Rosenberg and Cooper respond to my criticism

A month ago, I was fairly scathing about an approach made by a firm who cold-called me about investing in coloured diamonds. And, having heard no more from them since, I assumed that the person who had called me had taken the very strong hint that I wasn't particularly interested.

Until today, when I noted that I had received a voice mail (I'm not terribly good at checking my voice mail, for the record). Rather than check it, I returned the missed call, only to find myself talking to a rather polite, but slightly unhappy, gentleman at Rosenberg and Cooper (sorry, I didn't catch his name).

Apparently, my posting represents bad publicity, and they'd really rather that it didn't damage the prospects for their enterprise. And, if they are a legitimate enterprise, I'd rather that they not be damaged, although if they accept my comments as constructive criticism, it may be to their advantage.

So, in the spirit of fair play, I have offered them the right of response which will receive equal prominence on this website once I receive it.

I would make one recommendation to them in the meantime. They do need to work on the website, which tells you a lot about diamonds, but nothing about the principal staff or the global partners. If I were to be in the market for diamond investments, I would want to be able to carry out something resembling due diligence, especially as this is the sort of investment unlikely to be recommended by an independent financial advisor (IFA), albeit through a lack of awareness.

Any investment that comes from a relatively obscure broker comes with a very different potential degree of risk, and having discovered what Lloyds TSB's idea of high risk is - they weren't willing to countenance enabling me to invest a relatively modest sum in a Latin American investment fund managed by a reputable British financial institution - it is hard to envisage many IFAs who would even mention diamonds as a possibility.

So, establishing personal credibility with potential investors is the key. Rosenberg and Cooper got off to a bad start with this relatively informed investor, and whilst diamonds aren't for me in truth, I'll be interested to see how they respond.