Feeling blue: engagement ring delayed

[2011bride]

Hi everyone,

I''ve been a huge fan and lurker of this forum for ages. This October, my boyfriend of 7 years finally proposed with a beautiful diamond (0.98ct round brilliant, G, VS2, excellent cut) during our holiday in Thailand. He proposed with it loose as he wanted us to find the perfect setting together, and it didn''t take much searching before we decided that we both loved this one from the Ritani Bella Vita line:

(Hope the image attaches properly!)

I placed the order with Good Old Gold at the end of October and was told it would take approximately 1 month to manufacture. I''ve been so excited about having my dream ring on my finger and posting pics of it as my very first post on Pricescope! But when I contacted GOG yesterday to check in on how things were progressing, I was told what no girl wants to hear: the manufacturers accidentally cast the wrong design, and will need a further three weeks to finish the correct setting. I''m so disappointed. I live in China with my fiance, and we were really looking forward to getting the ring in time for our Christmas visit to my mum in England. At this rate I''ll be lucky to see the ring before the end of January, considering all the shipping time (from NY to Hong Kong, then from Hong Kong to Beijing) and the fact that I will be away for three weeks.

I have to mention that both GOG and the sales representative at Ritani have been lovely. They patiently guided me through numerous emails as I weighed up my metal options and tried to decide whether I would ship the loose stone to the US or just have the setting shipping over here and get a local jeweler to set it (I went with the latter in the end, as I could not find a trustworthy third party insurer here who would be willing to insure a loose gem). For now I''ve asked them just to double check that they have actually cast the wrong design - you never know, right? - before I brace myself for a longer wait. Blaaaaaaaah.

One thing I''d like your opinion on: Ritani has offered me a 10% discount on a matching wedding band to make up for this error. I do appreciate the sentiment, but feel it a bit cheeky that it''s an offer for a discount on another piece of jewelery that I haven''t even ordered with them yet. Would it be inappropriate to request a discount on the actual engagement ring setting instead? I''d be grateful for any and all responses!

 

[stacy]

I''m so sorry your ring has been delayed, but that setting is gorgeous and I am sure that once it arrives, it will be worth the wait.

Were you planning on ordering the matching wedding band anyway? If so, I would probably accept the 10% discount. If not, I would tell them I wasn''t planning on using that wedding band and ask if there''s anything else they can offer you instead.

 

[2011bride]

Thank you so much Stacy! I know that once I have the ring, I'll be so happy that this whole process will fade away into a distant memory...a colleague of mine said to me today, "Your engagement ring and your wedding band will be the most important pieces of jewelery you'll ever own. It'll be worth the wait so GET IT RIGHT!" and I know you're both right.

Actually, I was on the Ritani site the other day drooling over their matching band, an eternity band with graduated micropave that seems like it would go perfectly with the engagement ring. Here's a pic. Does anyone think there might be weird spacing issues though, being that both rings will be a little fatter in the middle?

 

[Luckyeshe]

Date: 11/20/2009 10:48:05 AM
Author: 2011bride
Thank you so much Stacy! I know that once I have the ring, I''ll be so happy that this whole process will fade away into a distant memory...a colleague of mine said to me today, ''Your engagement ring and your wedding band will be the most important pieces of jewelery you''ll ever own. It''ll be worth the wait so GET IT RIGHT!'' and I know you''re both right.

Actually, I was on the Ritani site the other day drooling over their matching band, an eternity band with graduated micropave that seems like it would go perfectly with the engagement ring. Here''s a pic. Does anyone think there might be weird spacing issues though, being that both rings will be a little fatter in the middle?

Your e-ring is going to be beautiful! I''m so sorry you have to wait longer and may not be able to get it in time for your family visit. As for your w-band question, you can go and take advantage of that 10% discount! That''s awesome! Your whole wedding set is going to be gorgeous!! I don''t think you''re going to have any problem with having the two rings setting flush next to each other. Congrats on your engagement!!

 

[AprilBaby]

Gorgeous e-ring! It looks worth the wait! I would take advantage of the 10% discount on the band.

 

[2011bride]

Thank you Luckyeshe and AprilBaby! It was so nice to wake up on this side of the world and have your comments to read

.

So, interesting stuff has transpired since I last posted; it turns out that Ritani did cast the correct setting! I''d thought something was up because when Marie from GOG contacted me, she said something along the lines of "I''m sorry they cast this ring as a bezel" when in fact I did want the bezel setting, as you can all see from the pictures. I think Ritani was confused because I asked for the setting blank (so I can get my stone set by a jeweler here, in China), and they don''t usually do that with bezel styles. They in fact want me to sign, scan and email back a waiver agreeing to the fact that they will not be responsible for any repair work on the ring as they will not be setting it themselves. This is all reasonable and fine; I''m just glad that I double checked and they didn''t go ahead and make a new setting with custom prongs, as they were intending to do!

Anyhow, all this means that GOG will receive my ring early next week, and then ship it directly to my friend''s place in Hong Kong. I''ll then have to go get the ring and then have it set here before I can show you some hand shots! It''s a bit of a schlep but all worth the wait; the best part of it is that I''ll be able to show my mum over Christmas.

On the other hand, not sure that the 10% wedding band discount is still on the table...

 

[AprilBaby]

Yay for happy news! Glad it is all turning out great and Mum will see the ring! Post handshots of that baby when it is done!

 

[blackberry16]

I would totally insist on a discount on the engagement ring, they made the mistake and it is pretty rude to assume that you will be doing business with them again. I am really sorry that you have to wait longer than you planned, that must be making you crazy. I will cross my fingers for a shipping miracle and hope it comes earlier!

 

[2011bride]

Thank you so much for your support blackberry 16! I found out yesterday that it was a big misunderstanding, and that the setting Ritani first cast was in fact the correct one!

I''d asked them to make me a blank bezel setting, and because they don''t usually do those without also setting the stone themselves, someone over there decided, "well no, that can''t be right, the client must have ordered it with prongs instead."

(take a look at my comment above AprilBaby''s if you''re interested in any more details)

I am veeeeery glad that I pushed them to double check on the order; in the end it took me contacting both GOG and Ritani by email to get things cleared up before they started casting a new ring. Phew!! Now I know that it''s always worth being in touch with the manufacturer too, just to be on the safe side.

I do agree with you in that regardless of whether I was considering getting the wedding ring or not, I feel they should have offered some type of discount on the e-ring itself (by offering free shipping, for example, since it''s going to be fairly costly for me to get the setting shipped to Hong Kong). I guess now that I will be getting the e-ring on schedule, I won''t find out what would have happened had I asked them for something like this!

All well, it''s all for the best.

 

[davidbest]

That''s a really nice ring! Congratulations!

 

[LD]

Do they have your diamond to set or is it with you in China? The reason I ask is if they have it, can they send the whole thing to the UK? That would get round the shipping problem because it could be FedEx''d and be in the UK in 2-3 working days. The ONLY thing you''d need to watch out for is importation duties. If they''re prepared to pay those for you in advance then that might work?

 

[Stone Hunter]

Oh I''m glad that it is all working out. The additional wait would have been very hard.

GREAT setting! Please post photos when you can.