Help with custom CAD art deco eternity ring?

[tangerine]

Hey everyone -

After months of reading posts and looking at all the bling, I've come to the experts for help. I fell in love with Asscher_girl's rings many months ago, and asked a local jeweler to recreate her gorgeous vintage eternity ring with a few modifications. However, I haven't gone through the CAD and wax experience before, and the results don't look quite right to me. I've talked to the jeweler several times and they assure me it will look like the pictures, but I don't want to have them continue creating this ring only to receive it and be disappointed that it has all the problems I saw in the CAD.

Help? Are these CAD drawings going to turn out to look like the ring I love so much? To me, it looks too heavy, boxy, and the dimensions are off. Is that just an artifact of CAD/wax and it'll be fine when they make it...? I have seen some great advice from Gypsy and others.. and I could use some!

I gave them many many pictures and the original info that it was size 7 and approx 2mm, with single cut stones.
The changes requested were to make it size 4.75, add a small sizing bar, and make it 3mm if it wouldn't change the dimensions. (I think it did.)

Asscher_girl's ring
Details at: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-art-deco-diamond-eternity-that-i-couldnt-pass-up-again.133572/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-art-deco-diamond-eternity-that-i-couldnt-pass-up-again.133572/[/URL]





The CAD and wax ring




We included this image in the last message we sent them to try to clarify the issues we are worried about. Things that seem off to us:
1. height of the ring is taller than the original and throws the dimensions off
2. the diamonds look like they are mounted very low inside the setting instead of flush
3. it looks very heavy, blocky, and square. Asscher_girl's looks like maybe the settings are slightly rectangular and is much lighter.
4. the sizing bar is too long..?


Any thoughts on whether this ring will actually turn out right or not?

Thanks very much!

 

[artdecolover71]

Hi! I love her ring and I have some head on photos I saved, it definitely has millegrain that looks worn out due to it's age. Will you be adding millegrain? I think that gives it a vintage feel as well. I think the cad and wax overall just look like it's deeper and the amount of metal looks like more. It can be challenging to recreate the delicate nature of an antique piece for some jewelers. (Been there done that and disappointed). Are they using the same size stones? I'm going to go pull the thread I have saved somewhere.

 

[artdecolover71]

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-art-deco-diamond-eternity-that-i-couldnt-pass-up-again.133572/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-art-deco-diamond-eternity-that-i-couldnt-pass-up-again.133572/[/URL]

 

[artdecolover71]

I think all your points are very good ones and hopefully once you receive a new cad and wax it will look different. The biggest concern I wood have would be height of ring amount of metal and shape of boxes around each stone.

 

[artdecolover71]

*would

 

[Gypsy]

I've actually worn that ring. It belonged to Neatfreak originally. It is an EXTREMELY delicate band in reality. The pictures make it look very large and sturdy, but the reality of that band is a very feminine and delicate band. I'm not getting that sense from the CAD. I agree with all your comments.

 

[tangerine]

Thanks so much for the responses! Unfortunately, these are the CADs they sent after I gave them our comments. The only change they made was to widen the sizing bar and said that none of the other concerns were an issue. About the heaviness, their response was that polishing makes everything ring 0.1-0.2mm smaller.

I appreciate the second and third opinions! I wasn't sure if it was just me, but it sounds like this ring will not actually turn out the way I'd hoped and I'll need to keep working with them to slim it down.

As for millegrain, they said I could add it later, which seemed like a good idea since I haven't picked out a setting for my e-ring yet. The diamonds are 2.2mm single cut stones. I'm not sure what the original stones were, but perhaps I'll ask them to go smaller since they say that the ring has to be this tall or the stones will cut into my finger...

The original is an amazingly beautiful ring and I fell in love with it when I first found a picture of it on google. Good find to both Neatfreak and Asscher_girl!

 

[tangerine]

Hey all - Just thought I'd post a follow-up on the ring as I'm back on PS looking for ideas for the ER setting to go with it now!

Long story short, the final ring is ok, not amazing. It is not a perfect reproduction, but it took so much effort and time to even get this, we decided it was good enough and are moving on.

I asked for Asscher_girl's ring (and gave them tons of pictures for reference), but 3mm wide, the largest single-cut diamonds that would fit in 3mm, and size 5.25. When the design wasn't going well, I bought calipers and gave them exact measurements for what I was looking for: Width 3.0, Height 2.1, length of sections 3.2 / 3.3 (it looks to me like they are very slight rectangles).

