Etsy trillion ring experience

[GemFever]

Dear PSers,

I wanted to share my experience with an Etsy vendor and show you my new ring.

I noticed the vendor (jenhough) and her original designs a while ago. I kept her in my Etsy favorites list and would admire her stuff every now and then. Finally, I had a trillion on my hands that I thought could go into her "Darling Clementine" ring. I contacted her and she was very friendly and replied quickly, saying that she would be glad to make the ring for me. I sent her my light lavender-pink trillion spinel a little before Christmas.

I realize that the holidays are a rush, so I didn't expect her to work on it till January. Still, as soon as the stone was sent, I felt like her response time became much slower. I had to keep bugging her for updates on whether she received the stone, whether there has been any progress on the ring (and I'm not a fan of having to bug people). But, I was OK with waiting, since this little spinel wasn't one of my all time favorites that I couldn't wait to have back in my hands (like the chrysoberyl that is right now with DanielM ).

This weekend Jen contacted me for my address, and I also finally paid for the ring (I offered before, but she did not charge me till the very end). Today I received it. It's a very cute and funky ring, which I will wear occasionally. It rotates on the finger a little more than I would have expected, but still looks nice.

The one major setback is that my stone came back damaged. There is a huge groove/chip/scratch on the front of the stone, reaching the table. I understand that jewelers do not take responsibility for damaging customer's stones... but I feel like Jen should have at least let me know that it happened. Instead, I found out within seconds after opening the pretty ring box. Luckily, the stone cost me $15 on ebay and I'm not heartbroken about it. But still... what a bummer.

In a way, this was a "practice" custom order from an Etsy vendor I was nor familiar with. I'm glad I started out with a silver ring and cheap stone. In the end, I have a neat new ring, which I probably won't wear too often. But it's good to try new things, right

 

[yanaazul]

Wow, she can't have not known that the stone got chipped. Did she think you wouldn't notice? I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[GemFever]

Thanks!

I wouldn't call it bad overall... just a learning experience, shall we say. But my blood runs cold when I imagine that I could have sent her my trillion sapphire instead... Anyway, all's well that ends... alright

 

[T L]

So sorry about your stone. Geesh, if this vendor can chip a stone as durable as a spinel, it doesn't give me a lot of confidence.

 

[Starzin]

Sad to hear of the disappointing experience but pleased that it wasn't a more valuable gem.

 

[fussykiki]

Regardless of the cost of the stone, I think the vendor still owe you an explanation. You should ask the vendor what happen to your stone.

 

[chrono]

Eek! That is a huge chip that you don't need a loupe to see. I am very sorry to see the damage but glad you didn't pay a lot for it, plus it thankfully isn't one of your all time favourites, but still... Spinels don't chip easily and for the setter not to say anything about it would make anybody steer away from using her again. Thank you for sharing your experience with us on PS. I think you should still contact the vendor to notify her about the damage.

 

[K9]

I agree with the others that she should at least have her attention called to it. Regardless of the cost, it was irresponsible of her not to mention the damage to you - that's how a vendor earns trust!

Thanks for sharing the experience.

 

[TristanC]

She screwed up. At least apologise and offer a way out. This is a great way to lose future customers entirely. No way should anyone be dealing with a vendor who can send back a stone with THAT bad a chip and not at least fess up or attempt to engage you on a workaround.

I'm sorry you had a bad deal.

 

[GemFever]

Thanks for the sympathetic replies!

TL: I agree, I had a similar thought about spinel not exactly being one of the easy-to-damage stones...

Starzin: thanks!

fussykiki: I have to admit, I *am* kind of curious how the damage happened. Yeah, it would have been good to know, maybe to be careful in the future.

Chrono: I sent her a message yesterday, saying that I understand such things happen, but she should have let me know (and I attached the pic). No response so far.

K9: Definitely true about vendors needed to have that trust. I sent her a message, I wonder if she will ever reply. Also I wonder what to do about Etsy feedback. I think I may leave a neutral. I don't want to hurt her young business...

Tristan: You're right. I hope she'll learn better business skills as she goes along.

But now I totally understand why some metalsmiths won't deal with customers' stones. I was so in love with this ring, planning it for my small sapphire trillion:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/87609505/trillion-paraiba-tourmaline-palladium

But the vendor absolutely doesn't work with customer's stones (I tried to say I'll assume all the risk of damage, but it didn't help). The search continues.

