Experts, can this be fixed?

[Sizzle]

I ordered a custom thriee stone ring based off the Vatche truffle, but with a Euroshank. There are gaps between the stones. Do you think this can be fixed?

 

[Sizzle]

I can''t repose the pics. Everything can be seen HERE

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/experts-can-this-be-fixed.85256/

 

[Diamond*Dana]

You may want to double check your link...when I clicked on it, it brought me back to this post.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Is this the link that you meant to post?
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-ring.84916/

 

[strmrdr]

not the answer you want to hear but the answer is no.
The lines of the ring would not flow if the prongs were cut and moved.

 

[Sizzle]

Any reccommendations for a designer to make this the RIGHT way for me? I am so upset/pissed off about this right now. Why on EARTH would anyone make this with huge gaps?

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 5/14/2008 12:08:21 AM
Author: strmrdr
not the answer you want to hear but the answer is no.
The lines of the ring would not flow if the prongs were cut and moved.

I don''t see how it can be fixed either. I am very sorry. I saw how the stones aren''t close together, there are gaps. Best to take it up with the vendor that sold it to you, and go from there. The classice rounded Vatche shank called the Truffel/ trellis doesn''t have the gaps in a 3 stone. So perhaps you can switch to that? I am thinking it''s the european shank that makes the gaps. Not sure if that''s correct, but that''s the only explanation I have....

 

[Sizzle]

Kaliegh
This was a custom made semi mount from Juan Manuel Lozano of Van-Graff. He''s done some awesome work, so I assumed I''d be getting the best. The problem is with him being in Mexico, I can''t just stop in. He says there''s no refunds on custom work, but I shouldn''t be "stuck" when it''s not what I asked for should I? Does anything one have experience in this sort of thing?

 

[Kaleigh]

No you shouldn't be stuck. Show him the pics you showed us. The pics show it all..... I'd do my best to get a refund. It's not what you asked for. I have known people on here that have gotten refunds on custom work that has gone bad, myself included. So do your level best. Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

[arjunajane]

i know its not what you want to hear either, but i would say this is a good lesson for those who would like to copy designer settings - I believed this was based on the Vatche truffle design?

I am sorry this has happened to you, i posted in the other thread. I think you should politely explain how you feel - maybe someone can take it on consignment for you so its not a total loss?

 

[Sizzle]

There are several trellis styles out there. I wasn''t looking for an exact replica, as I wanted a Euroshank so therefore I could not be fulfilled with Vatches ring.

 

[oldminer]

I''d sure love to see the ring or a picture of the ring with the diamonds set in it. I envision space beteen them, but there are things which can be done. It is NOT the choice of the shank. It usually is the size of the diamonds compared to the ring which was constructed. You definitely can have a ring exactly as you want without stone spaces. It might have to be made over, but I can''t know until I see what the issues are. Top and side views....

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/14/2008 8:05:54 AM
Author: oldminer
I''d sure love to see the ring or a picture of the ring with the diamonds set in it. I envision space beteen them, but there are things which can be done. It is NOT the choice of the shank. It usually is the size of the diamonds compared to the ring which was constructed. You definitely can have a ring exactly as you want without stone spaces. It might have to be made over, but I can''t know until I see what the issues are. Top and side views....

dave, there are some photos here https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-ring.84916/
but I''m guessing you mean improved photos?

 

[Sizzle]

Hello
I heard back from Juan. He agreed he could remake the ring, but that it would have to be set very low. I''m confused, I''ve seen the Vatche three stone and it''s not set low. he reports the following:

"The pictures you are sending me are of a very flat ring, if you wanted a ring like this why you didn''t sent me this pictures? (I originally sent a stock photo of the vatche three stone princess treliis. ), the one I sent to show my point was someones actual photo of this ring with specs slightly larger than mine (above) I will explain you and you can make a test yourself, in a very low setting you can set the stones veru close because you don''t need to bend the top but when you need to bend the top of a ring with a taller center stone by force the side stones will have a gap and this is something that all the three stones rings have."

