When someone says "jewelry thief", one usually conjures up an image of a cat burlar, sneaking around in the dark in a supposedly secure jewelry store.  Not so in this case.  As I later learned, not all the crooks are your usual burlars that sneaks in the dark.

 

On Feb. 24, 2007, my husband and I were out ring hunting.  We didn't get a chance to exchange rings on our wedding day, so we thought it was high-time we went out and carefully select a pair we can cherish for years to come.  We came upon a local jewelry mart, not far from home.  This particular store had several, individual glass counters.  Little did I know, each one was owned and operated individually.  After going through all the counters, we could not find any rings that we liked.  At the last counter, a pair of two toned rings caught our attention.  A small, demure, Vietnamese girl by the name of Han came to tend to us.  She carefully took out the tray which contained the two-toned rings.  As we were trying to settle into a retail price for both, a mature looking lady who introduced herself as Diane jumped in the transaction.  Her make-up laden face smiled, as I'm sure she knew she's about to close a sale.  After much haggling and negotiation, we agreed on a final price of $345 for the pair of rings, which includes the engraving fee.  We left a $100 cash deposit, leaving $245 balance to be paid upon pick up, a week later.

 

On March 3rd, we returned to the store, eager to pick up our much anticipated rings.  Upon entering the store, Diane immediately informed us that she needed to charge us an additional $50 because she underquoted the price for both rings.  Stunned, I reasoned that we should be not be liable for her mistake.  We went back and forth and Diane flat out refused to release the rings to us.  My husband and I had high hopes in getting the rings in time, as we had a special occasion to attend that evening.  Reluctantly, we paid the total of $260, as this was the only amount we had w/us.  Diane quickly took the money, as her assistant Han sais something to her in Vietnamese.  It was at that very moment that I dubbed Diane, the "jewelry thief".  She's no different from the common thief who goes about taking things which are not rightfully hers.  We quickly took our rings and left the store.

 

This business of deceit is location on 338 S. Mountain Ave., Upland, CA  91780.  Avoid this place at all cost.