Diamond Studs in the Carribean - slight regret

[mrs_potatohead]

I have a lovely diamond wedding set and diamond hoop earrings. I have always wanted diamond stud "everyday" earrings for some time. We were in St. Thomas last week so we decided to look at Diamonds International. Long story short, I purchased a pair of .66 ctw round diamond stud earrings set in 14K white gold. The "appraisal" (which looks like it was written by the salesperson) says they are H-I and SI1-SI2. We paid $825 and I am fine with that. Whether they are worth that or not is water under the bridge.

What bothers me are two things --- when I tried them on at the store, I noticed the post was a bit cock-eyed. I told the salesperson and they said they would fix it. I watched the "manager" attempt to straighten the posts with pliers. Now I am home and I notice they are still not completely straight. I am worried that the strength of the posts may have been compromised.

Second, they don''t protrude out as far as I wish they would. They sort of sink in my earlobes more than I''d like.

So.... I am taking them to my local jeweler to be reset (about $60). Do you think they can choose a setting that will make them stick out farther in my ears or is this a matter of the cut of the diamond? I initally was thinking I should get screw-backs but I am not sure they are any more secure. Any advise on that?

In hindsight, I think I''d of felt better buying them at my usual jeweler.

 

[neatfreak]

I''m sorry you''re going through this. It''s never really a good idea to buy things on vacation for the same reasons you are listing. I do think however that your normal jeweler can find settings that will work better for you. Are yours by chance a martini (3 prong) setting? Those seem to fall into your ears more than a traditional setting because the back of it is shaped like a martini glass.

 

[mrs_potatohead]

No, they are a 4 prong setting.

 

[onvacation]

Perhaps a basket underneath will help?

 

[oldminer]

I''ve been on several cruises in the Carribean in past years and while there is a lot of extra time which can be spent shopping together, I would not recommend buying such personal items so far away from where you can get them serviced in the years to come. You need to keep in mind that impulsive buying creates needless danger to your credit card. If you use the islands as a great place to shop and to perfect what you''d love to have as a present, your spouse can then do the remainder of the shopping right at home where you can have a long lasting relationship with the jeweler and where the profits flow back into your own community, too. DOn''t fall for the wonderful sales pitches that are made on the cruise before you hit the first shopping port. Those guys are very good and you can learn a lot from their lecture. Just try to separate the sales pitch from the underlying truths.

Jewelery overseas is not priced much differently than in the USA. Sure, there can be regional exceptions, but nicer, high end jewelry, gems and diamonds are priced very much the same world-wide when it comes to retail purchases. I would recommend buying locally created jewelry craft items which support the community and their artisans, but jewelry which looks like what is in your local home store is not anything which only can be had at some island destination for a much lower price.