 

[K9]

Thanks for the sympathetic replies!
K9: Definitely true about vendors needed to have that trust. I sent her a message, I wonder if she will ever reply. Also I wonder what to do about Etsy feedback. I think I may leave a neutral. I don't want to hurt her young business...

Although it's not easy, it's best to be truthful about your experience so that other buyers will have all of the information at their fingertips. It's not YOUR fault if you leave feedback that ends up swaying potential buyers, it's HERS (especially if your feedback is truthful). She needs to EARN business... and that comes by admitting mistakes when you make them, not by hiding from them. That doesn't mean that your feedback, whether neutral or negative, can't be worded professionally and pleasantly.

 

[Aoife]

I'm so sorry for the bad experience, GemFever. It's one of the scariest things about trying out a new vendor. When I send off a stone to a new vendor, especially one that no one else on PS has tried, I always think of the stone as my sacrificial lamb . Like you, I usually start out with something small, and how the vendor handles both our interactions and the project determines whether I do something larger/more important/more expensive with them.

That said, I'd say some aspects of your experience sound pretty typical to me, for etsy as well as established, PS-approved vendors. Communication tends to be pretty good at the front end of a project, and then there tends to be large.....spaces.....between emails. What is really egregious is that she damaged your stone and didn't give you a heads up. Yes, stones are set at the client's risk, but good business practice should dictate that she let you know when she sends it back. Again, so sorry, and glad that at least it wasn't a gemstone that had a lot of significance to you. Thanks for the review.

 

[LD]

Before we all jump to the conclusion that the Etsy vendor damaged the stone consider (a) the spinel was damaged in transit to her and therefore she assumed it was that way when shipped (b) the spinel could have been damaged on the return journey. Of course she could have damaged it but before making assumptions, I would ask her whether she noticed the chip and perhaps send her a photo of it. It looks like the top of a facet has been chipped off so I wonder if there was a weakness in the stone with a pre-existing inclusion that could have been bumped in transit? It would be very difficult to ignore this damage if it had been done during the setting process. It's a shame but thankfully it doesn't show at arm's length. I know that's no consolation and you KNOW it's there but it is still a wearable and very unique ring.

 

[Aoife]

Before we all jump to the conclusion that the Etsy vendor damaged the stone consider (a) the spinel was damaged in transit to her and therefore she assumed it was that way when shipped (b) the spinel could have been damaged on the return journey. Of course she could have damaged it but before making assumptions, I would ask her whether she noticed the chip and perhaps send her a photo of it. It looks like the top of a facet has been chipped off so I wonder if there was a weakness in the stone with a pre-existing inclusion that could have been bumped in transit? It would be very difficult to ignore this damage if it had been done during the setting process. It's a shame but thankfully it doesn't show at arm's length. I know that's no consolation and you KNOW it's there but it is still a wearable and very unique ring.

Good point, LD. If I were a vendor who received a stone to set with that kind of damage visible, the first thing I would do would be to contact the client to find out if s/he knew that the stone had a chip. Since this vendor didn't do that, I'm guessing that it either happened when she set the stone, or on the trip back.

GemFever, how was the ring packed when you received it?

 

[LD]

Before we all jump to the conclusion that the Etsy vendor damaged the stone consider (a) the spinel was damaged in transit to her and therefore she assumed it was that way when shipped (b) the spinel could have been damaged on the return journey. Of course she could have damaged it but before making assumptions, I would ask her whether she noticed the chip and perhaps send her a photo of it. It looks like the top of a facet has been chipped off so I wonder if there was a weakness in the stone with a pre-existing inclusion that could have been bumped in transit? It would be very difficult to ignore this damage if it had been done during the setting process. It's a shame but thankfully it doesn't show at arm's length. I know that's no consolation and you KNOW it's there but it is still a wearable and very unique ring.

Good point, LD. If I were a vendor who received a stone to set with that kind of damage visible, the first thing I would do would be to contact the client to find out if s/he knew that the stone had a chip. Since this vendor didn't do that, I'm guessing that it either happened when she set the stone, or on the trip back.

GemFever, how was the ring packed when you received it?

I don't disagree and I think the people we typically work with would BUT imagine you're an Etsy vendor, somebody sends you a stone with a big chip and you've never worked with that person before, you might assume that this is something that the client isn't stressed out about and likes the stone the way it is - especially if it's being set in silver and maybe in an inexpensive mount (not sure if that's accurate or not). We're thinking like PSers but think about the horrors you see for sale that people buy! Some people wouldn't think twice about (or even notice) a chipped gem.