After months of miscommunication, this is the ring that was made. I was hesitant the entire time, as the CAD and wax never looked quite right, but couldn't figure out any way to move forward. The jeweler kept assuring me that it would be exactly what I wanted. It was close, but not quite. The designer overruled my measurements and the ring turned out as Width 2.6, Height 2.1, length of rectangles 3.6. She kept telling me I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between 3.2 and 3.6, but I can. I shouldn't have let that one slide. Lesson learned! Also, they put milgrain on it although I didn't ask for it.


To fix the rectangles being too long, and to give each section more definition, I asked them to cut the corners off the rectangles a little more deeply to make them more hexagonal, and I asked that they polish it to tone down the milgrain a bit. The owner did one section as an example in the store, and it looked great! I thought all was well, but when we got the ring back from the external jeweler, they had curved the corners. I think they misinterpreted my request for sharp hexagons as wanting it to look more battered and antiqued..?

Anyway, it's definitely unique. Some of the sections are rectangles, some ovals, no regular shapes. They offered to make it again, but the miscommunication was too much of a problem to make it worthwhile. This ring has been in progress for a year! I'm not in love with the ring, but it's good enough.


Thanks for all the help, and I'm now narrowing down settings for the ring to go with it. Maybe you'll get another thread on that tonight.

 

[tangerine]

Oh.. and to be clear, this was a reputable local jewelry shop with really high Yelp reviews. The ring was quite expensive when all was finished, and the communication issues weren't due to issue with English. I'm really hesitant to try anything custom for the ER...

 

[junebug17]

Ah tangerine, I'm really sorry your ring didn't turn out the way you envisioned it! Part of me thinks you should take them up on their offer to remake it, but I also understand not wanting to go through any more aggravation and stress by dealing with this jeweler. It looks very pretty on you and I hope you can still enjoy it!

 

[msop04]

Oh.. and to be clear, this was a reputable local jewelry shop with really high Yelp reviews. The ring was quite expensive when all was finished, and the communication issues weren't due to issue with English. I'm really hesitant to try anything custom for the ER...

Hi tangerine

Due to the bolded above, I wouldn't settle for this ring if you don't really love it. High Yelp reviews don't really mean a lot -- some of the crappiest places have the best reviews. I think the issue is that you have "PS" standards. Hey! There's nothing wrong with that... just means you have good taste, high expectations, and an appreciation for fine workmanship and detail. Most people wouldn't notice the things you will in design. These are the people most jewelers work with, so they'll say, "oh it's fine -- you won't even be able to tell this from that and blah blah BLAH..." Wellll.... you know better than that. You expressed your concerns, provided lots of photos, you even gave them specific dimensions, and they failed in the execution.

I would return the ring, as it looks nothing like Asschergirl's band, and start fresh with a bench who is known for making very similar styles.

Custom work can be terrifying -- I've done it, and I almost had a heart attack before it was finished! But it's worth it when you get what you want! There are PS vendors that would be a safer bet to make such a piece. My first thought was Caysie VanBebber of CVB Inspired Design. She makes pieces like this day in and day out, and her work is impeccable.

 

[msop04]

Ah tangerine, I'm really sorry your ring didn't turn out the way you envisioned it! Part of me thinks you should take them up on their offer to remake it, but I also understand not wanting to go through any more aggravation and stress by dealing with this jeweler. It looks very pretty on you and I hope you can still enjoy it!

junebug, this was my first thought... but, in all fairness, the OP did give them specifics and their answer was that she wouldn't notice. Given that they dismissed her and underestimated her attention to detail, I feel she should move on to another vendor and start fresh.

 

[marymm]

I very much liked your new band when the boxes were still rectangular with clipped corners - though clearly not identical to the inspiration band, I think the rectangular design nicely accommodated the larger mm diamonds you preferred, the milgrained repeating boxes appeared well-crafted, and the overall look was strongly reminiscent of the inspiration band.

However, the newest iteration with the corners softened/curved makes the overall design so much less crisp that, for me, the flavor of the inspiration band has been lost completely.

While I wouldn't trust your vendor to remake the band (if they could have met your design parameters, they would have already), personally I would find out if a refund might be in order - of course this would depend on the specificity of your initial order, but I don't think they delivered a band even remotely tied to your original specs.

