Heartbroken over my prongs following re-set :(

[Cleo]

I''m sorry in advance for my ''poor me'' post.. but I know you PSers will understand how I''m feeling.

I''ve been without my engagement ring fo a whole week, as I took it back to the B&M jeweller to ask for my diamond to be re-set, because I wasn''t happy with the original setting job.

When it was set originally, I did ask them not to shorten the prongs, as I wanted the diamond to sit high. However, they did come back shorter than I expected, but as I didn''t see the finished ring until my fiance proposed that was that.

Later, I noticed an asymmetry in the prongs, and that a couple had been slightly dented during the setting. I wasn''t 100% happy - so I took it in last week, with photos explaining exactly how I wanted it to look.

I got my ring back today, and honestly, I cried all the way home.

There''s almost nothing left of my poor, poor prongs... they are so short! It''s maybe only a mm or so - but it is SO noticeable to me!

There''s only the smallest of gaps now between the culet and the ring, and one of the prong tips is just shockingly thin and totally different from the rest.

It''s been set so low, that whoever did it has had to cut (or rather HACK) away some of the gold from inside the prong to make room for the stone!

It''s the most horrible thing ever and I HATE it. I feel like my poor engagement ring has been absolutely ruined. Before, the prongs were taller & elegant and now I feel like they are short, fat and ugly.

The diamond isn''t even sitting totally level!

The man in the shop could see I wasn''t impressed (and I said so) and asked if I wanted to leave the ring there for the manager to look at. I didn''t want to, having been so excited to get it back and as I pointed out, if they were going to have to try and re-do it there wasn''t anything left of the prongs anymore anyway.

I know I can''t leave it like this and I''m going to have to complain - but I am dreading coming off as the whingeing, dissatisfied customer. I can''t see how they can rebuild my prongs, and in any case I don''t want the same people to even TOUCH my ring again.

I feel like I have to buy a brand new setting and start over, but I really don''t see why I should have to spend £200 or whatever of my own money when it is their setters'' fault it''s wrecked. I''m going to have to try & get the jeweller to pay and then get it set elsewhere. What a nightmare.

My fiance''s just come home and totally agrees with me that it looks rubbish.

Well, I''m off to go and have another cry.

x x x

 

[LegacyGirl]

**HUGS** I''m so sorry to hear that. At least try to talk to them and have them foot the bill to fix or replace it. I hate it when I hear stories like this

 

[lisa1.01fvs1]

Oh Cleo,

It just sucks when you have no control over a prized, loved and precious personal thing like a ring!

So sorry to hear it but the jeweler should make it right. I know by now you don''t want anyone to touch it but talk to the setter personally and ask if you can watch him do the rapair or whatever he needs to do.

I know this sounds over the top but they are in the business, I hope, of keeping customers happy. I''m just ballsy this way.

I would want a complete tutorial on how they are going to fix the problem. And I would sit myself right next to the person handling the stone.

They might take it as a compliment and opportunity to give someone the insiders look at the whole process.

Oh, and mention PS it might just nudge them in the right direction.

Please let us know how it goes.

Lisa

 

[metro]

Oh, Cleo. I''m so sorry, hon ((HUGS)). I hope you get your baby back soon.

 

[mijamajasky]

Oh my gosh Cleo that is so so so horrible! I can not understand how a jeweler can allow anything looking less then superior leave the shop! Their reputation is all they have - it amazes me how uncaring they can to be towards the consumer!

 

[Maisie]

Who did you take your ring to Cleo? Was it a chain or smaller shop?

I''m sorry you are upset. Here have some more ((((((((((((hugs))))))))))

 

[coatimundi_org]

oh Cleo, so sorry, hugs to you.

I really think they should replace it for you at no charge.

You don''t sound whingeing at all.

I hope it gets resolved soon!

 

[gwendolyn]

Oh no, Cleo, that''s awful! I remember you talking before about how much you love your ring, and especially those prongs! I am so sorry, honey.

I really hope the jeweler will reimburse your money for the crappy job they did.

 

[Lorelei]

Cleo, I am so sorry. They might be able to just replace the head of the ring to get it as right as ninepence again. When you feel up to it, contact them as soon as possible, calmly explain the situation to the manager, what has happened, what you are unhappy with, and see what they are prepared to do. Also try to get a paper trail as well, keep receipts etc. Hopefully this jewellers will go out of their way to put things right for you, make it very clear to them what you want them to do!

 

[krisvrn]

Cleo sorry to hear this. I hope it all works out. Do you have a before and after picture?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 2/26/2008 3:09:18 PM
Author: krisvrn
Cleo sorry to hear this. I hope it all works out. Do you have a before and after picture?

Good point - Cleo try to take some pics also of the ring in it''s present condition.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 2/26/2008 3:19:13 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 2/26/2008 3:09:18 PM
Author: krisvrn
Cleo sorry to hear this. I hope it all works out. Do you have a before and after picture?

Good point - Cleo try to take some pics also of the ring in it''s present condition.

