James Allen can not make a setting for my OEC!

[dkata]

Sorry, but I have to vent! As maybe some of you know, I have purchased an OEC from LAD a few days ago. At first, I could not decide, what kind of setting I want, or lets say I have to collect the funds for the setting, which I like, so I wanted to order a solitaire setting from James Allen as a temporary setting.

Yesterday I have seen, they have a Valentins Day Promotion, 25 % off of the settings and lots of other items. I was interested to buy the 2 mm comfort fit 4 prong WG setting, which can accomodate up to 8 carat stones in almost every cut. I inquired at first with live chat, if I could purchase the setting, and I was assured, I can do it. I even gave the measurements of my stone, I just haven't mentioned, it is an oec. Just for your information, the dimensions are 9.07×8.65.

Yesterday morning I placed my order, and I also put the size of the stone and the cut in the info box.

Today I have got an answer from customer service, that unfortunately they can not produce this settig for me "due to the unique size, shape and measurements". I just thought WHAT? What is so unique on this oec? I mean the size is not as off - less then half mm - and if this setting can accomodate up to 8 carat every shape, what is the problem?

The SA from JA has even asked me, if I maybe would like to buy a stone, which could fit in my desired setting? Please??? Yes, of course, I'm going buy an almost 3 carat stone, just to purchase a 315 USD setting!! Hilarious!

So I had to cancel my order, or lets say, JA cancelled my order. I expedted more from JA, after reading here the reviews.

 

[tyty333]

I'm assumming they dont want to make it because it is not completely round. I bet if it were their stone that was 9.07 x 8.65
they could make it. They dont want to go to the extra effort to do it for a stone that they did not sell.

Very frustrating especially when the setting will hold an oval or cushion...


Do you have a local jeweler you trust? You could order a stuller setting and have it set locally.

Have you checked with BGD? They have this setting...I'm pretty sure they set outside stones.
http://www.briangavindiamonds.com/engagement-rings/solitaire/four-prong-solitaire-14k-white-gold-5342w14

 

[missy]

I'm sorry Dkata. The issue is with OECs is that they can be off round so I do understand the problem with a stock setting. Having said that I am very sorry. I bet Erica would be happy to work it out with you and come up with a setting within your budget. She's super helpful and I have a feeling she will be able to come to your and your OEC's rescue. Your beauty deserves a beautiful setting and I know you can do it at a reasonable cost. My platinum setting (from the vendor I bought my OEC from) was ridiculously affordable and I would call Erica. Good luck!

 

[dkata]

tyty333 - this is the point! I'm sure, they don't want to do it, because it is not completely round! But if this setting can accomodate a cushion, where is the problem? I'm also sure, they would do it, if I would buy a stone with the same parameters from them. And don't forget they 25% promotion! They don't want to make an extra effort for even less money!
I just really regret, telling them it is an oec, maybe if I have told it is a 9×9 mm round, they would have done it.

Unfortunately the local jeweller - I live in Europe - quoted me for the same 4 prong WG 18 carat setting 1.600 euro, with todays exchange rate about 1.750 USD. That was also hilarious!

The BGD setting looks really nice, thank you for your suggestion, but as I already have an option B from Erica - a Stuller setting for 395 USD - I already ordered it!

missy - thank you also for your suggestions, and I just did it. I hope, Erica sends me the invoice soon, but we have 9 hour time difference, so it could take up to 5 o'clock in the afternoon my time! The waiting is just sooooo dreadful! I just would like to wear my beauty!

 

[arkieb1]

Actually there are a lot of issues setting OECs the first is obviously it's way out of round, the next is they usually have a much higher crown height meaning standard prongs might not fit them and they will not sit properly into a RB basket, and finally they are often deeper and will not always fit into a stock standard setting depth wise. Having said that if the setting can take a deepish cushion then in theory it should be able to fit an OEC.

