Dissapointed with quality of Tacori Ring

[marisaleigh]

My boyfriend and I just got recently engaged, and had decided on a Tacori setting. (setting 2502 pr 7 - can be viewed on Tacoris website under bridal I, VII). While this is most definately the ring of my dreams, the quality leaves alot to be desired.

Let me start with some details about the ring:

The center stone is a 1.53 square emerald with slightly clipped corners. I have a ring size of 4.5
The stone was sent to tacori to be set, and was gone for approximately 5 weeks. My boyfriend had requested the ring be done in time to take on a vacation where he would proposed. The ring arrived at the jewelers just a day or two before we left, and he was very happy with the ring, and extremely happy it arrived before we left.

He proposed on NYE (in amsterdam!) and after a week of non-stop drooling, I noticed a flaw.

The square halo around the ring -- is not quite square!! The width of the halo is not even on all 4 side, and the halo is sort of lopsided! And one of the edges of the halo isn''t straight! It sort of bulges out in the middle.

I thought maybe I was being too picky (it took me a week to notice the above mentioned issues)-- Its handmade (right??), things aren''t perfect. But then while showing this to my now fiance, we noticed other flaws within the ring!

The next major thing to pop out, is that not only is the halo lopsided, the diamond appears to be set crooked within a lopsided halo.

The basket or whatever you want to call it that the diamond sits in, is not centered on the band -- which I can live with. But on one of the sides where the band meets the basket-- the filigree work looks like it was destroyed with a misplaced hot tool.

There are jagged edges on the open edges (the part that makes the open triangle) of the cathedral setting.

We have contacted the store where we bought it, and we were instructed to bring the ring in to be looked at. The salesman said that he would determine if it was something they could fix with one of their jewelers onsite. But I wasn''t sure if this was ok, is there any sort of Tacori warranty this would void, or Tacori guarentee ?

I know I have high expectations, but I think the above stated quality issues with the ring are legitimate quality issues for such an expensive setting. Right ??

I''m just at a loss of what to do, and my fiance doesn''t know the proper steps to take either.

I''d post pictures, but I am at work right now, and I am not sure that any of these issues would show up in the photos.

Thanks for reading such a long post!

Marisa

 

[BrownEyes]

Sorry to learn of your disappointment (I would be too!), but congratulations nevertheless on your engagement.

If you are able to post pictures, there are lots of knowledgeable people on this forum (including appraisers and gem-setters) who will gladly give you their objective opinions.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

 

[mrssalvo]

Congrats on your engagement and I'm so sorry about your disappointment. There are a few Pricescopers with Tacori rings that had workmanship issues as well. Punchnpie had Tacori remake her ring twice I believe. I'm sure she'll chime in her when she see's this thread. I would not let the local jeweler touch it. If it needs to be fixed have them send it back to Tacori and make them do it. I'm sure if the local guy worked on it the warrenty would be void. Again, I'm so sorry but encourage you to complain to Tacori and do not settle until it's perfect.

here's the link to Punch's tacori ordeal..hope that helps...many experts chimed in and it might give some insight..

ETA: make sure to keep the pictures of the poorly made rings..

 

[mrssalvo]

Hi again,
i was just rereading the thread I linked you to. Bill Pearlman, of Pearlmans has some great advice on Page 2..Please read it, I think it would be very helpful to your situation. The key point is to make sure you are NOT paying any more $$ to have it fixed which Tacori is known for doing..good luck..

 

[marisaleigh]

Thanks for the responses.

I''m going to go home and take some photo''s that cleary illustrate the problems. And hopefully post them to make sure I''m not just being picky!

I actually read the punchnpie saga before deciding on a Tacori, and was hoping that hers was a rare case. I''m not sure if I can go through something like that!

Should I contact Tacori directly, or go through the jeweler I bought it from ? The setting was bought from Long''s in Boston which I''m pretty sure is an authorized Tacori dealer.

My fiance doesn''t even want to incur the cost to ship it back to Tacori, so I''m sure he won''t buy into the spend more $$ to get it fixed or likely remade.

