THE TIME HAS COME | CAD Renderings

[tyty333]

I agree about finding a stock setting so you know what you're getting. Can you post pics of the finished ring with comments
that show what was not done the way you asked?

 

[distracts]

Yeah, I too agree with finding a stock setting. At this point you have had two custom ring fully made and not liked either of them. Custom just might not be a good fit for you.

 

[Skhii]

From reading PS threads, it seems David Klass is willing to work with his client until he/she is satisfied, so DK is probably your best bet.

You could also try Erica Derout of Love Affair Diamonds. I don't know if ID Jewelry works with outside stones and anything that is not a diamond. There's also Ilya of Diamond Zone.

 

[Mailin]

I'm not surprised, I'm sorry to say.

I don't feel comfortable suggesting any vendors to you at this point. Maybe Caysie Van Bebber?

--- I am going to reach out to a few that I contacted previously, and to some others that I hadn't. See where it takes me.

Oh dear. I also don't know what to suggest, other than perhaps finding a stock setting.

I do have one question: has the intended wearer seen the ring? If so, did she like it well enough? Or would she be okay with a stock setting? I ask because you mentioned you didn't like the version of what they created, but if she's wearing it and liked it, then I'd say just go with it.

--- At this point, she likes anything and everything as long as a ring gets placed upon that finger of hers haha. She would be okay with a stock setting, I am not. The reasons of me not liking the rings being produced is not because the ring I designed/shown on the CAD is not agreeing with my eye, it seems to always be on the vendors end of not doing what is shown. May that be big or small discrepancies, I have a zero tolerance for any discrepancy when it comes after the final rendering.

I agree about finding a stock setting so you know what you're getting. Can you post pics of the finished ring with comments
that show what was not done the way you asked?

--- I will post some tomorrow after my errands are run.

Yeah, I too agree with finding a stock setting. At this point you have had two custom ring fully made and not liked either of them. Custom just might not be a good fit for you.

--- I refuse to accept this because I have seen the kind of work vendors are capable of. Ever since the start of the purchase of the center stone, the ball has been dropped in more ways than one. Jewelers dropping, chipping, scratching my gem, vendors doing other than CAD designs, vendor not using the correct style of paving etc. This was technically the 3rd vendor I dealt with, which only further helps your view point

From reading PS threads, it seems David Klass is willing to work with his client until he/she is satisfied, so DK is probably your best bet.

You could also try Erica Derout of Love Affair Diamonds. I don't know if ID Jewelry works with outside stones and anything that is not a diamond. There's also Ilya of Diamond Zone.

--- I did look into DK previously but was unable to find any halo work that was similar to what I was wanting created. I will now do my due diligence to obtain that from this point forward.

 

[hathalove]

I think you should do 18k rose and use VC. This is the quality you are looking for and perhaps switching to 18k would be a small sacrifice in comparison to the beautiful outcome you would receive. That and I would contact SK again To be sure he won't work with your sapphire. I thought he sets outside stones is that a recent change?

 

[Mailin]

I think you should do 18k rose and use VC. This is the quality you are looking for and perhaps switching to 18k would be a small sacrifice in comparison to the beautiful outcome you would receive. That and I would contact SK again To be sure he won't work with your sapphire. I thought he sets outside stones is that a recent change?

--- That was the other suggestion that was made by my significant other. I would like to avoid the change of material if possible of course, but will definitely be considered as an option.

 

[distracts]

May that be big or small discrepancies, I have a zero tolerance for any discrepancy when it comes after the final rendering.

This is why I think custom isn't really for you. In my experience, there is always some slippage in terms of the final product, and that needs to be taken into account in your expectations.

This was technically the 3rd vendor I dealt with, which only further helps your view point

The third!?

Look, it takes two to tango. With this many problems, I find it extremely hard to believe it is all the fault of the vendor. You're the common denominator here.