 

[dkata]

Actually there are a lot of issues setting OECs the first is obviously it's way out of round, the next is they usually have a much higher crown height meaning standard prongs might not fit them and they will not sit properly into a RB basket, and finally they are often deeper and will not always fit into a stock standard setting depth wise. Having said that if the setting can take a deepish cushion then in theory it should be able to fit an OEC.

I totally agree, BUT...my stone has a depth following measurements: 9.07 × 8.65 × 5.84 mm.
A comparable round from JA has 8.95 × 9.00 × 5.58. And we are speaking of 0.26 mm difference in depth! So I think it is less the technical possibilities than the profitability for them the reason, not to do it!

 

[imdoubler]

Actually there are a lot of issues setting OECs the first is obviously it's way out of round, the next is they usually have a much higher crown height meaning standard prongs might not fit them and they will not sit properly into a RB basket, and finally they are often deeper and will not always fit into a stock standard setting depth wise. Having said that if the setting can take a deepish cushion then in theory it should be able to fit an OEC.

I totally agree, BUT...my stone has a depth following measurements: 9.07 × 8.65 × 5.84 mm.
A comparable round from JA has 8.95 × 9.00 × 5.58. And we are speaking of 0.26 mm difference in depth! So I think it is less the technical possibilities than the profitability for them the reason, not to do it!

I have got my temp solitaire setting from eBay. I showed the seller my inspiration pic and they take the dimensions of my stone. It costs less than $300 for a 14 white gold setting which I think it's not bad. They did provide CAD for your approval.

 

[dkata]

Actually there are a lot of issues setting OECs the first is obviously it's way out of round, the next is they usually have a much higher crown height meaning standard prongs might not fit them and they will not sit properly into a RB basket, and finally they are often deeper and will not always fit into a stock standard setting depth wise. Having said that if the setting can take a deepish cushion then in theory it should be able to fit an OEC.

I totally agree, BUT...my stone has a depth following measurements: 9.07 × 8.65 × 5.84 mm.
A comparable round from JA has 8.95 × 9.00 × 5.58. And we are speaking of 0.26 mm difference in depth! So I think it is less the technical possibilities than the profitability for them the reason, not to do it!

I have got my temp solitaire setting from eBay. I showed the seller my inspiration pic and they take the dimensions of my stone. It costs less than $300 for a 14 white gold setting which I think it's not bad. They did provide CAD for your approval.

imdoubler - that's sounds very nice!! Can you post the name of the seller please? Although I already ordered from Erica, maybe I can work with them on other projects. Thank you!

 

[tyty333]

Glad you have a back up with Erica!

Blow JA off and just forget about it...you're going to have a lovely stone in a few weeks!!!

 

[arkieb1]

I agree I think it sounds like you didn't buy the stone there so they didn't want the hassle of making a setting for an OEC, Stuller settings mostly look great paired with OECS!!!!

 

[Tourmaline]

Jewelryhoo on eBay does custom settings for very little. They are fantastic at production, though they are slow and there's a lot of back and forth.

 

[Trasid1]

Hmmm. I had a very similar experience so this is interesting ...

I saw the 25% off sale too. I got all excited about a setting I've had my eye on. The setting is supposed to fit up to a 1.5 carat diamond. I used the live chat and was told that they could not change the ball prongs to claw prongs as this work would be custom. I called them on the phone. When I told them my diamond is 7.2 mm, JA told me that they would have to add an additional $100 to the setting because the setting would need to be customized to fit anything over 7.0 mm. Isn't a 1.5 carat diamond around 7.5 mm? They verified over the phone that they couldn't do anything about the prongs because this would be custom work. I wonder ... is it custom just to shave them down a bit? And then they tried to sell me a diamond too.

 

[dkata]

Hmmm. I had a very similar experience so this is interesting ...

