Engagement Ring not perfectly circular?

[Jen Wallace]

I need some help from this thread!

My fiance had my engagement ring made through a wholesale jeweler that my parents know and have trusted for years. The ring is beautiful but the one thing that is troubling me is the ring is not perfectly circular. The ring itself is a halo style and has diamonds halfway down the band.

I’ve gone back to ask the jeweler and he said because the ring setting is bought wholesale at size 7 usually, it is very hard to resize down (I am a 5) and achieving it to be perfectly round.

Anyone have any advice on this? I love the ring and of course no one sees the bottom of it, but wondering if this will effect its appraisal, if I am settling for a non-truthful answer, etc. I don’t really understand why he did not just buy the setting in a size 5. It seems this would be an option even at wholesale but again, I am only surmising as I don’t know much about any of this. Unfortunately neither does my fiance and he didn’t even notice it not being round until I called it out.

I DONT think he inserted the pave diamonds and then sized down. I think he basically purchased a size 7 setting, sized the band down, inserted the diamonds. Here is a photo. He also inserted a ring sizer for me since he actually made the ring a little bit bigger than 5 and it was too loose.

UGH, is this a lost cause. Do I need to get a whole new setting for this to look normal?

 

[Dancing Fire]

That's horrible. Ask him to reset the stone into a correct sized ring.

 

[Lookinagain]

Is he saying that to get a wholesale price what he has access to are size 7 rings generally and that is why he had to size yours down? Did he mention to your fiance before the ring was purchased that sizing it might mean that it was not quite round? Just curious if he warned you fiance ahead of time of these two things?

 

[Jen Wallace]

Is he saying that to get a wholesale price what he has access to are size 7 rings generally and that is why he had to size yours down? Did he mention to your fiance before the ring was purchased that sizing it might mean that it was not quite round? Just curious if he warned you fiance ahead of time of these two things?

Hi - Yes I believe he is saying size 7's are his standard from where he orders from and he had to size down. I mean, he kind of just made it all seem like not a big deal when I asked and mostly brushed it off saying only I would notice this. I am not nuanced in what can or can't be done wholesale but I DID think my ring setting would just be ordered in my appropriate size 5. My fiance thought the same, he did NOT warn him that if he had to resize down from a 7 that it would not be perfectly circular. He just did it and I noticed after he proposed.

He also sourced the loose diamond and put it all together. Overall if you look at the ring from the front it's absolutely beautiful. The quality of the diamond is awesome. I just don't understand how he botched the setting...

 

[distracts]

What the jeweler said is correct. If that ring comes standard in a size seven, that style will be very hard if not impossible to resize to a 5 while maintaining a perfectly round shape. If you want it to be perfectly round, you should have a setting made to size.

I honestly wouldn't worry about it. Your fingers aren't perfectly round either, so unless it's uncomfortable, I'd let it go. I personally can't even see what you're talking about in your picture.

 

[Jen Wallace]

What the jeweler said is correct. If that ring comes standard in a size seven, that style will be very hard if not impossible to resize to a 5 while maintaining a perfectly round shape. If you want it to be perfectly round, you should have a setting made to size.

I honestly wouldn't worry about it. Your fingers aren't perfectly round either, so unless it's uncomfortable, I'd let it go. I personally can't even see what you're talking about in your picture.

When you say that ring comes standard in size 7, do you mean the setting? I believe he was doing what he thought was best, but I find it hard to believe that a 14kt halo setting with half pave band is THAT hard of a setting to find in a size 5. It honestly seems like it would be a pretty standard ring setting. I'm inclined to let it go too, but I can't help but feel like I somehow have a defective ring or that he went about it the wrong way when he could have just ordered the setting wholesale but in the correct size of my finger.

 

[whitewave]

Do you know the manufacturer of the setting?is it Stuller? Etc

 

[Jen Wallace]

Do you know the manufacturer of the setting?is it Stuller? Etc

I don't. I was not there in person to choose the setting, my fiance did. I can ask him but I doubt he will know or remember what brand. I just checked the inside and all it says is "14kt."

