My Platinummfg ring finally came but it''s wrong! Now what?

[indigo]

Some of you might remember me from months ago when I was looking for an engagement ring. I spent a LONG time looking at rings and came up with some that I liked.

What do these all have in common? The little diamonds on the side! I love that!

I couldn’t afford the Tacori or Fusaro rings that I really liked, but Platinummfg said they could duplicate the Fusaro ring with the little pave diamonds on the side. I was a little worried about how well they would be able to pull that off since my diamond is only 6mm so I changed my mind and decided to go with something simpler. I based it on a ring from their site but added the diamonds on the sides and double prongs for the center stone.

Justin said that it would take two weeks. I paid on Feb 11. After two weeks we emailed him and were told that custom orders take time, but he’d keep us updated. After five weeks passed, we sent emails and left phone messages, but he didn’t reply. Tuesday I left a msg on their website’s customer board complaining about the communication. It wasn’t mean. I just stated the facts and asked that we be contacted. Still no email, but lo-and-behold today we got an overnight package containing a ring! He also didn’t reply to the msg on the board. He deleted it entirely.

So I have the ring now and everything’s fine, right? Wrong.
This is the picture of the ring that I wanted, and he said they could make exactly.

This is the description that I gave him and he used in his email giving us a price quote:

- Platinum 950 semi-mount with two round, medium, deep-blue sapphires that are eye-clean.
- Four double prongs for the diamond. Its measurements are 6.07 x 6.13 x 3.68 mm
- Ring size 5.5
- Hand engraving on three sides
- Round diamond set on either side of the gallery. Minimum VS2-SI1, G-H

Guess what’s missing? The little diamonds on the sides! Yup, it’s just a three stone ring off their site that has double prongs added. I’m so disappointed.
The wedding is in June, and I haven’t had an engagement ring to wear so I decided I’d probably just keep the ring rather than risk sending it back and not having it for another six weeks or more. If they can’t do it then why didn’t he email me during the process to say that they couldn’t ?… anything but send me a ring missing the one important element I had my heart set on.

So I was going to complain to him and see what he said. I feel that I should be refunded part of the money at least. THEN I noticed that the inside prongs on the sapphires aren’t even touching the stones. They’re apparently fused to the center stone prongs at a higher point than the top of the sapphires so only one side of the sapphires is really being held in place. I’m not sure what needs done to fix this, but they won’t stay in long like this.
Here are a couple of pics that I took trying to show how high the inside prongs are.

I guess I have to send the ring back. We were waiting to get the engagement ring before ordering a wedding band. Originally, the plan was to order a matching one from platinummfg, but I hate the idea of sending them even more money when the first ring I received was wrong. What if I don’t even get the rings before the wedding?

Opinions? Thoughts?
I thought I’d post here before emailing him. It’s not like my emails to him get a lot of quick response anyway.

 

[strmrdr]

yuck someone messed up big time setting the side stones.


The polish job looks bad too.


That is all too common these days doesnt anyone know how to polish settings anymore?


Id yell about that too.

 

[Patty]

Indigo, I'm sorry to hear your story. The sapphires do NOT look safe with the prongs not touching them. And I would insist on the small extra diamonds since you paid for them. I think your next move would be to get on the phone with the vendor as soon as possible. His customer service sounds terrible up to now, but let's hope he comes through for you on this.

I know it's terrible to have to wait for your ring, but I don't see that you have any choice here. I would expect the seller to "rush" this for you considering how long you've waited and since they made the mistakes. I would not buy a wedding band from them unless you have no other option.

 

[indigo]

Yeah. The only way to get a band that really matches is to get it from them because of the engraving. I really don't want to though. I want one with stones, and you gotta wonder about them sending me a ring where the stones are obviously in danger of falling out.
On one side, the outside prongs are pushing the stone down so much that on the inside I can even see a tiny bit of daylight coming through from the other side.

The bad thing is that I can't call and get anyone on the phone. You HAVE to leave a message and wait on a return call which I've never gotten before.

I know that there are happy customers using this vendor, and I'm not trying to badmouth them. I WANT to be one of those happy customers.

I have a diamond sitting in a lock box just waiting for a ring. You know the first question girls ask when you tell them you're engaged... Where's the ring?
I want one to show them already!!

 

[fuffi]

Six weeks wait and you get a stock piece with extra prongs, and poorly set to boot? That's some service.

I'm wondering how much over the stock price you had to pay for this "custom" work. I'm sorry this had to happen to you. I'd be out of mind right now if it were me. Of course you are owed some money back if they left out the gallery diamonds and I would be just as hesitant as you about sending it back to them, but obviously the sapphires need to be adjusted at least. I would try to contact them about your issues first and see what kind of response you get. Ask for a specific time frame for the repair also. Who knows, maybe someone over there will see this post and get on the ball.

