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#1
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lots of questions about my ring
I'm not much of a jewelry wearer but recently got married and so I now
wear a wedding band. I have a number of questions regarding expectations of quality and what jewelers can and should do but also what the standard practice is in the field. Please bear with me, I'm a newbie. The ring in question is in the bottom two pictures on this page: http://www.ftupet.com/~tert/img/fg/rings.html A little more background -- the retailer has a small shop in a small town and has been used by my mother's family for decades. She doesn't do any of the work herself. The ring "off the shelf" is 14K white gold with three diamonds of about ..10ct each set in a line. We wanted two things done: add rose gold around the edges of the ring so it would match my wife's engagement ring (in the top photo), and replace the middle diamond with a larger one that belonged to my grandma. The jeweler said we could have these things done. Here are my questions: 1. I've only worn it for a few days and the rose gold plating seems to be wearing off. The jeweler didn't exactly make it clear that the rose gold would be plating -- not sure what I was thinking but like I said I don't know much about jewelry. Shouldn't it last a little longer than this? And what can I do? I think I would prefer to have the stuff taken off if it's going to have to be replated every few days in order not to look cheap! 2. The center diamond isn't really how I envisioned it -- first of all I didn't want a bezel, and now it seems to be out of place with the smaller diamonds. The long version of the story is the jeweler told me after the ring had been sent off to have the work done that the center diamond was too large to set without a bezel. I agreed to the bezel because she said it would look nice, but she didn't really explain what it was. I later looked at some pictures on the web and then changed my mind. I called back the next day and left her a message saying I just wanted the three diamonds in a row. She called back several days later saying that her assistant didn't give her my message and the work was being done already but if I didn't like it they surely could have it restored to the original version. Once I actually got the ring I decided I didn't like the design but in our ensuing conversation she said it might be expensive to have it put back the way it was. I had been led to believe that I wouldn't have to pay for work that I didn't want done. So this is sort of a legal question -- am I obligated to pay for a design that wasn't really what I wanted and was poorly explained to me? At this point I'm ready to send it back (without the diamond my grandma gave me) and start over with someone else (I haven't paid for it yet). 3. One other option is, I would really like the ring if the smaller diamonds weren't there, but only if the holes were filled with white gold to look as if nothing had been in there. I'm happy to pay for that work to be done but I'm going to be picky and I don't want to see evidence that there were any holes. Is this feasible? Should I take it to another jeweler and get a second opinion? 4. Out of curiosity, I'll ask about this: the center diamond picks up the color of the rose gold but the small diamonds don't, so the small diamonds look whiter and they don't really match the center diamond. This is another reason to have them replaced. If we got rid of the rose gold then this wouldn't be a problem any more. If we kept it, is there some way to put a touch of the rose gold inside so at least the diamonds match each other?? 5. Finally, the bezel isn't exactly symmetrical - if you look from the side it's obvious that one side is a little taller than the other. No one will notice this without looking up close but considering how much this ring cost I find this unacceptable. One more note -- in the picture it might look like the bezel is rose gold, but it isn't, that's just the reflection from the edges of the ring. My wife's engagement ring turned out great -- I wonder if I'm just having some bad luck here. If anyone has any creative ideas that won't cost a million dollars I'm all ears. I had been willing to go ahead with option #4 until I realized today that the rose gold is plated on and it's already starting to wear off. I prefer option #3 but I have my doubts whether this can be done to meet my exacting standards. :-] |
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#2
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"tert in seattle" wrote
Here are my questions: 1. I've only worn it for a few days and the rose gold plating seems to be wearing off. The jeweler didn't exactly make it clear that the rose gold would be plating -- not sure what I was thinking but like I said I don't know much about jewelry. Shouldn't it last a little longer than this? And what can I do? I think I would prefer to have the stuff taken off if it's going to have to be replated every few days in order not to look cheap! What colour is it showing up as in those spots? What is it that's making you think it's plated, and that the plating is wearing off? 2. The center diamond isn't really how I envisioned it -- first of all I didn't want a bezel, and now it seems to be out of place with the smaller diamonds. It doesn't look out of place to me. The long version of the story is the jeweler told me after the ring had been sent off to have the work done that the center diamond was too large to set without a bezel. I agreed to the bezel because she said it would look nice, but she didn't really explain what it was. Always make sure you have a complete understanding of what it is you're asking for, and being offerred. Don't say yes to something and then decide to look into what it is. It will almost always end in trouble due to misconceptions and mis-understandings. I later looked at some pictures on the web and then changed my mind. I called back the next day and left her a message saying I just wanted the three diamonds in a row. She called back several days later saying that her assistant didn't give her my message and the work was being done already but if I didn't like it they surely could have it restored to the original version. Once I actually got the ring I decided I didn't like the design but in our ensuing conversation she said it might be expensive to have it put back the way it was. I had been led to believe that I wouldn't have to pay for work that I didn't want done. You agreed to have the work done. That's time and materials the jeweller needed to spend on altering the ring. You have then, after the work you agreed to has been completed, decided you don't like it, and want the jeweller to spend hours and materials on again altering the ring or starting over from scratch for free? Tell you what. I'll employ you to dig a hole for me so I can install a swimming pool. Once it has been done I'll ask you to fill it in and dig it again, but a few feet over to the right. I wasn't sure it'd look good there anyway. But