Honestly, Does this setting bother you?

[aljdewey]

Honestly, every time something like this comes up, I get a bit bothered.

Folks, pictures like this are taken at a bazillion mag. I know it''s hard to keep it in mind, but seeing pictures on a screen magnified to the nth degree isn''t the same as seeing something in person. I don''t understand how folks can draw conclusions about what something looks like in person from a picture like this.

I know most gals will get this when I suggest this: look at the pics in the SMTR forum. Hang nails the size of glaciers in there, and none of us really thinks that''s how someone''s hand looks in real life, right?

For reference......here is a picture of my actual 7-stone ring next to the picture on my computer of this ring - just to show how exaggerated the magnification is.

 

[aljdewey]

..........and here is me, holding up a Motorola flip phone next to my computer screen? See how the photo of the ring is nearly as big as the flip-phone?

Detail is great, but I often think that folks are a little unreasonable about these photos and what to expect from them.

Garry has mentioned "exhibition quality'', and I really think he''s right. Jewelers don''t make products that are meant to look pristine under 100 mag, ladies. They make products that are meant to look good on the hand.

Just my two cents.

 

[moremoremore]

It's all good Vina. It's all good. It's just not something I would do....

 

[whatmeworry]

Have to agree with Moremoremore. It is after all someone''s ring that you are criticizing.

 

[moremoremore]

I can tell from her tone that she meant no harm...it's OK!

I guess it's a popular style so that someone might not be able to tell....but it's just very easy to overlook people's feelings online...

Anyway, back to the post....I guess IF you are looking at a ring, in real life, and with your naked eyes you can see an imperfection, that might bother me...But if you look at it casually and can't see it, the quality is fine...
I can even see lint on some stones in these pix! You certainly can't see that in real life!

 

[VINA]

Date: 8/24/2006 9:03:16 PM
Author: whatmeworry
Have to agree with Moremoremore. It is after all someone's ring that you are criticizing.

I thought about this carefully before starting this thread. But you have to remember that this is a public forum. When a person post his/her ring on this forum, he/she opens it to praise and criticism.

If all we say in this forum is "that setting is gorgeous...", it would not sound too real right. I am kind enough to NOT mention the unevenly set stones in that thread. I cropped the image and start a new thread with my question.

Remember when Mara post her ring on this forum a while back. Gary comments on how large the prong tips were and that she should have someone file it down. I wanted to say the same thing but was affraid that it may bother Mara and end up not saying it. I am not sure what Mara did with that setting; but I thought that comment was honest and helpful.

 

[mrssalvo]

well, i''m am one of those super picky loupe the prongs type when when comes to settings. once i notice something it bugs me. But, I agree that perfect is hard to achieve. I''d expect something to be eye clean under the same scrutiny I''d give my stone. If my eyes can''t see it but a loupe can, I''d be ok with that. If it''s uneven prongs, stones with different diameters etc. that I can easily see, then I''d have problem. One huge reason I like designer pieces that I can see and inspect with my own eyes to get a feel for the quality and wormanship of the piece before I own it. I know exactly what i''m going to get. This is also how I know that i''m not a good canidate for custom

 

[VINA]

Date: 8/24/2006 8:55:18 PM
Author: aljdewey
..........and here is me, holding up a Motorola flip phone next to my computer screen? See how the photo of the ring is nearly as big as the flip-phone?

Detail is great, but I often think that folks are a little unreasonable about these photos and what to expect from them.

Garry has mentioned ''exhibition quality'', and I really think he''s right. Jewelers don''t make products that are meant to look pristine under 100 mag, ladies. They make products that are meant to look good on the hand.

Just my two cents.

Aljdewey,

I know what you are talking about. I enlarge the setting to show the problem not amplifying it. You can definately see it. A few members here have the same feeling towards their unevenly set 5/7 stones or erternity rings. It''s a common problem. Only good setter do it right.

Everytime someone complain about their ring problem, they all take pictures with macro lens. It''s the only way we can explain and expect the people here see what you are talking about.

