http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Smart...GetARefund.aspx



[QUOTE]You may be owed a cut of a $295 million class-action settlement for gems purchased as long ago as 1994. Here's how figure out whether you're eligible and how to make a claim.

How would you like a little refund on that diamond nose stud you bought in your wilder days? Or the diamond engagement ring you purchased for your sweetie when you settled down?

If you bought a piece of diamond jewelry -- or jewelry with a diamond in it -- between Jan. 1, 1994, and March 31, 2006, you may be eligible for a refund as part of a recent settlement of a class-action lawsuit alleging that De Beers, the big South African diamond company, had cornered the market for diamonds for decades, keeping prices artificially high.

In settling, De Beers is shelling out $295 million to put the trouble behind it -- $135 million of which is earmarked for consumers rather than wholesalers.

"While we don't accept the allegations, we do believe that settling this suit is in the best interests of our clients, our shareholders and consumers," De Beers says in a statement on its Web site.

How refunds are calculated
Your share, if any, will be small. Everyone has to split the pot, so the size of each refund depends on how many other consumers file claims, and for how much. There could be hundreds of thousands -- even a million -- consumer claims, says Joseph J. Tabacco Jr., the managing partner at Berman DeValerio Pease Tabacco Burt & Pucillo in San Francisco. He's one of the lawyers behind the lawsuit.

Theoretically, a $10,000 diamond ring is eligible for a $4,500 refund. But realistically, lots of competing claims will dilute that payout considerably. There's no way of knowing yet how big a refund the $10,000 purchase could bring, says Tabacco.

Here's how refund eligibility is figured:

 

If thats true, nice. Bought an engagement ring two years ago.

 

Diamond shmiamond http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond.html

 

Now that is interesting...I just decided I want to buy and sell fake diamonds to unknowing consumers.

 

Thank Fing God!!!

Also, what was the case that brought about the settlement?

 

Like most class action lawsuits, the real winners are the attorneys and the company paying the settlement. The attorneys get a ridiculous amount of money for their work and the company gets off with a slap on the wrist compared to what they gained by doing the stuff they got sued for. I'll submit since I bought an engagement ring about two years ago, but I don't think anybody will get more than just a small fraction of the numbers listed above.

 

i may be looking to far into this, but would this hurt values of diamonds at all?

i didn't buy any diamonds so i'm not eligible anyways

 

Bump! If anyone had filed a claim in this case according to the link, consumer claim checks are FINALLLY being mailed. This was posted today:

https://diamondsclassaction.com/

 

Well that was fast, got my check today. If anyone filed a claim don't get too excited, I think I put in a claim on a $7,500 loose diamond for an engagement ring and got $211 back. I will take it, but your payout will not be huge. Still I am not complaining about getting something back when I never expected to.