 

[mrssalvo]

I would go through Long''s first. They are the Tacori dealer and should go to bat for you. I can also 100% guarentee you are not being too picky. What you are describing is not acceptable and reflects poorly on Tacori. Your rings should be darn near perfect that''s what you paid for.

 

[ecf8503]

I''m so sorry to hear of your troubles. I believe a company that markets itself as "high-end" like they seem to want to be should provide a quality product. If this is truly the setting of your dreams then don''t settle until you think it is perfectly remedied.

I wish that Tacori could provide the kind of quality we should expect - I found a few settings of theirs I liked myself. But it said a lot to me when the reputable jeweler I was visiting with stopped carrying Tacori for the very reasons you describe (and worse...).

 

[devientdrow]

When you are paying that kind of cash for something your going to wear forever, there should be NO comprimises! You shouldn''t have to pay for fixing anything! Even flawed I can''t wait to see this ring I love the look of Tacori settings!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I am not aware of a Tacori warranty. Did your jeweler tell you? Did you see it on their website? I have heard people talk about it but never recieved any information on it. Are you sure Tacori set your diamond? I know the B&M where we bought our setting set the diamond. Tacori just needed the measurements. I understand your frusterations. I wanted a Tacori since I was in high school. To me their designs are prefect. I noticed a few flaws with my setting as well. My B&M fixed it for me for free. I doubt Tacori would even NOTICE something was done to the ring. Plus it meant my ring was gone for a week vs. 3-6 weeks. I had a melee fall out when I cleaned it in my ultrasonic. My B&M fixed this as well for free. I think QC is an issue with many companies (look at all of Leon''s compliants recently). I know punch''npie wrote a letter with all of her ring''s problems and had the jeweler sent it in with her ring. In the end I believe she is very happy with her set but it was very stressful. Feel free to PM me for more information.

 

[dazzling]

I just wanted to add my congrats on your engagement, and my sympathy with your ring situation.

I think everyone on this forum would agree with me when I say that you are absolutely NOT being too picky. Your ring SHOULD be perfect! I agree that the store should go to bat for you, since they are the ones who have the relationship with Tacori. I really hope this ordeal comes to a quick conclusion and that you are thrilled with your ring. Best of luck!

 

[laney]

Hi!

I have a tacori too. Although I did not have any trouble with my rings, I have worked with Tacori through my jeweler to have my head replaced.

You should be happy with your set. They are not cheap. Follow through until you get what you want. But I will make a suggestion.

Have tacori look at your ring. Do not have the local jeweler fix anything for you. Of course they can look at it - and may suggest something that may even correct your problem. I would have them note the issues and return it to tacori for work.

I''m sure the jeweler is covered, but if something should go wrong - or they don''t fix it all the way -OR THEY WANT TO CHARGE YOU FOR IT.. .. don''t even get involved.

Also - make sure you are not paying a few hundred dollars to ship this back and forth. Persuade your jeweler to make Tacori do this.

Lastly - pictures are helpful. You can print them, photocopy them and circle and draw all over them to point out the issues you see. It may help you "explain" what is wrong with the ring in definative terms. Rather then them thinking your too picky you can simply say "here, look at this, it''s crooked".

Good Luck - I''d put pressure on Tacori to make it right. It seems that they will if you persue it.

 

[Rhapsody]

Congrats on your engagement and I'm sorry your ring is not perfect.

I am currently on my 3rd remake of a Tacori setting, so I don't think problems are uncommon with them. My jeweler has paid for the shipping back and forth all 6 times, so I havent had to pay anything except 3 months of delayed engagement time. Have your jeweler look at it and see if it can be fixed in house or if it has to be shipped back for Tacori to fix or in the worst case senario needs to be recast. Tacori does have a warranty that covers defects in manufacturing and is voided if it is worked on by a jeweler that is not an authorized Tacori vendor.

Trust me, I know its hard to send the ring away but it will be worth it to have the ring done perfectly. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[MiniMouse]

Marisa,

Firstly, congratulations on your engagement.

