A brand assassination deserved

This is just me. Nothing else. When a brand destroys its value it is so sad to see.

We buy a ring. A beautiful ring. A meaningful ring. A ring of many very small diamonds. 100s of diamond chips is how you would describe.

It has personal meaning. I will not expand here. The ownership has more emotional value than the ring itself.

Here is the ring:

A beautiful ring by THE DIAMOND RING people.

This ring cost 10,000 USD. This was not a cheap ring. But it was a beautiful ring made by the beautiful ring makers.

The average salary in the USA currently is ~63K, even with outliers.

So this ring is 16% of an average income. For the person who bought it working part time, it was their whole life savings for 2 years. They were not young but they ended up living 100% of their life before they could buy it. Calculate for yourselves, reach your own conclusions.

It was an important ring.

And then a small chip of a diamond fell out. Of 100's of diamonds. So the ring had to go back. And I had to take the ring back. Because the person who first funded the ring was not able anymore to take the ring back. And that was the emotional trauma.

So I take the ring back. And I get given a bottle of water, because it is so hot. And I get commiseration for having to bring the ring back. And I have the original packaging because this is not a random ring, this is the most important ring in the world, and this ring is in pristine condition, because this ring is the most important ring in the world. But there is a diamond chip missing...

And I get told it has to get shipped to New York when they will assess the costs and send me a quote. And the magic died slightly at that point. Despite the 10 oz bottle of water provided.

This ring is worth more to us emotionally than all the costs of all the people in the shop. That is why we bought it there - because they were quality and they would take care of that memory.

What can I do. The ring gets shipped. I wait to hear. After a promise of 2-3 weeks. I hear nothing. I finally reach out to the support line. They come back as if they have just found the ring and say it will cost you $200 to fix. This is a ring where there are hundreds of these, and they don't guarantee they will stay. They are selling me the dust of their main business and they say they need $200 because that is more valuable than my next 10K "diamond dust" purchase.

I say yes and do it, what else can I do, they are currently in possession of a soul that is not replaceable. They have no idea of the emotional attachment that ring has, how much it represents a human whose heart stopped and lives in the field of light reflecting. No idea.

They should have. Why else would I pay 10K for a ring?

And they don't communicate if the ring is available to collect. So I assume I have to ask. There is zero communication with me, who actually bought a dream and they have made a low end transaction. I get better service from no brand honest people than the privileged running operations at this company.

I am bitter because I am emotional which is why I paid 10K for a ring like this. So mess with the emotions you promised to provide, and see me like this. I have no end to what I feel...

And that is where the magic ends. And this is where the branding lesson starts. I will cost you 1000's to 100s of 1000s of dollars because you don' t understand your promise. I can get transactional relationships anywhere for 10% of the price.

All you have is brand promise and magic, and you removed it.

I can only get life relationships where you understand me - you clearly don't, or you think your patrons have so much money, meaning is no longer important. Good luck with that. You turned me from a brand advocate to a brand sucker in one transaction. I will never forget and unfortunately for you, it is personal.

I feel very sorry we got here. Brands of true class do not.

I am still waiting to understand if I can collect my ring.

There has been zero contact from this famous, very expensive jeweler.

• I will ask.
• They will respond
• I will collect
• I will pay
• I will never shop there again
• I will tell all my rich friends the story
• And the end of a brand starts....

In closing

The ring will never lose its value. The company has lost its value.

The company is living on history.

I will help dispel that as much as possible.

And that is why

You never do the above.