Having to pay for repair on a practically new ring?

[vespergirl]

Hi guys,

I just wanted to check with everyone for feedback on what is standard with this sort of situation.

Less than 3 months ago, I had a custom shared prong eternity band made by a PS vendor. The paperwork that I received said that the ring is under warranty, but it doesn''t mention for how long.

Last week I noticed that a diamond had fallen out of the ring (I don''t know how it happened - the ring was never dropped or banged). The vendor responded right away by sending me a Fedex label and having me return the ring to them immediately for inspection. Today I received an email from them saying that they will repair the ring for $40.

It seems to me that a ring that is less than 3 months old should not just have stones falling out from less than 90 days of regular wear. I''m honestly surprised that the vendor is trying to charge me for the repair - it seems that a ring that would fall apart that quickly is probably due to craftsmanship error, and I shouldn''t be responsible for the cost of repair on a practically new ring.

Maybe I''m way off though - what is the standard protocol in this type of situation? I would be interested in hearing feedback from jewelers, vendors and ordinary PSers. Obviously $40 is just a nominal cost, but it''s the principle that''s bothering me. I had a John Hardy bracelet that I purchased at a B&M store lose a pave stone within the 90 day warranty period, and the vendor/jeweler replaced it for free, so I assumed that that is a standard policy for a newer piece of jewelry.

I''m looking forward to your feedback - thanks!

 

[WinkHPD]

Hard to say. If you sent a ring back to us and there was obvious damage, ie a bent prong or dings in the prong, then I would expect you to pay for the damage that you did.

If you sent a ring back to me and there was no sign of damage then I would be paying for the repair.

As a jeweler I have no control over how hard you are on your jewelry, I had one lady nearly destroy a platinum ring within a week by clapping her hands against a gold ring on the other hand. It looked like she had taken a ball peen hammer to it. On the other hand I have had ladies wear rings for years and look like they had never been out of the box.

This is probably a discussion you should have with your jeweler. If he inspected it and found obvious damage caused by you, then you should probably be happy that his charge is so reasonable. If he says there is no damage then you might want to talk with him about the supposed warrenty and ask how long and for what conditions it was for.

Just my observations as a jeweler.

Wink

 

[denverappraiser]

The key question seems to be one of what caused the problem, defective craftsmanship or customer wear as well as the contractual details of the warranty. There’s no way anyone here can really address either one without seeing the piece and without reviewing the contract and I pretty much guarantee that it would cost you more to have an appraiser evaluate the situation than it will to just get it repaired. A good first step is to ask the jeweler to explain why this one isn’t covered under the warranty and for future reference to explain what IS covered.

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

 

[vespergirl]

Thanks for the feedback - I really appreciate hearing a professional''s perspective.

There were no bent prongs on the ring, and the ring was never subjected to impact, so I don''t believe that the stone was lost due to wear.

Denver, thanks for your suggestion. I think that I will just call the vendor to discuss what exactly their alleged "lifetime warranty" really covers.

Like I said, $40 is not a lot of money at all, but in my previous experience, a piece of jewelry that loses a stone in under 90 days has been covered by the jeweler.

 

[neatfreak]

You are a SAHM right? If you wear your ring all the time it would be subjected to a lot of wear and tear just with daily stuff. So while it''s not necessarily what happened it could be that you are rougher on your ring than you know.

That said, I think it would be nice if they''d repair this one for you and tell you that if it happens again it''s on you KWIM? Since it''s such a small repair and all it would be nice of them to do it for you.

 

[Laila619]

Obviously, I can't say for sure, but if you say you are not hard on your rings and there are no bent prongs then it would seem to be a poor workmanship type of thing. Or maybe the platinum alloy used was soft. Is it 95 Plat/5 Iridium? If so, that is a very soft alloy and prongs can bend easily.

Then again, sometimes these things just happen, even in a quality ring. Would I be happy paying the $40? Probably not.

 

[D&T]

Date: 9/9/2009 3:57:25 PM
Author: neatfreak


That said, I think it would be nice if they''d repair this one for you and tell you that if it happens again it''s on you KWIM? Since it''s such a small repair and all it would be nice of them to do it for you.

I agree with Neat here. It is on the principal and totally know what you are saying. I would have expected the cost be covered too.

 

[coda72]

Here''s my experience from a local jeweler that I had a ring custom made. I lost a diamond after wearing it for 4 years, and they replaced the diamond for free. They told me the first repair is covered by them no matter how long after it was made, and subsequent repairs would be paid for by me. Now, a local jeweler has a different business model than an online one, but I think it would be good if they would cover it for you.

