Black spots on Plat? Looking for opinions/advice please.

[SimoneDi]

Barmarkian is a New England company that has an actual inhouse bench. You could check them out and see if they will look at the spots and give you some thoughts. They are a bit dismissive of rings they did not make, but they are solid for repairs. I had a great experience with a vintage ring where they did a prong repair for me.
https://www.barmakian.com/pages/locations

If your up for a long drive, I always love Northampton Jewelers. He's notoriously slow, but super friendly and has great workmanship. He has access to a laser welder (and great gemstone collection to share).
http://www.northamptonjewelersinc.com/

Not sure if either will be open on the 4th of july.

Thanks Rocky! I have visited Barmakian before and they do appear to have a good team. A few friends of mine have gotten rings from them so hopefully they will be welcoming, plus as you said, this would be considered “repair”.

It is just really disappointing, this is less than a week old ring that I have not even worn for full 24hrs.

 

[SimoneDi]

I asked a bench jeweler I've done some training with. He said steel tweezers will contaminate platinum and using them can leave black spots. Also, sometimes a cobalt alloy is used with platinum and it is magnetic and can cause discoloration during the annealing & soldering process.

Thank you so much for this advice! This is really good information to know. I will be seeing some local professional advice and will be again in touch with the so called “jeweler”.

 

[SimoneDi]

@PintoBean I am not even sure what the next steps for resolution are... If it was up to me, I would have received a refund the first time around when one of my side stones became loose after less than 6 months of uneventful wear and when WF was gracious enough to fix it for me at no cost so I don’t lose my side stone while traveling.

 

[ac117]

@SimoneDi I'm so sorry you're having these issues but if your jeweler is being so difficult from the beginning of your issues, I think you're doing the right thing by staying level headed and seeking an independent evaluation. Totally upsetting that your concerns are being dismissed, though.

 

[kemurphy]

Barmarkian is a New England company that has an actual inhouse bench. You could check them out and see if they will look at the spots and give you some thoughts. They are a bit dismissive of rings they did not make, but they are solid for repairs. I had a great experience with a vintage ring where they did a prong repair for me.
https://www.barmakian.com/pages/locations

If your up for a long drive, I always love Northampton Jewelers. He's notoriously slow, but super friendly and has great workmanship. He has access to a laser welder (and great gemstone collection to share).
http://www.northamptonjewelersinc.com/

Not sure if either will be open on the 4th of july.

I apologize for thread jacking but you seem to know the location of good jewelers. Do you know or could recomend any on the North Shore?

 

[rockysalamander]

Thanks Rocky! I have visited Barmakian before and they do appear to have a good team. A few friends of mine have gotten rings from them so hopefully they will be welcoming, plus as you said, this would be considered “repair”.

It is just really disappointing, this is less than a week old ring that I have not even worn for full 24hrs.

I'm so sorry for you. Its so frustrating to wait, plan, and dream of a ring and have such technical issues arise. I'm hopeful this is an easy fix and an issue with the finishing. If the alloy was contaminated, it should never have made it out of the jewelers bench. Shit happens and you use the wrong tool or are lazy in prepping some days. But, as the bench jeweler, you own that. The designer should be acting as her own QC and sending the ring back to the bench as many times as it takes to achieve perfection. In the end, her reputation is dependent on their workmanship. I'm so mad for you . Whatever happened to customer service and building a client relationship?

 

[icy_jade]

@SimoneDi who made this and what was the response when you brought it up to them?

 

[SimoneDi]

@SimoneDi I'm so sorry you're having these issues but if your jeweler is being so difficult from the beginning of your issues, I think you're doing the right thing by staying level headed and seeking an independent evaluation. Totally upsetting that your concerns are being dismissed, though.

Thanks for the sympathy! I am glad I am not seeing issues that are not there. I will update you all once I get done independent evaluation. It is just really frustrating that this is an expensive setting which I would expect to be “perfect” or close to but the issues won’t stop piling

I'm so sorry for you. Its so frustrating to wait, plan, and dream of a ring and have such technical issues arise. I'm hopeful this is an easy fix and an issue with the finishing. If the alloy was contaminated, it should never have made it out of the jewelers bench. Shit happens and you use the wrong tool or are lazy in prepping some days. But, as the bench jeweler, you own that. The designer should be acting as her own QC and sending the ring back to the bench as many times as it takes to achieve perfection. In the end, her reputation is dependent on their workmanship. I'm so mad for you . Whatever happened to customer service and building a client relationship?

I ask myself the same question Rocky. I don’t believe that this particular jeweler cares much about client satisfaction after the checks have been cashed and especially when there are issues, at least that has been my experience. Pretty unfortunate. I will let you know what the updates are after I get some professional opinions.

@SimoneDi who made this and what was the response when you brought it up to them?

I haven’t brought up this particular issue to their attention because I just noticed it yesterday when I louped the ring for the first time since receiving it last Friday. I did bring up other issues that I am seeing with the design of the ring and my comments were not warmly welcomed.

 

[Texas Leaguer]

I've never seen anything like that...calling expert eyes!!! Any ideas or advice?!? @denverappraiser @Texas Leaguer @Wink @Rockdiamond @oldminer

My first thought is polishing compound. It can be pretty sticky. Sometimes if the finished piece does not sit in the ultrasonic long enough, some residual may remain and steam will not always knock it off. First thing to do is to get a professional cleaning. Then reassess. Good chance that will take care of it.

 

[SimoneDi]

My first thought is polishing compound. It can be pretty sticky. Sometimes if the finished piece does not sit in the ultrasonic long enough, some residual may remain and steam will not always knock it off. First thing to do is to get a professional cleaning. Then reassess. Good chance that will take care of it.