Honestly, I would feel bad foisting you on another jeweler when I can be pretty sure you're going to make them do a lot of work and then not be satisfied. That's why I'm not making any recommendations. If you do get another ring entirely made, I would pick ONLY things you have seen that vendor make exactly, so there are as few surprises as possible.

 

[Mailin]

May that be big or small discrepancies, I have a zero tolerance for any discrepancy when it comes after the final rendering.

This is why I think custom isn't really for you. In my experience, there is always some slippage in terms of the final product, and that needs to be taken into account in your expectations.

This was technically the 3rd vendor I dealt with, which only further helps your view point

The third!?

Look, it takes two to tango. With this many problems, I find it extremely hard to believe it is all the fault of the vendor. You're the common denominator here.

Honestly, I would feel bad foisting you on another jeweler when I can be pretty sure you're going to make them do a lot of work and then not be satisfied. That's why I'm not making any recommendations. If you do get another ring entirely made, I would pick ONLY things you have seen that vendor make exactly, so there are as few surprises as possible.

--- First vendor dropped the center stone, chipping the culet and scratching the side. Second vendor (which I wrote the review on) ignored me for like a month straight, never sent final designs, etc upon etc and created a ring missing one of the key point features of the gallery (I would have had them re create the ring in the proper way if that would have just been offered off the bat, but they attempted to make me at fault - If that was their intention or not). Third vendor (current one I am picking the center stone up from) used a paving style I specifically asked not to be done, changed band thickness, and a few other things.

I am picky with what I want, but I think it is fair to say it is "okay" with wanting perfection for such a large investment. The design isn't extravagant, nothing difficult in the eyes of the vendors, or even anything out of the ordinary.

 

[Skhii]

You can ask Maytal Hannah if she can help you combine rings she's done previously to make your ideal setting.

Examples of her work:

pave split shank halo
https://www.instagram.com/p/x17mZCzJwM

more pave halo rings
https://www.instagram.com/p/w6r76STJ4c
https://www.instagram.com/p/wH2B3LzJx
https://www.instagram.com/p/wKbQabTJ3h

bezel rose gold ring with petal gallery
https://www.instagram.com/p/zQ2vfFzJ7h

halo split shank ring with petal gallery
https://www.instagram.com/p/y5ETK7zJ_w

 

[Mailin]

Sorry for the delay, on vacation and haven't been available.

Here are the images that were sent to me of the 3rd vendors ring.

 

[distracts]

I'm not seeing the problem? It looks exactly like what I would expect it to look like based on the CAD images you approved. I understand the setting of the melee isn't what you ideally wanted but it is exactly as represented in the CAD.

 

[kb1gra]

I'm not surprised that wasn't what you wanted, but it is EXACTLY what was shown in the CAD. The CAD shows shared prongs and you got shared prongs.

I have had a couple halos by David Klass and they are all perfectly acceptable and in my opinion, equal to what BE produces on Cast settings.

I think the problem is that you have trouble with translating what the CAD is going to look like in real life. That's fine, it's not like you do this every day. But if you aren't able to visualize the CAD in real life you're going to have real trouble being satisfied.

I could suggest you work with Yoni or Yekutiel on this (I don't think either would have a problem setting your sapphire) but I really think you would be best off with a stock setting where you can see exactly what YOUR ring is going to look like in real life.

I say this before your significant other starts plotting ways to just have the ring set and wear it while you're off being as picky as possible. I can hear my husband saying every single thing you have said about this ring and the manufacturing process, and now you know why I designed and purchased my own ring, because I got tired of him nitpicking every single thing that didn't even matter to me.

 

[lovedogs]

I'm not seeing the problem? It looks exactly like what I would expect it to look like based on the CAD images you approved. I understand the setting of the melee isn't what you ideally wanted but it is exactly as represented in the CAD.

I have to agree with this--I think it's gorgeous and not entirely sure what the problem is since it looks exactly as I would expect given the CAD.

