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HELP! Bad prongs? can it be fixed?

S

susanrachel28

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 26, 2013
Messages
81
need help determining if I'm asking the impossible. I have read so many pages of these forums admiring everyone's beautiful rings and diamonds. I have only had an Asha CZ up until yesterday, when my new diamond came in the mail. I found a beautiful antique diamond from a vendor that mentioned often on this website. The work they do has been great, until MY piece. :( I took the plunge on a 1.51 OMC N color diamond (I love the color, not the issue!) and asked for the prongs to be fixed/rebuilt to be made of yellow gold, along with the basket painted yellow insode to play up the color of the stone. I received the ring today and there is NO yellow gold inside the basket, and the prongs are AWFUL!!! I want to cry :(. Also, I didn't get my Asha CZ back, which is weird. Why would they keep it? But my main question is, if I PAID for them to rebuild prongs, paint the basket yellow, and set the stone, is this acceptable workmanship? This is a well known (what I thought was) reputable jeweler. It's not like I didn't do my homework. :(

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Re: does this look like poor service? HELP!

Oh and I paid $110 for these services that weren't complete (setting the stone was complimentary since I bought the stone from them)

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Re: does this look like poor service? HELP!

Replacing prongs seems to be a pretty straightforward job. Am I incorrect in this assumption? It doesn't seem that too many people have issues with big fat blobs for prongs. The gold just looks like it was melted over the original prongs and on one corner it even covers a small halo stone! I was/am more than willing to pay a fair price to have someone do this right, and I feel like $110 was fair. I posted a copy of the invoice if that matters, removing personal information.

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It costs me $75 to rebuild each prong (from scratch) where it looks original to the ring. To get this all done for $110 is incredibly low! Since it is stated on your work ticket that the inside of the basket is to be plated, that is what you should receive. I would bring both the ring and ticket back to the vendor. You should also get your CZ returned to you.
 
$110 for the extra services seems incredibly low and should have been a red flag. I agree, the workmanship on the prongs looks terrible. I would go directly to management and complain. The ring needs to be done correctly and according to your specifications. Also, heck yes, they should give you back your CZ.
I'm sorry about your ring. I did tons of research and redesigned my original E-ring recently. I know what it's like to hope and wait... Thankfully, my ring (with ERD) exceeded my expectations. I wish you lots of luck in getting your situation resolved.
 
How frustrating! I'm really sorry you are going through this, it's so disappointing to wait and wait to only end up disappointed. Your first step should be to contact them and see just where the communication broke down and what they plan to do to correct it. And yes, they definitely should have returned the replaced stone. I'd really encourage you to contact them immediately so that not only the problems with the workmanship can be resolved but also to ensure that they don't misplace the CZ. Good Luck, I'll be interested to hear how it all works out!
 
Most jewelers will just take a torch to a cz and shatter it to remove it. Unless you are dealing with one of the jewelers who typically sets stones for the BTD crowd, then probably they never even thought to return it or maybe never knew it was a more expensive Asha.

I know you are not happy with it, and the prongs are still messy, but it's a very pretty ring with the "new" diamond. :-)
 
I feel your frustration and disappointment. However, in looking at your invoice, I am reasonably certain I know who the vendor is as I have had business dealings with the vendor as well. To help ease your mind, the vendor has always been more than fair to me and takes pride in making sure that their customers are happy. Please feel confident that the vendor is pleasantly approachable, and would be horrified at the result of the inferior quality of workmanship that you have received. Let us know the outcome.
 
Thanks for all your replies. Yes, the vendor knew it was an Asha. It never occurred to me to ask for the stone back, I didn't know a jeweler would shatter the stone to remove it, esp when ti was clear the prongs would be replaced. I figure the prongs would be cut down/off to get the stone out. The stone really isn't the biggest deal, just icing on the cake.

I really like the vendor that I've been working with, the stone is beyond my expectations, I really love it. The lady is super nice and I don't want to get emotional and angry and burn any bridges. I would like to know if it is reasonable to request for them to fix it. Is it possible to get the prongs bak to original? I am following a post on here about a lady who had a beautiful OEC ring prong fixed and the person ended up faceting her stone and ruining the whole head of the antique setting. Others commented that once burned, don't go back. If this is obviously the best work that they can produce, should I cut my losses and move on to try to find someone else who can repair it? Or is this a fluke? I really really love the stone. I am horrified by how terrible the prongs are.

I emailed her last night about it and sh replied that the basket is painted gold on the inside. Am I blind? I can see the fingerprints of the original creator on the inside of the basket but there is no yellow in there. I'm not sure if you can see that in the pictures.

I also addressed the issue about the prongs and she said they were rebuilt, not painted over (I sought out this company originally because of their reputation with antique stones and refurbishment specifically). The person who set my Asha stone did an awful job on the prongs and my whole conversation with this company was to rebuild them to the original state. ANd instead it is even worse than it was before. Can anyone give me examples of rebuilt prongs? I saw a youtube video of a guy showing how to do bead setting and the tool looks easy enough to use.

