→ 2. CONDITIONS OF THE LABORATORY OF TRAMELAN, SWITZERLAND
→ 3. CONDITIONS OF THE LABORATORY OF BANGKOK, THAILAND
→ 4. CONDITIONS OF THE ONLINE REPORT CHECKING SERVICE (ORCS)
Last amended: August 1st, 2017
The binding language for the Terms & Conditions is French. Any translation in a language other than French is provided as of courtesy and strictly on an indicative basis. The original Terms and Conditions in French can be download here (pdf).
In the Conditions, the following terms shall have the following meaning:
1.1. "The Company" is SWISS SINO GEMOLOGICAL LABORATORY GMBH with legal domicile at Grand-rue 93, 2720 Tramelan, Switzerland.
1.2. "The Laboratory" is The Company itself and any other legal entity offering gemological laboratory service under authorization of The Company.
1.3. "The Service" is the testing of Items and issuance of Reports.
1.4. "The Report" is the printed document giving opinion about Items.
1.5. "The Item" is any gemstone or jewelry sent to the Laboratory for examination.
1.6. "The Client" is the private person or juristic person which has recourse to The Service.
Gemological laboratory service in Tramelan is performed directly by The Company.
2.1. ACCESS TO THE SERVICE
2.1.1. The Service is available to person with age over 18 years old and who are not under supervision.
2.1.2. The Laboratory reserves the right to refuse The Service to any Client without having to give any explanation.
2.2. DEMAND OF INFORMATION
2.2.1. The Laboratory may in some circumstances require additional information (such as copy of passport) from The Client for security purpose or because required from legal authorities. The Client accepts to provide such document if required.
2.3. DELIVERY & RETURN OF ITEMS
2.3.1. Items must be delivered to the Laboratory by carrier or post. Unless expressly agreed otherwise, The Laboratory does not accept clients to deliver the Items by themselves at the Laboratory.
2.3.2. The delivery address is the address of The Company/Laboratory or any others address in Switzerland specified by the Laboratory in its confirmation of order.
Items must be returned by carrier or post. Unless expressly agreed otherwise, The Laboratory does not accept clients to pick up the Items by themselves at the Laboratory.
The Items will be returned to the person specified in the Order. Any changes is upon approval of The Laboratory.
The Laboratory will insure the shipping of all Items at the insurance amount provided by The Client, unless The Client has concluded his own insurances and expressly demanded The Item not being insured for shipping.
The Client must wait for the confirmation of The Laboratory that his order is accepted before to make any payment or ship any Item.
The shipping must be made within the dates given by The Laboratory. Any costs resulting from a shipping outside of the dates provided by The Laboratory will be beared by The Client.
2.4. PAYMENT & REFUND
The Client must pay the testing fees and the shipping fees in full before to ship us any item.
Payment must be made in Swiss Francs at the account indicated by The Laboratory.
Any amount paid in excess by The Client is to be refunded to the account from where the payment originated.
2.5. LABORATORY LIABILITIES
The laboratory handles items with great care and proceeds to non-destructive tests only. Items never leaves the laboratory premises and are stored within a safe except during examination. It is the client responsibility to insure the item in order to cover any damages resulting from testing or any item losses resulting from theft or robbery while the item in possession of the laboratory.
Unless proven gross negligence, the laboratory and its employees, associates and or partners shall not be liable for any damages to the item during testing. The laboratory shall not be liable for any loss of item resulting from robbery with violence or robbery of the safe if this last one had been properly locked.
A Report represents the opinion of at least one accredited gemologist about the item at the time of examination; the laboratory cannot have knowledge of any potential subsequent treatment or modification of the item. Reports are issued without any guarantees; the Laboratory shall not be liable for any mistakes or omissions. The use of a Report for trading by the client is at his own risks.
Any dispute not settled through a friendly agreement will be subject to the jusrisdiction of the courts of Berne, Switzerland.
Gemological laboratory service in Bangkok is performed by SWISS SINO GEMOLOGICAL LABORATORY (THAILAND) CO. LTD. with legal domicile in Room 341 B/C, 3thd Floor, Jewelry Trade Center, Silom Road 919/1, 10500 Bangkok.
