Am I Being too picky? Custom Etsy ring

[ladyonthelake]

I just decided to post a new thread for this. I finally found an anniversary band I loved the look of from an Etsy seller. I ordered it and posted about it here: https://www.pricescope.com/communit...you-nuts-with-indecision.244215/#post-4429347

My husband is OCD, so he had me send back the ring I had ordered to have them custom fit the curve.

Well, they did an amazing job fitting the ring to my current set on the right side, but clearly they didn't make the ring symmetrical on the left side curve, despite me asking.

The other thing that bothers me is the "sixth" diamond out of the total 13 diamonds is set at the peak. Which leaves 5 diamonds on the left side of the curve, and 7 diamonds to the right side of the curve. Had they placed the "7th" diamond at the peak, there would be an even 6 diamonds on each side.

It looks fine from afar other than I can see where the diamonds end on the left side of my finger more readily because there are only 5 diamonds on that side. My husband isn't home but I know it's going to bother him. And honestly, it bothers me. I'd rather have kept the "uncustom" band had I known it would look so uneven.

THoughts? Do I send it back and tell them my gripes and try again?

Only 5 diamonds from the peak on this side.


And seven diamonds from the "peak" on this side.

 

[ladyonthelake]

Another pic or two .

 

[Bonfire]

I don’t think you are being picky at all. Definitely tell them why you are unhappy (if you are now, you always will be). Hopefully they will agree to try again, or maybe get a refund and go elsewhere?

 

[ladyonthelake]

Ok, yeah it definitely bothers me. The fact that the diamonds aren't the same number on both sides bothers me even more than the fact that the curves aren't symmetrical on both sides.

I reached out to them. They are willing to work with me and try again. They said the best way for them to get it right is to send my ring in. I'm a little leery about doing that. Ugh. So hard to know what to do. But I definitely can't keep this one.

 

[Ally T]

If they have insurance & you insure your ring when sending it to them, and have insurance on it yourself, then I would send it to them along with the new band. You’re going to have to take the risk. I completely understand your gripes & those diamonds going further down one side than the other, would REALLY bother me & I wouldn’t be able to get over it. It would spoil my enjoyment of my lovely new ring. Like, forever

They have done an amazing job on trying to fit it blind, but if you send your engagement ring to them, they will be able to start over & it will be perfect.

 

[ladyonthelake]

@Alex T, I totally agree they did a great job fitting it simply with a picture. The right side is perfect. I just wish they had made the left side mirror the right, as I had requested. But yes, the assymetrical diamonds on each side sealed the deal for me! I'm not sure how someone looked at it and thought "this looks right!" It has to go back! I'm thankful they are working with me.

My ring is insured, so yes I guess that makes me feel better about sending it in. I would just hate something to happen to the ring I got engaged and married with. I just need to think about that and decide if it's the risk I'm willing to take.

My picky husband!!! Lol. He's so funny. I would have kept the non-custom one, but now that I see how well they made the curve on the right side of this one, I like it. So I blame my hubby's OCD for all of this. Ha ha ha.

 

[Bonfire]

I wouldn’t send my ring to just anyone however, insured or not. I only do that with our PS vetted vendors. I hope you get the ring that is perfect for you!

 

[ladyonthelake]

@Bonfire, my husband agrees. His response when I asked about sending my ring in was "Nooooope." Lol. I am confident they'll get it right this time if they just make the curves balanced on each side. Cause they nailed the right side. Crossing my fingers!

 

[Diamond425]

Good luck. It would bother me too.

 

[kindred]

I would be worried about their ability to get it right after they sent it out with an uneven number of diamonds on each side. Personally I would be hoping for a refund and the ability to start over elsewhere. I would not feel comfortable sending my engagement ring to them.

 

[JDDN]

I missed the thread you linked, but I absolutely adore this band! It looks like a gorgeous tiara atop your beautiful wedding set!

It's odd that they made the band asymmetrical. I wonder if you could ask to speak to the actual bench and not a customer service person and ask how easy it would be to make the band so both sides are exactly like the right side. I mean it seems easy enough if they've done it perfectly on one side! And of course ask that the total number of diamonds be even on each side from the peak. Again, seems like a no brainer but one can never be too specific. It looks like the diamonds on the left are ever so slightly spaced a wee bit farther apart from each other compared to the right side. I agree that the right side is perfectly perfect. If they used a cad program they shouldn't have any issues making the ring the same on each side. Truly. If you can avoid sending in your wedding set then that would certainly be my preference . Keep us updated!

P.S. Healing thoughts for your sweet daughter.

 

[ladyonthelake]

@kindred , I totally agree with you and am doubting they are going to be able to get it right after sending out a ring that was so "obviously" flawed.

@JDDN You are so right in noticing the diamonds on the left side are spaced differently... It really bothers me that whoever made it could look at these details and still send it out. Or overlook these details.

They matched the curve on the right so beautifully, but the inconsistent diamond spacing and lack of symmetry is just sloppy.

I mailed the ring back yesterday with detailed notes and drawings of what I expect, but my gut feeling is that I'm not going to be happy with the results if the person doing the work is the same one that doesn't pay attention to details.

Part of me wants to give it a go and see. They are willing to work with me.
Part of me says just stick with the non-custom ring. The symmetry and spacing was perfect, just didn't "exactly" fit the curve of my ring.
Part of me says forget the whole thing.