EDIT: could you explain what you don't like about this version?

 

[whitewave]

It's gorgeous! I'll glady take it (for free haha) if its not acceptable to you.

 

[rocks]

Am I understanding that you rejected this ring as well? I agree with other posters....you need to find a finished mounting that is exactly what you want.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

It is possible that your intended would love the ring as it? Why don't you present the ring (without any prefacing or qualifications) and go from there?

cheers--Sharon

 

[distracts]

Like, if you did not pay for this ring in full I think that is actively unfair to the jeweler when you approved a CAD that looks exactly like what you got. This is why I did not recommend any other custom vendors - I thought your communication with BE was unclear enough to be questionable (it was MORE their fault since they went ahead multiple times without your approval, and absolutely appropriate that you not pay for that setting, but there were many things you could have done or said to clarify that you did not, and at no point have you seemed to recognize that) and now that I've seen this ring you definitely got exactly what the CAD showed - I just don't want to send you to someone else when, at this point, I am almost positive you will make someone do the work and then not want it. Which is why I recommend a stock setting - you can see exactly what you get and depending on the manufacturer if you don't like it you can probably return it for a full refund (I would recommend ONLY looking at settings that you can get full refunds on).

 

[tyty333]

I'm not seeing the problem? It looks exactly like what I would expect it to look like based on the CAD images you approved. I understand the setting of the melee isn't what you ideally wanted but it is exactly as represented in the CAD.

I have to agree with this--I think it's gorgeous and not entirely sure what the problem is since it looks exactly as I would expect given the CAD.

EDIT: could you explain what you don't like about this version?

Ditto...looks exactly like the cads to me. Get a stock setting.

 

[Mailin]

Greetings! Posting from this beach side

The issues with the ring that I had are the following:

1: The rings finish was "unfinished" looking. You can see all the joints where metal to metal was joined and it was not smoothed out enough. The ring also did not have a full polished look to it and could see the scratchy marks from abrasive.

2: The paving was not supposed to be that style. I requested it to be replicated from the previous ring made by BE since I liked the way the paving flowed with the center stone prongs.

3: The ring section that goes around the finger gets larger as it gets to the shank section. Instead of remaining a single consistent size around its circumference.

4: The halo in the bottom right section had crooked prongs.

5: Some of the cutouts around halo were crooked/non symmetrical to the others.

I never asked to pull the gemstone out if the ring, I simply asked for the corrections to be made. He stated he does not think he could complete the ring with the precision that I want.

There might have been a few more minor things (I know some of the issues could be fixed easily), but this is longer than I wanted it to be. The ring is as designed (except the x/y axis thickness of band and the other discrepancies), it was not executed with as much precision as expected.

Seeing it in person/high quality images, you can see a lot more issues than these downgraded images uploaded show.

 

[distracts]

1: The rings finish was "unfinished" looking. You can see all the joints where metal to metal was joined and it was not smoothed out enough. The ring also did not have a full polished look to it and could see the scratchy marks from abrasive.

The only places I see polishing issues are the places where things are small enough where they would have trouble getting, like the petal bases. I may see things on the prongs but I can't tell if they are just reflections.

2: The paving was not supposed to be that style. I requested it to be replicated from the previous ring made by BE since I liked the way the paving flowed with the center stone prongs.

I know you requested that, but what you got is exactly what was on the CADs, which you approved.

3: The ring section that goes around the finger gets larger as it gets to the shank section. Instead of remaining a single consistent size around its circumference.

I'm not sure what you mean by this - are you bothered by the difference in size between the diamonds? This is a really unclear statement. Regardless, it still looks like the CADs, WHICH YOU APPROVED.

4: The halo in the bottom right section had crooked prongs.

That happens with prongs a lot of the time, especially on cushions and especially on colored stones (which are often cut in ways that make them more difficult to set). The vast majority of jewelers are not going to have the picture-perfect prongs you see from handforged PS darlings. The setting job honestly looks better than average to me, even if below that of PS faves. I think this is an "unrealistic expectations" issue.

