Deteriorating Gold?

[KKJohnson]

As I was driving today I noticed that there was light filtering through my ring, I’ve had this ring less than a year (just over 10 months) and I don’t wear it when dealing with cleaning supplies and barely ever wear it when washing my hands and I take it off when I get home every night; I also didn’t wear it for 4 months due to my pregnancy. I am not sure why the gold cup would be breaking down like this unless the gold was extremely thin to begin with.

Am I incorrect in assuming this is a issue with the craftsmanship? I would just expect the ring to last much much longer than it did.

The cup is 18k yellow gold and the shank is platinum, could it be the different materials? I’m really confused as this was NOT in the CADs or agreed to in the design

 

[Rfisher]

I don't know much.
But I certainly would hope they were there right from the beginning. Have you asked DK yet?
I don't know- do they not have yellow cups solid so they don't hold water/moisture? I know I'm really stretching it....

 

[Rfisher]

I went back to the DK close ups you posted from your original thread. I think I see them there?

 

[KKJohnson]

I don't know much.
But I certainly would hope they were there right from the beginning. Have you asked DK yet?
I don't know- do they not have yellow cups solid so they don't hold water/moisture? I know I'm really stretching it....

There are two holes but they are under the traps on the sides not on the shank like this

 

[KKJohnson]

I went back to the DK close ups you posted from your original thread. I think I see them there?

Yeah I went back to look and I just couldn’t tell, if they were there I want to know why. I sent him an email, it just sucks because I’m just now noticing

 

[the_mother_thing]

They kinda look to me like intentional tiny gaps between where the YG attaches to the donut vs any kind of erosion of metal. I don’t think gold just ‘washes away’, especially in such a short amount of time.

From your original pics ... see the area circled in red.

 

[KKJohnson]

They kinda look to me like intentional tiny gaps between where the YG attaches to the donut vs any kind of erosion of metal. I don’t think gold just ‘washes away’, especially in such a short amount of time.

From your original pics ... see the area circled in red.

Those were taken this month, I did notice it in those photos but I couldn’t tell from the ones I took when I received the ring. At this point I’m really not happy with the ring and I’m kinda pissed because it’s been so long and I’m just now noticing this issue, after spending thousands on a setting I wouldn’t expect there to be gaps. I’m waiting on DKs reply to my email

 

[yssie]

I see what @the_mother_thing is referring to re. your original glamour pics - looks to be the same location, same plane, and same size -

 

[MollyMalone]

Aren't eensy "gaps" on either side of the V-prong base inevitable? Because of the shape-dimensions of the marquise (and the cup that's, well, cupping it)... and that's why there's the lovely glow in this pic from your SMTB thread?


I know the mold predates the final CAD rendition, but I'm hoping these 2 pics of the mold illustrate why I'm thinking what I'm thinking

(Yikes, I'm not sure why the first 2 pics ended up so much bigger than they appeared in the Preview; thought I resized them to all be the same smaller size)

 

[the_mother_thing]

Those were taken this month, I did notice it in those photos but I couldn’t tell from the ones I took when I received the ring. At this point I’m really not happy with the ring and I’m kinda pissed because it’s been so long and I’m just now noticing this issue, after spending thousands on a setting I wouldn’t expect there to be gaps. I’m waiting on DKs reply to my email

I’m sorry; I didn’t take note of the post date-stamp for that picture. But in looking at the others, it appears to be the same (to my eyes) to the cad, mold and original pics from DK. The cup appears by design to curve in and under the diamond from the vertical struts while the vertical struts connect to the donut, creating those tiny gaps. I’m guessing the ‘newness’ of the bright shiny YG in that area reflecting on the platinum made it harder to notice at first given it’s such a small area. Is it like that on both the north & south sides of the ring, or only on one side? If it’s on both sides, that would tell me it was ‘by design’; if it’s only on one side, then I would think it was some sort of defect or oversight.

Regardless, I can understand your frustration if this was something you were very specific about detailing to DK in the design/casting process ... that you wanted the vertical struts & cup to connect ‘solidly’ to the donut vs the cup curving in/under the diamond and only the vertical struts connecting to the donut. Hopefully David responds quickly with an explanation or suggestion.