Now, if I hold a ring (like you did against my monitor) and take a picture, people would not have a clue what I am talking about. The enlargement is for you to see it.

 

[aljdewey]

It''s really interesting how quickly you''ve been able to pick up on how to use the archives and search for things like pictures of the 7-stone ring and a comment Gary made several months ago.

 

[VINA]

Date: 8/24/2006 9:20:56 PM
Author: mrssalvo
well, i''m am one of those super picky loupe the prongs type when when comes to settings. once i notice something it bugs me. But, I agree that perfect is hard to achieve. I''d expect something to be eye clean under the same scrutiny I''d give my stone. If my eyes can''t see it but a loupe can, I''d be ok with that. If it''s uneven prongs, stones with different diameters etc. that I can easily see, then I''d have problem. One huge reason I like designer pieces that I can see and inspect with my own eyes to get a feel for the quality and wormanship of the piece before I own it. I know exactly what i''m going to get. This is also how I know that i''m not a good canidate for custom

I agree. I am not a fan of Tiffany or designer stores. But we can all see why busy rich people with little time like them. You get what you see and if you see something at home that you did not see at the store, you will get another piece. No but, no if ...

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 8/24/2006 9:28:55 PM
Author: VINA

Aljdewey,

Everytime someone complain about their ring problem, they all take pictures with macro lens. It''s the only way we can explain and expect the people here see what you are talking about.

Now, if I hold a ring (like you did against my monitor) and take a picture, people would not have a clue what I am talking about. The enlargement is for you to see it.

Yes, I understand no one could see it without mag....but my point is that mag cannot accurately illustrate how it looks in person, either.

Because unless the ring is actually the size of a grapefruit in real life, the small things won''t show in real life.

Someone else said it really well.....how they cannot see the dust/grime on their stone until they try to photograph it, and then they see it due to mag.

That''s all I''m saying.....that rings are designed to be worn in real life, not in "mag" life.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 8/24/2006 9:33:47 PM
Author: VINA

I agree. I am not a fan of Tiffany or designer stores. But we can all see why busy rich people with little time like them. You get what you see and if you see something at home that you did not see at the store, you will get another piece. No but, no if ...

You should put those "search the archive" skills to a little test about the comment above.

We''ve had a few gals who''ve had horror stories trying to get service from Tiff''s too......and they had serious "buts and ifs".

They are like any other jeweler......great 99% of the time, maybe, but not perfect.

 

[VINA]

Date: 8/24/2006 9:30:50 PM
Author: aljdewey
It''s really interesting how quickly you''ve been able to pick up on how to use the archives and search for things like pictures of the 7-stone ring and a comment Gary made several months ago.

Adjdewey,

I have been lurking around this forum since 2002. I can remember those posts...

 

[aljdewey]

I thought I recognized you.

Have you had a chance to visit the shore yet? I hear it's lovely this time of year.

 

[VINA]

Date: 8/24/2006 9:40:02 PM
Author: aljdewey
I thought I recognized you.

Have you had a chance to visit the shore yet? I hear it''s lovely this time of year.

I don''t get this.

All I wanted you to know is that I did not dig up those threads. I have been reading this forum forever. Let me tell you something that was not in the archives.

Rhino avatar used to be a dog. A bull dog to be exact....

 

[aljdewey]

V, no worries. You don''t have to prove anything to me.....or anyone here. As MMM said, it''s all good.

 

[aussiegirl23]

This whole thread makes me a little queasy. I mean really - is it not a bit mean to pick some random person''s ring out to insult and degrade? What if this person is perfectly happy with their beautiful ring? Don''t you feel at least slighly bad singling them out (the owner) as well as WF (the vendor) when this isn''t even your problem?

I could understand posting pictures of a ring you own, or a family member''s, but this seems unfair. It makes me a bit hesitant to post pictures of my own ring, when the time comes. I would want to show it off, and be proud - and not have to worry that somebody else is going to nit-pick it into the ground.