 

[Todd Gray]

It really depends on what caused the stone to fall out of the ring... Shared prong eternity rings are prone to stone loss to the extent that we tell each client to expect it and be prepared to pay for it because we sell them with the understanding that they are prone to stone loss by design... Most manufacturer warranties only cover workmanship and materials. The fact is that a diamond can be knocked out of a setting quite easily and it is often due to conditions of being worn and not workmanship and materials - that said, it can also be due to setting the wrong size stones in a mounting and/or sizing a setting to the extent where the prongs open up a little and allow the stones to fall out easily...

True story... About ten years ago I made a channel set anniversary band for my mother with alternating sapphires and diamonds. She wore the ring for about a month before "losing" a sapphire out of the top of the ring, I get a call telling me that a sapphire "just fell out of the ring" and an explanation about how careful she is with it, how she doesn''t do anything rough with her hands, takes it off to garden, etc. I have my mom ship the ring back to me and quickly determine that the sapphire was shattered out of the ring - because all of the other stones were snugly tucked into the channel and not moving and there was no other way for a sapphire with a Moh''s rating of 9 on a hardness scale of 10 (diamond being a 10) to magically fall out of the ring...

I made the mistake of telling this explanation to my mom who tripped out and further explained how careful she was with her jewelry... No problem really, I replace the sapphire (no charge) and ship the ring down to my Mom... Two weeks later I get the same phone call and this time she proceeds to lecture me on the importance of maintaining good product quality and how she certainly hopes that the jewelry we make for our other clients is better than the jewelry we make for "mom"

Yea, not kidding.

So I fix the ring again, no charge, again... A few weeks later I get a call from my mom and it starts out "so I know what I''m doing to the ring..." as it turns out she was crashing the top of the ring into the little locking mechanism that sticks out on the filing cabinet in her office and she actually got to watch the (third) sapphire shatter and fly all over the place. Uh yea, that''ll do it

 

[Black Jade]

"Shared prong eternity rings are prone to stone loss to the extent that we tell each client to expect it and be prepared to pay for it because we sell them with the understanding that they are prone to stone loss by design..."
When I hear something like that about a product, I absolutely don''t buy it.
Do all jewellers tell their customers this about shared prong rings? Like, in B & M''s or maul stores?
I never heard before that a diamond can be knocked out of a setting ''quite easily''. Is this true? I have never had a diamond fall out of anything I was wearing (I do know that I am unusually finicky and that mine stuff doesn''t break, long after other people''s things that they bought at the same time have gone into the trash). I suppose that is why insurance exists, but the idea still makes me nervous. Did I misread that? Don''t mean to be rude, just questioning.
I actually prefer channel set eternities--are they a bit more durable?

 

[tyty333]

Date: 9/9/2009 4:39:14 PM
Author: Black Jade
''Shared prong eternity rings are prone to stone loss to the extent that we tell each client to expect it and be prepared to pay for it because we sell them with the understanding that they are prone to stone loss by design...''
When I hear something like that about a product, I absolutely don''t buy it.
Do all jewellers tell their customers this about shared prong rings? Like, in B & M''s or maul stores?
I never heard before that a diamond can be knocked out of a setting ''quite easily''. Is this true? I have never had a diamond fall out of anything I was wearing (I do know that I am unusually finicky and that mine stuff doesn''t break, long after other people''s things that they bought at the same time have gone into the trash). I suppose that is why insurance exists, but the idea still makes me nervous. Did I misread that? Don''t mean to be rude, just questioning.
I actually prefer channel set eternities--are they a bit more durable?

Well, they are unless you are Todd Gray''s Mom!

Mom, Mom, Mom

Sounds like the time the tire on my Mom''s car just "blew up". Oh yeh, she
forgot to mention she had just filled it with air like an hour earlier.

 

[Todd Gray]

Date: 9/9/2009 4:39:14 PM
Author: Black Jade
''Shared prong eternity rings are prone to stone loss to the extent that we tell each client to expect it and be prepared to pay for it because we sell them with the understanding that they are prone to stone loss by design...''

When I hear something like that about a product, I absolutely don''t buy it.

Do all jewelers tell their customers this about shared prong rings? Like, in B & M''s or maul stores?