Personally I do not favor CvB as a vendor, but 23rd Street Jewelers has very similar hexagonal bands with rose-cuts - some months ago I spoke with the Santa Monica store who confirmed they also will make the band with rounds... maybe give them a call?
http://www.23rdstreetjewelers.com/smr4188.html - smaller, with 2.1mm rose-cuts
http://www.23rdstreetjewelers.com/smr4041.html - larger, 0.14ct rose-cuts (not sure of mm)

 

[junebug17]

Ah tangerine, I'm really sorry your ring didn't turn out the way you envisioned it! Part of me thinks you should take them up on their offer to remake it, but I also understand not wanting to go through any more aggravation and stress by dealing with this jeweler. It looks very pretty on you and I hope you can still enjoy it!

junebug, this was my first thought... but, in all fairness, the OP did give them specifics and their answer was that she wouldn't notice. Given that they dismissed her and underestimated her attention to detail, I feel she should move on to another vendor and start fresh.

Oh yes, absolutely msop04, I agree - and I was going to suggest asking for a refund but usually custom pieces are non-refundable? I don't know, jewelers seem to vary on this. However, in this case the finished product is not what tangerine requested and the jeweler clearly ignored her specifications, so she does have a good argument for a refund. Tangerine, I think you should give it a shot. The more I think about this, you shouldn't settle. I agree that there are other vendors who are well-versed in this design and could make you a ring you really love and what you really wanted. It just doesn't seem right or fair to have spent so much money, and invest so much time, in a ring you are lukewarm (at best) about.

 

[makemepretty]

Unless the item was free, I would not be happy with it. It looks nothing like your inspiration band. Take them up on their offer to remake it, anything will be better than what you've ended up with. It's so oval now, it does not look deco.

 

[msop04]

Personally I do not favor CvB as a vendor, but 23rd Street Jewelers has very similar hexagonal bands with rose-cuts - some months ago I spoke with the Santa Monica store who confirmed they also will make the band with rounds... maybe give them a call?
http://www.23rdstreetjewelers.com/smr4188.html - smaller, with 2.1mm rose-cuts
http://www.23rdstreetjewelers.com/smr4041.html - larger, 0.14ct rose-cuts (not sure of mm)

marymm, would you mind telling why you wouldn't use CVB for a project such as this? She's made many bands in this style (antique, milgrain, etc) fabulously.... Just curious.

23rd Street has some lovely designs, but their milgrain work doesn't look good... or consistent with each piece.

 

[msop04]

I was looking at the original ring, and it looks pretty good. Maybe they could make it again and clip the corners a bit more and stick to the dimensions you requested?? Honestly, it looks well made and the milgrain looks nice... they just need to honor your wishes on the remake if they won't fully refund you.

 

[marymm]

Personally I do not favor CvB as a vendor, but 23rd Street Jewelers has very similar hexagonal bands with rose-cuts - some months ago I spoke with the Santa Monica store who confirmed they also will make the band with rounds... maybe give them a call?
http://www.23rdstreetjewelers.com/smr4188.html - smaller, with 2.1mm rose-cuts
http://www.23rdstreetjewelers.com/smr4041.html - larger, 0.14ct rose-cuts (not sure of mm)

marymm, would you mind telling why you wouldn't use CVB for a project such as this? She's made many bands in this style (antique, milgrain, etc) fabulously.... Just curious.

23rd Street has some lovely designs, but their milgrain work doesn't look good... or consistent with each piece.

I personally had a situation with CvB months ago where a quote was not honored when I responded within 24 hours (as I recall today... I posted about this on PS at the time if you want to check further). Based on that, I do not find her a trustworthy vendor.
There has also been at least one other PS thread I can think of that discussed CvB's business ethics, or lack thereof, which lack (as I understand it) underlies the reason(s) CvB is currently banned from PS.

 

[Gypsy]

They didn't do what you wanted.
You aren't happy.

I'd return it.

If they give you grief, and you paid via credit card, send it back with signature required then dispute the charge.

I know several jewelers who could do this, and do it right. Honestly, Brilliantly Engaged or High Performance Diamonds would be my choice of vendor personally. And CvB is not someone I would do business with.

 

[msop04]

Personally I do not favor CvB as a vendor, but 23rd Street Jewelers has very similar hexagonal bands with rose-cuts - some months ago I spoke with the Santa Monica store who confirmed they also will make the band with rounds... maybe give them a call?
http://www.23rdstreetjewelers.com/smr4188.html - smaller, with 2.1mm rose-cuts
http://www.23rdstreetjewelers.com/smr4041.html - larger, 0.14ct rose-cuts (not sure of mm)

marymm, would you mind telling why you wouldn't use CVB for a project such as this? She's made many bands in this style (antique, milgrain, etc) fabulously.... Just curious.