Good luck with this and let us know how things turn out.

 

[indigo]

How would the sapphire prongs be fixed since they were made that way?
I could get a price locally to fix it, but I doubt platinummfg will want to give me the money rather than fix it themselves. How do vendors pay for return shipment in cases like this?

 

[lawmax]

My 2 cents...fight to get a total refund and start again with someone else. Don't throw good money after bad.

 

[LadyJ]

First of all I want to tell you that you have great taste. I love this style of ring. My mom has two that are this style that used to belong to my Great Aunts.

I have to agree with lawmax that you should not give them another dime. In fact I would ask for a refund at least a partial one. The stones are definitely not set right. I am no expert by any means but anyone can see that the stones are not set well and the polish is poor too. They should finish the job correctly at no cost to you IMHO. But honestly if I were you I would not even want to deal with them anymore and have it sent somewhere else to be completed. I do think they should give you a refund though whether you let them finish the job or not. Something is not right over there. I can't believe that they even sent it to you like that.

 

[diamondlil]

Oh no, Indigo, this is awful! The whole custom-design process can be so stressful, and to have the result be significantly less than what you expected is just unacceptable. I would definitely fight for a total refund and begin again with another designer. Sending it back and hoping they will fix it and then giving them more money for a wedding ring just seems like a mistake. Like you said, time is of the essence at this point. Maybe one of the other great vendors here will be willing to help you out in a pinch. Anybody?

DiamondLil

 

[indigo]

I don't think I'll have any luck getting a full refund. He told me from the beginning that I could only get 75% back since it was a custom order. The double prongs are the only custom work, but I don't think that'll matter to him.
We emailed them yesterday. I just hope they reply because I don't know how else to contact him. We sent a copy of the quote he'd given us that including the side diamonds. My paypal payment also listed them in the item description.
Anyone have any idea how much it might cost to have the sapphire prongs fixed locally?
I really think it's in their best interest to help me with this ... especially since I'm a regular member on a very large wedding planning board with lots of ring buyers. I know of two on there who have ordered stock rings from platinummfg and were happy. Maybe it's just the custom work that has problems, but bad customer service is just bad customer service.
I really really wish this hadn't happened. I want to be wearing a ring SO badly. I still don't feel like I'm really engaged.
I put the diamond in the setting and took a picture today *sniffle*

My fiance also pointed out today that there's a pretty deep mark on one of the diamond prongs from where they used something to try to force down one of the sapphire prongs. They had to know that this was screwed up so why send it to me? Just because I was complaining that it had taken so long? Justin is the one who said it can take "as long as" 14 days, and it had been 43!

 

[glitterata]

That's just unacceptable. If it were me, I'd insist on getting ALL my money back. They didn't perform their side of the contract, since they didn't make the ring you both agreed on. Not to mention the sidestone prongs that don't even touch the stone. Wow! What horrific work. I can't imagine anyone using Platinummfg.com after seeing those pictures.

 

[pqcollectibles]

I feel so horrible for you, Indigo!!

I can only imagine your grief!!

If you paid with a Credit Card, dispute the charge!!

 

[valeria101]

Regardless of what the ring looks like, the communication was ridiculeous!

Obviously, the first 'intro' let you set high expectations about the work then something went wrong and, much worse in my view, untold in the middle. The setting itself is a rather complex project with several techniques involved: but they should have told you that, not just sqeeze the schedule... The whole story is sad.


I would not keep that ring, but rather turn to a simpler model to be done by a local jeweler who has CLEARLY done simmilar work successfully and can show it. You should get the ring and band rushed in one more week, inspecting wax model and all. It does not take all that long to make such a ring: so getting a 'priority order' is key.

 

[pauls girl]

Oh, I am so sorry you are having to deal with this. So, in other words he does a crappy job & then ensures that you can't do anything about it because it's "custom"??? That's completely unacceptable. Keep fighting this.

It really is a beautiful looking ring on your hand. Those stones are really amazing. I'm just really sorry the setting is flawed. How discouraging.

Keep your chin up!

-Summer

 

[Kamuelamom]

Indigo, I'm sorry for your e-ring troubles. The bright side is that you have beautiful hands!!!!!

Seriously, I hope you can utilize your chargeback privilege if you paid by creditcard. Those sapphires just aren't right. I don't blame you for your disappointment one bit.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

[valeria101]

Hm.... how about THIS replacement?

There must be a better way to get a ring done. Mara got her ring right! Hope you can do the same.

 

[Patty]

valeria, I love those half moon sapphires!