5: Some of the cutouts around halo were crooked/non symmetrical to the others.

I'm not sure what you mean "cutouts around the halo"? Do you mean the prongs? This is firstly an issue with having a ring where those little prongs were cast in, as they are by nature "blobbier" than cut prongs, and secondly an issue with not having a super-high-level standard pave-doer - i.e., once again unrealistic expectations. The pave is perfectly normal. You're just used to seeing insanely high quality handforged pave on Pricescope, which you cannot expect from 99% or more of jewelers.

Honestly... this is just "unrealistic expectations" all over it.

 

[rocks]

Having read thru this again, I think you need to look inward and take responsibility. Your expectations are unreasonable given your communications (approvals) with the fabricator and the fact that you are setting a cushion cut sapphire....not always easy. With all I've read, I would be uncomfortable with recommending YOU to anyone....and, understand that vendors often read these posts.

Pay for the ring and present it to your girlfriend. You even said that she is tired of the process and just wants a ring.

 

[kb1gra]

I guess I don't necessarily feel the expectations are unrealistic, but rather being communicated by someone who doesn't actually know what the things he's asking for are going to look like.

We here on PS can debate the merits of cut down, french, U cut, V cut, etc, but if I go to a jeweler and I lay out all these things that I think I want, because I'm sewing together pieces of other things that I liked without the experience to know what that's going to look like, this happens.

You end up with a ring that is literally sewn together parts of other rings.

Finish issues aside (and all cast rings will show some evidence of casting) this ring looks exactly like the CADs, which looked like amalgamated parts of several different rings to me.

I think if the specifications were a little more general, and you let a competent jewelry designer actually design it vs dictating every component, you would have gotten exactly what you think you've specified here.

So the specifications, to me, should have been:

delicate cushion cut pave halo with a pave split shank and a floral gallery (maybe send an example of a gallery you like)

In other words, you pick ONE DETAIL that is significant to you (the gallery) and work the ring around that.

Then you see what the designer spits out and go from there with asking about tweaks.

One is taking a designer's vision and making sure it aligns with yours. The other is laying out a list of specifications and then wondering why the designer isn't designing whats in your head.

It's one thing for someone who's had a high end pave ring to start specifying melee sizes, etc when having a second ring made. I think going to that level of detail for a first time custom purchaser is a recipe for disappointment - because you just don't know what any of that actually looks like and are taking "it should be like this" instructions from the internet.

 

[lovedogs]

Like, if you did not pay for this ring in full I think that is actively unfair to the jeweler when you approved a CAD that looks exactly like what you got. This is why I did not recommend any other custom vendors - I thought your communication with BE was unclear enough to be questionable (it was MORE their fault since they went ahead multiple times without your approval, and absolutely appropriate that you not pay for that setting, but there were many things you could have done or said to clarify that you did not, and at no point have you seemed to recognize that) and now that I've seen this ring you definitely got exactly what the CAD showed - I just don't want to send you to someone else when, at this point, I am almost positive you will make someone do the work and then not want it. Which is why I recommend a stock setting - you can see exactly what you get and depending on the manufacturer if you don't like it you can probably return it for a full refund (I would recommend ONLY looking at settings that you can get full refunds on).

I don't mean to "pile on" here, but I agree with Distracts on all the points made here. I think you might need to begin to look inwards and realize that your expectations just aren't realistic and custom isn't the route for you. You 100% need to see a setting in person before deciding--because at this point I don't think it's fair to any other vendor that you might start with. This ring is IDENTICAL to the CADs, down to all the details. The things you stated above that you aren't happy with are either: unreasonable (e.g. item 1 you posted about it looking "unfinished", and item 4 about slightly cooked prongs), or things you APPROVED in the CADs (item 2 about the pave). And I also don't know what you mean by items 3 and 5, which likely means that the vendor wouldn't know either (likely why they stopped here and said they wouldn't be able to make you a ring you were happy with).