What happened to being considerate of others'' feelings?? The owner of the ring just might be able to recognize the photo, even if it is cropped - and what is she to think now? My ring is a piece of crap??

NOT COOL!

Aussiegirl : p

 

[pricescope]

Date: 8/24/2006 7:14:50 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Vina, my guess is that this photo your posted is from WF since John recognized the picture. He must have thought it was a picture of your MIL's ring. That was kind of him to speak up and acknowledge that the ring needed repair, though.

Things like that do bother me. I wonder if we asked the same people what clarity diamonds they prefer if those not bothered by the setting imperfections would also be the ones comfortable with SI2 clarity.

DS, I don't think John ever did acknowledge that the ring (pictured) needed repair, he said:

"If your mother-in-law could see unevenly set stones in her ring it’s unacceptable."

As VINA's mother-in-law (very lucky one at that, you don't see son-in-law caring so much about MIL's jewelry everyday) has never bought that ring from WF it would be strange for John to care.

VINA, you had recommended some Toronto's jewelers, why don't you post your MIL's jeweler name too?

 

[moremoremore]

I thought it was a pug?!?

 

[whatmeworry]

Date: 8/24/2006 10:03:59 PM
Author: aljdewey
V, no worries. You don''t have to prove anything to me.....or anyone here. As MMM said, it''s all good.

it''s mmm mmm good.

 

[suzi]

I''m reading this thread rather late in the day, but I wanted to jump in with some of my own thoughts...

First, to answer the original question, yes...the unevenly set stones would bother me. As a matter of fact, I recently had my diamond reset into a setting with side stones, and one of the side stones looked tilted from the side view. It looked fine top down, but from the side it was very obviously tilted. I took the ring to the jeweler, and he immediately saw the problem and fixed it in less than an hour. It now looks fine. So apparently, it''s very possible and easy to fix something like that on a prong setting.

Now, my thoughts on some of the other issues raised in this thread...While rings and other jewelry are not usually viewed under magnification under normal viewing circumstances, I think most of us DO look at our rings (and take pictures to share with the forum) under magnification quite frequently. I know I look at my rings with the loupe regularly to inspect the prongs, and sometimes just for the pleasure of looking at my beautiful diamonds in such an intimate way. I know I''m nutty about diamonds, but aren''t most of the people here in the same boat? So, if you are one to look at your rings and take pictures of them highly magnified, and you can see faults that bother you, I see nothing odd or wrong in that. And I do think that it''s not really all that hard, or unreasonable to expect diamonds to be set evenly and well aligned.

The other issue is about posting pictures of someone else''s ring to make critisim...I think when someone posts pictures of their rings or other jewelry on a public forum, they should be ready for whatever comments people are going to make, whether they are complimentary or not. We post our pictures expecting nothing but praise and compliments, but not everyone is going to automatically like everything 100% of the time. Or think that the workmanship of every ring is perfect. During the time I''ve been lurking around this forum and looking at pictures, I''ve often seen pictures of rings where I can see flaws or faults in the workmanship...like an uneven prong, or tilted looking stone. Sometimes it might just be the angle. Sometimes maybe it IS actually substandard workmanship.

Everyone has their own standard of what is acceptable in a diamond or in the quality of the workmanship. I see nothing wrong with that. Some people will be perfectly happy with visible inclusions, as long as they get the larger size they want in a diamond. Other people would rather have a smaller diamond than see even a tiny pin point that''s only visible under magnification. That''s cool. I think the same thing goes for the workmanship on the setting. Some people aren''t bothered by small imperfections in the workmanship, while other people can''t tolerate anything less than perfection. Again, it''s all cool. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, anyway.

 

[lumpkin]

The issue of criticizing someone''s ring has been hashed out before. The majority consensus was that if someone specifically asked for opinions, they get it. If they say, "Hey, look at my new ring!" they are sharing, not asking for advice or criticism. I would personally not appreciate someone taking an image of my ring out of context, even if they cropped it and tried to disguise the identity, and held it up for criticism without asking me first.