Ditto. Cleo I am so sorry, this stinks. I hope they give you a whole new setting and do a proper job next time setting your lovely stone.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

I am sorry that you are so unhappy with the way your prongs turned out, that sucks.

 

[3shebabes]

Cleo -- I just wanted to say that I know how disappointed you feel. UGH! I just posted a "poor me" post as well - a few days ago and I think you chimed in on my post also -- so I have been down-in-the-dumps about my rings lately as well. I can also totally relate to your dismay over the prongs! I did not like my prongs either and I too like a high setting and feel like they were cut too short for my taste. As someone else asked, is it possible to have the head replaced (at the jeweler''s cost, in my opinion) - or does that compromise the whole ring? I don''t know enough about these things to know...but I hope you can get the jeweler to agree to replace it -- and then have another jeweler do the work. Obviously, your husband can see why you''re not happy - so maybe he should accompany you to the jeweler to address this situation. It is obvious in your post how distressed you feel and I am so, so sorry. It sounds like you really feel like they butchered the prongs - and I know that is an awful feeling!

I hope you get it resolved easily and quickly...and that you''ll ultimately be happy with the result! It''s hard not to be totally in control of something that means so much to you, isn''t it?

 

[tberube]

oh NO!!! How absolutely dreadful! I''m so sorry to hear this has happened to you, and no you''re not being whiney...it''s your baby and it should look perfect.

I really hope that your jeweler will make this right for you.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I am so sorry! What a disappointment. I really hope the jeweler makes good and gives you a new setting.

 

[Cleo]

I just wanted to thank you all so much for all your wonderful and supportive posts... I feel really overwhelmed by how sweet and kind everyone has been. It means so much to have so many lovely people that understand how devastated I feel. (I feel so melodramatic to be typing that... but I know you all get it

).

Thankyou. *hugs*

Lisa - I love your idea of watching the setter do it. Unfortunately the ring was couriered to the setter by the jeweller, and isn''t local. I feel a bit stooooopid for allowing the same people to re-do it, after they didn''t do it properly the first time...(WHY DID I TRUST THEM!?!) I really have no confidence in their ability to set the stone well now. I suppose I should be glad they only butchered the setting, and not my stone (I hope).

I''m very much like you in being ''ballsy'' about getting things sorted usually... it must just be because the whole e-ring business is such an emotionally sensitive subject that I''ve turned into a blubbering wreck - but I fully intend to get it sorted out. I was just so... stunned... and overwhelmingly disappointed in the shop today I just could think what to do next. (Plus it was only two SAs in there and no manager).

Maisie - The ring was set by a local B&M - a small company with maybe three or four branches in this area. I think next time I''ll use a big, national chain with a bit more professionalism and accountability to do the job. Thankyou for the hugs.

Lorelei - My setting wasn''t made with a separate head, as it was just a solid 18kt gold piece. (I realise this isn''t necessarily the best quality type of setting, but I wanted 18kt yellow gold for the whole thing). It''s be a lot easier to fix if it *was* a separate head. I have still got all my receipts etc and will definitely keep a paper trail. I''m going to email my complaint to the shop tomorrow, so I have that in writing too. Thank you for your support.

Kris - Luckily (and mainly thanks to PS) I have a whole bunch of ''before'' pictures, which I intend to include with my email, along with a load of ''after'' pics which I will take tomorrow. I''m very glad of my digital camera.

Regrettably, I didn''t buy the setting from the jeweller that set it... that would make it reaaally easy. So I have to persuade them to pay for a new one, as I don''t trust them to reconstruct my prongs.

Basically, I want a brand new setting (at their expense and they can have the old one afterwards) and I want to take it elsewhere for setting.

I don''t even care about paying again for setting it.. I just want it right and I don''t want to be out of pocket to the tune of a whole new setting.

Thankyou so much to everyone else that posted, even if I haven''t mentioned you by name.

If it''s ok, I might post some photos tomorrow of my prongs on here.

x x x

 

[diamondseeker2006]

They certainly should replace the head at minimum. I certainly would not let them get by with a shoddy job!

 

[krisvrn]

Cleo- You mentioned you don''t care if you pay for a new setting... please don''t do this.. The B&M that ruined your ring needs to take responsibility. They need to pay for it.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Kris

 

[hairgirl95]

Oh Cleo that is sooo maddening! My heart goes out to you! I had a similar problem with a tension set mounting. They kept "resetting" the stone, which to them meant grind away on my lovely prongs!!

I understand the hesitation to take it back to the same jeweler, but as all the great posters above said, they do need to make this right. I am a very picky person too--and I have taken the same setting back MULTIPLE times to have it done the way I requested. We invest money in their product, we expect the product to be correct. I had my problem resolved by speaking DIRECTLY with the benchperson who was doing the repair. I don''t trust middle man information being passed on correctly. Go back, firmly but polite, ask to speak with the manager AND the person doing the repair. Bring the pics back with you too of what you want. AND, tell them you want this fixed like yesterday. You have gone without the ring for a while, you have been patient, and you want this to be a top priority to be fixed. If they won''t meet these criteria, ask for a refund and take it elsewhere. Everyone on here gave me this great advice a few months ago, and I can say I never had to do the refund route. I got the problem taken care of. Good luck sweetie--I hope you get resolution soon!