 

[distracts]

When you say that ring comes standard in size 7, do you mean the setting? I believe he was doing what he thought was best, but I find it hard to believe that a 14kt halo setting with half pave band is THAT hard of a setting to find in a size 5. It honestly seems like it would be a pretty standard ring setting. I'm inclined to let it go too, but I can't help but feel like I somehow have a defective ring or that he went about it the wrong way when he could have just ordered the setting wholesale but in the correct size of my finger.

I don't know how your jeweler works or where he gets his settings. Of course most can get them in any size. But if your fiance pointed at that specific setting and wanted the wholesale cost or whatever, it could be that getting a sample setting in a size 7 was the only option. In the end, you picked your jeweler and they do things how they do things, and how your jeweler does things is not necessarily what we on this board would prefer (which is why we are so picky about jewelers) but at the same time if that's the way he normally does things, that's on you to inquire about before you make your purchase. This is pretty common in the regular-jewelry-store world from what I've seen.

 

[bludiva]

it sounds like the jeweler sized down something he had in stock to me, as distracts said...

can you post a larger photo of the ring? he sized it down to a 5 and it has that sizing hump in it also? or is it a 7 with a sizing hump to get it to fit your size 5 finger?

 

[Jen Wallace]

it sounds like the jeweler sized down something he had in stock to me, as distracts said...

can you post a larger photo of the ring? he sized it down to a 5 and it has that sizing hump in it also? or is it a 7 with a sizing hump to get it to fit your size 5 finger?

Does this photo help? My ring size is 5. The ring was sized from a 7 down to about a 5.25 (a little bigger than my sizes) so he inserted the ring arch so it wouldn't spin around my finger when I brought it back. The arch is slightly off center as well but I don't care so much about that as I do the curvature of the ring itself.

 

[bludiva]

Does this photo help? My ring size is 5. The ring was sized from a 7 down to about a 5.25 (a little bigger than my sizes) so he inserted the ring arch so it wouldn't spin around my finger when I brought it back. The arch is slightly off center as well but I don't care so much about that as I do the curvature of the ring itself.

ok gotcha. i honestly wouldn't worry about it unless you think you will change your setting in the short term. it's not really noticeable and our fingers aren't perfectly round so any delicate setting is going to be get a bit out of round eventually. my 2 cents, if you're happy with it otherwise.

and congrats!

 

[Jen Wallace]

ok gotcha. i honestly wouldn't worry about it unless you think you will change your setting in the short term. it's not really noticeable and our fingers aren't perfectly round so any delicate setting is going to be get a bit out of round eventually. my 2 cents, if you're happy with it otherwise.

and congrats!

THANK YOU! OK and last silly question. Do you think adding gold to the bottom where it's more tapered will make it rounder? I feel like it's off because the band isn't the same thickness all the way around...would supplementing gold back in somehow fix this?

 

[bludiva]

not at all silly! we all want our rings to be perfect. you have to wear it a lot! i obsessed over the shank of mine looking too thin to me when i first got it but eventually just decided to leave it be and now i don't think about it...

what i see are the highlighted areas are a little "lumpy" or uneven for lack of a better way to describe it ...like for me personally i wouldn't be concerned about it tapering b/c some rings are meant to taper on the bottom for comfort but i would want that line along the bottom smoothed out. the jeweler should be able to see this and fix it.

combining the weirdness with the resizing, the off center arch, and the fact that they gave the ring to you without perfect lines, makes me kind of irritated on your behalf. to be fair this photo is blown up and none of this is likely noticeable at a normal scale or when you are wearing the ring. i don't know if they'd need to add more gold or polish the bottom more to smooth out the outside line, the jeweler should be able to tell you how they'd address your concerns, make sure you discuss & agree with the approach ahead of time.