to hell with me paying you for the time and effort to dig the second hole. Oh, and can you make it oval instead of rectangular this time please? Would that work? I'd bet you'd be pretty bloody annoyed at me. So this is sort of a legal question -- am I obligated to pay for a design that wasn't really what I wanted and was poorly explained to me? At this point I'm ready to send it back (without the diamond my grandma gave me) and start over with someone else (I haven't paid for it yet). Considering how much larger the centre diamond is, it would not be able to be set into the existing ring the same way as the other 2 diamonds have been. For the simple reason that the pavillion and the culet (the very tip of the bottom of the diamond) would stick out the back a fair way, and scratch the finger quite severely. So to get around this the top of the ring needs to be built up. One way to do this (cheapest and easiest way) is to stick a bezel on there and set the diamond into that. Putting a claw setting there would also help, but in my opinion wouldn't look anywhere near as nice. If the ring were to be made again in the original style, but to accomodate the larger diamond, the top of the ring would be quite thick, and wouldn't look as nice on the finger. It would also cost a fair bit more for all the extra gold. 3. One other option is, I would really like the ring if the smaller diamonds weren't there, but only if the holes were filled with white gold to look as if nothing had been in there. I'm happy to pay for that work to be done but I'm going to be picky and I don't want to see evidence that there were any holes. Is this feasible? Should I take it to another jeweler and get a second opinion? Filling in holes can be done, but making sure there's no sign of the holes is trickier. If the jeweller has some white gold from the same alloy mix as the ring is made of, that would help ensure a colour match with the gold. But then there's the solder. And that's almost certainly going to be a different colour. It may be only a slight difference, but it would still be noticable. So to make it look uniform in colour, a common practice is to rhodium plate the white gold parts of the ring. That will give it a nice bright white look, and will be uniform. But it will wear over time and then you may possibly see the colour differences again. If you don't want to be re-plating the ring every now and then, you'll need to look at throwing money into having the ring made again from scratch. 4. Out of curiosity, I'll ask about this: the center diamond picks up the color of the rose gold but the small diamonds don't, so the small diamonds look whiter and they don't really match the center diamond. This is another reason to have them replaced. If we got rid of the rose gold then this wouldn't be a problem any more. If we kept it, is there some way to put a touch of the rose gold inside so at least the diamonds match each other?? I doubt the centre stone is picking up the rose gold, unless it's set into rose gold. And even then, probably not. I'd dare say the centre stone is a lower quality. If you want a nice, white, large diamond to match the other two, be prepared to pay big dollars. Conversly you could have lower quality side diamonds to match the centre stone (considering the centre one has sentimental value to you). That would be alot cheaper than the first option. 5. Finally, the bezel isn't exactly symmetrical - if you look from the side it's obvious that one side is a little taller than the other. No one will notice this without looking up close but considering how much this ring cost I find this unacceptable. Sometimes this is an optical illusion. I've been frustrated by rings that measure spot on at all points, but still for some strange reason they just look wrong. So it's a matter of throwing away the measuring callipers and going by eye. After all in day-to-day life it's the eye that needs to be pleased, not the measuring equipment. This is one point I'll grant you. If you've paid a fair bit for the ring, you may reasonably expect the work to be done well. Whether you like it or not is another matter of course. ;-) Overall, it would appear to me that the jeweller simply did as they were asked. It's unfortunate that the assistant didn't get your message to the correct person in time (or at all as the case may be), but sadly that's life sometimes. And if you didn't have a complete understanding of what they were talking about, you should have.... A) asked for a clearer explanation and/or B) gone away to research and then gone back to them with a yay or nay. As for the plating issue, if you had some clear pics or could better describe why you feel it's been plated we might be able to suggest reasons, or point your understanding in the right direction. It's a nice looking ring though. I quite like it's fairly simple design. I'm not much of a jewellery wearer (cue the "plumbers tap is always leaking" type comments) but that's a style I would be happy to wear. -- Dale Porter *Add .au to e-mail address to respond* |
#3
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tert in seattle wrote in message
. .. 4. Out of curiosity, I'll ask about this: the center diamond picks up the color of the rose gold but the small diamonds don't, so the small diamonds look whiter and they don't really match the center diamond. Just a comment from a non-jeweler who has a ring with an old diamond in it. My diamond is not a modern cut. In fact, it was cut in the late 1800s in what's known as a "mine cut." Because of the cut itself, my old diamond simply doesn't have the "sparkle" (laymen's terms) of modern diamonds. The experts here could tell you more about light refraction in different cuts. I was advised by a very good jeweler to *not* set my old diamond with modern stones for just this very reason. Mine looks great as a solitaire since there's nothing immediately surrounding it to compare it to. But put it up against your basic modern round brilliant...and it looks less, well...brilliant. This may be part of the issue with your older diamond and why it might seem to be picking up the rose gold more than the modern diamonds surrounding it. Especially since you have yours bezel set. My older diamond is prong set and still looks darker than a modern diamond when one compares the two. Mine is also yellowish as yours may be. I've also taken a good hard look at my older diamond and realized that the thing is simply uneven. Perhaps your jeweler had to compensate for something similar in what you see as an uneven bezel. My opinion is that your ring looks just fine the way it is. (I can't comment on the plating issue, I can't really see it in the photographs and perhaps that's fixable.) I think you also have to understand that your grandmother's diamond probably has more sentimental than monetary value, no matter it's size. If you want a diamond ring with lots of pizazz (more laymen's terms,) you may have to put grandma's diamond in the safe and have a ring made with a modern stone. - Bev Brandt |
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