I''m really sorry to hear about your ring. You are justified to feel disappointed. Tacori sell high end rings which are supposed to be top quality, therefore, you should expect nothing less than top quality. You should not have to say "which I can live with" about any part of your ring. Since you bought the ring through Longs, then continue communication through them. They will contact Tacori and work out a way forward. You shouldn''t incur any additional expense this way. On no account let the local jeweler make changes to the ring, it could cause you more problems as Tacori may then refuse to accept responsibility for any faults, plus it sounds like the faults are far more serious than just a tweak here and a tweak there.

You are not being picky, you should love your ring. Speak to Longs and hopefully this can be resolved to your complete satisfaction. I really hope so. GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[windowshopper]

tacori is suffering from Leon''s disease---fast growth trying to keep up with demand for the initial products..........which were super high end hand made pieces.........its a hard to do those types of pieces quickly and en masse

 

[Mrsgardener]

----You need to Follow through and get the ring that you will love! You will be thankful later!!!!!---- I also had an experience as you did.---- I bought myself a beautiful . 70, VVS1, D, emerald cut diamond ring with some W/C, permanent injury, money. I had the ring set in a simple Plat. setting. To my dismay, the daimond was set crooked in the basket and the basket was not in the middle of the ring.---- I didn''t accept the ring but bought the diamond. I''m so GLAD that I did not accept the excuse that it was a busy time of year, Christmas and the jeweler was pushed.---

 

[glaucomflecken]

What? There are Tacori quality issues STILL occurring this many months after my own saga? What is going on?

Although I finally got my issues settles, you (you in general) have no idea how this still burns me up! This is just unacceptable how all these high end designers are charging exorberant amounts of money on the supposedly best settings in the world and yet we are being hand fed crappy merchandise. It also burns me that your jeweler examined it and was pleased, because mine did the same, every time said it was ok but I wonder if it was to get me out of their hair, because ANYONE could see they were not ok!

The woman at Tacori I dealt with no longer works for them. But your jeweler should speak directly with, and your photos and correspondence with, Paul Tacorian himself. I will make a disclaimer that the reason I paid to remake the rings the first time was because I was at fault. I ordered through the internet and the jeweler was not the one who sized me so he could not be at fault. I ordered the wrong size, a size based on an older and much thinner ring I already had. Since I was not pleased with how the repair looked, I had no choice but to remake them. It was a financially painful mess.

However, the next two times they were remade it was on their part and not mine and there was NO way I was going to pay on top of the ridiculous amount we already did, to have repairs or remakes. And neither should you. They kept fussing about how the remakes would cost them money and blah blah. If they were made with care and detail in the first place, no remakes would need to occur! WHO do they have working for them anyway? And WHO is in quality control letting these pass off as acceptable product? I mean, are these artisans who work the entire time on the same piece, or assembly lines, or what? And besides, word of mouth travels fast. Is saving money and time by rushing and making junk going to save in the long run what lost business will?

Im sure you know this already but do not settle for anything less than what is acceptable to you. You are already aware that a handmade item will have their little idiosyncrasies, and those sometimes make the piece unique and just for you. But structural integrity issues are NOT to be blamed on that! With my final remake there are SOME quirks to it, but they are probably only noticed because I dealt with this for so long and I have learned to scrutinize EVERYTHING. But do these manufacturers think us girls wouldnt anyway, since this is our ENGAGEMENT RING! EVERYONE scrutinizes it, and the wearer the most!

Now that it has been said and done, I still love my Tacori set. In retrospect, I probably should have gone with a WF design or a Memoire band from Pearlmans and could have saved a lot of grief, but I, like Tacori e-ring, wanted one for years and years and I guess when something gets ingrained in your heart you just have to have it. Despite of all the problems I still wear it and get lots of compliments on it.

Please let us know how it all turns out! My heart goes out to you.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 1/14/2006 5:32:57 PM
Author: PunchNPie75

Now that it has been said and done, I still love my Tacori set. In retrospect, I probably should have gone with a WF design or a Memoire band from Pearlmans and could have saved a lot of grief, but I, like Tacori e-ring, wanted one for years and years and I guess when something gets ingrained in your heart you just have to have it. Despite of all the problems I still wear it and get lots of compliments on it.