 

[headlight]

Okay, so I’m seeing this differently than some of the other comments... and I think it’s absolutely unacceptable. The jeweler should be ashamed of himself, in general, and ESPECIALLY since your family has had a long-time relationship with him.
The ring needs to be correct. You should not be settling. This isn’t some “fashion” ring that will end up in the bottom of your jewelry box once the trend fades... this is your engagement ring.
Just seeing the photos infuriates me that someone thinks they can pray on consumers. If I knew you, I would take the ring and march on down to the jeweler myself!
There’s no way you would know to ask about any of this.
And the jeweler shouldn’t expect you to take something substandard just because it’s “wholesale”. The whole point was that you were to get a quality product at a better price because of your relationship to this person that has connections... it wasn’t supposed to be your fiancé pays less to get a total butchered mounting. And then he can’t even get the size correct in a lopsided version and puts in that hump thing. Honestly, this is an atrocity IMO.
I would suggest you demand the correct size be ordered and the ring be remade, but I really feel you should request a refund and start over elsewhere.
Don’t worry about stepping on his toes... how dare he take advantage of you like that.

 

[the_mother_thing]

I’m with @headlight What the heck is that arch supposed to be/do/solve? Is THAT how he “resized” it down, by adding a huge arch? Or did he resize it down AND and that arch in (and if so, again, why?). A ring with pave diamonds down the shank shouldn’t really be resized down (even the ‘right’ way) that much if at all or you risk losing diamonds because the tiny settings for them are basically compromised and ‘stretched out’.

ETA: Also, that ‘arch’ being off-center looks like it’d contribute to the ring spinning or at least not sitting on the finger properly. Some spinning is normal, but if a spinning ring really bugs you, this doesn’t appear it would help matters.

What’s done is done, and the setting - I’m guessing - cannot be returned. That said, I’d push the jeweler to redo/reorder the ring in the correct size, reminding him/her that your family did business with them and if he/she wants that to continue, they need to do the right thing here. The only caveat I’ll add is that if your fiancé did this on his own, didn’t ask the right questions, and/or had a budget that would not allow for a pseudo-‘custom’ setting to be ordered in the correct size (e.g., maybe this one was in inventory for awhile so the jeweler made him a deal on it), then you may not have much room to haggle with them on a remake/reorder without coming out of pocket more money. I’m not condoning what I think is shoddy work, but at the same time, there is some responsibility on the part of the consumer to know what they are buying, ask questions, etc. ... especially when it’s generally considered a significant and expensive purchase.

I do wish you the best of luck in getting it resolved to your satisfaction!

 

[facetgirl]

If its bothering you now, it will bother you forever, trust me. How does your fiance feel about this? That will weigh in here as well. If it were me, I would talk with the jeweler and ask that it be remade. The sizing bar alone may be troublesome.

 

[Dancing Fire]

he could have just ordered the setting wholesale but in the correct size of my finger.

Exactly!

 

[Demon]

The slight out of roundness wouldn't bother me (which is not to say it shouldn't bother you). But that arch would drive me nuts. It looks very uncomfortable.

 

[Weecam]

I’m no expert here, but that arch! I’ve never seen one that big....

 

[Bron357]

This is my ring resized really small (it was for my pinky) it’s now oval ha ha. I don’t think it’s really obvious with your ring BUT it’s your engagement ring and it should be exactly as you want it - it was an important and expensive purchase.

 

[Wewechew]

That arch is awful. I don’t get why he didn’t size it down to the size you need. And it’s off center...

 

[bludiva]

You could ask for the arch to be removed and replaced with sizing beads which would be more subtle and should work for .25 size difference i believe

 

[distracts]

Okay, so I’m seeing this differently than some of the other comments... and I think it’s absolutely unacceptable. The jeweler should be ashamed of himself, in general, and ESPECIALLY since your family has had a long-time relationship with him.
The ring needs to be correct. You should not be settling. This isn’t some “fashion” ring that will end up in the bottom of your jewelry box once the trend fades... this is your engagement ring.
Just seeing the photos infuriates me that someone thinks they can pray on consumers. If I knew you, I would take the ring and march on down to the jeweler myself!
There’s no way you would know to ask about any of this.
And the jeweler shouldn’t expect you to take something substandard just because it’s “wholesale”. The whole point was that you were to get a quality product at a better price because of your relationship to this person that has connections... it wasn’t supposed to be your fiancé pays less to get a total butchered mounting. And then he can’t even get the size correct in a lopsided version and puts in that hump thing. Honestly, this is an atrocity IMO.
I would suggest you demand the correct size be ordered and the ring be remade, but I really feel you should request a refund and start over elsewhere.
Don’t worry about stepping on his toes... how dare he take advantage of you like that.

