Am I Being Too Picky? Eternity Band Question

[Midway]

So, I received my fiance''s wedding band from our custom jeweler over the weekend, and having had the weekend to look it over I''m a little concerned about it''s overall craftsmanship but just wanted to get some thoughts from the experienced folks on PS.

The ring is a shared-prong eternity band. It has 25 40-pointers and is smooth on the sides. When I looked at the ring this weekend I noticed that the holes on the inside of the shank (which holds the melee) were a bit irregular. Some of the holes are larger than others, they also aren''t drilled in a perfectly straight line at the center of the shank. This causes some of the stones on top to look like they aren''t lines up perfectly. Also, the shared prongs sit up fairly high and are fairly rough to the touch. And some of the shared prongs are considerably bigger than others.

I realize that no one will ever see the holes in the shank, but this bugs me. I think it''s a sign of hurried or shoddy craftsmanship. I''ve already talked to the jeweler about it and he''s assured me that he''ll remake the ring till I''m 100% satisfied. But, I''m concered that he and I have different ideas about the quality of product that I''m expecting. I''ve seen other eternity bands from high-end B&Ms in my area, and they don''t have this characteristic. I don''t know if this is because the B&M ones aren''t custom pieces and are stamped, but somehow I doubt this is the case.

The other thing is there is no quality stamp on the inside of the ring. Nothing that indicates who made it and what the metal is (it''s platinum). I realize there is very little space for a stamp b/c of the holes, but this raised some questions.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Is this sub-standard crafstmanship or am I being too picky?

 

[mrssalvo]

those type''s of things would bother me, but i''m known to be very picky with the minor details of ring settings. IMO the prongs should be even and everything should be evenly spaced. the uneven holes on the inside probably wouldn''t bother me b/c they can''t been seen, but imperfections like you are describing viewable with the naked eye would drive me personally insane. I''d have it remade or get a refund and go with a known designer brand or custom vendor whom you know will do it correctly.

 

[fanboy]

Shoddy eternity bands seem prevalent. It gets even worse when you are dealing with pave. I'd return the ring and find a more reputable maker--there's nothing 'wrong' with the ring as you describe it, it's simply not made to a high enough quality standard. Ultimately, you get what you pay for.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Well if it bothers you now it will bother you later on. So return it NOW while it''s still during the return policy time period. If you really like the jeweler, other work he''s done, then let him try again.

 

[Midway]

Thank you for the quick responses! They echo what I''m really feeling, I''m not happy with the workmanship and I do feel it''s indicative of hurried or shoddy work.

I guess my follow-up question is: in your experience is it best to cut my losses now and go with someone else or to let the jeweler try to get it right? This was a custom piece so returning it is not as cut and dried. He will probably want some compensation for the work he''s put in, the wax, etc. We love the place that did her engagement ring, and we are very happy with their attention to detail and the quality of the product we got back from them. We went with this new place b/c they were recommended by a friend and b/c their local (we thought it''d help in the long run to build a relationship with a local place for servicing, etc.

We''re getting close to our wedding date (early Sept.) so running out of time to get it right if this time the ring doesn''t meet our expectations. I suspect that most people will say to cut my losses but just wondering if people have had the experience where the jeweler gets it right the second time.

 

[fanboy]

I can't speak to getting things re-made by jewelers, but I think the general rule for getting anything custom-made is that you should cut your losses. When you buy a custom product, you are buying the expertise and talent of the maker; your best indication of that expertise and talent is the product itself. If you got a shoddy ring from this vendor, then it's best to assume his default quality level is shoddy. To ask for better quality in the future introduces a lot of haziness into the situation: (1) you don't know how much better it can really get, (2) you don't know if your 'better' is his 'better', and (3) ultimately, since you appear to be an honorable consumer, you'll feel obligated to pay at the end of the day even when his 'best quality' work isn't up to par.

Call up Leon Mege: you won't be disappointed.

 

[Pandora II]

I quite like to try again with the same vendor.

They know your tolerance levels and should take extra care of future projects - at least this has always been the case for me so far.

Or, if you have the budget, just go with a known master craftsman.