*Sigh* are my expectations realistic? I was hoping for prongs like the tiffany sola.. or like my original, just in yellow gold

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Thank you for your kind words. :)
 
Chrono|1366978026|3434872 said:
It costs me $75 to rebuild each prong (from scratch) where it looks original to the ring. To get this all done for $110 is incredibly low! Since it is stated on your work ticket that the inside of the basket is to be plated, that is what you should receive. I would bring both the ring and ticket back to the vendor. You should also get your CZ returned to you.
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Thanks for posting this. I didn't know it was low. When I was stationed in Georgia I had someone set my Asha there and build up the prongs and it was only $80 for all 4 of them. They turned out terribly, so when I was quoted more money for the same job I thought I was going to get better service! I would be happy to pay a reasonable price to get it done correctly.
 
This email is why I assumed I would be entitled to receive my stone back. Why would she take the itme to ask if she can unmount the stone if she's not going to return it to me?

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susanrachel28|1367002288|3435106 said:
Thanks for all your replies. Yes, the vendor knew it was an Asha. It never occurred to me to ask for the stone back, I didn't know a jeweler would shatter the stone to remove it, esp when ti was clear the prongs would be replaced. I figure the prongs would be cut down/off to get the stone out. The stone really isn't the biggest deal, just icing on the cake.

I really like the vendor that I've been working with, the stone is beyond my expectations, I really love it. The lady is super nice and I don't want to get emotional and angry and burn any bridges. I would like to know if it is reasonable to request for them to fix it. Is it possible to get the prongs bak to original? I am following a post on here about a lady who had a beautiful OEC ring prong fixed and the person ended up faceting her stone and ruining the whole head of the antique setting. Others commented that once burned, don't go back. If this is obviously the best work that they can produce, should I cut my losses and move on to try to find someone else who can repair it? Or is this a fluke? I really really love the stone. I am horrified by how terrible the prongs are.

I emailed her last night about it and sh replied that the basket is painted gold on the inside. Am I blind? I can see the fingerprints of the original creator on the inside of the basket but there is no yellow in there. I'm not sure if you can see that in the pictures.

I also addressed the issue about the prongs and she said they were rebuilt, not painted over (I sought out this company originally because of their reputation with antique stones and refurbishment specifically). The person who set my Asha stone did an awful job on the prongs and my whole conversation with this company was to rebuild them to the original state. ANd instead it is even worse than it was before. Can anyone give me examples of rebuilt prongs? I saw a youtube video of a guy showing how to do bead setting and the tool looks easy enough to use.

*Sigh* are my expectations realistic? I was hoping for prongs like the tiffany sola.. or like my original, just in yellow gold
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Hi, SusanRachel28! I have the sneaking suspicion I might be the person you were talking about (and if I'm not, I'm in the same boat, so I know how it feels). I was also dealing with a really nice person, too, but the rep and the bench aren't the same ... and, to quote a wise woman who posted on my thread, if they could have done it right the first time, they would have.

My advise would be to send a polite e-mail asking for your setting fee back (and for your asha ... or whatever you think a fair replacement value might be, if they destroyed it), and to apply that to having somebody who has demonstrated they can do repair work/good prongs do it. Quest, maybe? If I had to send a piece out-of-state and wanted quick turn-around, they'd be among my top picks.
 
Circe! Yes! I didn't want to name you but I've been following your post from the beginning. I feel SO bad for you. I feel bad for me now too lol. I feel like since I don't have the big budget numbers that my ring was a waste of time to them. :( Funny thing is, I found the vendor I'm working with ON THIS FORUM!! I've always read, just never been one to comment. I'm in Hawaii so everything takes longer here. I'd be fine mailing it, I don't know anything about Quest. I will have to research them a bit. Thanks so much! May I contact you privately to discuss your repair work and prices? I have no idea what is reasonable for charges apparently. I'm not even sure how to contact you privately lol but hopefully I'll figure it out. I just figured out how to post all this.
 
I've never heard of torching a stone to remove it! :errrr: All the jewellers I've used just "pull" the prongs back and it's done in seconds.
 
One of the jewelers wrote that in a discussion years ago, but I probably read it on a sim board, not here.
 
susanrachel28|1367003881|3435123 said:
Circe! Yes! I didn't want to name you but I've been following your post from the beginning. I feel SO bad for you. I feel bad for me now too lol. I feel like since I don't have the big budget numbers that my ring was a waste of time to them. :( Funny thing is, I found the vendor I'm working with ON THIS FORUM!! I've always read, just never been one to comment. I'm in Hawaii so everything takes longer here. I'd be fine mailing it, I don't know anything about Quest. I will have to research them a bit. Thanks so much! May I contact you privately to discuss your repair work and prices? I have no idea what is reasonable for charges apparently. I'm not even sure how to contact you privately lol but hopefully I'll figure it out. I just figured out how to post all this.
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Aaaaaaaah, so sorry I didn't see this until now - busy end-of-week. Yes, by all means feel free to get in touch: I have listings on LoupeTroupe and DiamondBistro, so I'm pretty easy to find (if you go through my listing in Pre-Loved, there are links to both). Honestly, it really is such a non-standard field that it can be easy to feel out of your depth. The important thing is that you have a great stone, and fixing the prongs IS doable. Now, we just need to find you the right craftsperson!
 
