The Purple Mermaid, Inc.

Happy to provide the facts of this case:Ms. [redacted] placed an order for a gold vermeil bar necklace on February 2, 2015.  She received it on February 8, 2015.  Included in our packaging, is a card with complete card instructions required for maintaining a gold vermeil piece.  Gold...

vermeil is a .925 sterling silver base, coated/dipped in 14K gold. On February 20th, we received an email from Ms. [redacted], along with a photo of the necklace, and that the piece  had "discolored".  We accepted the necklace in return.  In examining the necklace upon it's return, it was found to be completely coated in an oily substance and extremely dirty and discolored.  Our studio, in fact, had not seen an item that new, in this condition before and were not certain exactly what the item was coated in.  We attempted to clean the item, and polish it.  However, it was so badly damaged that we made the decision to remake the piece entirely for the customer as a courtesy.  When we returned the item, we included another care card, and a personal note gently describing the condition that the necklace was received in. Aside from the substance, it was significantly oxidized.   We were aware that the necklace was being worn and cared for by Ms. [redacted]'s ** year old daughter, and just wanted to be certain that the care requirements were maintained.  Specifically indicated on the card, and posted clearly on our site on our "About our Jewelry" page, a gold vermeil necklace cannot be exposed to water, lotions, perfumes, grease (make-up)or jewelry cleaners as these things accelerate oxidation.  To briefly explain the process,  the gold vermeil necklace has a sterling silver base, so when exposed to these conditions(and some others indicated on our card), oxidation of the underlying sterling silver base can and will occur.  Oxidation is tarnish of the silver.  Since the item is dipped in gold, it cannot be cleaned with jewelry cleaners or the gold layer will erode.  The gold layer would need to be removed to thoroughly clean the underlying silver base and re-dipped at that point once the damage occurs.  This particular necklace incurred such serious damage so quickly, that we wanted to be certain that the care requirements were reviewed. On May 6,2015, we received another email from Ms. [redacted] indicating that the necklace has again been damaged.  We did not receive a photo of the second necklace, so cannot speak to the condition specifically of the second necklace.  Just to be clear, the photo attached to this claim is the first necklace that we replaced.  PLEASE NOTE the date on the email of her screenshot photo, 2/20/15.  However, Ms. [redacted] describes it is in a similar condition, and we have taken her at her word.First, we are very proud of our brand and we stand behind our products.  We have offered to provide a second complimentary repair for Ms. [redacted], despite our specific store policies page indicating our warranty period, this necklace is no longer in warranty (we assume warranty from date of receipt of replacement necklace) in the interest of assisting her as a customer.  We strongly suggested considering either a sterling silver version of the necklace for a ** year old who may find this metal much easier to care for (it can be dipped and polished daily if needed and returned to it's original luster).  We also suggested the 14K gold version, which also will withstand any sort of care.  Additionally, we offered to work with her to provide a deep discount to assist her if she opted for that option.During the checkout process, we require an electronic signature indicating that customers have read and agree to our store policies.  One cannot proceed to checkout without indicating they have read the info.  Again, per our store policies page, we are always happy to repair any damaged item outside of warranty time frame.  However, there is a fee.  We do not provide refunds for items that have been damaged. In summary, this necklace was mishandled in our educated opinion, and this is not a quality issue with our brand.  We make and sell hundreds of this particular bar necklace per month, and know and stand behind our product.  We provide complete care instructions for gold vermeil items.  We cannot, however, enforce that once the item reaches it's recipient.  We cannot and should not be expected to provide a refund for an item that was significantly and clearly damaged.  In our experience, when a pendant has this sort of damage this quickly, it has likely been worn in the shower repeatedly, been dipped in jewelry cleaner or exposed to caustic substances.  We have offered a second repair (not recommended as there is a care issue), replacement with a sterling silver version, or a 14K gold version at a deep discount.  We have offered the above three possible resolutions to the customer repeatedly via email.  Al three are reasonable and more than fair.  Her resolution is a full refund, with a threat to "report" us if we did not comply with her demands.  This is not a reasonable resolution for us for all of the above reasons.  Should the customer decide to take advantage of any of the three possible resolutions, we are happy to assist her.