 

[K9]

I agree fully with you LD that there are many conclusions to be drawn. If the stone were chipped when it arrived to her, I think the seller had an obligation to confirm the condition before setting. I don't consider that PS thinking, I consider that business sense.

I will be interested in what the seller's response will be.

 

[Enerchi]

Gemfever, your original post had such a nice "live and learn" feel to it. Yes, the damage happened (??during shipping??? during setting?? ) and its a shame you weren't advised (why would a vendor not advise you of that??? ) but your attitude seems so positive!

I hope it all works out well in the end

 

[NKOTB]

Gemfever, your original post had such a nice "live and learn" feel to it. Yes, the damage happened (??during shipping??? during setting?? ) and its a shame you weren't advised (why would a vendor not advise you of that??? ) but your attitude seems so positive!

I hope it all works out well in the end

+1

I love the design for the sapphire trillion!

 

[GemFever]

K9: Definitely true about leaving truthful feedback, and about wording it professionally and pleasantly. I'll wait till I get a response from her (if I do). I'll give it a week or so... then consider what to do about the feedback.

Aoife: I agree totally. Glad to add a review to the wonderful resource that is PS!

LD: I thought about this too. I shipped the stone in one of those round gem jars, with the cushy foam padding. And a padded envelope. I've shipped plenty of stones that way before, even to Thailand (returns), and they were fine. I have a hard time imagining how it could be damaged in that packaging, unless the entire container was crushed by a heavy weight. In which case the seller should probably alert me to this fact. When I got the ring, it was in a very pretty ring box, and I think it was pretty secure. If the ring box wasn't damaged at all,I don't think a set stone could have been. So it must have happened while she was working with it. My guess is that she dropped it on a hard surface, and it chipped. But you are right that it's best not to jump to conclusions. I wrote her about the chip (and attached a pic) last night, no response so far.

Also, good point about "thinking like PSers"... I have to admit, I showed the ring to my brother last night (in semi-bright incandescent lighting) and specifically told him to see if there is anything wrong with the stone. He looked for 30 seconds maybe and did not catch the chip until I showed him the pic. So yeah, we definitely have "PS vision" here

Enerchi: thanks

NKOTB: I love that design too! But the vendor will not make it with my stone I may write her and see if she will make it to fit my stone, but have someone else set it. Just gotta make sure I have the funds ready, in case she says yes *fingers crossed*

 

[LD]

I hope you get some a satisfactory answers. I actually dislike when vendors take a long time to reply ESPECIALLY if something has gone wrong with the transaction. I've got to say that it'd put me off using her again.

I'm glad that normal non-PSers can't see the damage! I hope you'll wear it because it's definitely a unique design and you won't see many of those around.

 

[pregcurious]

http://www.etsy.com/listing/87609505/trillion-paraiba-tourmaline-palladium

But the vendor absolutely doesn't work with customer's stones (I tried to say I'll assume all the risk of damage, but it didn't help). The search continues.

I usually don't like ultra modern, but those settings are amazing.

Thanks for writing a review of the Etsy vendor you used. It's very useful.

 

[Starzin]

Hmmm...it will be interesting to see what she says if anything. While we may have PSer's vision that Gemfever's brother doesn't LOL! you would expect a jeweller to also have it.

OT (off topic): On another note for Gemfever and NKOTB - all of us really because I think it's wonderful - I had saved this (but not the site where I got it hopefully someone else recognises it) so there is another out there, you can see the difference in that both sides of the band are knife edged, instead of one side of the band at the stone being as wide as the stone (still with me? )

 

[distracts]

To me that looks like something that happened during setting. I've sheared off the corner of a stone before when my tool slipped, and it looked rather like that. If you slip while using a pointy thing, you can put wicked gouges in almost anything. Some of the worst ouchies I've made on stones were with topaz, which is an 8 on the moh's scale.

 

[GemFever]

LD: I think I'll wear it. As soon as I can force myself to take off my RHR sapphire ring

Pregcurious: Yeah, I love those designs. I think I may have to get one eventually, my stone or not...

Starzin: cool ring! It looks like an Etsy pic, but I haven't seen that exact style. I'll keep a lookout for it.

Distracts: That's probably what happened. I imagine the stress a jeweler feels when setting customers' stones... definitely not for the faint of heart!