It seems I''ve seem several three stone princess trellis settings on here. Tulipclouds comes to mind.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/look-what-i-found-out-on-the-golf-course.20274/

He agrees that he willl remake it but:

"If I make your ring with strong prongs because it will hold a diamond and the center stone is not so low set by force you will have a gap in the sides, if you want to have a flat and lower set ring without this gap I can make you a new ring free of cost but I need to make it flat with a much lower set center stone and with thinner prongs like in the picture you sent me BUT this is under your own risk in case you loose a diamond with this prongs because this will be very fragile.

What you can do is to tell youe setter to set the two side stones closer to the center stone by bending the prongs toward de center setting and this will close the gap a lot but not totally.

If you want a ring identical to the one you just sent me I can do it no problem but I will need the ring back to melt it and make a new ring"

Right now I just think the gaps are too prominent. I''m not sure how someone could set it to "makethem closer". I think they sit that way due to the design of the ring. From the profile the ring looks fabulous. I hate to lose that. am I losing my mind here? I thought this was a popular deisgn???

 

[denverappraiser]

I hesitate to call it a problem or a defect because it looks like the craftsman did a fantastic job but here’s what’s going on:

When you set a princess cut in this mounting, the corner of each stone will be embedded into it’s own individual prong. This means that the space between the prongs as well as part of the thickness of the prongs themselves forces the gap that you’re seeing. The ones that have no space there either do it by using a shared prong between the stones or the side stones are enough smaller than the center one that the outside ones can be tucked between the inside prongs rather than adjacent to them. I don’t have a photo of a 3 stone vatche with princesses but maybe someone else can post one and you’ll see what I mean.

Rounds tend to mask this effect because the stones can set girdle to girdle at the center and still leave room for the prongs out on the ‘corners’.

I’m sure your designer can make a ring that’ll do what you want but it dramatically changes the way the gallery underneath works and looks.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[TheDoctor]

I don''t believe that the location of the prongs has anything to do with the top view. The 2 outside frame supports are too large for the side stones, which creates a lengthier space for the 3 stones to fit into, spreading them out. It is helpful to have the stones when the mount is being made.
A good setter might have been able to compensate for this error by tucking the outer diamonds more toward center when setting them, but it might look odd from the side view. As it is, the stones got placed where each of them centred, leaving the spaces.
Probably a case of too many unrelated sources and too much guesswork.

 

[Sizzle]

Juan told me on May 14th that he would redo the ring, however, it''s more than 10 days and 5 emails from me later and no response. I am so frustrated by this whole thing! THen I took the ring into another jeweler yesterday just to see if they could set it a bit closer. THe assosiciate took it back to the bench.. never let the bench come out and talk to me. THen came back and announced that the ring was"very poorly constucted" and that I should trade the platinum in to them and let them remake the ring for $2500. That includes them taking my current mount as a trade in. Then when I looked shocked at the price, she proceeded to tell me "well platinum is very expensive, so what did you expect". I thought her whole attitude was shady and rude. Like I don''t know how much platinum is when I had on two platinum wedding bands and a platinum right hand ring!!!! She showed me what the ring is "supposed to look like" and brought out some generic stock trellis setting, that was NOT the look that I was going for.I think the way the wire is used in this particular setting ( and in the Vatche) is different than a standard setting. She proceeded to tell me that the bench felt the seats were probaby paper thin ( I can see that''s not the case). Then when I wasn''t going for that she was all "We could probably fix it for about $300. WTF! At this rate Im upset at the whole ring process. I just want to wear my ring. I love everything about this one EXCEPT the spaces. I can''t see how anyone would make it with these HUGE GAPS and thing that''s ok. Juan has a wonderful reputation for beautiful pieces and that''s why I went to him in the first place. I''m so bummed. I ordered this in Febuary so I''m pretty sure it''s too late to even dispute it with my credit card. I didn''t WANT To go that route, but I think 10 days with no response is not acceptable.

 

[purrfectpear]

As I suggested before, have you contacted Vatche to see if they would do a euroshank? That would be my FIRST choice, and only if that was not possible would I continue to work with Juan.

 

[orbaya]

I''m no expert but it looks like the prongs in the middle are side-by-side in your ring. In the other ring posted in the other thread with no gaps, I noticed that the center prongs overlap instead of sitting next to each other. That seems to be reason why yours has the gap and other one does not. Instead of one prong (because they overlap) width between the center and side stones, you have two prongs. Does this make sense? I don''t know if I''m being clear about it.