I took the weekend to think about my options and while at Nordstrom I showed the lady my ring. She told me the prongs are a pretty simple repair, but time intensive because each prong needs to be addressed individually. Nordstrom contracts their business out to Heart to Heart jewelry repair in Honolulu. Has anyone heard if them? Btw she showed me how loose the stone was. I included a video. She told me the stone should definitely NOT move like this. I figured as much. Ok it tells me .mov is not allowed. Not sure how to add the video...
 
Yeah that's alot of movement and I would be worried. I would not let my FI wear her ring if it had that much shake so I hope you can find someone to correct that in the NEAR future.
 
Omg do not wear that ring! Get your money for the setting fee and the cz back and find someone else!
 
That is way too woobly and I wouldn't accept it. I once banged up an amethyst cushion and lost a chunk out of it .. it was woobly in the setting but not nearly as bad as that. About the CZ, I wonder if they disposed of it thinking it is not pricey as most CZ are. They don't know it is an ASHA!
 
Thanks for all the replies. I put the ring away for now until I decide what to do. I sent the video via email tonight so hopefully I will hear back in the morning. As for the Asha, I'm sure they know how much they cost since they sell an OEC Asha on their website!
 
I don't want to be all suspicious but if they knew how much it was worth .. they should have given it back unless they took it into consideration when they were pricing your work (ie. lowered your price thinking they will keep it). Either way, no point speculating on my part. I am sure they will have an answer.
 
Their answer regarding the Asha was "their bench doesn't normally keep CZs, they toss them unless specifically asked." Is this aceptable? I paid almost $300 for that stone and had plans to reset it into a bezel necklace. They sell/have sold several Ashas and even have a profile on Betterthandiamond.com. As for the work, I called and have yet to actually SPEAK to someone. Granted, I am 3 hours behind their time zone and work full time so my chance to call after work puts it at 730 pm their time. Or I wait until the weekend when they're office is closed. I was offered a refund of $150 for the setting fees & my time, but she won't address not returning my Asha. I feel like this is completely shady way to do business and I'm really angry.

**edited** she did address not returning my Asha, she said they "would try to ask the bench is they still have it lying around. If so, she'd be happy to send it back to me".

Also, I have yet to receive the cert for my diamond. Why would they send it separately and not with the diamond itself?
 
I think I know who the vendor is as well, I gotta say I'm quite surprised! I'm so sorry that you are going through this! As far as your Asha, I would think that the vendor, knowing that the bench would dispose of it unless told otherwise, should have asked you the whether or not you wanted it returned. I don't think that you were wrong to assume that it would be returned. If it were me, I would want to be reimbursed what it will cost me to have the ring repaired to it's original condition, not simply what you paid to have the new work done. It obviously wasn't completed per the work order, and it has other obvious issues that didn't exist before it was sent to them. I'm interested in hearing how it all works out for you! *fingers crossed*
 
OP, I am curious as to what the outcome was of your ring and the return of your CZ. I hope it was favorable.
 
Any reputable bench will return the stone to the owner, regardless of what the stone is. What if it's a heirloom stone? Doesn't matter if the CZ is worth very little monetarily because it could be priceless to the owner.
 
I'm sort of at a loss as to what to say here. First I know this is a consumer forum but I find it very tacky when people post work orders or invoices for services rendered and then complain about them- regardless if it is the vendor's fault or not. Just my .02 cents. I also would have spoken to the vendor before you created a thread about it on PS to try to work out a the issue. I'm all for honest reviews but I try to have them be fair at least. I have had great, not so great and downright horrible experiences with vendors but I refrain from writting about it till the very end which gives the vendors time to react to my issues.

The rep and the bench person are two different people in this case so a mistake could have happend in communication. If you felt comfortable giving them a second go then by all means please do. If not then take your refund and go somplace local or another store where you think they will do the job correctly. be specific that you want peg/ bead prongs.

As for the Asha, I would be suprised if that was thrown out. But then again I always make sure the vendor knows that I want my orginal setting and stone back. You are totally allowed to be upset about this. If you haven't already addressed it with the vendor then I would ask them if it is not found what will they do to compensate you. Let them try to appease you with their customer service before you blow this up in your own mind. Staying calm will help you work it out with them.
 
Many sample rings come with cheap cz centers, and benches probably rarely see an ASHA. In this case, it did need to go on the work order that you wanted your ASHA back. To the bench, it was nothing more than a $2 cz. Without it listed on the order, I am not sure you have much recourse unless you specifically asked to have the ASHA returned and the person taking the order was at fault for not noting it on the order (but did you see the order prior to receiving the ring back?).
 
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