Please let us know how it all turns out! My heart goes out to you.

I totally agree. I am not going to get a Tacori wedding band. Since there isn''t a "matching" one I figured I would take the safer/cheaper way out but I do not regret getting my e-ring. I love the design and like punchNpie said it does get noticed. Good luck!

 

[Carolynw]

I found it was better during my saga with Tacori, to just email them directly. They always responded.
They did tell me to work through my jeweler on sending my ring back, but I felt better knowing
they were responding to my emails as well. Because sometimes when you tell your jeweler how
you want things changed, they misinterpret. Write it in an email, all details, then send it to Tacori.
They will attach it to your order that is sent through your jeweler, that way everything is in writing
and then nobody misinterprets.

Tacori will fix it, just get it to them through your jeweler, and remember to email them too.
Rachel is very nice there.

 

[princessv]

Interesting thing I found out about Tacori from my local guy. Tacori''s master platinumsmith left Tacori within the past year. This is when alot of people started noticing problems in Tacori sets.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 1/14/2006 8:07:05 PM
Author: Princess V
Interesting thing I found out about Tacori from my local guy. Tacori''s master platinumsmith left Tacori within the past year. This is when alot of people started noticing problems in Tacori sets.

That is very interesting, explains a lot.

 

[glaucomflecken]

Very interesting indeed. And also makes me sad (and mad) that DH DID NOT PROPOSE SOONER! Maybe we could have caught him before he left...

 

[princessv]

Hrm wonder if he''s retired or working for someone else now?

Made me also wonder why he left Tacori. Maybe because there was too much expansion?

 

[Rhapsody]

Date: 1/14/2006 8:32:11 PM
Author: Princess V
Hrm wonder if he''s retired or working for someone else now?

Made me also wonder why he left Tacori. Maybe because there was too much expansion?

I think I may have chosen to go with another company if I had known this. So frustrating. After the first botched cast I emailed Tacori and told them the problems I was having and put in the email what I had ordered and what was recieved along with pictures and I got a rather curt email back from Tacori saying they were sorry for the problems but any issues needed to be dealt with through the jeweler

. They told me Tacori does not deal with the public. At which point I almost cancelled the order. Instead I wrote out 5 pages of instructions with pictures and had the jeweler fax it with the order. And it still came in wrong a second time.

I would rather have waited 10 weeks upfront to have the ring done right the first time than deal with the stress and heartache of having it be wrong so many times. I can understand that companies have growing pains but this seems to be more than that.

 

[princessv]

Date: 1/14/2006 9:07:03 PM
Author: Rhapsody

Date: 1/14/2006 8:32:11 PM
Author: Princess V
Hrm wonder if he''s retired or working for someone else now?

Made me also wonder why he left Tacori. Maybe because there was too much expansion?

I think I may have chosen to go with another company if I had known this. So frustrating. After the first botched cast I emailed Tacori and told them the problems I was having and put in the email what I had ordered and what was recieved along with pictures and I got a rather curt email back from Tacori saying they were sorry for the problems but any issues needed to be dealt with through the jeweler

. They told me Tacori does not deal with the public. At which point I almost cancelled the order. Instead I wrote out 5 pages of instructions with pictures and had the jeweler fax it with the order. And it still came in wrong a second time.

I would rather have waited 10 weeks upfront to have the ring done right the first time than deal with the stress and heartache of having it be wrong so many times. I can understand that companies have growing pains but this seems to be more than that.

HOW DOES TACORI NOT DEAL WITH THE PUBLIC?! Isn''t it ''the public'' that picks their settings to buy?

Horrible customer service. Rhapsody you poor thing I hope everything gets resolved soon!

I was thinking *on a positive note* that maybe since Tacori had to obviously hire someone new it''ll take some time for the kinks to work out. It''s a shame because they have some beautiful settings.