I didn''t read the posts carefully enough at first -- I thought that was a picture of your MIL''s ring.

 

[Mokey]

As a consumer who went the custom route to get the ring and stones she wanted I can chime in on this one. I had my ring made and the stones are this way and that in the setting...brought it up to the jeweler (highly recommended) and was told it was custom and it was fine.....not fine to me and NOT custom, why? Because it is a setting that was bought from Unique Settings and then the stones were just set into. So why is it fine? To me it is not and when I questioned this I was told that I was too hard to work with and did not understand custom and that some people are not meant to work together....... Hind sight I would have went with the whiteflash one I was originally going to go with or the facets one which I was also considering. But I was having something else built by this same person so I inquired about the band and was told it would be better etc, etc......Don''t get me wrong the stones are beautiful, but the craftsmanship and lack there of are what I have a problem with. Now I am stuck with a ring that I can''t get anyone to reset because they want to use their own stones. I also specifically asked about the edges overhanging because of all the probs people were having at the time and mine overhang terribly. So much so that I had to get it sautered together because it was eating up my engagement ring. Not at all what I had in mind! I was so excited to FINALLY have some good stones and a beautiful ring, instead I feel animosity and regret when I look at it. The only thing I focus on is the beauty of the stones themselves. Never again will I go this route unless I am COMPLETELY certain that it will be done right and will be taken care of if there are problems. Just my 2 cents. But to sum up....yes this DOES bother the heck out of me!

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 8/25/2006 12:57:37 AM
Author: sipper

Now, my thoughts on some of the other issues raised in this thread...While rings and other jewelry are not usually viewed under magnification under normal viewing circumstances, I think most of us DO look at our rings (and take pictures to share with the forum) under magnification quite frequently. .............

So, if you are one to look at your rings and take pictures of them highly magnified, and you can see faults that bother you, I see nothing odd or wrong in that.

Agree to a very limited point.

Keep in mind that the obsession factor on PS is damn near off the charts. Most people I know have never even seen their own diamonds with a 10x loupe, and wouldn''t have the slightest clue what to look for if handed loupes.

So, most jewelers try to make fine products that will meet the needs of the majority of the market. For those who like to take pictures and look at our stones under magnification, it''s reasonable to expect that we might see "little quirks" that are slightly less than perfect.

I don''t have issue with that idea per se. What I *do* take issue with is the suggestion that those little quirks signal substandard craftsmanship. That''s just ridiculous, in my opinion.

Jewelry reminds me of fine instruments. For most folks, a $700 Klaus Mueller violin is perfectly acceptable. If you want the jewelry equivalent of a $5500 Franz Werner Stradivarius violin, you need to let your craftsman know that up front.

However, picking apart the "craftsmanship" of a Mueller violin because it''s not uber-perfect "Stradivarius" quality is just unreasonable, in my very humble opinion.

Date: 8/25/2006 12:57:37 AM
Author: sipper

During the time I''ve been lurking around this forum and looking at pictures, I''ve often seen pictures of rings where I can see flaws or faults in the workmanship...like an uneven prong, or tilted looking stone. Sometimes it might just be the angle. Sometimes maybe it IS actually substandard workmanship.

This was my whole point. It CAN be "just the angle", but more often, it''s assumed to be substandard workmanship. I personally don''t think that''s fair to any vendor.

 

[devientdrow]

I think everyone should just chill a little. I myself post a lot of pics of my rings. I don''t expect people to gush about them,(however I greatly appreciate when they do!) and I might not like it but I can''t control it if someone said "You know, I don''t like those baugettes on the side." Well whatever....it''s not your ring. I don''t think she was putting this ring up there to critisize IT. She wasn''t saying the ring was ugly or bad choice.....she was using it as an example to point out what she saw as "flaws" in her MIL''s ring. And ask opinions. It seems most of us are cool about someone else posting our photos where they should be needed...as in someone with a halo being ok if someone posts her ring in a halo thread ect ect. If you really don''t want other people using your photos then say so. I''ve seen some people on here that when they post their photos they say ''please do not use my photos without my permission''

Vina, has your MIL ever complained about this? My ring is like hers but with 5 stones. The same type of prongs. Sometimes I will think a stone looks crooked or something but then I think perhaps it''s just a trick of the eye. And yes, no one notices with their regualr eyesight. I might feel different if I had something custom made though.