 

[kb1gra]

I agree that this is not the best CAD pave work that I've ever seen (my James Allen ring was better, see below) but it does match the CADs. It shows those type of prongs in the halo and that's exactly what is there. That being said, it's not like James Allen is even known for their pave work so I think you have options here, I just think you need to approach the project a totally different way than you're currently going about it.

Also note that by definition, prongs that are not white are going to show more than prongs that are white on white melee. So the prongs were already large, but they look larger than they would look if the entire ring was white, as most of the rings you see will be. My halo is yellow gold, and you can definitely see more metal than you would if it were plat or white.

 

[MollyMalone]

I'm guessing his # 5 -- Some of the cutouts around halo were crooked/non symmetrical to the others -- refers to the petals in the gallery. But because those aren't cut-outs (and I wouldn't describe them as being "around the halo"), I may be mistaken.

As for #3 -- The ring section that goes around the finger gets larger as it gets to the shank section. Instead of remaining a single consistent size around its circumference -- I'd say he may mean the non-paved section of the shank is thicker (deeper) or wider (across the surface)... but it doesn't look thicker or wider to me in either the CADs or the posted pics?

Mailin, let me ask you something: have you two started planning a wedding, do your circles of family and friends consider you to be an engaged couple? Or does the absence of an e-ring ring mean that moving forward to a life together as husband and wife is on hold until a formal proposal with e-ring takes place?

 

[Mailin]

Thank you all for your feedback. I would like to reiterate that with up close scrutiny, the ring is unacceptable. I have seen BE's work with my the previous ring (that looked great for what it was), and saw VC's work in person from a friend who had him create their ring. My expectations are 100% obtainable, I am sure of that.

HI:
It is possible that your intended would love the ring as it? Why don't you present the ring (without any prefacing or qualifications) and go from there?
cheers--Sharon

--- After forwarding images to my close friends and her close friends (one of them who is friends with the 3rd vendor/how I was introduced to the vendor). After lengthy discussions with them, I then decided to show it to my significant other the ring. She also did not like the changes from my original request.

My significant other reads these forums, so I can not go into depth on certain topic replies but I have already met back up with the vendor and picked up the center stone.

**I would go more into depth, the way I did with the vendor but at this point there is no reason. I already have met up with the vendor and picked up the stone.**

Mailin, let me ask you something: have you two started planning a wedding, do your circles of family and friends consider you to be an engaged couple? Or does the absence of an e-ring ring mean that moving forward to a life together as husband and wife is on hold until a formal proposal with e-ring takes place?

--- No wedding planned, no rush here in relation to that. Family and friends, I guess would consider us an engaged/a basically married couple. Have been together for 7.5~ years at this moment. Nothing is on hold due to not being engaged, except her being able to brag to her friends and family that I finally did it.

 

[Gypsy]

Where do you live?

 

[Gypsy]

When I did my first custom project it was after years on this board. I made a Power Point presentation. I spoke to the vendor several times.

She sent me a sketch. Though her partner was a frequent poster, she was the bench jeweler and not someone who spent time on these boards, and she had worked with picky PSers before my project and assured me she totally understood what I wanted.

And the end product was not what I wanted.

Fortunately, I had the foresight to send the ring to Neil Beaty as an intermediary. I did not see the completed ring. I wanted Neil to see it first.

Why? Because I knew at that point that I didn't know enough about settings and the intricacies of manufacturing to be able to judge, realistically, the quality of the piece. And it was an emotional purchase for me.

Neil and I had spoken prior to that. I had sent him the Power Point presentation and the sketches.

He knew the minute he opened the package that the setting did not match my specifications.

So he reached out to the vendor and spoke to them.

