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

[coda72]

SimoneDi, I hope you get the situation resolved to your satisfaction, and can enjoy your ring.

 

[ohsomethingshiny]

I hope it’s resolved soon so OP can feel relief. (And then she will hopefully post pics of the ring so we can drool.)

 

[oldworlddiamonds]

Okay, so obviously @oldworlddiamonds is the vendor who finished this ring... and not CVB. Until OWD came forward with this post, why were we led to believe that it was CVB who left polishing compound on it? Having issues with a product/vendor sucks, but acting like they were responsible for something they were not is being dishonest... at the expense of CVB. I’m very disappointed now that this info has come to light. Uncool.

I didn't "come forward" with anything. I saw the post and wanted to let her know that it is only a little polishing compound caught on her ring and it can easily be brushed off. It's like a little crumb stuck between the stone and metal. It's not much different than taking a ring out of a ring box and having some of the cotton fuzz caught/stuck in the ring. Just wipe it off and everything looks perfect. So much drama over a little piece of polish caught in the ring. A simple oversight that can fixed in 4 seconds.

 

[msop04]

I didn't "come forward" with anything. I saw the post and wanted to let her know that it is only a little polishing compound caught on her ring and it can easily be brushed off. It's like a little crumb stuck between the stone and metal. It's not much different than taking a ring out of a ring box and having some of the cotton fuzz caught/stuck in the ring. Just wipe it off and everything looks perfect. So much drama over a little piece of polish caught in the ring. A simple oversight that can fixed in 4 seconds.

Maybe that was the wrong choice of verbiage... I only meant that OWD was never mentioned until your post. And I totally agree that it's not a big deal at all. It was made out to be a big deal by some posters when they assumed it was CVB's bench who **faint** left a little polishing compound on a ring. But when you posted that it was actually OWD's bench who did the polishing, no one cared anymore... That said, I'm glad you posted, because otherwise, some would still be bashing another bench for something they had no hand in... and the remnant compound is just not a big deal either way.

 

[oldworlddiamonds]

Maybe that was the wrong choice of verbiage... I only meant that OWD was never mentioned until your post. And I totally agree that it's not a big deal at all. It was made out to be a big deal by some posters when they assumed it was CVB's bench who **faint** left a little polishing compound on a ring. But when you posted that it was actually OWD's bench who did the polishing, no one cared anymore... That said, I'm glad you posted, because otherwise, some would still be bashing another bench for something they had no hand in... and the remnant compound is just not a big deal either way.

Agreed. Thank you for your reply.

 

[msop04]

Agreed. Thank you for your reply.

No problem! Thanks for identifying the little specks in question!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

@oldworlddiamonds Thank you so much, Adam, for coming here and clearing up what really was an extremely insignificant issue, as many of us suspected! I think you and Caysie are both wonderful, and I think is is awesome that you two are partnering some! I hope to make it to NYC within the next year, and I surely look forward to a visit to see you and OWD!

 

[oldworlddiamonds]

@oldworlddiamonds Thank you so much, Adam, for coming here and clearing up what really was an extremely insignificant issue, as many of us suspected! I think you and Caysie are both wonderful, and I think is is awesome that you two are partnering some! I hope to make it to NYC within the next year, and I surely look forward to a visit to see you and OWD!

We would love to have you anytime - even if you just want to play with some special stones!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

We would love to have you anytime - even if you just want to play with some special stones!

Oh, this is when we need a LOVE button since "like" is not nearly adequate!

 

[whitewave]

I didn't "come forward" with anything. I saw the post and wanted to let her know that it is only a little polishing compound caught on her ring and it can easily be brushed off. It's like a little crumb stuck between the stone and metal. It's not much different than taking a ring out of a ring box and having some of the cotton fuzz caught/stuck in the ring. Just wipe it off and everything looks perfect. So much drama over a little piece of polish caught in the ring. A simple oversight that can fixed in 4 seconds.

For what it is worth, I don’t get all of the pearl clutching by a few posters over some residue polish compound either, Adam. Talk about much ado about nothing...

