tsav halo project fail

[kgizo]

I wanted to give an update on this to will help others avoid these issues, and to follow up with those who gave advice along the way (thank you Chrono, SparkliesLuver, Gypsy, Pregcurious and Marymm for your input).

I wanted to have a halo made for my tsav in time for my Aug anniversary so I took it to a local jeweler in July. He had great reviews and I wanted local so I could be involved during the process.

The owner was out of the country during my first visit so I worked with his two employees. They complained about the CAD guy the owner made them use. I provided about 10 pics of likes & dislikes, and it was a basic design so I thought it would be fine. After 4 wks the CADs still sucked so one of the guys did a wax carving and it looked great. Downside was that I couldn't see how the tsav would sit in the wax mount, which resulted in a problem as it was too high in the finished product. So, lots of time wasted.

I take the ring back and the owner agrees to "make it right", but the two guys I started the project with had quit so more time lost as the project starts all over from scratch. I don't think I could have avoided this pitfall as the three of them had worked together for about 13 yrs, something I checked when doing my research.

CAD guy continues to provide bad CADs, but the owner says he knows what I want based on all the info I provided and he will handle it. I finally get the call 12/20 that the ring is ready. I take one glance at the ring and know something is off. The CAD guy reduced the halo melee size from 1.5 to 1.3. I realize it doesn't sound like much, but it is about a 15% less blingy look than I wanted. Everything else about the ring was great, the prongs were lovely and he got the tsav to sit lower.

I don't want the ring as it isn't what I commissioned (the 1.5 melee size was in his and my notes so he knew it was his CAD guy's error). The owner says he is over it and doesn't want to make it a 3rd time, which I understand, so he'll refund my money. I loupe the stone before handing it back and see a gouge by the prongs. Huge lesson learned here, always loupe your stone!!! Another lesson learned is that this stone came from a prior setting so had some wear on the crown. When I first turned over the stone he made a note that it had some scratches and wear. I had him add light scratches to the crown. This saved me as the owner tried to say the gouge was existing but the note I had added that made it clear the gouge on the pavilion was new. In hindsight I wish I had also taken some macro pics. I tried, but they didn't turn out. I should have tried again until I got really good pics. So, the owner agreed to send it out for a polish at his expense. On the downside, it went from a 3.34 stone to a 3.32 stone. On the upside, it is newly polished.

This was a real bummer as I had spent a lot of time researching here to decide what I wanted, made a budget, and intended it to celebrate a milestone. But, I recognize it could have been much worse as I didn't lose any money or have a stone that was damaged beyond saving.

 

[BlingObsession]

My heart hurts for you. I am so sorry. I can sympathize too - I had a similar experience with a natural untreated ruby but the stone was stuffed by the time the setter finished with it. To this day I can't bring myself to look at rubies without getting a tear in my eye. Hoping your next adventure with the stone will turn out perfect

 

[marymm]

I am sorry this setting endeavor turned out unsuccessfully for you - sometimes the best laid plans go awry - the positive is that you chose a reputable vendor who stands by his work and his customer service, so you will be getting a refund and a re-polished stone with little carat weight loss.

Perhaps when you are ready to think about setting the Tsav again, you'll consider some of the highly regarded online vendors - if I were going for a Tsav halo, I'd probably go with ERD/Brilliantly Engaged but there are several wonderful vendors that PSers have used for colored gemstone rings.

 

[T L]

This is one of the reasons I don't like doing custom projects. It's too stressful, and in the end, there's no guarantee it will be what you want. I like buying pre-made settings, or semi-customizing existing settings, for that reason. I have a great jeweler who then sets all my stones, Sorry about your troubles.

 

[minousbijoux]

Wow what a story. It sounds like where it went right it was due to your diligent efforts and documentation and where it went wrong it was out of your control. You did your due diligence and picked someone local you trusted who had a proven track record and staff of longstanding. I honestly don't know what more you could've done - maybe gotten references from others who had gotten bespoke pieces made by them, but even that is a lot!

So far, I have only found existing settings (new or used) that fit my stones and done them that way. I have issues with each and every one of them, with none being "perfect" and exactly as I would like, but since none of them are custom, I try and overlook the mostly minor problems. I would have a much higher expectation if it was bespoke, and would do exactly what you did. That just sucks for you.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

I'm so, so sorry to hear your story, kgizo. How awful.

I agree with the others - you did your part, and unfortunately the rest was out of your control. I feel like the latter is always a given when going custom, unfortunately. But you should still be able to rely on them to make your ring exactly how you want and not damage it.

I suppose there's always a silver lining: you have a newly polished tsav that's undamaged (and still gorgeous, I'm sure)...and all of us to help you next time!

 

[chrono]

I appreciate the write up, am sorry for the harrowing experience but am glad you made out all right in the end, even though it wasn't what you envisioned.