 

[indigo]

What a mess.
I did pay with credit card, and I guess that if I can't get a satisfactory response from Justin then I'll have to dispute it.
I paid $875. Can anyone give me an idea of how hard it would be to fix the sapphire prongs, and how much it might cost? I'll have to figure out if it's better to try fixing this ring or finding another. I only have $1,000 budgeted for the ring and having the diamond set. Anyone know someone who might fix the sapphire prongs and set the diamond for $150?

ETA: ACTUALLY, I paid by credit card through paypal? Does that make a difference? Paypal took the money and then gave it to platinummfg. I didn't buy paypal's buyer insurance because it only covers mistakes with the product for 30 days after payment, and I had a feeling it might take longer than that to even get the ring.

 

[indigo]

We went to Jarods today to see how much it would cost to get those prongs fixed. I went ahead and got him to fix it so that the prongs aren't standing up so high off the sapphires. He had to sort of file off part of the side where they connected to the diamond prongs and then press them down. I'm much happier with it even though the four prongs aren't exactly even now. The band tapers in though so I think it's ok that the inside prongs are closer together than the outside prongs.

I just didn't want to wait any longer to have my ring, and really didn't like the idea of sending it back to platinummfg to be fixed. I think it's close enough to being my ideal ring that I can learn to love it now.
There's nothing like same day service and instant gratification for someone who's waited SO long to be able to wear an engagement ring.

One weird thing... the lady had to write down how much the ring and diamond were worth so that I could leave them there. She had to get special permission to put down what I paid for the diamond because she said it was too high. Jarods thinks I paid too much for my diamond?? They had to be going just by size and color or something, right?

Specs:
AGS Ideal Cut 0
polish ideal
symmetry ideal
proportions ideal
color I
clarity VS1
carat .822
Holloway Cut Advisor .6 with excellent light return, fire, and scintillation; very good spread
cost: $3200

Here are a couple of final pics. The diamond already has some oil on it and looks dirty at such high magnification even though it will probably never be cleaner than it is right now.

now if I can only get Justin to refund me part of my money ...

 

[LadyJ]

I think the prongs look better. I am glad that you are able to wear your ring finally. I still think that you are entitled to a refund though. At lease a partial refund.

 

[Mara]

Beautiful ring and beautiful stone. Don't worry about what Jared's says...from what I have heard, they couldn't sell you a stone that good looking if their lives depended on it. Your price is fine IMO.




That is an absolutely horrible story on the setting. How disappointing. Those side prongs on the sapphires were RIDICULOUS. I'm so glad you took pictures of them beforehand. I would definitely go back after your money now that you have the ring complete. They should at least give you a partial refund, I would say like 25-50%. It took 5 weeks when they said it was 2 (do you have that in email?), you specified what you wanted and didn't get it. Definitely no customer satisfaction here. Plus they took a stock setting, screwed it up and that took 5 weeks? Oh my god, ridiculous.




These guys really did you a huge disservice and you are being WAY too nice about it in my opinion. They screwed you every which way from Sunday. So what if they have had happy customers before you, that means nothing to you regarding YOUR transaction which is really all that should matter. This is your hard earned money, get some of it back for a job horribly done!




Good luck and let us know what you decide. In the meantime, glad you got the setting fixed, can Jareds also set the small surprise stone in the holes on the sides? That looks a little unfinished from the pictures. You can get 2 melee stones from WF and have Jared's do the work if you are happy with it. Just a thought! There may be a way to stil get your little side stones!

I'd look into it at least.

 

[indigo]

I have all of the emails sent from and to Justin so I do have the two weeks in writing as well as the missing side diamonds.

Before I ordered from them, I did try searching for info about the company and didn't find much. I hope that they do offer to help remedy the situation in some way, but I want to put my experience out there regardless. I hope that it might encourage them to improve their customer service. It's better for everyone if the seller and the buyer end up happy.

Right now I just want to have the ring on my finger for a while. I might look into how much it would cost to add the side diamonds later because I really do love them. I have to find a wedding band ASAP though because the wedding is in less than 3 months!
I saw an anniversary band that I liked at Jarods, but they want $400 to engrave the band to match the e-ring! I'm searching online even though I'm a little gun shy about online ordering now.

 

[valeria101]

I hope you will get better service than this

the second time around. There are a couple stricken by lightening thrice... but this really is not the rule !

I might understand why the guys at the shop thought the price was high: there surely is some difference (quite some sparkle and 1k) between a run-of-the-mill diamond of the same mass and overall shape and AGS0 cut with sparkling personality

 

[VAgal13]

I agree with everyone else. Send the ring back, get a FULL refund and start over with someone new. If they refuse to give you the full amount back threaten to get an attorney involved and watch how much faster they will resapond to your messages and emails.

