The latest episode of Rapaport’s Heard on the Street video series homes in on ethics, with show moderator Heather Chambers asking panelists to share stories about scammers they’ve encountered.
The episode is the first of a new format for the series: Rather than monthly episodes of nearly half an hour, the show – which shares raw and unfiltered insights on the natural-diamond and colored-gemstone trade – will now come out in shorter weekly episodes on specific topics.
In this installment, social media influencer Kerri Lavine, aka the “Godmother of Diamonds,” recalled a lady who came to her with an engagement ring she wanted to sell. Lavine – who co-owns jeweler Diamanti NYC – wrote the woman a check for the stone and had the whole exchange on video. When she sent the diamond to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), however, the lab flagged it as an “insurance situation.” Apparently, said Lavine, the woman had claimed it on insurance as lost, waited six months, then found Lavine online and sold it to her.
“Nobody ever gets their diamonds back when they’re red-flagged at the GIA,” said Lavine, but she sent the institute all the information she had on the sale, along with the video clips, and it eventually released the stone to her. “That’s because everything I did was the legitimate way. I had it on video and had done it the right way, or else I never would’ve had a leg to stand on.”
A lot of people assume that industry scams are more likely to be a retailer or wholesaler taking advantage of a consumer who is less knowledgeable, commented guest panelist David Berdugo, CEO of Caratwise, noting that Lavine’s story “is a perfect example that this is an industry like any other; there’s dishonest people on every side.”
Joining Lavine and Berdugo on the panel were RDI Diamonds head buyer Jeff Angel, House of Diamonds CEO Ari Jain, and guest panelist Arife Shehi, who is sales manager at Kiran Gems USA.
This episode also features a “Street Interview” segment on the same topic with Zalman Davydov, co-owner of The Watch King NYC.
Heard on the Street is co-produced by Rapaport and Shop LC.