 

[yssie]

I would be worried about their ability to get it right after they sent it out with an uneven number of diamonds on each side. Personally I would be hoping for a refund and the ability to start over elsewhere. I would not feel comfortable sending my engagement ring to them.

This. This isn’t an order mistake or missing something, this is someone at the bench thinking “hey, an uneven number of stones on each side sounds like just the ticket!” and no one catching it as an error . An asymmetric band like this would be an exceptional request, definitely not the norm, and you even specified that symmetry was important to you.

You don’t need to give up on the idea. You do need a competent vendor. Your current choice is not, IMO, going to make you any happier on round two regardless of how detailed your explanations are - they are lacking fundamental aesthetic sense and QA skills.

 

[ladyonthelake]

Thanks @yssie for that perspective. That's kind of how I'm feeling about it too unfortunately. I emailed the vendor and told them not to start on another custom ring until they hear from me otherwise.

I've pretty well decided options at this point are either reorder the non-custom ring again (which I was happy with the look despite a small gap). Or perhaps let someone else customize something similar. Which I have no experience and worried about the price getting out of control.

I really do like the look of this ring before they messed it up.

 

[yssie]

The piece is very clearly not what you wanted and hopefully clearly not what’s on your work order. Can you get a refund and start over elsewhere?

I promise that there are jewelers capable of executing on this design without micromanagement

 

[ladyonthelake]

For reference, here are some pics of the non custom band I had ordered. My husband wanted me to go for custom because he's kind of more particular about things, which is fine. You can see the difference in the small gap along the curve on the right side. But it's symmetrical and pleasing to the eyes.

 

[ladyonthelake]

@yssie , yes I can get a refund. I am going to wait until they give me notice that they've received the custom ring back in the mail tomorrow. Just in case they were to suddenly "lose it in the mail" once they find I might want a refund.

Let me be clear I don't feel like they are being shady with me. They have tried to work with me up until this point and tried to make me happy.

I just don't think they were cut out to be custom designers. Or at least the one who attempted mine. Lol.

 

[ladyonthelake]

So...I spoke with customer service. They said they use CAD but not for the parts of the ring they are adjusting... So I took that as they don't use cad for the custom parts.

They really want to take another stab at it. They will take pictures of the ring when it's done, and if I can tell at that point something is off, I can have them send the non-custom ring instead.

Maybe it's a bad decision, but I'm going to play along and see what they the up with. It sounds like I can get a refund still if it's not what I like. So nothing to lose but time maybe. Ha ha

 

[Bonfire]

I wouldn’t leave anything unsaid here. Ask specifically if they will refund you if this next attempt doesn’t hit the mark. And get it in writing.

 

[yssie]

Ditto @Bonfire.
Get all details of your agreement in writing.

If you don’t like it, do you get a refund in cash, store credit, or do you get to “exchange” it for that one specific non-custom band?
What does the current work order look like? Ensure it contains all your requirements.
How long do you have to decide?
What is the timeline on the redo?

It’s not a bad decision unless you fail to take what precautions you can to protect yourself and your money. “It sounds like I can get a refund” is no guarantee of anything whatsoever.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I thought the original stock band looked great. Rings do not stay in one position all the time, so any tiny gap is inconsequential to me. It seems like the stock band met your expectations for quality, so I'd probably go with that, personally.

 

[ladyonthelake]

@Bonfire @yssie @diamondseeker2006

Yes thank you for those tips. All of our communication has been through Etsy's messaging, so it's all written down. If the custom band doesn't come through perfectly, I've decided I'm just going to stick with the non-custom one...and they have assured me that they will exchange the latest custom one for the non-custom, no-questions-asked, if I don't like it.

I'll probably receive their next attempt next week sometime.

Yeah I agree to non-custom did look awesome. I still love it!!! I'm kind of regretting all of this extra run-around I've created by listening to the hubs wanting me to ask for a custom fit. Ha ha ha. I love him though.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I find that the less I involve my husband in my jewelry deliberations, the happier both of us are in the end!

 

[ladyonthelake]

I find that the less I involve my husband in my jewelry deliberations, the happier both of us are in the end!

Lol!!!!! I'm learning this the hard way!

 

[motownmama]

Good luck!!!! I hope you'e happy when the new ring comes. I think your set is so pretty and you yourself are so pretty too!

 

[ladyonthelake]

@motownmama Thanks so much! I'll definitely let you all know how it ends up!

 

[msop04]

@ladyonthelake, I really love this band with your set, so here’s another vote for the stock ring. I’m actually low-key looking for a curved band as well... and my ring barely has a donut! HA! I’m interested to see the outcome.

 

[ladyonthelake]

Here's the latest update. I just got an email from the Etsy designer with pictures of the adjustments they made. It looks better, but still a little "off" I think. They are going to email me a video as well. The angle of the photograph might just be bad which makes it look not perfect. I will be surprised if I'm thrilled with the video view of it, but we'll see. Here's the pic they just sent me.
Thoughts?

 

[MeowMeow]

It could be angles but to me it looks like the left has more space between the stones than the right side.

 

[ladyonthelake]

@MeowMeow yes I think so too. The video shows that the curve is still not perfectly symmetrical, so I've requested the original non custom band.