3.1. ACCESS TO THE SERVICE
3.1.1. The Service is available to person with age over 18 years old and who are not under supervision.
3.1.2. The Laboratory reserves the right to refuse The Service to any Client without having to give any explanation.
3.2. DEMAND OF INFORMATION
3.2.1. The Laboratory may in some circumstances require additional information (such as copy of passport) from The Client for security purpose or because required from legal authorities. The Client accepts to provide such document if required.
3.3. REPORT ORDER AND ITEM DELIVERY
3.3.1. The order must be placed directly at the counter and the item deposited at the same time.
3.3.2. The Laboratory does NOT accept to take delivery of items via carrier/post.
3.3.3. Unless agreed otherwise prior to the examination, The Laboratory does NOT accept to return items via carrier/post.
3.3.4. Unless agreed otherwise prior to the examination, The laboratory only accepts CASH payment in THB.
3.3.5. The order receipt remitted to the client must be carefully kept.
3.4. REPORT DELIVERY & RETURN OF ITEM
3.4.1. Unless told otherwise, The Client can expect to take delivery of the report 36H (open days) after having placed the order and delivered The Item.
3.4.2. Unless agreed otherwise, The Report and The Item are returned to the person presenting the receipt.
3.4.3. The person taking delivery of the report and of the item must check The Report and The Item condition and notify The Laboratory immediately of any problem.
3.5. PAYMENT
3.5.1. Full advance payment is required. In case the amount paid is too high, the laboratory will refund any money in cash at the moment the item is returned to the client.
3.6. BUSINESS LANGUAGE
3.6.1. The Laboratory only conducts business in English language. Any inscription from The Client or The Laboratory (comment or text written on any contract, receipt or official paper) in a language other than English is void.
3.7. DATA PRIVACY
3.7.1. The Laboratory does not transmit information to third parties about the item given for testing which can lead to identify the item owner. Nonetheless, The Laboratory cannot guarantee the owner of an item not being identified by third parties. The Client agrees not to hold The Laboratory liable in case of leaks of information to third parties.
3.8. LABORATORY LIABILITIES
3.8.1. The Laboratory handles items with great care and proceeds to non-destructive tests only. Items never leaves The Laboratory premises and are stored within a safe except during examination. It is The Client responsibility to insure the item in order to cover any damages resulting from testing or any item losses resulting from theft or robbery while the item in possession of The Laboratory.
3.8.2. Unless proven gross negligence, The Laboratory and its employees, associates and or partners shall not be liable for any damages to the item during testing. The Laboratory shall not be liable for any loss of item resulting from robbery with violence or robbery of the safe if this last one had been properly locked.
3.8.3. A Report represents the opinion of at least one accredited gemologist about the item at the time of examination; The Laboratory cannot have knowledge of any potential subsequent treatment or modification of the item. Reports are issued without any guarantees; The Laboratory shall not be liable for any mistakes or omissions. The use of a Report for trading by The Client is at his own risks.
3.8.4. Any dispute not settled through a friendly agreement will be subject to the jusrisdiction of the courts of Berne, Switzerland.
3.9. COMPANY LIABILITIES
3.9.1. The Company and its employees, associates and or partners shall not be liable for any consequences related to the functioning of The Laboratory.
3.9.2. The Company shall not be liable for any error, omissions or changes to its Reports.
3.9.3. Any dispute not settled through a friendly agreement will be subject to the jusrisdiction of the courts of Berne, Switzerland.
3.10. CONDITIONS OF COUPONS
3.11. CONDITIONS OF MEMBER CARDS
4.1. SSGL REPORTS are available for verification online at the latest one open day after having been delivered to the customer.
4.2. The use and role of the ORCS is stricly limited to confirm a SSGL REPORT has indeed issued a corresponding report but it does not in itself guarantee the authenticity of the SSGL REPORT in the hand of the client (see below "Security Features of SSGL REPORTS").
4.3. Shall a report not be accessible for verification through the ORCS, the client should inform us and the report will be checked for authenticity in our records.
4.4. The Laboratory shall not be liable for any report which could not be accessible for online verification through the ORCS whatever the reason.
4.5. It is strictly prohibited to copy and distribute the data accessed through the ORCS.
4.6. The Laboratory reserves the right to stop the ORCS at any time without prior notification.
4.7. The place of jursidiction is Tramelan, Canton of Berne, Switzerland.