Despite all my 'clear' communication the vendor had not understood what I wanted. Neil was able to bridge that gap. Due to his familiarity with PS lingo and expectations and his years in the industry he was able to tell the vendor what I wanted better than I could. And the vendor was able to rework the setting to my specifications.

I think there might be a communication gap here between you and the vendors. I also think you are a micromanager, and that usually ends up being counter productive.

So my advice is this. Talk to Neil Beaty. See if he will work with you to help you get what you want, if you decide to go custom again. You would hire him at his hourly rate. And he would be your intermediary. AND he would be the person you would abdicate control to. And the person that would inspect the piece for you when complete.

 

[distracts]

Thank you all for your feedback. I would like to reiterate that with up close scrutiny, the ring is unacceptable. I have seen BE's work with my the previous ring (that looked great for what it was), and saw VC's work in person from a friend who had him create their ring. My expectations are 100% obtainable, I am sure of that.

Both BE and VC are a different level of manufacture than most jewelers. There is often a large difference between "obtainable by someone" (and in VC's case, "obtainable by handforging") and "obtainable by your specific jeweler," and, yes, that has to be taken into account in your expectations. Having correct expectations and choosing the right vendor to execute what you want is part of being a good customer. If you thought you could go to any jeweler and get something like VC... no. That is a wildly unrealistic expectation. Consider that the people on this forum, who are all over the world, know literally half a dozen jewelers who can get you that level of work. There are probably more than that who we don't know, but even with looking, that's as many as we can scrape up. Your ring is average to above average for a cast halo by a regular jeweler. The CADs clearly showed that the prongs would be cast in rather than cut out afterwards (as in BE's halo, which I imagine is why you liked the quality of work more), and casting them in gets you exactly the look you got. It's not outstanding, we can all agree on that, but you didn't go to someone who could give you outstanding, and you got exactly what you agreed on when you approved the CAD. This is why we're telling you your expectations are unrealistic. I don't know what to say to you at this point.

I'm guessing his # 5 -- Some of the cutouts around halo were crooked/non symmetrical to the others -- refers to the petals in the gallery. But because those aren't cut-outs (and I wouldn't describe them as being "around the halo"), I may be mistaken.

Hmm, I figured that couldn't be the case since there's really not much of a way for the petals to be crooked/non-symmetrical since they are cast and are fine on the CAD - I figured the prongs must be what he was talking about since they are the only thing that would have been significantly altered post-casting.

 

[Gypsy]

Thank you all for your feedback. I would like to reiterate that with up close scrutiny, the ring is unacceptable. I have seen BE's work with my the previous ring (that looked great for what it was), and saw VC's work in person from a friend who had him create their ring. My expectations are 100% obtainable, I am sure of that.

Both BE and VC are a different level of manufacture than most jewelers. There is often a large difference between "obtainable by someone" (and in VC's case, "obtainable by handforging") and "obtainable by your specific jeweler," and, yes, that has to be taken into account in your expectations. Having correct expectations and choosing the right vendor to execute what you want is part of being a good customer. If you thought you could go to any jeweler and get something like VC... no. That is a wildly unrealistic expectation. Consider that the people on this forum, who are all over the world, know literally half a dozen jewelers who can get you that level of work. There are probably more than that who we don't know, but even with looking, that's as many as we can scrape up. Your ring is average to above average for a cast halo by a regular jeweler. The CADs clearly showed that the prongs would be cast in rather than cut out afterwards (as in BE's halo, which I imagine is why you liked the quality of work more), and casting them in gets you exactly the look you got. It's not outstanding, we can all agree on that, but you didn't go to someone who could give you outstanding, and you got exactly what you agreed on when you approved the CAD. This is why we're telling you your expectations are unrealistic. I don't kno

And you didn't listen when we warned you about this before you started this project. You KNEW better than us. You KNEW this jeweler was the right one.

So I'm sorry to say, that is more proof that the problem is caused in part by you.