 

[whitewave]

@oldworlddiamonds Thank you so much, Adam, for coming here and clearing up what really was an extremely insignificant issue, as many of us suspected! I think you and Caysie are both wonderful, and I think is is awesome that you two are partnering some! I hope to make it to NYC within the next year, and I surely look forward to a visit to see you and OWD!

Ooooh, let me know when. I’m up for a visit.

 

[whitewave]

Simone, I hope everything works out for you and ring #2. I’m sure if I ever have an issue with any recommended designer, you’ll come to my aid. Good luck and I hope an appraiser will either settle your mind or give you means to pursue a new remedy.

 

[SimoneDi]

Simone, I hope everything works out for you and ring #2. I’m sure if I ever have an issue with any recommended designer, you’ll come to my aid. Good luck and I hope an appraiser will either settle your mind or give you means to pursue a new remedy.

Thanks @whitewave! And you can always count on me to be in your corner.

 

[SimoneDi]

Maybe that was the wrong choice of verbiage... I only meant that OWD was never mentioned until your post. And I totally agree that it's not a big deal at all. It was made out to be a big deal by some posters when they assumed it was CVB's bench who **faint** left a little polishing compound on a ring. But when you posted that it was actually OWD's bench who did the polishing, no one cared anymore... That said, I'm glad you posted, because otherwise, some would still be bashing another bench for something they had no hand in... and the remnant compound is just not a big deal either way.

@msop04 I will mention this one more time because apparently I wasn’t clear - this thread didn’t start in order to bash any vendor. It started as a question. When Adam posted, the question was then answered which is why the conversation died. I am glad that you all saw something that concerned me as a “little” issue. We all have addressed and been sympathetic toward “little” issues that have bothered other posters, but apparently this is a vastly different scenario. I am truly glad that you haven’t had issues with your ring, but from experience, once you have repetitive problems with a given ring, every little thing becomes a cause for concern. I don’t expect you to understand that, but I do expect some respect toward my concerns. Thanks.

 

[msop04]

@msop04 I will mention this one more time because apparently I wasn’t clear - this thread didn’t start in order to bash any vendor. It started as a question. When Adam posted, the question was then answered which is why the conversation died. I am glad that you all saw something that concerned me as a “little” issue. We all have addressed and been sympathetic toward “little” issues that have bothered other posters, but apparently this is a vastly different scenario. I am truly glad that you haven’t had issues with your ring, but from experience, once you have repetitive problems with a given ring, every little thing becomes a cause for concern. I don’t expect you to understand that, but I do expect some respect toward my concerns. Thanks.

Simone, of course we’re sympathetic to people having issues with their jewelry. That isn’t my issue regarding how this thread evolved, much less what it revealed.

What really bothers me is that you weren’t honest about who did what with regards to your ring. It becomes difficult to be sympathetic towards you when you’ve been deceptive. You said you were upset that the compound wasn’t removed prior to shipping...



So you were upset with the finishing... that’s fair enough. But you weren’t upset with Adam about it, only Caysie’s bench, who didn’t have a hand in polishing the ring at all. It came across like you’re only interested in being negative when it involves CVB, especially when everything’s immediately cool when Adam said it was his bench that was responsible for not seeing/cleaning the black specks.

You stated more than once that all OWD did was set your stones, but as we know from Adam’s post, the ring was also POLISHED and finished by his bench and not Caysie’s. Before it was known that OWD actually did the finishing, you led us to believe that it was in fact Caysie’s bench who was to blame for the “dirty ring,” acting as if this were completely unacceptable. But when Adam let you know that it was just leftover compound, you sang a completely different tune... that came across as if you only had an issue if CVB were involved. And that’s just petty.

Another thing I take issue with is that you never once attempted to correct false assumptions/accusations that CVB’s bench was responsible. You seemed content to allow us to believe CVB finished the ring. Actually, no... you straight up said CVB did it in these posts:





...and you said this AFTER Adam told us he finished your ring. Therefore, CVB is not responsible for that portion, which was the actual topic of this thread. You chose to have the ring sent to him, so the setting of stones and polishing/finishing is OWD’s responsibility... which as why he was quick to put your worries to rest by explaining that it was indeed only compound and graciously offered to clean it for you. You knew his part in this process, so insinuating/stating that it was all on CVB is you being dishonest. If respect and sympathy is what you’re seeking, honesty and transparency are the way to go.

