help with setting...

[pinkiegirl3]

hi everyone! i recently got engaged to my fiance (!) about a month ago and have a few questions regarding the ring he got.

i LOVE my ring, its everything i wanted, but i just want to know if two minor "flaws" in the ring can be fixed. for the life of me i can't figure out how to upload a picture of my ring onto here, so i'll do my best to describe it.

the center stone is a 1.27 cushion cut in an 18k white gold halo setting that has diamonds on all 3 sides of the band and on the 2 sides of the halo itself. in total there are 116 tiny diamonds in the setting and the center stone is set with double claw prongs.

one of the issues i have with the setting is the gap between the center stone and the halo setting (is this known as an airline?). it's very small, but it kind of bugs me and if it can be fixed i would fix it. but considering all the little diamonds i'm not sure if its possible.

also, there are little tiny bumps (milgrain?) all along every side of the ring. i think when the jeweler set the diamond into the setting they bumped into the milgrain because there are two "scratches" on the inner part of the halo, essentially missing milgrain.

when i took the ring in to get sized i mentioned the "scratches" and the jeweler replied she could not fix it. is this really true? i find it hard to believe but maybe because its too close to the center stone?

if anyone has any advice on what i can/should do in regards to the albeit tiny "flaws" with my ring, i'd greatly appreciate it and sorry again for no pictures!! something is wrong with my computer...

 

[minmin001]

can you post some pic. of your ring to give us some better idea?

 

[pinkiegirl3]

i just figured out how to add a picture!! i can't get a focused/close enough picture for you guys to see the "scratched" milgrain, but you can see the obvious gap between the center stone and the halo in this one.

attachment=0]081.JPG[/attachment]

 

[pinkiegirl3]

you can't see the scratching in either of these pictures either, which i admit they're very small (but noticeable to me!!) but once again you can see the gap/"airline"

 

[LGK]

Hmmmm, yeah. I see the airline you're talking about. I don't think it looks like the stone actually fits the setting particularly well- it looks like it's a stock setting that fits pretty well but not perfectly. Unfortunately I don't know of an easy fix for that, other than a whole new setting that fits the stone properly.

The millgrain is repairable, but how the repair turns out depends greatly on the skill of the engraver doing the work. Perhaps it will need the whole edge polished, then remillgrained- but regardless, it *is* fixable. But if the jeweler's bench isnt' that skilled at engraving they may not want to do the work But, yes. That part is fixable.

Millgrain does wear over time- that would probably not bother me toooooo much; but the stone not fitting the setting is something that I personally would fixate on and find irritating.

Honestly I'm not sure what you can do- asking the jeweler if they are willing to redo the setting might be worth doing, but I would be real surprised if they actually are willing to *do* it. I mean, it's not terrible, not even close, but it isn't top of the line workmanship by any means.

ETA: I know I'm a workmanship snob about settings and terribly picky, so honestly your ring is lovely and probably 99% of the general public would think we're both nitpicky. But you know, if it's your e-ring and you've spent a bundle on it, some pickiness is OK in my opinion.

 

[pinkiegirl3]

ugh i was afraid of hearing that... when he first gave it to me the spaces and the scratches bothered me but i just thought i was being too picky so i "let it go" and got it sized and everything, and now a month later it's REALLY bothering me... :-/ the jeweler is a close family friend of his too and i don't want to hurt his feelings and/or put an awkward strain on their relationship... *sigh* thank you for your help

 

[centralsquare]

well you have to talk to him about fixing the milgrain so maybe you can feel out the ability to swap settings?