The issue is though that something like at least 90+% of jewelers will find this quality acceptable, and, moreover, not be able to do a better job. I know we're pretty insulated from that on PS but that is why we have a small list of vendors we work with. Once you choose your vendor, you really have to meet them where they're at. While OP can surely try to get the jeweler to fix the problem and order the ring in her size, what we've seen repeatedly before with jewelers who put this kind of thing out in the first place is that they will be unable or unwilling to fix it. OP can certainly try, but given there's some sort of established relationship there with extended family, they risk burning that bridge, which may or may not be acceptable. ... Just trying to give OP reasonable expectations about the outcome of talking to the jeweler.

 

[bludiva]

The issue is though that something like at least 90+% of jewelers will find this quality acceptable, and, moreover, not be able to do a better job. I know we're pretty insulated from that on PS but that is why we have a small list of vendors we work with. Once you choose your vendor, you really have to meet them where they're at. While OP can surely try to get the jeweler to fix the problem and order the ring in her size, what we've seen repeatedly before with jewelers who put this kind of thing out in the first place is that they will be unable or unwilling to fix it. OP can certainly try, but given there's some sort of established relationship there with extended family, they risk burning that bridge, which may or may not be acceptable. ... Just trying to give OP reasonable expectations about the outcome of talking to the jeweler.

Agreed, you can't compare every ring to Victor Canera's superhuman standards. The arch is funky but it's removable. The bottom can be smoothed out. The out of roundness is not that noticeable. We have no idea of the OP's fiance's arrangements or relationship with this jeweler so it's impossible to speculate on what a reasonable expectation for resolution would be.

yes, the issues are irritating, but it's no atrocity imho. everything to do with the bottom of the ring can be fixed, worst case scenario take it to an expert in jewelry repair if the original jeweler can't or won't fix it. OP, I hope you show us some photos of it on your hand, I bet it's pretty.

 

[Karl_K]

Many premade mass produced rings are only made in one size used to be usually a size 6 but it looks like 7 is becoming common.
For any other size they have to be sized up or down and if there is anything but metal in the shank or of the shank is thicker near the head they will be oval when sized down. You can not bend the upper portion of the shank much without causing issues with how the side stones are set.
The answer is a custom or semi-custom setting.

 

[RunningwithScissors]

At a minimum the jeweler should size the ring down again to your correct size and remove the weird sizing hump. There is NO reason he can't size it down a quarter size. I've had many rings, in all different styles, resized a quarter size smaller, it costs 50 dollars.

There is NO REASON you should have to wear an ugly, uncomfortable sizing hump on your engagement ring. UNACCEPTABLE.

An honestly, if you are unhappy with your engagement ring setting, even if your fiancé has to pay out of pocket for it to be fixed or changed, he (fiancé) needs to make it right. Especially since you had no say in selecting it but will have to live with it for years and years to come.

 

[Karl_K]

I should have looked further down the thread.
This is what I was talking about the vast majority of the sizing has to come from below these points.
The arch is just ridiculous.


Even more so in this one, you can not move anything above the red line(approximately) so all the sizing had to be dune under it.
Both of these rings would have been problematic to size up from their original size.


Edit to add: With stock mass produced settings and resizing existing rings them being oval it is just a fact that ,that is sometimes the only way to do it.

 

[Jen Wallace]

I’m with @headlight What the heck is that arch supposed to be/do/solve? Is THAT how he “resized” it down, by adding a huge arch? Or did he resize it down AND and that arch in (and if so, again, why?). A ring with pave diamonds down the shank shouldn’t really be resized down (even the ‘right’ way) that much if at all or you risk losing diamonds because the tiny settings for them are basically compromised and ‘stretched out’.