 

[SimoneDi]

@msop04 Honestly, I am flattered that this issue bothers you so much that you took the time to write a novel about it.

What I had said throughout this thread still stands as true and I have never been dishonest about anything regarding this project or anything period. Being a liar is not my thing, so suggesting that is some way I am is pretty offensive. Once again, as far as I knew:
1. CvB did the setting
2. OWD set the stones
3. CvB and OWD operated as one team for this project, so all and any issues are to concern the main contractor - CvB. Actually, since you don’t believe me, CvBs exact words referencing her team were: “me, or my team, which includes Adam & the bench at OWD”

I wasn’t given a detailed list of who did what, so I had no idea who did the polishing FYI.

I didn’t start this thread knowing that the marks were polishing compound, I feel like you keep forgetting that. Up until Adam came forward, I also wasn’t convinced that the “black spots” were polish compound, it could have been metal contamination, for example.

Had it been anything different than polish compound, I would have still faulted CvB regardless of who did the work because I contracted her to do the job, not OWD, irrespective of who did what (Btw this is the law, not a preference) However, since OWD confirmed that it is polishing compound, it seems like an easy enough issue to fix.

Regardless, in my opinion, it should have been CvBs responsibility to ensure that the ring leaves in perfect condition considering how displeased I have been with the first version of this ring and how hesitant I was to even engage in round two. You can disagree or not, that’s fine, perhaps we just have different expectations of a finished piece and amount of issues that we are willing to tolerate with a given vendor/product.

 

[the_mother_thing]

I’m confused. How - in THIS case - was CvB reasonably expected to personally ‘QC’ a ring for an issue such as this if the ring’s owner didn’t want the ring/stones sent back to CvB for setting/finishing? It seems this was a change driven by the ring’s owner in who ‘finished’ the ring. Might CvB be ‘accountable’ for the overall finished product? Yes. Was she personally ‘responsible’ for the residual compound left on the ring? No. And the omission of those facts does affect how I would perceive the vendor’s ‘QC’ process in this situation, and it really wasn’t a fair fact to omit if one’s intentions are genuine. The circumstances here were not the ‘norm.’

I have read this entire thread, and I do agree that - once it became an obvious CvB pile-on - the omission of OWD having a hand in this when it was known by the ring’s owner that they would have a role in the final process does come across as misleading. And the added pile-on by people who have never even worked with CvB or own a piece made by her/her team is just ridiculous. This isn’t a pep rally; it’s a consumer forum. Ganging up on someone who in no way wronged ‘you’ is immature, irresponsible, and entirely unhelpful.

Threads like these ARE helpful to others considering a vendor, expectations, etc. to know what one is ‘getting in to’ based on others’ experiences, but only if there is full transparency with all the facts; not cherry picking details or only elaborating on those facts when they happen to be revealed by someone else - that just looks shady.

If I were reading this thread as a newbie here, I would not dismiss CvB as a vendor I’d consider for my project based on this experience, given the omissions up front as well as the decision to not clarify the facts when additional circumstances came to light. I also would not hesitate for a second to work with OWD who stepped up, took ownership of the issue, and offered a very reasonable resolution to fix the problem. What more could you ask of a vendor?

 

[soxfan]

I’m confused. How - in THIS case - was CvB reasonably expected to personally ‘QC’ a ring for an issue such as this if the ring’s owner didn’t want the ring/stones sent back to CvB for setting/finishing? It seems this was a change driven by the ring’s owner in who ‘finished’ the ring. Might CvB be ‘accountable’ for the overall finished product? Yes. Was she personally ‘responsible’ for the residual compound left on the ring? No. And the omission of those facts does affect how I would perceive the vendor’s ‘QC’ process in this situation, and it really wasn’t a fair fact to omit if one’s intentions are genuine. The circumstances here were not the ‘norm.’