I am sorry that your ring did not turn out how you wanted. This is supposed to be a happy time...not a stressful situation with people who don't take their work seriously.

Do let me know how this turns out.

-Sarah

 

[VAgal13]

I just saw your post of the "fixed" ring. It looks much better.

 

[wallace]

Your fixed ring looks very good. You are lucky. I was just going to write to you NOT to let anyone work on your ring! Until you settled your dispute with the guy who "made" the setting. Too late now - at least they did a great job on your prongs, secured the stones - and your ring looks great!

I just went through something similar and now have no engagement ring (resulted in a full return). THe ring had a setting I just adored with diamonds on the side - just as you liked.

You paid the man for a ring with diamonds. That was the customization on the job. If he did not complete the custom job and instead substituted a pre-fab setting - THEN HE DID NOT COMPLETE A CUSTOM ORDER!!! It's that simple. The price he gave and you paid was the price for a customized ring and the stones to put in it(probably 2 x 0.01 - 0.03ct). You have no diamonds - you get money back.

The fact that you had the ring worked on at all by anyone else, even if you did not have them do anything about the side-stones, may make it harder for you to get him to give you anything at all. i wish I could have gotten to you sooner. Once you have another jewler work on something, the original guy is virtually absolved of responsibility for his part in the errors. He can say he did not give it to you like that - unless you are in court, and even then, it might be hard to prove.

Focus on the issue of the stones you paid for that you do not have - that this is a generic setting and not customized as you ordered - and try not to get into the prongs so you won't have to mention that you had it worked on. The prongs looked ok - they just were meant for bigger sidestones - proving that the ring was not a custom make but a off-the-rack pre-fab.

You will have to find someone else to make a wedding band for you. You could try to find someone who can complete the band in three months and work with them very closley. Or you could get a simple, inexpensive substitute ring for the ceremony - you can do something else with it later - if the wedding band will not be ready in time for the wedding and you are prepared to wait for what you want.

Best of luck with the jeweler and keep us posted! Remember, he will be counting on your emotional situation (engagement, sentiment, time-issues) to buy him out of a confrontation with you. I fhe ignores you til your wedding comes and goes - you wear the ring and alter it - he will be pleased as pie!

 

[wallace]

PS - if you can get the little diamonds, even if it is at a later date becuase of cost - do so - they're such a lovely touch!

And if you really suspect that the ring is just a three-stone off-the-shelf - try to get them to at lesat admit it so you can try to find that matching band!

 

[indigo]

I really based my design on one of their rings so that I'd be sure I wasn't asking for something they couldn't deliver. Basically I made it really easy for them. They just had to double the prongs and put the diamonds on the sides. They only doubled the prongs. Here's a pic of the ring they sell (they offer it in all platinum which is what mine is). You can compare it to the pic of my ring.
They make the rings themselves so the only way to get the real matching band would be to order from them again. I can order somewhere else and get engraving to match though.

We emailed him and I left a message on his site. The message was removed, but we haven't received any response.
I decided to have it worked on because I didn't want to have to send it back to him. They took six weeks to double the prongs on a ring they already had! I don't think I should be prevented from wearing the ring any longer because HE screwed up. I could sit around for months trying to get him to fix it. He should still reimburse me for the part of the job that he didn't complete though.

 

[indigo]

It's been over a week since we first got the ring and emailed Justin. We still haven't received a response, but anything I post on the website board disappears so someone is getting the messages.

Are there vendor review sites online where I can post my experience with this company? I wish he'd just fix the situation rather than avoid it, but it doesn't look like he's going to.

 

[zmre2b]

I'm so glad I found this thread. I was about to buy a ring from them but now I certainly won't. And I suggest everyone direct other potential customers to this thread also. Use the link: http://tinyurl.com/ytakl to direct people to this thread so that more people know about this company and their service.

Because you fixed the ring yourself doesn't at all mean that they are off the hook. They are certainly liable for the value of what they promised to provide and did not (the side diamonds) and the cost to fix their inferior workmanship (the side stone prongs). You gave them an opportunity to fix it, and they ignored your emails, so you had no choice but to fix it yourself. Now they should pay for it.

Dispute the charge on your credit card.
Dispute the charge with paypal and enter the formal complaint process with paypal.
File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau http://complaints.bbb.org/SelectComplaintLinkFrameSet.asp

But don't obsess about it -- you now have a great ring. If at all possible, have a friend or family member (preferably a lawyer type person) take up the cause of getting justice from this company -- you want your memories of the ring to not be all about fighting with the company that sold it to you.