Coincidence or should Jeweler Replace Stone?

[GemView]

Help!

Earlier this morning I lost one of 15 bead-set diamonds (.25CTW) from a 14K WG band-style ring with milgrain edging, which was originally purchased from Costco last fall. Ironically, I had the ring in to the jeweler yesterday — the same jeweler who sized it from a 7 to 5 last December. I took the ring in because it began to have a fogged up appearance on one side of the shank. After the jeweler buffed it, I wore the ring the rest of the day. That night, after cleaning it, I put it in my jewelry box and took it out again earlier today. I got some hand lotion on it by accident, so I cleaned it again this morning. (I’m fastidious about keeping my jewelry clean.) After cleaning, all the stones were present, which I know because I always check before I unplug the stopper in the sink. Less than five minutes later I landed in the kitchen to make breakfast. I washed my hands over the sink at one point, but didn''t notice anything amiss until I sat down at my computer in the next room to check my email. That''s when I realized the tiny diamond inset into the ring was missing.

I took my LED flashlight and retraced ALL my steps and haven''t found it. I can only conclude that it must have disappeared down the kitchen sink. Before I pose my questions, however, I should mention that I am exceedingly gentle with my jewelry. I do not wear this particular ring everyday. I always take it off at night. And I never do any heavy housework while wearing it.

Though I generally pay less than $20 for ring sizing in the LA area, I paid the jeweler mentioned above $40 to size the ring in December. For the price, I would not expect a stone to fall out only three months later — especially given that I do not wear it on a daily basis. If this were to happen to you, what would you expect — to pay in full, pay partially or to have the ring repaired free-of-charge?

To those of you who do bench work, do you generally accept a ring for buffing or service without also checking the setting for loose stones before returning it to the customer? Or would the customer have to specifically ask you to check the stones in the setting before you would do so? In other words, what is the conventional practice?

Finally, what should I expect to pay for a round 1-2mm replacement diamond, based upon the fact that the certificate of appraisal indicates that the diamonds are VS2 or better, "I" color or better?

 

[strmrdr]

10-40 bucks for the stone.
I dont see them being obligated to do it for free but if they do it will be a nice gift.

 

[GemView]

Thanks for the quick reply, strmrdr!

I don't think — even though it has only been three months — that it would have crossed my mind to question whether the jeweler should help out. Only because I saw him yesterday did it occur to me that he should have caught the loose stone before it fell out today.

Good news! My fiancé stopped by after leaving work early and found it on the kitchen floor! What a miracle!

Update: The stone is back in the setting. Whew! When we first arrived at the store, we asked the jeweler whether or not he had checked the setting the day before for loose stones. He said that he did, and that usually if a stone is going to come loose it would do so during steam cleaning. I also found out that the replacement cost, had my fiancé not found the missing diamond, would have been $100 including labor! Does that figure strike you as a bit steep? The jeweler also stated he covers lost stones out of his own custom settings but not out of settings that he has resized (he resized the ring we brought in only three months ago).

Fortunately, the jeweler didn't charge us for resetting the diamond. What he did say — and I've never heard this before — is that settings should be checked every three months for loose stones. Is this true? Does anyone else take their rings to the jeweler that often? (I ask because I always thought you were supposed to have the prongs checked only once or twice a year — depending on how hard you are on your jewelry, of course.)

I’m curious to know if any of what I have related sounds like standard operating procedure (for jewelers overall). Perhaps there has been a discussion on this topic in the past? If not, I think it would be a good idea to have a thread devoted to the practices and policies of retail jewelers, and how to tell if you're getting a fair shake (or perhaps expecting/asking too much).

 

[denverappraiser]

I’m glad to hear it worked out. I think the jeweler has been very generous to set it for free. A fairly typical policy is that if the jeweler didn’t set it, and the jeweler didn’t sell it, then the jeweler doesn’t warrant it. There are an awful lot of possibilities for what can contribute to a stone falling out that aren’t the fault of the last guy to work on it. This can lead to a session of fingerpointing between the selling jeweler (who has a warranty on a possibly defective item) and the repair jeweler (who may have damaged the piece through poor craftsmanship). ‘Checking’ stones for free does not generally mean that the store doing the checking is accepting liability for future problems. This sort of thing is one of the reasons that it’s helpful to buy the diamonds, the ring and the labor from the same place when at all possible. It’s also worth noting that most manufacturers warranties will be void if you have the piece worked on, including sizing, by an outside jeweler.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[strmrdr]

imho everyone should buy a loupe and learn to check there own and do so atleast once a month.
Then have it professionaly done once or twice a year.
In markets with high labor costs $100 could be the going rate it seems high to me but not sky high.