I have read this entire thread, and I do agree that - once it became an obvious CvB pile-on - the omission of OWD having a hand in this when it was known by the ring’s owner that they would have a role in the final process does come across as misleading. And the added pile-on by people who have never even worked with CvB or own a piece made by her/her team is just ridiculous. This isn’t a pep rally; it’s a consumer forum. Ganging up on someone who in no way wronged ‘you’ is immature, irresponsible, and entirely unhelpful.

Threads like these ARE helpful to others considering a vendor, expectations, etc. to know what one is ‘getting in to’ based on others’ experiences, but only if there is full transparency with all the facts; not cherry picking details or only elaborating on those facts when they happen to be revealed by someone else - that just looks shady.

If I were reading this thread as a newbie here, I would not dismiss CvB as a vendor I’d consider for my project based on this experience, given the omissions up front as well as the decision to not clarify the facts when additional circumstances came to light. I also would not hesitate for a second to work with OWD who stepped up, took ownership of the issue, and offered a very reasonable resolution to fix the problem. What more could you ask of a vendor?

Well said.

 

[SimoneDi]

@the_mother_thing , I have embedded my comments within the quote below.

I’m confused. How - in THIS case - was CvB reasonably expected to personally ‘QC’ a ring for an issue such as this if the ring’s owner didn’t want the ring/stones sent back to CvB for setting/finishing?

Nowhere was stated that it was expected from CvB (Caysie) personally to inspect the finished ring. However, since in this case all participants fall under the same umbrella and because the vendor is dealing with an already very unhappy customer, it is expected that extra attention would have been paid to the finished product. So in my view that should have been communicated to whomever is finishing the setting. That is how a vendor “wins” an unhappy customer back, that is how the vendor shows respect toward their concerns and especially when that customer had been a repeat customer in the past. That is my expectation, you can call it reasonable or unreasonable. I also work in the service industry and have had to work with displeased customers. We have always been extra attentive when a given situation had escalated.

It seems this was a change driven by the ring’s owner in who ‘finished’ the ring. Might CvB be ‘accountable’ for the overall finished product? Yes. Was she personally ‘responsible’ for the residual compound left on the ring? No. And the omission of those facts does affect how I would perceive the vendor’s ‘QC’ process in this situation, and it really wasn’t a fair fact to omit if one’s intentions are genuine. The circumstances here were not the ‘norm.’

Again, I didn’t state nor mean “personally” responsible. My above response applies to this comment as well. The owner of CvB doesn’t finish commissioned rings either way, regardless of which bench is finishing the rings, so technically, in no situation ever she would be “personally” responsible for any form or shape of “finishings”, but as the main coordinator, she is responsible to ensure that end product will be satisfactory to the client.

I have read this entire thread, and I do agree that - once it became an obvious CvB pile-on - the omission of OWD having a hand in this when it was known by the ring’s owner that they would have a role in the final process does come across as misleading.

I stated this before, I will state it again - I didn’t and actually still don’t consider that OWD’s mention was necessary. From my perspective, they operated as one entity. Responsibility always falls on the main contractor. For example, CvB might normally use one or multiple benches, I personally don’t know the real answer to that, but let’s for a second assume that for one product, CvB used two different benches. The bench that polished the product left some polishing compound. The customer, aware that 2 benches worked on their product, sees the issue. Does the customer investigate which bench polished the piece, or does the customer address the concerns to the main POC/vendor? While I do appreciate OWD posting and clearing up the issue, my stance still stands - CvB is responsible for all and any issues with the brands’ pieces. While this particular problem ended up resulting in a very small issue, the thought process behind product ownership and responsibility remains the same.

And the added pile-on by people who have never even worked with CvB or own a piece made by her/her team is just ridiculous. This isn’t a pep rally; it’s a consumer forum. Ganging up on someone who in no way wronged ‘you’ is immature, irresponsible, and entirely unhelpful.