I hate shared prong eternity rings because they are a headache in terms of customer satisfaction - which is why I tell clients why they are prone to stone loss and thankfully many of our clients elect for another design... I don''t know how other jewelers operate, but we really try not to sell designs which tend to be problematic. One thing that people don''t understand is that there are a lot of designs which look great in picture form and which were designed to win a design contest, but which are really not practical for every day wear... It''s like you don''t drive a Lamborghini in the rain

I generally try to avoid eternity rings of any kind, they are prone to stone loss because as the ring is worn it will bend slightly to the curve of the finger and as the arc of the ring is altered, so is the tension that holds the stones in place... My personal favorite thus far was the scattered bezel set diamond eternity ring worn by my fiance who knocked two stones out of it within six months "and never does anything harsh with her hands"... I noticed one day while we were walking down a staircase that she was tapping out a tune playing in her head with her left hand along the metal guard rail of the staircase... tap, tap, tap, tap, platinum and diamonds on steel... "Hey honey, I think I know what you''re doing to your ring..." Oh yea, she does the same thing with the steering wheel in her car! Did you know that one of the fastest ways to damage your rings and shake a few stones loose is to clap your hands together? It''s called "percussion"

 

[serenitydiamonds]

I usually have a pretty close relationship with my customers, so most times I just have the stone reset for no fee. This, assuming, there isn''t noticeable damage or misuse and they''ve sent back their jewelry to me for their yearly checkup and polish. If it''s less than 90 days, with no damage, definitely no fee.

I agree with Wink that you should have a discussion with your jeweler, maybe he feels differently in your case. The fee he is asking for is quite reasonable so I don''t think he''s trying to profit from the situation.

--Joshua

 

[butterfly 17]

Hi vespergirl!

I was thinking, could it be that the $40 is the cost of shipping the ring/insuring the ring back and forth?

I only ask because I have a sapphire Ritani endless love and a diamond fell out and I took it to a Ritani Retailer and even though the actual ring has a lifetime warranty, the cost to ship/insure the ring back and forth to Ritani was not covered.

I had to pay $50 for the shipping even though the ring was brought to a New York retailer and Ritani is also located in NY.

So I would just clarify what the warranty is and what the actual $40 would cover.

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 9/9/2009 3:57:25 PM
Author: neatfreak
You are a SAHM right? If you wear your ring all the time it would be subjected to a lot of wear and tear just with daily stuff. So while it''s not necessarily what happened it could be that you are rougher on your ring than you know.

That said, I think it would be nice if they''d repair this one for you and tell you that if it happens again it''s on you KWIM? Since it''s such a small repair and all it would be nice of them to do it for you.

Say what???

 

[glitterata]

Stay-at-home mother, know what I mean?

 

[Allison D.]

Vesper, I think I can help with your questions since we are the vendor.

The lifetime warranty on our products covers workmanship defects. Most commonly, this includes things like metal failure (i.e. porosity) or setting flaws (loss due to residue shift or improper setting). It doesn''t cover loss that results from normal wear and tear.

I took a quick look at your repair order and saw that one of the beads was worn down, which is what caused the stone to fall out. Even though that falls under normal wear and tear, we''re providing the repair service to you at no charge as a one-time courtesy. The $40 is the cost of the replacement stone.

I hope this is helpful. If there''s anything I can help with, please do get in touch with me at [email protected]. I''m travelling this week so my access to email is limited, but I''m happy to help.

 

[vespergirl]

Date: 9/10/2009 6:22:07 AM
Author: Allison D.
Vesper, I think I can help with your questions since we are the vendor.

The lifetime warranty on our products covers workmanship defects. Most commonly, this includes things like metal failure (i.e. porosity) or setting flaws (loss due to residue shift or improper setting). It doesn''t cover loss that results from normal wear and tear.

I took a quick look at your repair order and saw that one of the beads was worn down, which is what caused the stone to fall out. Even though that falls under normal wear and tear, we''re providing the repair service to you at no charge as a one-time courtesy. The $40 is the cost of the replacement stone.

I hope this is helpful. If there''s anything I can help with, please do get in touch with me at [email protected]. I''m travelling this week so my access to email is limited, but I''m happy to help.

Allison, thanks for your answer. I wasn''t sure what the policy was, or what is standard for repair on a newer ring, but your reply clarifies everything for me. Thanks!

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 9/9/2009 11:08:01 PM
Author: glitterata
Stay-at-home mother, know what I mean?

Thanks! I was totally clueless!

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 9/10/2009 12:06:21 PM
Author: Wink

Date: 9/9/2009 11:08:01 PM
Author: glitterata
Stay-at-home mother, know what I mean?

Thanks! I was totally clueless!

Wink

Not at all sure I should have admitted that...