I saw the 25% off sale too. I got all excited about a setting I've had my eye on. The setting is supposed to fit up to a 1.5 carat diamond. I used the live chat and was told that they could not change the ball prongs to claw prongs as this work would be custom. I called them on the phone. When I told them my diamond is 7.2 mm, JA told me that they would have to add an additional $100 to the setting because the setting would need to be customized to fit anything over 7.0 mm. Isn't a 1.5 carat diamond around 7.5 mm? They verified over the phone that they couldn't do anything about the prongs because this would be custom work. I wonder ... is it custom just to shave them down a bit? And then they tried to sell me a diamond too.

It's really interesting, that you had a similar experience. I've never ordered anything before, but I'm sure I won't in the future!

 

[pyramid]

Many OEC's have very thin or extremely thin or chipped girdles - this may be why they refuse to set them also?

 

[VRBeauty]

25% off is a very sizeable discount in the jewelry business - I don't think I've seen a discount of that size that offered by any PS vendor except on closeout items, or maybe when the discount was limited to only a few early buyers. The margins on such a large discount have to be very slim. If the setting is purchased together with a stone, of course, that helps offset the discount... but in this case the customer is only purchasing the item that's on sale.

Personally, I'm not going to fault a vendor for putting some restrictions in place to ensure that they're not losing money on it... or perhaps, not losing too much money.

I'm sorry that this offer didn't work for the original poster. I hope that doesn't deter others from considering it.

 

[Karl_K]

Many old OECs are a little wonky in a charming way but that makes them harder to set and get to fit right.
Nothing a skilled bench can't handle but can be an issue in a high volume production environment with a low cost setting.
It may take more than the time allotted for the high volume production setting job.
Worse a rush job is done by a setter worried about time and it has issues.

Cleaned up a stuller setting can be very nice and just as sturdy as anything else.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I certainly understand your frustration but would rather them refuse instead of trying to make something that in the end won't work for your stone. I hope you find another source for a simple setting for your diamond.

Sounds like they leave no room for variation of pieces in their sale prices but from a business standpoint, that probably makes sense.

 

[AdaBeta27]

I bought a 6 prong Tiffany knockoff solitaire setting from American Set on ebay a few years back. It seemed to have plenty of extra prong height to work with a taller crown or deeper stone. The knife edge was a bit sharp at first but soon mellowed.

 

[Trasid1]

Keep us posted dkata as to what you find and where. Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[tyty333]

Hmmm. I had a very similar experience so this is interesting ...

I saw the 25% off sale too. I got all excited about a setting I've had my eye on. The setting is supposed to fit up to a 1.5 carat diamond. I used the live chat and was told that they could not change the ball prongs to claw prongs as this work would be custom. I called them on the phone. When I told them my diamond is 7.2 mm, JA told me that they would have to add an additional $100 to the setting because the setting would need to be customized to fit anything over 7.0 mm. Isn't a 1.5 carat diamond around 7.5 mm? They verified over the phone that they couldn't do anything about the prongs because this would be custom work. I wonder ... is it custom just to shave them down a bit? And then they tried to sell me a diamond too.

I had them set my pear (BTW...love it) Even though the pear is only a 1.08 carat I had to pay an extra $100 because it is over
7mm long then another extra $100 because it was not their stone. I also got claw prongs but the setting already came with them
so didnt have to pay extra for that!

 

[dkata]

Many OEC's have very thin or extremely thin or chipped girdles - this may be why they refuse to set them also?

I never wrote, that i wanted them to set my stone. I just wanted to buy a setting for my 2.86 oec, and ship it to me. I'm located in Europe.
By the way my stone has intact girdle.

 

[dkata]

I bought a 6 prong Tiffany knockoff solitaire setting from American Set on ebay a few years back. It seemed to have plenty of extra prong height to work with a taller crown or deeper stone. The knife edge was a bit sharp at first but soon mellowed.

Thank you for your suggestion! I just had a look and they really have nice settings. I already ordered a Stuller setting, but I may need this vendor in the future. Thank you once more!