purchase and we weigh and measure the pros and cons before we purchase any big ticket items. I feel like the professionals at DI know that tourists are caught up in the moment and they prey on us like vermin. I hope that I will be able to talk with them and resolve this issue. However, I've spent the evening reading all of these other complaints and I'm thinking that nothing will come of this. I just hope that someone who is headed to an island destination on a cruise line will read this post ahead of time and will be made aware of the retail dangers that await them in their ports of call. BUYER BEWARE AND STEER CLEAR OF DIAMONDS INTERNATIONAL!!!