 

[oldminer]

If you add up the component prices for a $15,000 car it will come to over $30,000. most likely. It costs more to buy a part at a time or a small diamond, one at a time. The labor costs and fixed costs are higher, too.

Its good you found the diamond and a great idea to learn how to check them yourself. Things happen that are not anyone''s fault. That''s what accidents are all about and why one buys insurance if one chooses to have coverage in place. I don''t buy jewelry insurance on personal jewelry for my wife and myself. We are "self insured" so if we have a loss, it is on us. At this stage of life, having never paid premiums for jewelry insurance, we are well ahead of the game if a loss occurs.

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 3/17/2006 8:54:25 AM
Author: denverappraiser

I’m glad to hear it worked out. I think the jeweler has been very generous to set it for free. A fairly typical policy is that if the jeweler didn’t set it, and the jeweler didn’t sell it, then the jeweler doesn’t warrant it. There are an awful lot of possibilities for what can contribute to a stone falling out that aren’t the fault of the last guy to work on it. This can lead to a session of fingerpointing between the selling jeweler (who has a warranty on a possibly defective item) and the repair jeweler (who may have damaged the piece through poor craftsmanship). ‘Checking’ stones for free does not generally mean that the store doing the checking is accepting liability for future problems. This sort of thing is one of the reasons that it’s helpful to buy the diamonds, the ring and the labor from the same place when at all possible. It’s also worth noting that most manufacturers warranties will be void if you have the piece worked on, including sizing, by an outside jeweler.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

Neil makes some excellent points. Sizing a ring down four full sizes from a 7 to a 5 greatly increases the chances that something will go wrong, even if all the prongs are tight at the time the ring leaves the store, especially in a bead set. If you pick something up or if you grasp a brush tightly while scraping the dishes you could cause the ring to flex just enough to "liberate" one of your diamonds.

Costco normally buys mountings made in a foreign country where labor is cheap and then sell only in a given size, so if you want it in your size you must take it to a local jeweler, then they deny any and all liability for the craftsmanship of the local jeweler, even if the problem is of the original manufacture, great work if you can get it.

The local jeweler made maybe $10 profit on your ring sizing if he was lucky, less if he did not charge a fair cost for the sizing, many use it almost as a loss leader, charging only ten to fifteen dollars, which almost covers their cost. To expect him to be liable for your ring, especially one purchased from Costco which may well have sold it for less than the jeweler can make it for in this country, is not realistic, but I realize that it is more the norm than not. (Please hear my tone of voice, this is a statement of my opinion and an attempt to explain my opinion not an attack on you or any one else. )

The truth is that the stone may have been loose when he polished it, but that it was not observable under normal viewing as some stones appear snug, even when tested with a probe, but when the dirt holding the stone snug dissolves or softens in the ultrasonic and steaming process it is now loose and rarely are the stones checked again after the cleaning. (Hint, they should be, but rarely are as people are usually standing there waiting for their rings and after checking hundreds of rings without finding an error the second time, the proceedure tends to get changed. Human nature is human nature in all professions...) Some jewelers will actually purchase a machine who''s job is to shake the ring with very rapid yet tiny ocillations. If there is a loose stone it can be heard to rattle. I do not know anyone who has the machine so I do not know if or how well it works, but I have seen the ads. Be interesting to hear from someone who has it how well it works.

Many of us would tend to take responsibility for such a small diamond in these circumstances, hoping that the good service would bring you back into the store, but many would also feel that it was not their responsibility since you purchased the ring elsewhere from a company that is happy not to accept any responsibility since you had work done elsewhere, even they made the only real profit on the whole transaction. I do not blame Costco for this either, as it makes no sense for them to accept liability for the quality of someone else''s work. I have seen first hand the ravages of a poor bench who then tried to state that it was the fault of the maker. If I have time later today I will post pictures of the damage in my gallery section.

Wink