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 8/25/2006 10:54:33 AM
Author: devientdrow
I think everyone should just chill a little.

Devient, I'm going to quote you from a few days ago:

"What I think is kind of sad though is that maybe it was a somewhat controversial thread but were all adults right?"

You have argued quite compellingly on the ohter threads that people should be able to discuss as they wish, so I find it a bit hypocritical for you to be telling people when they should chill out (i.e. how they should be acting.)

Obviously, quite a few PSers found this use of someone else's photo distasteful, and I believe it's their right to express it if they choose. If you're going to lobby for people being able to express opinions freely, I think you should walk the walk.

I don't mean this personally; just sharing my opinion.

 

[Mara]

the OCD on this forum can rise to some of the highest levels when it comes to people and their jewelry. it's happened a few times, some people are just crazy about their diamonds or perfection or whatever. there are many times when i am like WOW that's a little out there. wheeee!

but that's totally their perogative, they are paying the $$, they should get what they want.

i just am thankful that on 99% of the stuff, i look at it and go...what are they even talking about? my eyes must be crap or something because i can't see half of what people point out, even in magnified pictures, and that lets me own probably less than perfect jewelry happily, lets me own an SI1 or SI2 properly graded diamond happily, an H or I or J diamond happily, as long as my top one OCD criteria is met and that's cut quality. after that it's all kind of a blur.

as for the whole taking of the picture and labeling it something that could be construed as offensive or negative, sure we all post our pictures on here but i'd be kind of like 'hey that's a little messed up' if i saw my ring (and come on people know THEIR rings even if it's a common one, especially if one has a tilted stone or a too low stone, how hard is it to go 'that pic looks familiar' and loupe your ring and realize someone is talking smack about it) on PS and someone had started a whole new thread and was pointing out all the flaws and how they'd be upset if it was theirs. post a picture of your MIL's ring that has the actual flaws you are talking about...not some poor unsuspecting PS'ers ring. it's just better netiquette that way, IMO.

 

[jayreneepea]

I don''t have a problem with the setting if you can''t see it magnified, but we don''t know that as the owner hasn''t had the opportunity to defend her precious gift.

This is what really bothers me,

definately

It is spelled definitely! No offense of course, I even edited out the posters name!

 

[FireGoddess]

In buying a pendant (which I still have to photograph) online and hemming and hawing about it but finally biting the bullet, thinking I'd return it if the milgraining flaw I saw in the 30000X magnified picture was real....I have to say that sometimes we are WAY TOO obsessive about the small stuff. I got that pendant and couldn't see ANYthing but perfection. It really made me sit and think for awhile.

I looked at the diamonds in my shared prong shank this morning. No loupe, no nothing, just really close to my eye. I can see that some of them are uneven like the picture posted. Even so, I had to look SO CLOSELY that it seriously doesn't bother me. Not one little bit. Not like a crooked prong did, not like my pear being set on a tilt did...it's so hardly noticeable that it seriously doesn't bother a little nitpicker like me. And that's saying something.

I love perfection as much as the next jewelry obsessed PSer. But I'm willing to forgive a few things. Not a lot, but a few.

 

[pricescope]

Date: 8/25/2006 12:43:28 PM
Author: jayrenay9
I don''t have a problem with the setting if you can''t see it magnified, but we don''t know that as the owner hasn''t had the opportunity to defend her precious gift.

This is what really bothers me,

definately

It is spelled definitely! No offense of course, I even edited out the posters name!

Wahahaha, that''s hysterical!

Honestly, Does my (Pricescope''s) spelling bothers you?

First, I would like to aplogize to the owner of this definately. When I first saw this definately, I immediately notice how bad it is. This definately bothers me.