How perfect should craftsmanship be?

[yssie]

Loaded question, I know.


I've not spoken to the vendor yet, I've just left a message for my SA. I just want to know if you'd consider this nitpicking, as I honestly have no idea - and I don't want to be a pest over nothing!

I have a loose prong, that definitely needs to go in to be fixed.


I also see other things that I would consider "problems".


Issue 1: culet is touching the metal on the underside of the ring. Until now I thought it was in a groove or doughnut... five minutes with bright flashlight, new 15x loupe, and bit of string say otherwise. Chipping risk.?

ETA: pics are the best I could do through a 10x loupe

 

[yssie]

loose prong that brought this on

 

[yssie]

Problem prong. 3 of the six centrestone prongs have this issue, a fourth is loose (above), and the two outermost prongs (12 o'clock and 6 o'clock) are holding the diamond very securely.

Issue here is that the girdle is actually sitting in the indent, but the bottom is steeply angled so it won't hold the pavilion. Just how much of a problem is this IRL, if any?

1.

 

[yssie]

2.

 

[Cinna]

Personally I have the belief of: I paid this much for this setting, and I would like it to be what I was expecting a.k.a please redo/fix this. Especially if it's a PS vendor, I think they would be pretty willing to immediately take it back and fix the issue if they heard such phrases as loose prong. Not sure with the pictures if it's going to be a huge problem or not (not ring educated enough for that)

But I have yet to get my ring yet so this is just my thoughts on the matter. Nitpicking or not, you deserve to have the perfect ring.

 

[yssie]

Cinna - oh, I have every confidence they''ll address them, I just don''t want to be unreasonable on this end, KWIM?

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Sorry you''re having issues with your ring. It looks beautiful, too.

How perfect I expect craftsmanship to be honestly depends on who the craftsman/ woman was and how much I paid. If I go to a local guy for bench work, I know in advance he isn''t a world class craftsman and that while he will do a careful and fairly tidy job, it won''t be more than that. On the other hand, if I order something from Diamonds by Lauren (my favourite online vendor) I expect it to be perfect and to have the feel of a higher quality piece.

I would hold the local guy to fixing something like a wonky prong, or anything that was unsound about the piece, but I would hold DBL to an altogether higher standard, polish, perfect symmetry etc. and absolute attention to detail, in particular the detail I asked for if it was a custom piece.

I suppose if it was me, I''d go back and discuss it with the vendor, because yes, I can see the problem with the prong and the bottom of the stone. How high were your expectations of the piece, if you don''t mind me asking? Not to say you should accept something shoddy, of course.

Jen

 

[Cinna]

Personally, I'm hoping someone else will chime in just to say NO you are not being unreasonable at all!... because I would be the same exact way about my ring.

I totally had to google what KWIM meant btw... I was thinking it was like Keep Winning In Mind.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I expect "eye clean" esthetic perfection (i.e., no loupes), but I expect mind clean perfection when it comes to the safety of my diamond. I will be interested to hear what the experts have to say about those pics and whether it is a danger ot the diamond before I got too twisted about it.

But it would still bug me a lot

 

[yssie]

Mrs Mitchell - this was a custom piece from a respected PS vendor, I don''t want to name anyone until I''ve actually spoken to them - this is really about my expectations going into the convo. It''s in plat (irid alloy) if that''s relevant. Cost was a little over half again as much as for the stock version at the time, I believe - so not an exorbitant amount, but certainly not pocket change either

. It''s about 5mo old now.


Dreamer - yes. Now that I know what to look for I can see all those problems with my naked eyes, but I wouldn''t have thought to look if I hadn''t louped it first - isn''t that always the way of things!

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

Ok, in that case I think you are being quite reasonable in expecting these issues to be dealt with.

It does have the look of an expensive piece, so yes, I''d want it to be very high quality.

If there was a reason why the things you aren''t happy with were done the way they were, then that''s different, but otherwise I''d want it to look absolutely right.

Jen

 

[Michael_E]

Both the culet touching metal and the prong seats not fully supporting the pavilion of the stone are things that should definitely be fixed as soon as possible. These things are not dependent on what you paid for the piece, but doing them well is a basic requirement of holding a stone safely and securely. I can''t imagine anyone balking at fixing those things if you bring it to their attention, (5 months ago would have been approaching the Christmas season...overlooking a final inspection can happen easily at that time of year). The fixes are easy and low cost, so the only problem is one of the time spent fixing them. I wouldn''t put it off since culet touching metal is a big concern.

The things that have an added cost with custom work are things like having a fine finish down in all of the nooks and crannies and having prong tips perfectly shaped, assuming some special shape like claws, those little heart shapes or small diamonds at the tips. A perfect polish on platinum pieces also comes to mind. These things take a lot of time and that''s where the money goes.

 

[yssie]

Update: ring is getting shipped back to the vendor for a checkup Monday.



Michael - my SA sounded concerned about culet touching metal too. Also explains why they charged more for claw prongs

I am glad to hear it's not a complex fix!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 3/5/2010 6:14:15 PM
Author: yssie
Update: ring is getting shipped back to the vendor for a checkup Monday.



Michael - my SA sounded concerned about culet touching metal too. Also explains why they charged more for claw prongs

I am glad to hear it''s not a complex fix!

Good thing. You should always be 100% satisfied with the work done.