Many thanks for chiming in @Texas Leaguer ! Alright, professional cleaning it is. Would that encompass ultrasonic plus steam?

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Many thanks for chiming in @Texas Leaguer ! Alright, professional cleaning it is. Would that encompass ultrasonic plus steam?

Definitely the one-two punch!
Fingers crossed.

 

[SimoneDi]

Definitely the one-two punch!
Fingers crossed.

Thanks again! Last question - has WF ever shipped a ring like that?

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Thanks again! Last question - has WF ever shipped a ring like that?

I am sure we have. As anyone who has spent enough time on this forum knows, we are not perfect!

It may not seem like a piece of fine diamond jewelry would ever go out 'dirty' ( and it shouldn't happen), but there are any number of ways quality control can break down. With enough volume, staff turnover, perfect storm failures in multi-level QC, etc, anything is possible. The important thing is that the vendor you have placed your trust in makes every reasonable attempt to take care of problems that do arise.

 

[SimoneDi]

I am sure we have. As anyone who has spent enough time on this forum knows, we are not perfect!

It may not seem like a piece of fine diamond jewelry would ever go out 'dirty' ( and it shouldn't happen), but there are any number of ways quality control can break down. With enough volume, staff turnover, perfect storm failures in multi-level QC, etc, anything is possible. The important thing is that the vendor you have placed your trust in makes every reasonable attempt to take care of problems that do arise.

Thanks again @Texas Leaguer , I greatly appreciate your transparency and advice! Happy 4th!

 

[Texas Leaguer]

Thanks again @Texas Leaguer , I greatly appreciate your transparency and advice! Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July!
In all the patriotic celebrations on this important day, this caught my eye: God Bless America
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/02/arts/music/irving-berlin-god-bless-america.html

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I am sure we have. As anyone who has spent enough time on this forum knows, we are not perfect!

It may not seem like a piece of fine diamond jewelry would ever go out 'dirty' ( and it shouldn't happen), but there are any number of ways quality control can break down. With enough volume, staff turnover, perfect storm failures in multi-level QC, etc, anything is possible. The important thing is that the vendor you have placed your trust in makes every reasonable attempt to take care of problems that do arise.

I'm sure it happens more than we realize since most people aren't as diligent with loupe inspections as PSers are! But I've seen this here before.

If you can't get it clean yourself, just send it back to the bench that set your stones! Probably an easy fix!

 

[SimoneDi]

I'm sure it happens more than we realize since most people aren't as diligent with loupe inspections as PSers are! But I've seen this here before.

If you can't get it clean yourself, just send it back to the bench that set your stones! Probably an easy fix!

Thanks DS! My hope would be that when vendors know that they are working with some of the picky ones amongst us, they clean up the pieces and deliver an outstanding product, but I guess that isn’t always the case. I will try to visit my local jeweler by the end of the week and post with updates. I really don’t want to ship my stones again. Happy Independence Day!

 

[PintoBean]

I'm optimistic and confident that if the vendor is anything like our beloved PS vendors like WF, they will make you whole, whether it's a remake or a correction or a refund.

 

[Resonance.Of.Life]

My advice is to throughly clean it first then get it appraised by an independent appraiser. Based on what the independent appraiser says (since it seems like you have more than this possible polish compound issue going on), I would insist on a refund. You'd present a stronger case with the ammunition an independent appraisal would give for a refund.

How many times is a customer supposed to have a remake done not to their satisfaction? Not indicating that you have unreasonable expectations- you have a reasonable expectation of a setting, BUT it seems like either the bench is not up to par or that the vendor's definition of acceptable is not up to a standard expectation.

 

[soxfan]

Hmm...caysie always sent me macro shots before she shipped my stuff. Did she send you macro pics before? I'm surprised she missed that in the pics, I would have thought she could see it.

 

[rockysalamander]

@SimoneDi Any update?

 

[SimoneDi]

Hmm...caysie always sent me macro shots before she shipped my stuff. Did she send you macro pics before? I'm surprised she missed that in the pics, I would have thought she could see it.

I didn’t get micro shots with this one, but I am still surprised that it was missed.

 

[SimoneDi]

@SimoneDi Any update?

Not yet. As it was a holiday yesterday and today is a work day, the soonest I might be able to visit a jeweler will probably be Saturday..

 

[rockysalamander]

Not yet. As it was a holiday yesterday and today is a work day, the soonest I might be able to visit a jeweler will probably be Saturday..

Ok. Finger's crossed.

 

[msop04]

I didn’t get micro shots with this one, but I am still surprised that it was missed.

You should ask her for some pics of the finished piece... I believe she takes macros of all the pieces before they ship out.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I think an independent appraiser is a good idea, and I think she mentioned she already has that lined up.

I think it's quite strange that there are people on this thread saying it's time for a refund when the only "problem" disclosed here is that a bench left traces of polishing compound. Really??? The ring has been remade once to have stronger prongs. So exactly what is the problem here?

 

[whitewave]

Do you have an ultrasonic you can pop it in and run several cycles? (Did you say... I need to go back and look)

 

[SimoneDi]

Do you have an ultrasonic you can pop it in and run several cycles? (Did you say... I need to go back and look)

I don’t own an ultrasonic just a manual brush and I did that a bunch of times already without any success.

You should ask her for some pics of the finished piece... I believe she takes macros of all the pieces before they ship out.

No pics with this one. I am sure that if anyone opposed up close, they would have seen the black marks.

 

[SimoneDi]

Ok. Finger's crossed.

Thank you!

 

[whitewave]

Overnight one from amazon