Switched Stones

[brandiie81]

I recently took my engagement ring in to get resized, When I picked the ring up I didn''t really inspect it, I just figured since I was taking it in to get resizedI had nothing to worry about. When I got home I totally noticed dents, scratches, the band was not straight and it was thinner ALL the way around. I also Noticed on the underside of the ring where the dimonds are held in has been messed with. I honestly think that the diamonds in my ring were switched. I don''t know what the best way is to go about this but I honestly wouldnt feel any better unless they just replaced it. Whats the best way to go about this whole situation? The store that I took it to is not a big business more like a family owned business and I am sure they wont satisfy me the way I would like them to.

 

[Sharon101]

I think you need to discuss your concerns with the jeleller that you took the ring to. The messy workmanship is unexcusable.

I have my doubts about actual switching of stones because (1)what are the odds that a jeweller would have the exact same size as your set ones on hand (2) what are the odds that your diamonds would be so valuable that the jeweller has to swap them out for lesser ones (3) are your diamonds so valuable that a jeweller would risk their whole business for the theft from you when they can buy them wholesale (4) what are the odds that it would be worth their time in labour to do the switch?

 

[Kaleigh]

Sounds like more of a case of poor workmanship than switching of the stones. The underside is where they resize the ring. How many side stones do you have, what type of setting, and post a pic for us if you can. Switching of stones rarely occurs....

 

[brandiie81]

I would love to attach a photo for you although I cant manage to get a clear enough picture. There is one on the internet here is a link to it...
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-20CT-PRINCESS-VS2-DIAMOND-ENGAGEMENT-RING-NR_W0QQitemZ280168038212QQihZ018QQcategoryZ92906QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The ring looked exactly like this one. Although now the diamonds on one side of the ring are darker in color than the ones on the opposite side. The band is clearly thinner around the diamonds than before. There are tool marks all over the ring and especially around the diamonds. Underneath the ring where the three stones are set one side has a piece of metal seperating each diamond where as the other side does not, the then on one side underneath the diamonds are clearly visible where as on the other side metal is covering them. I don''t know what to do, I KNOW SOMETHING HAPPENED

 

[brandiie81]

I did take it back in today but the manager was not in. I pointed out that the band was crooked and he placed it over a ring sizer and proceeded to push down on it to try and bend it out and scratched it even more, he also polished it and now the metal looks yellow or tarnished

 

[brandiie81]

Please help

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 11/20/2007 6:00:08 PM
Author: brandiie81
Please help

Try and stay calm; I know that is hard to do right now. I would wait till tomorrow when the manager gets back. Let them know what you are thinking and see what solution they come up with. I am sorry that happened to you but you cannot do anything right now.

 

[Quash]

Do you have original documentation and pictures of the ring? An original appraisal that provides details of the diamond you can check against? I would call your insurance company tomorrow about the damage, along with asking to talk with the manager or owner. I''m not sure if I''d feel comfortable with them doing any more work on the ring. And I''m also curious if insurance would cover this, as the ring was being worked on by a jeweler at the time. Sorry to hear you''ve experienced such poor quality workmanship.

 

[Munchkin]

A couple things come to mind here. Bear in mind that I couldn't get the photo you listed to open up.

First, it is EXTREMELY rare that diamonds are actually switched. Unless you have the Hope diamond and the jeweler took off in the night with it, the temptation simply does not outweigh the inherent risks and logistical difficulties. (Having stones of the exact same dimensions on sight, time to switch, working where no one would notice, assuming that the customer is not very familiar with their stones, etc)

Honestly? It sounds like plain old poor workmanship. The tool marks are indicative of poor finishing. The thinner material could be from trying to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the metal to a larger size. (You mentioned it was being sized. I am guessing it was being sized up as I have heard of attempts to stretch the metal from the piece rather than inserting additional metal.) The fact that it now looks "tarnished" or "yellow" makes me assume that the ring is white gold. White gold doesn't exist in nature. It is man-made by mixing yellow gold with a white alloy and covering it in more white (silver) colored stuff. The white finish wears of naturally over the course of time and neccessitates refinishing. The polishing of the ring today simply sped up that process. I wonder if it wasn't polished originally because the jeweler did not want to bother replating it and hoped you wouldn't notice tool marks.

Again, I couldn't open the link. I think you mentioned that the diamonds on one side look darker. It is very common for shoddy workers to leave a residue on or under stones. Perhaps a good cleaning would do the trick. Another possiblility that I have heard of is heat treating (heat would have been applied to the ring during sizing) bringing clarity enhancements to light. Heat often unmasks such treatments.

Good luck. What you are going through is absolutely lousy. I honestly believe, however, that you were ripped off by poor work rather than actual switching.

ETA: I just want to make sure you know that people here do sympathize and aren't blowing off your concerns. Simply put: we here are diamond lovers, a few here are true diamond experts and some more are actually in the trade. If ten people on this site have seen a true diamond switch, I woud be shocked. It simply does not happen as much as people think.

 

[perry]

Switched stones - by jewelers for profit (or theft) - is really extreemly rare.

Switched diamonds by the request of the customer is more common (say when replacing the setting - and selling the diamond for what they can get).

Muchkin sums up some of the reasons the stones could look darker; and that white gold actually is somewhat yellow. Assuming that you can get the ring straighted out (and I am not so sure on that - see below); all you need to do is ask the jeweler to replate the ring (you would have needed to do that routinely anyway to keep it white).

However; I am concerned with the concept of strething a ring of the design that you indicate.

That style of ring should have had the shank cut and a small piece added to increase its size. I fail to see how you can successfully streach that ring without upsetting the channel set diamond. I can see a jeweler having to spend a lot of time and effort (tool marks) ensuring that the channel set diamonds were set.

It was indicated above that you apparently did not want to cut the shank and add - and insisted on streaching. Is that true?

Did the jeweler warn you about how that was not the best idea - and that they could not guarantee a great looking ring? They should have. If they did - and you insisted on streaching... then you may be looking at the reasons why streaching is not a good idea on a ring of that style (and have gotten what you insisted on: I always remember that there are often two completly different sides to any story).

Overall, the only way you may be able to get the ring to look good again is to replace the setting with one that is properely sized (and reuse the centerstone). A solid 18K setting with reasonable quality sidestones like that is probably in the $600 to $1000 range (14 K probably $150 to $200 less). The fact that you link to a similar 1.2 total carat weight complete ring (with probably a .50 to .75 carat centerstone) for $825 on ebay raises real questions on quality.

Is yours an ebay ring of similar qulity. If so, then I would suspect the ring qulity to be very low - and that the stones are all treated (if they are even diamond). I would question if it were even possible to safely resize a ring of that quality.

I have not followed your previous thread - and maybe my speculation on quality and stuff is not correct. Please let us know more details.

Perry