Need Help -- lost and found diamond -- defective ring?

[jessepenn]

Hi everyone,

I''m reposting this in an effort to get more advice.. Any advice would be VERY MUCH appreciated...

................................................................
I need some advice about the engagement ring that I gave to my girlfriend.. We live in Japan, and also I bought the ring from a fairly high-end shop here after months of research..

It has a quite a unique looking design which i hadnt seen before which is why I decided on it, but after a two months of wearing it, the ring bent a bit which in turn let the diamond fall out.. Needless to say, it was quite stressful and traumatic (especially for my girlfriend) but we found the diamond after some hours searching..

We took the ring back to the store, and they said that the ring was a little bit too loose, and maybe my girlfriend might have held something heavy or hit the ring on something which warped the metal...(90% platinum), which let out the diamond..

So they adjusted in their shop to make the size smaller, however when we got back the ring, the curvature of the design seemed a bit squished which made the ring seem a bit different from the original design..

But we overlooked this, and my girlfriend was real hesitant with wearing the ring, so she wore it just maybe three times in two weeks... After which, when re-examining the ring, we noticed that the main body of the ring seemed to be bending a bit.. the diamond was still secure, but because we the curvature of the ring was noticably changed, we took the ring back...

We complained and had a heated discussion at the shop, in which they basically said that 90% platinum+alloy is actually much softer than 18k gold and its not uncommon for this to happen.. What they said they could do is ask their design studio to alter slightly the ring design, which we agreed to....

So essentially my question(s) are this:

1)Does each time the store adjusts the ring, cause the ring constitution/structure to become weaker?

2) Is it possible that the ring was defective to begin with, and if so, how would we know?

3) One advice I got was to have the store make the necessary adjustments and then have then guarantee that the stone will not fall out for a period of 5 years.. Is this normal in jewelry stores to offer such a "protection plan"?

I would like to ask them just to make a new ring, but I would only ask this if I know that the ring structure is already damaged, or if I knew that the ring is somehow defective..


I can attach a picture if needed...

any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated!

 

[jessepenn]

here is a pic of the ring

 

[jessepenn]

another photo...

 

[jessepenn]

photo of ring.. another view...

 

[Love in Bloom]

I''m really sorry to hear about your ring troubles Jesspenn. Thank goodness you were able to find the diamond! So I looked up the ring from your other post in RT; is it a tension setting? What a unique design!

I have had platinum ring shanks bend on me before, but it was because they were really delicate and I will admit I was a little rough on the rings too. Never had my main stone fall out though (

), only my bead set melees did that. Also had the bent shank on my old ering "repaired" and the jeweler used the wrong solder for platinum which resulted in unsightly cold solder joints and the seams started to crack

. I finally got it fixed by a jeweler with a laser welder and that did the trick, but I had lots of hesitation about wearing my repaired ring after I got it back. That is why I reset my diamond into a setting that is die struck and can withstand getting knocked around quite a bit.

I understand your girlfriend being hesitant about wearing the ring after it was resized. It is commendable that the store is willing to guarantee their workmanship, but no degree of store warranty would make me feel comfortable wearing a ring that will easily bend and has a history of the stone falling out. If this is a persistent issue for her you may want to consider having the stone reset into something more secure. I know that is kind of drastic, but it helped me worry less and enjoy my diamond more!

 

[jessepenn]

Thanks for the reply..

Yeah, its a really unique design, and absolutely gorgeous (especially the first iteration before it was adjusted).. I''m not well-versed on "tension-settings", but I think that is what you call it -- its wedged between the two arms of platinum.. the platinum "arms" have little indentations to allow the diamond to rest more securely.. so when the "circular" body of the ring started bending, it released the diamond...

..Also the store unfortunately didn''t guarantee the workmanship, but it was someones suggestion to ask for it...

What do you mean by "die struck"? I understand that its a process yields a more durable end product, but does that mean it is possible for the whole ring to be remolded in this fashion and it would be free from worry?

Thanks again for the help..

 

[Nicki]

So sorry to hear about your troubles. How frustrating for both of you.

To me, that doesn''t look like a real tension setting. A real tension setting puts a huge amount of pressure on the center diamond. They usually have incredibly beefy heads where the diamond is mounted...they''re never as light and graceful as your setting. I love tension settings and seriously looked into getting one for my Ering. Decided against it as they can''t be resized. But, from my research, there are only a couple of companies out there that do GOOD tension settings that won''t cause diamonds to fall out.

Here''s a photo of a swoopy-style true tension setting...note how HUGE the head is.

 

[Love in Bloom]

I think your ring is a tension setting of sorts. Sounds like an in-house design that, while definitely pleasing to the eye, is not that structurally sound. Nicki is right about tension settings needing to be very thick to exert high pressure on the stone so it doesn''t fall out. I was looking at Micky Roof and found the Gelin and Abacci line too. I would look There at the pics (better than the G&A website''s) to see if you like any and then try to locate another retailer closer to you if you do. Mick Roof tends to be very expensive compared to other retailers. I can''t find anything exactly like the style of setting you have, but there are some very nice curvy ones.

You can search by style number; here is the link: http://www.mickyroof.com/tension-settings.shtml

You may like:
TR-001
TR-212
TR-052
TR-105
TR-106
TR-110
TR-126
TR-137

As for die struck rings and their individually die struck components (ie. prongs, shanks, shoulders, etc.), they are more durable, but limited in design features. The most I have seen done with designs of die struck rings is by the company that made my rings. They are antique in style though, so you might not be into them as much as I am. They are on the Mick Roof website too; the company is Van Craeynest if you want to take a look. Maybe if you want to go the custom route you can contact one of the vendors here on PS who does castings to see what they would suggest...

 

[jessepenn]

Thanks again for the replies.. Yeah its been totally frustrating for both of us to be engaged but no ring to wear..

I attached another perspective of the ring.. The pictures dont do justice (they''re cell phone photos).. This photo is taken after the adjustment (when everything was squished)...

I think it is a tension setting of sorts.. Not like the beefy ones, but structurely, there are no claws or prongs to hold it.. just indentations that can hold the diamond in...

I would very much like to keep the design if possible as it is the ring that I used to propose to my girlfriend..