23rd Street has some lovely designs, but their milgrain work doesn't look good... or consistent with each piece.

I personally had a situation with CvB months ago where a quote was not honored when I responded within 24 hours (as I recall today... I posted about this on PS at the time if you want to check further). Based on that, I do not find her a trustworthy vendor.
There has also been at least one other PS thread I can think of that discussed CvB's business ethics, or lack thereof, which lack (as I understand it) underlies the reason(s) CvB is currently banned from PS.

I see... I thought you were referring to her workmanship originally, and I was confused. I know someone who's had several pieces made, and they were stellar -- OP's band made me think of her.

 

[tangerine]

Hi all -

Thanks so much for your recommendations and marymm - I appreciate the links to 23rd Street. I hadn't seen those before!

Unfortunately, they don't take returns on custom items. They do have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, but I already told them I wouldn't have them remake it after thinking about it for a few weeks. I just don't trust that they will do the right thing. When I talked to the owner, he said that of course they could make the ring, but then he said that the original wax was right and that my requests to change the dimensions were why it turned out too rectangular and then oval. The original wax looked way too heavy to me, so I worry that we'd be going back to square one. I may talk to them again about it, though.

I'm expecting that we may just put up with it for a while and then go elsewhere to have it remade when I have the energy to deal with custom work again. I'll be looking at Gypsy's recommendation of Brilliantly Engaged (I've read a lot of really good things about ERD!).

Much appreciated! I'll post a thread about the halo I'm thinking of to go with it.

 

[ooeemusic]

Hey all - Just thought I'd post a follow-up on the ring as I'm back on PS looking for ideas for the ER setting to go with it now!

Long story short, the final ring is ok, not amazing. It is not a perfect reproduction, but it took so much effort and time to even get this, we decided it was good enough and are moving on.

I asked for Asscher_girl's ring (and gave them tons of pictures for reference), but 3mm wide, the largest single-cut diamonds that would fit in 3mm, and size 5.25. When the design wasn't going well, I bought calipers and gave them exact measurements for what I was looking for: Width 3.0, Height 2.1, length of sections 3.2 / 3.3 (it looks to me like they are very slight rectangles).

After months of miscommunication, this is the ring that was made. I was hesitant the entire time, as the CAD and wax never looked quite right, but couldn't figure out any way to move forward. The jeweler kept assuring me that it would be exactly what I wanted. It was close, but not quite. The designer overruled my measurements and the ring turned out as Width 2.6, Height 2.1, length of rectangles 3.6. She kept telling me I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between 3.2 and 3.6, but I can. I shouldn't have let that one slide. Lesson learned! Also, they put milgrain on it although I didn't ask for it.


To fix the rectangles being too long, and to give each section more definition, I asked them to cut the corners off the rectangles a little more deeply to make them more hexagonal, and I asked that they polish it to tone down the milgrain a bit. The owner did one section as an example in the store, and it looked great! I thought all was well, but when we got the ring back from the external jeweler, they had curved the corners. I think they misinterpreted my request for sharp hexagons as wanting it to look more battered and antiqued..?

Anyway, it's definitely unique. Some of the sections are rectangles, some ovals, no regular shapes. They offered to make it again, but the miscommunication was too much of a problem to make it worthwhile. This ring has been in progress for a year! I'm not in love with the ring, but it's good enough.


Thanks for all the help, and I'm now narrowing down settings for the ring to go with it. Maybe you'll get another thread on that tonight.

I think the bolded above alone is enough to either have it re-made, or get a refund. If you gave them specific measurements, and they made a ring that wasn't the size you asked for, they didn't uphold their end of the deal, and adding milgrain you didn't ask for? Also, not acceptable. Custom does not mean custom the way they "want" it to look. If they send you CAD and wax pics and you tell them to change them and they don't, that is on them to fix. It's not like you said make me something with dimensions similar to x, you were specific, that means they need to be precise with their work.

 

[tangerine]

Thanks everyone. With your encouragement, I'm talking to the jeweler again about possibly remaking it. Fingers crossed..!

 

[dawnxcui]

yay good for you! i'm so glad you listened to others' advice! hopefully it turns out exactly as you want this time