 

[Keeliamira]

Gosh I adore your ring and your fabulous reset! I remembered some of the photos you posted and this one stood out to me as perhaps showing what you’re talking about?

 

[mrs-b]

Aren't eensy "gaps" on either side of the V-prong base inevitable? Because of the shape-dimensions of the marquise (and the cup that's, well, cupping it)... and that's why there's the lovely glow in this pic from your SMTB thread?


I know the mold predates the final CAD rendition, but I'm hoping these 2 pics of the mold illustrate why I'm thinking what I'm thinking

(Yikes, I'm not sure why the first 2 pics ended up so much bigger than they appeared in the Preview; thought I resized them to all be the same smaller size)

Exactly.

And I don't believe for one second that the gold has washed away or deteriorated. I also don't believe this is poor workmanship. DKJ went back and forth with you over this ring for some considerable time, trying to give you exactly what you wanted. I don't think they would have decided to try to save 5 bucks by leaving tiny gaps in your setting.

This might not be to your taste - I totally get that. But jewelry making involves a large degree of engineering. It has to use real shapes in real time, and that can present difficulties. I have seen your ring in real life, and I know it's drop dead gorgeous. I've also met the bench who made it, as he was making some of my pieces too at that time. There was considerable pride in that workshop when your ring was completed.

Poor workmanship? No.

 

[KKJohnson]

Aren't eensy "gaps" on either side of the V-prong base inevitable? Because of the shape-dimensions of the marquise (and the cup that's, well, cupping it)... and that's why there's the lovely glow in this pic from your SMTB thread?


I know the mold predates the final CAD rendition, but I'm hoping these 2 pics of the mold illustrate why I'm thinking what I'm thinking

(Yikes, I'm not sure why the first 2 pics ended up so much bigger than they appeared in the Preview; thought I resized them to all be the same smaller size)

Yea the mold definitely has it, thank you for catching that. Now it looks like I will need to search the emails after the molds were received and check if I asked about it, thank you for pointing this out!

 

[KKJohnson]

Exactly.

And I don't believe for one second that the gold has washed away or deteriorated. I also don't believe this is poor workmanship. DKJ went back and forth with you over this ring for some considerable time, trying to give you exactly what you wanted. I don't think they would have decided to try to save 5 bucks by leaving tiny gaps in your setting.

This might not be to your taste - I totally get that. But jewelry making involves a large degree of engineering. It has to use real shapes in real time, and that can present difficulties. I have seen your ring in real life, and I know it's drop dead gorgeous. I've also met the bench who made it, as he was making some of my pieces too at that time. There was considerable pride in that workshop when your ring was completed.

Poor workmanship? No.

Got it, bench did great and everything to the mold but not the CADs; design flaw agreed to on my part then and shame on me for this being my first time custom and not catching this on the mold. Guess that since it wasn’t in the CADs I may have assumed it wouldn’t be apart of the final product but since the ring would be cast from the same mold as the wax I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER.

Not sure why it would it be matter how many times DK and I went back and forth over the design (which we didn’t go back and forth very much over, it was the side stones not the design). Isn’t that apart of the design process? To you this may seem like a 5 dollar issue that shouldn’t matter but as the person who paid several thousand dollars for the ring it’s another big flaw and I have a right to feel upset. Now that I’ve seen this I can’t I unsee it and guess what, it kinda ruins the ring for me; that is how I feel about it and as the owner of the ring I think I’m a bit entitled to that.

Guess I will just do better in the future when I have the ring remade because at this point it going to happen. I have been keeping notes for the future over the things I don’t find appealing about the current design, it’s just another costly mistake that should have been avoided.

 

[KKJohnson]

Thank you everyone for showing me that this was an issue from the start that sadly wasn’t caught on my end.

 

[missy]

Thank you everyone for showing me that this was an issue from the start that sadly wasn’t caught on my end.

Hi @KKJohnson I’m sorry this happened and that you’re disappointed in your final ring. I agree with you that is challenging to do custom and as someone new to the custom process it is that much more challenging. You don’t know what you don’t know. David Klass is super nice and I wonder if you reach out to him if he can’t help make this your dream ring. The way you originally envisioned it would be. Sending you hugs and good luck dust for a successful resolution.

