Erika H.
Yelp
I have never posted a review of any kind online before but my experience with Shibumi Gallery was so awful that I want to warn others. The owner, April Higashi, has absolutely no integrity and would not stand behind a $4,500 ring I purchased when I discovered just days after the purchase that the sapphire stone had a crack through it. And in fact she tried to get me to sign a nondisclosure agreement so that I would not be able to share my experience! That tells you a lot about her way of doing business. Below are the details for those who want them.
I purchased an 18k gold ring with green sapphires form Shibumi Gallery for $4,675.90. I purchased the ring using a credit card and a store credit in the amount of $571.78. Within 3 days I noticed one of the sapphires in the ring was cracked. I brought the ring back to Shibumi Gallery that same week and at their request left it to be examined. After examination, their goldsmith acknowledged that the stone was cracked and stated it had a "cleave". I did nothing unusual with the ring in the three days before noticing the cracked stone. Thus in my opinion, the ring was defective as the stone was either cracked when I bought it and I had not noticed it or, as the Shibumi Galley goldsmith observed, it had a cleave that caused it to crack and was therefore defective. In either case the ring was defective. I asked for my money back and was told I would only be given 80% back and would have to sign a nondisclosure agreement, which was not acceptable. So, I went to my credit card company to get the amount charged on the card refunded; however, Shibumi will not refund nor restore my store credit in the amount of $571.78.
The store owner, April Higashi, stated that the she is keeping my store credit as a "restocking fee", which is outrageous for two reasons 1) you can't restock a defective item, and 2) there is no statement anywhere regarding restocking fees. It seems like she made this up this on the fly to keep the money I'm eniteid to. My store credit originated from the trade-in of gold jewelry my grandmother gave me. By not refunding the store credit or reinstating the store credit the owner is essentially stealing from me. She got the gold I traded-in and I have now nothing for it.
(The other option April gave me was to accept her assessment that the cracked sapphire was "stable". She offered to have the jeweler that made the ring examine the ring to confirm that the cracked stone was stable or "fix" it. She would not say what a fix might entailed. She did not say the cracked stone would be replaced. I could not accept such a vague offer with her being the one to determine if the ring was "fixed".)
Who pays over $4500 for a ring a cracked stone? Why should I accept that it is "stable" at that price? Ridiculous.
April again asked me to sign a nondisclosure agreement and offered to refund roughly $70 of the $571.78 she owes me after I received a refund from my credit card for the amount charged. I would not agree to sign without a full refund. The ability to post and talk about my experience with Shibumi is more important than $70.
When April refused to refund or reinstate my store credit, I contacted the Better Business Bureau to report this experience. They reached out to her twice and she did not respond or attempt to resolve the issue. I have tried every avenue I can to reach a fair resolution and have been left with a loss of over $500. I have never heard of a merchant behaving this way. It would have been so much simpler and more productive for her to stand behind her product and keep a customer happy, as I would have loved to purchase more items from her store.
I obviously cannot recommend Shibumi Gallery to anyone and suggest steering clear of this business.