 

[IrishBreakfast]

Date: 5/25/2008 1:06:51 PM
Author: purrfectpear
As I suggested before, have you contacted Vatche to see if they would do a euroshank? That would be my FIRST choice, and only if that was not possible would I continue to work with Juan.

I think this is great advice. Those gaps are unusually large. I''m not sure I''d let the original designer touch it again. Is the Vatche setting out of your budget, sizzle? Is that why you had someone else design the ring? If it were me, I''d save for a while until I could go to Vatche and have them set it. That way at least you would have the peace of mind knowing it would be right. Good luck on whatever you decide, sizzle.

 

[arjunajane]

Sizzle, I''m sorry but I think you really need to not keep going into different jewellers about this ring - imho, this is kind of where the issue started (not altogether of course), and we all know how viscious most jewelery stores are when you didn''t buy your diamond/piece from them. It just seems this is inviting more trouble than its worth and causing you unnecessary stress, kwim?
Can you not just call Juan if email is not working? I agree that not responding since the 14th is unacceptable..I hope you can get it sorted.

 

[Sizzle]

Date: 5/25/2008 1:06:51 PM
Author: purrfectpear
As I suggested before, have you contacted Vatche to see if they would do a euroshank? That would be my FIRST choice, and only if that was not possible would I continue to work with Juan.

I cant'' just "call Vatche" at this point. I have a piece in hand that I spent a susbstantial amount of money on and the average person can''t afford to just say "Oh well this didn''t work out" and go get something else. I don''t have an endless budget. I can''t just cease to deal with Juan because he''s not offereing a full refund, so I am trying to figure out a compromise.

 

[Sizzle]

Date: 5/25/2008 2:29:53 PM
Author: arjunajane
Sizzle, I''m sorry but I think you really need to not keep going into different jewellers about this ring - imho, this is kind of where the issue started (not altogether of course), and we all know how viscious most jewelery stores are when you didn''t buy your diamond/piece from them. It just seems this is inviting more trouble than its worth and causing you unnecessary stress, kwim?
Can you not just call Juan if email is not working? I agree that not responding since the 14th is unacceptable..I hope you can get it sorted.

I wish I could just call Juan. I cannot locate a number for him in Mexico!! I have tried! If anyone has a business nuber for him PLEASE let me know because that would be SOOOO helpful!!!!! I only went to another store to see if they thought anything could be done because they are here in person and my only advice has been from the ''net. I figured because they could see it in person they might have a different suggestion. I have DEFINATELY learned my lesson there. I wish I could just get my money back at this point but I''m sure you know that is not an option with custom pieces. He has gotten so many good reviews I thought this would be an easy task!

 

[arjunajane]

Date: 5/25/2008 8:27:53 PM
Author: Sizzle

Date: 5/25/2008 2:29:53 PM
Author: arjunajane
Sizzle, I''m sorry but I think you really need to not keep going into different jewellers about this ring - imho, this is kind of where the issue started (not altogether of course), and we all know how viscious most jewelery stores are when you didn''t buy your diamond/piece from them. It just seems this is inviting more trouble than its worth and causing you unnecessary stress, kwim?
Can you not just call Juan if email is not working? I agree that not responding since the 14th is unacceptable..I hope you can get it sorted.

I wish I could just call Juan. I cannot locate a number for him in Mexico!! I have tried! If anyone has a business nuber for him PLEASE let me know because that would be SOOOO helpful!!!!! I only went to another store to see if they thought anything could be done because they are here in person and my only advice has been from the ''net. I figured because they could see it in person they might have a different suggestion. I have DEFINATELY learned my lesson there. I wish I could just get my money back at this point but I''m sure you know that is not an option with custom pieces. He has gotten so many good reviews I thought this would be an easy task!

I can completely understand your frustration and needing a professional opinion. I hope you did not take my post as meaning otherwise - I guess I was just talking from my own experience about how *unhelpful* jewelers can be when you didn''t buy from them

That is really a shame that you can''t find a number for him - hopefully somebody who knows will see this. otherwise I would suggest starting a new thread. something like "calling people who have worked with..."..