 

[david b]

Amazing ring I must say !!
It looks to me it is part of the original diamond ring design.
Gold will not deteriorate like this ever.

 

[mrsgreeneyes]

It's on the CAD that you posted as the final CAD:



I'm really sorry that you are unhappy with it - like you said, it's quite a bit of money (and time, and thought, and energy) that gets put into custom designing a piece and it's disappointing when reality doesn't exactly match expectation. I've been there, and I think the vast majority of us on this forum have as well. It's also kind of a bummer that it took so long for you to realize, because I haven't a doubt in my mind that David would have re-made this ring for you had you noticed right away. It sounds like there are other aspects that didn't quite hit the mark for you, so, as you said, file it away as a design detail you want done differently on the next go-round.

 

[bludiva]

i really like how it looks, like the prongs are cradling the cup & stone, holding them up a bit in the air. but if it continues to bother you perhaps it won't be that difficult or expensive to add some metal to the ring.

 

[MollyMalone]

Thank you everyone for showing me that this was an issue from the start that sadly wasn’t caught on my end.

It pains me to see your joy diminished. It's the same fabulous ring it's always been, so I'm posting your SMTB thread to remind you of that:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/vintage-marquise-reset-by-dk.236023/

I honestly don't consider it an "issue" & am far from certain that you would have been/would be happy with the "fix." I'm certainly not a ring designer-fabricator, but I'm imagining that to eliminate those eensy-teensy spaces would mean the cup would have to be more of a flat-bottomed box rather than this

and that would change the graceful taper of the head setting (and the size-shape of the donut itself?)

How about asking DK to send a new set of CADs, after you ask how much he would charge for this CAD production service, showing how the design would have to be changed to eliminate any light coming through?**

** if that's even possible: it's a large stone of more than modest dimensions & your finger is a small ring size (of which I am envious!)

 

[lovedogs]

I'm sorry you are unhappy

Just wanted to say that I think your ring is incredible, and I love it!

 

[Acinom]

So sorry you are unhappy now. I would think the holes are needed so the cup will not keep moisture?

Seems there are other details you are unhappy about and this adds to it?

I think your ring is gorgeous and I do not detect any flaws. A custom process can be challenging and I wonder whether you would be happy to have it remade...

 

[KKJohnson]

I have already emailed him stating that I don’t like a few things about the ring and how much redoing it will be.

 

[KKJohnson]

It pains me to see your joy diminished. It's the same fabulous ring it's always been, so I'm posting your SMTB thread to remind you of that:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/vintage-marquise-reset-by-dk.236023/

I honestly don't consider it an "issue" & am far from certain that you would have been/would be happy with the "fix." I'm certainly not a ring designer-fabricator, but I'm imagining that to eliminate those eensy-teensy spaces would mean the cup would have to be more of a flat-bottomed box rather than this

and that would change the graceful taper of the head setting (and the size-shape of the donut itself?)

How about asking DK to send a new set of CADs, after you ask how much he would charge for this CAD production service, showing how the design would have to be changed to eliminate any light coming through?**

** if that's even possible: it's a large stone of more than modest dimensions & your finger is a small ring size (of which I am envious!)

So sorry you are unhappy now. I would think the holes are needed so the cup will not keep moisture?

Seems there are other details you are unhappy about and this adds to it?

I think your ring is gorgeous and I do not detect any flaws. A custom process can be challenging and I wonder whether you would be happy to have it remade...

There already two holes on the sides by the traps, these 4 holes are not suppose to be there. I know it’s a minimal issue but it does add to the other issues I have with the ring. I’m sure each piece has there own issues when making an entirely new piece but the main issue I have is that the gold cup is being eaten by the wedding band (which was also made at the same time as the engagement ring)

I did find the email addressing the space, it was suppose to be fully connected

 

[the_mother_thing]

There already two holes on the sides by the traps, these 4 holes are not suppose to be there. I know it’s a minimal issue but it does add to the other issues I have with the ring. I’m sure each piece has there own issues when making an entirely new piece but the main issue I have is that the gold cup is being eaten by the wedding band (which was also made at the same time as the engagement ring)

I did find the email addressing the space, it was suppose to be fully connected

Sounds like you have a plan for moving forward which is good. Might I suggest you clarify to DK what is in the email snippet you posted? I read that to mean there shouldn’t be visible holes in the cup when viewing north/south, so he moved those holes to the sides; however, you might want to be more specific & say you also don’t want any holes/gaps under the cup that allow light to come through when viewing the ring north-south. Use the pics we posted circling the spots to show exactly what you mean, as I imagine it will be much easier to understand and for DK to suggest an alternative. Good luck!