 

[Cleo]

Thanks again to everyone for their lovely, supportive replies in my moment of crisis! I thought I would give you a bit of an update of where I am with regard to getting the situation resolved.

Luckily, my fiance was absolutely wonderful and totally agreed that the ring now looks awful, with the diamond buried deep down at the bottom of the ring, hidden by the thickest parts of the prongs (which have had to be hacked away by the setter so the stone even fits in that low).

I phoned to get a quote for a replacement 18kt gold ring mount (£170 - a great price for a solid 4.3g ring, I think) and ordered one straight away as it will take two weeks to be made.

It took me a week to get my head round contacting the jeweller to make a complaint, but last Tuesday I wrote an email to the manager outlining my problems and stating that I felt they should pay £170 for the cost of a replacement ring mount, as their setters had all but destroyed the previous one and that my ring now looks nothing like it should.

To date I have not received a reply, nor even an acknowledgement of recipt of my email. I have therefore now printed a copy of it and sent it, along with a brief covering letter, by post.

If I do not receive a response within a week to the postal letter, I will write again and give them seven days in which to respond. If they don''t I will begin proceedings in the County Court against them to recover the cost of a new setting and remounting the diamond.

I hadn''t had the chance to really look at the new setting job under the loupe, as I''d left it at my parents. Today, I got the first proper look at it under daylight and it is SHOCKING!!!!!!!

The worst prong remains asymmetric. It has only a tiny, thin layer of gold in the tip, over the diamond and it isn''t even touching the diamond... at any point!!!!!!!!!

Fortunately, the diamond is still being held securely by the other three prongs (even though they look appalling under the loupe) - but can you imagine a setter setting a diamond and leaving it so that one prong doesn''t even TOUCH the stone???!!! Seriously, you can see daylight all the way round, between the diamond and the prong.

There is NO way these people are having my ring back - I absolutely do not trust them to do the job properly at any price... and I look forward to getting it re-set, in a brand new mount (at their expense).

I will let you know how (and if) the jeweller responds and keep you all updated.

x x x

 

[Ellen]

Cleo, sorry for all your troubles.

Definitely take pics of this, and through a loupe if you can, so you have proper proof of how bad it is. And good luck!

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks for the update Cleo, hopefully now that will get them moving on it!

 

[Cleo]

Thank you Ellen & Lorelei.

Ellen you are a GENIUS and I love you!!!

I just had a bash at taking photos through the loupe... never even thought of doing this before and it worked soooo well!

I have some great pics showing the air around my diamond (where the prong ought to be touching). If it ever goes to court I think a judge would take one look at this and, well, I think it speaks for itself.

I would appreciate any comments and opinions on what everyone thinks of the quality of this workmanship...

x x x

 

[idreamofice]

I''m so sorry about the situation

! I would take that picture to your jeweler and demand that they replace the setting completely. I think after they see the picture they will have no room for argument! I hope everything works out!!

 

[pyramid]

Cleo

Please don't leave your diamond with a large national chain. I am in the UK too and I once had a ring bought and re-sized by a large national chain, I have quite small fingers and it was a three stone and they left the two side diamonds looking exactly like that with the air around them. I complained about the quality of one of the diamonds and they replaced it. The setting had not been secured to begin with and then they did further damage to make it squint with the new stone. I had noticed the side diamond claws were loose exactly like yours but didn't mention it because I thought when the new stone went in they would secure them but no. When I said the ring looked wrong it was sent to head office who wrote back saying something to the extent of 'my goodness your stones are not even secure', yet it was their own branch which replaced the diamond and they then said they could fix it for a cost. When I complained about being charged for what their own branch had done they said I had requested the new diamond so I had to pay for the repairs to the ring.

 

[idreamofice]

Date: 3/10/2008 11:29:42 AM
Author: idreamofice
I''m so sorry about the situation

! I would take that picture to your jeweler and demand that they replace the setting completely. I think after they see the picture they will have no room for argument! I hope everything works out!!

I posted prematurely! I didn''t see the part about them not responding

Can you go back to them with a witness to talk to the manager and show him the picture in person?

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/10/2008 11:20:32 AM
Author: Cleo


I would appreciate any comments and opinions on what everyone thinks of the quality of this workmanship...

x x x

yuck!
Grade F workmanship.
There is no quality there too comment on that is totally unacceptable,
They should have checked it when they got it back and caught that!

 

[Maisie]

Cleo have you contacted Trading Standards? They will advise you on how best to proceed. Did you send the letter recorded delivery? You need to be sure you have proof that they received it.

I am sure you will get resolution soon.

Good luck

 

[Ellen]

LOL!! Love you to Cleo.

You got a GREAT photo there. There will be no denying just how bad of a job they did. Now go get em.