ETA: Also, that ‘arch’ being off-center looks like it’d contribute to the ring spinning or at least not sitting on the finger properly. Some spinning is normal, but if a spinning ring really bugs you, this doesn’t appear it would help matters.

What’s done is done, and the setting - I’m guessing - cannot be returned. That said, I’d push the jeweler to redo/reorder the ring in the correct size, reminding him/her that your family did business with them and if he/she wants that to continue, they need to do the right thing here. The only caveat I’ll add is that if your fiancé did this on his own, didn’t ask the right questions, and/or had a budget that would not allow for a pseudo-‘custom’ setting to be ordered in the correct size (e.g., maybe this one was in inventory for awhile so the jeweler made him a deal on it), then you may not have much room to haggle with them on a remake/reorder without coming out of pocket more money. I’m not condoning what I think is shoddy work, but at the same time, there is some responsibility on the part of the consumer to know what they are buying, ask questions, etc. ... especially when it’s generally considered a significant and expensive purchase.

I do wish you the best of luck in getting it resolved to your satisfaction!

He resized the ring down and THEN added the off center arch. I guess I hear everyone what’s done is done - to be fair my fiancé did not have a large budget, probably like 5k, but he did say he was charged 1200 for the setting so I feel like at that point why on earth couldn’t he have ordered it in my normal size 5? When I saw one example photo of the setting, it was just the band and mount and had little holes for the diamonds to be put into. So I don’t think he ordered a semi mount with diamonds already included? I might be speaking out of my butt here because I don’t know, but at the end of the day I am bummed because he is a family friend and I also don’t feel I should be the one to broker these repairs with him. I think my fiancé needs to do it and try to get some solution, even if it’s just smoothing it out and replacing the arch.

I just feel like I have a defective ring now but I’m definitely not well off enough to buy a whole new ring. I feel like I’m on the verge of tears over this

 

[the_mother_thing]

He resized the ring down and THEN added the off center arch. I guess I hear everyone what’s done is done - to be fair my fiancé did not have a large budget, probably like 5k, but he did say he was charged 1200 for the setting so I feel like at that point why on earth couldn’t he have ordered it in my normal size 5? When I saw one example photo of the setting, it was just the band and mount and had little holes for the diamonds to be put into. So I don’t think he ordered a semi mount with diamonds already included? I might be speaking out of my butt here because I don’t know, but at the end of the day I am bummed because he is a family friend and I also don’t feel I should be the one to broker these repairs with him. I think my fiancé needs to do it and try to get some solution, even if it’s just smoothing it out and replacing the arch.

I just feel like I have a defective ring now but I’m definitely not well off enough to buy a whole new ring. I feel like I’m on the verge of tears over this

I’m sorry that you’re feeling the way you are with what should be a celebratory representation of your engagement; just know that it’s a ‘thing’ and doesn’t change in any way the fact that you’re engaged to your future partner.

I’m not sure why it would be both sized down and the arch added, unless he sized it down just a little bit (e.g., a half-size) so it wouldn’t compromise the structural integrity and figured the ‘arch’ would resolve the remaining size difference. Either way, you’re unhappy with the result.

I would echo what I think someone upthread hinted at - that if/when you discuss this with your fiancé, while we understand your unhappy with the ring, do give consideration to his feelings in how you approach him about it. We obviously don’t know your fiancé ... some guys wouldn’t take the ‘criticism’ personally; others very well may/do because of pride. Just something to think about. I think if you decide to approach your fiancé about this concern, ask him how he would prefer it be addressed (if at all) - does he want to deal with the jeweler himself about it, or have you go with him to communicate your concerns and help ensure you get the issues resolved to your satisfaction (you are, after all, the one wearing it). It may be that you go with him to convey the concerns, then leave them be to hammer out the hard talk of return/refund/replacement/additional cost/etc. since it seems you weren’t part of that negotiation in the first place. Just be prepared and accept that if your fiancé had a budget he didn’t want to exceed and the ring is beyond any ‘return’ period, if a repair/replacement will incur additional costs it may be something he is not able to do right now.