HELP!! What should I do, A Dispute Between my ring designer and the place I bought my main stone!!

[eric8711]

Help! What should I do.
I bought a center stone from Union Diamond, very happy with the stone.

I was told I had to post the pictures directly so here is a repost sans link and with pics directly

I had a ring custom designed, I think I''m happy though I''ve only seen pictures.

Union Diamond offered to set the main stone for free so I could be sure I was protected in case she didn''t like it or said no.

Here is my dilemma, Union Diamond says the setting is too large for the stone. The designer had my certificate with exact proportions of the stone and swears it was made right and union diamond must not know how to set a stone correctly if they are saying this.

Please see the email below from Union Diamond as well as pictures. I am not sure who to believe here... any advice is GREATLY appriciated!

http://picasaweb.google.com/EricHMAZ/Ud?authkey=tMdwnKNrPCk

Thanks
Eric

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Just for your information before the diamond is set, with the seat
(notches) being cut into the prongs the diamond should be just sitting at the top of the prongs with the girdle at the top of or barely inside the top of the prongs. The pic from the top (sorry its blurred) shows how far down inside the ring the diamond sets.

The prongs would have to be bent over the diamond after notching and the bend would be in the middle of where the top pave'' diamond is in the prong.

Also the bottom of the ring is scratched as if the piece had not been polished or Rhodium plated.

Last but not least the pave'' set diamonds in the prongs should have been set after the center diamond as it is not possible to not disturb them when setting the center stone. In this your jeweler was right and they should not have been finished.

Please let me know how you want to proceed.

Jeff

Jeff Skelpsa
Graduate Gemologist, GIA
Phone: 770-319-9155
Toll Free: 800-319-9155
[email protected]

 

[eric8711]

Pic 2

 

[eric8711]

pic3

 

[eric8711]

pic4

 

[eric8711]

pic5 again ,sorry

 

[eric8711]

Pic6

 

[MonkeyPie]

Hm...it does look odd. I wonder if they didn''t rhodium plate since they knew it was going to be set and it would have to be redone anyway?

In the sizing front, I would email the ring setting designer and ask for them to give you all the measurements to see if maybe they got something a little bit off. I doubt Union Diamond would say the diamond didn''t fit for no reason - you already spent money with them, so I don''t think they are trying to wrangle you out of more.

 

[puffy]

yeah, it looks to be a bit off. the setting does look way too big for the stone. i am no expert in any way, but just by looking at it, it doesn''t look right. you should probably talk to the person who made the setting and make sure that he got things right.

 

[swingirl]

Did anyone recommend you handle the setting of the stone differently like having the the stone sent to the jeweler that made the setting? Did either the jeweler or Union Diamonds suggest any other way for this to have worked out smoothly especially regarding the pave on the prongs? It seems someone should have anticipated the problem. I hope you can resolve it.

Are you happy with the setting otherwise?

 

[eric8711]

I am happy with the setting however if Union Diamond doesn''t set it, they will not honor their guarentee policy. My concern is that the ring will look funny if its the wrong size, but I''m in a tough spot because I won''t be able to tell if they don''t set it. Its a big circle.

The ring designer says its the right size and verified that the mesurments on the cert were correct he swears and said he spoke to 4 other bench jewelers that said it was the right size.

When I presented that info Union Diamond they said they are positive it is the wrong size and all their bench jewlers agree.

I''m no expert. Obviously with out it being set its hard to tell what it would look like, it looks terrible with the stone so sunken down now, but I am told by the ring designer it won''t look that way once set.

I appriciate your help.

Thanks
Eric

 

[arjunajane]

Hrmm..Can't union cut the seats higher and shave down the bulk of the prong tips?
It is a very pretty setting, sorry you are having issues.

 

[eric8711]

Union Diamond says the cup on the bottom''s diameter exceeds that of the diamond. That is why they say the ring is too big. They would have to remove the pave diamonds they say to bend the prongs inward to set, but even doing that the cup size would remain too large, and I''d lose the look of the diamonds of course...

 

[diamondseeker2006]

What guarantee do you mean? Ordinarily the ring designer would set the stone. Don''t you have something like a 30 day return period for the diamond? If so, what difference does it make who sets the stone? Get it insured, but let the ring designer set it. You aren''t expecting your girlfriend to want to return the diamond are you?

 

[marcy]

I would have the ring designer set the diamond but would definitely get it insured first. The ring is lovely.

 

[mrssalvo]

I would have the designer set it. See if they will insure the stone while they are setting it. IF they won''t you can get insurance through Jewelers Mutual that will insure the loose diamond and the stone while it''s being set. I wouldn''t let Union set it, especially if they don''t feel comfortable doing so.

 

[risingsun]

I''m not sure I understand Union Diamond''s policy. Why should they have a problem with someone else setting the stone. It is not uncommon to buy the stone from one vendor and have it set by the designer. That would be my choice. Perhaps, get some clarification from Union Diamond on their policy.