 

[mrsgreeneyes]

Sounds like you have a plan for moving forward which is good. Might I suggest you clarify to DK what is in the email snippet you posted? I read that to mean there shouldn’t be visible holes in the cup when viewing north/south, so he moved those holes to the sides; however, you might want to be more specific & say you also don’t want any holes/gaps under the cup that allow light to come through when viewing the ring north-south. Use the pics we posted circling the spots to show exactly what you mean, as I imagine it will be much easier to understand and for DK to suggest an alternative. Good luck!

That is also how I read that.

 

[MollyMalone]

Oh geez, I hadn't thought of that. I read the email as being about the positioning of the cleaning holes, moving them to the side of the cup [under the traps] so they would be concealed from view when looking straight down down into the stone from the face-up position (the revised location has had the additional benefit of giving you better angles for cleaning.) So I definitely like @the_mother_thing 's suggestion of sending along illustrations of what's bothering you, if you've not already done that.

 

[mrs-b]

Got it, bench did great and everything to the mold but not the CADs; design flaw agreed to on my part then and shame on me for this being my first time custom and not catching this on the mold. Guess that since it wasn’t in the CADs I may have assumed it wouldn’t be apart of the final product but since the ring would be cast from the same mold as the wax I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER.

Not sure why it would it be matter how many times DK and I went back and forth over the design (which we didn’t go back and forth very much over, it was the side stones not the design). Isn’t that apart of the design process? To you this may seem like a 5 dollar issue that shouldn’t matter but as the person who paid several thousand dollars for the ring it’s another big flaw and I have a right to feel upset. Now that I’ve seen this I can’t I unsee it and guess what, it kinda ruins the ring for me; that is how I feel about it and as the owner of the ring I think I’m a bit entitled to that.

Guess I will just do better in the future when I have the ring remade because at this point it going to happen. I have been keeping notes for the future over the things I don’t find appealing about the current design, it’s just another costly mistake that should have been avoided.

@KKJohnson -

You are misunderstanding my point, but I don't want to exacerbate the situation or make you more upset. I was trying to reassure you about the workmanship. Were it me, I would FAR rather think it was my fault than feel I'd gotten into bed with poor workmanship and couldn't get out.

I hope you can get this resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Good luck.

 

[KKJohnson]

Ok!!!!! I feel like I need to clarify some more since everyone has said this is my fault. This is the final CAD after receiving the mold (which had modifications made to the design after receiving) the cleaning holes are on the sides by the traps which was agreed to. The cup was suppose to FULLY connect to the shank, there wasn’t suppose to be any holes for any reason. I had sent him an email with a side view of the ring of the gap and this was suppose to be closed.

Mold was received 11/7/17

Final approved CAD 11/10/17


This is the CAD prior that actual shows the cup not connected to the shank so there does seem to be an issue with the CADs that we’re used for the final casting.

Wax mold based off CAD design below dated 10/31/17


I do appreciate how it’s been suggested of what type of verbiage needs to be used in having this fixed but it’s been heavily implied that I am the one at fault. But as a customer when I approved the final CAD there was no gap, I’ve read back through ALL the emails so I could better understand how this happened and from the looks of it, it shouldn’t have happened. I am not trying to bash a bench or say that DKJ skimped on my project BUT this wasn’t what I approved or how the design should have been made, the cup should have fully connected the shank as this was not the cleaning holes left for air/water to pass through.

Now before everyone starts saying again this is my fault for not catching sooner, I agree I should have caught this sooner but I became pregnant in November last year and didn’t wear my ring very often hence why now 3.5 months after having my daughter I see the problem. Do I expect him to correct this free of charge after almost a year, no. That is why I have already sent him an email asking him how much it would cost to remake the ring, depending on the price I may or may not use him for this.

 

[lovedogs]

I feel like I see the gap in both CADS, but maybe I'm just seeing the part that connects to the shank?