I am also displeased with how his thread evolved, but on the same token, one can see that this particular jeweler has a very strong following from a select few posters. I am genuinely happy that they have had positive experiences, but at the same time, I don’t understand the personal attacks here. Regardless of the particular details that I had chosen or not to share (frankly because I anticipated that backlash that might follow) a few important things remain unchanged:

1. I commissioned a custom piece with CvB
2. Less than 6 months later, I had a faulty product that I was greatly displeased with
3. From a repeat customer, I am now a disappointed customer

There are many other things that have contributed to my change of heart that I have decided not to share (yet). But that doesn’t mean that my story is not valid.

Threads like these ARE helpful to others considering a vendor, expectations, etc. to know what one is ‘getting in to’ based on others’ experiences, but only if there is full transparency with all the facts; not cherry picking details or only elaborating on those facts when they happen to be revealed by someone else - that just looks shady.

I had no intention for this thread to evolve in such a way, nor to discuss any of the vendors/benches involved. I just wanted to know what the “black marks” are and how upset I can allow myself to be, that’s all. I didn’t intend for any lack of detail to be perceived as “shady”, as to me that was completely irrelevant to the actual issue at hand.

If I were reading this thread as a newbie here, I would not dismiss CvB as a vendor I’d consider for my project based on this experience, given the omissions up front as well as the decision to not clarify the facts when additional circumstances came to light. I also would not hesitate for a second to work with OWD who stepped up, took ownership of the issue, and offered a very reasonable resolution to fix the problem. What more could you ask of a vendor?

I actually hope that if a new poster comes on this board and reads this thread, they would see how disappointed a consumer can be with the given vendor. Even though my intention was not to discuss any of the vendors/benches, I am bitter and I am sad that the ring I anticipated for so long turned out to be a faulty one and then the second version of that ring is still not up to my satisfaction. Are all consumers as particular as I am - probably not. However, I think that all consumers should expect their own concerns and requests to be honoured by the paid vendor. I have sent an email to the vendor since the beginning of the week the asking to confirm what the main issues were with my first ring and listing other items that I find unsatisfactory with the current design of the ring. I am yet to receive a response. Is that also normal or acceptable? Is that also something that potential customers should dismiss? Had the vendor been responsive and sympathetic in the first place, this thread might have not even existed.

Depending on how much I care about this vendor/issue, I might take the time to write the full story behind my change of heart and dissatisfaction with the given vendor.

Regardless of personal opinions or experiences, I do appreciate everyone’s feedback here. I am not the one to post frequently about personal experiences and especially not personal issues as I always prefer to handle those offline. Everyone’s feedback here will certainly help me form better my next thread should I choose to share the full story.

Until further update regarding my ring issues, I won’t be posting further on this thread as I consider that the conversation has become cyclical. Once again, thanks to all for the parcipation and advice.

 

[yssie]

@SimoneDi I commend you for a very professional final response in an obviously heated discussion.

I am a satisfied CvB customer and I will not hesitate to go back to Caysie for the right project.

A vendor is wholly responsible for the outcome of any project he or she takes on, regardless of what other entities various components of that project might have been subcontracted to, regardless of who requested the subcontracting, regardless of why - if the vendor agrees to it then the outcome of that agreement becomes the vendor’s responsibility.

Residual polishing compound is an utterly trivial "problem" - the fact that this ring was shipped with traces of polishing compound in no way reflects poorly on CvB's (or OWD's) QC... I've had pieces from VCA, Tiffany, WF, many others come back from servicing with traces of compound. However, you didn't know that that was the issue when you started this thread: you knew only that there were unidentifiable black marks on a ring from a vendor you don't trust, which is why you didn't first reach out to said vendor.

That's clearly the biggest issue here: the trust in this vendor/client relationship is long gone. And if there's anything that newcomers reading this thread should take home it's that having a mutually respectful and trusting relationship with your vendor is the most critical contributor to successful project completion... I hope this story has a happy ending for you @SimoneDi!

 

[Dancing Fire]

psst...@msop04 - are the blue pills in your avatar "chill pills" for us or will they make us "more stiff"?

Depending if you are a guy or gal.

 

[Ella]

Closing at the request of the OP.