My ring disaster...Advice please...

[pave]

So after looking in many, many stores I found one that seemed really neat. Creative place with a pleasant staff. I told them I had a picture of a design that I wanted for my e-ring but with a few changes. I showed them the design and they said no problem. They had a man that did the custom work for them and sure they could do it. Like an idiot, I believed them. We picked out the diamond and gave them the pictures of what we wanted with the modifications. They said it would be ready in 2 weeks. It took 4 but that''s okay. So we go in to get the ring and at first I am hit by shock. It doesn''t look like the pictures, it''s definitely different but interesting. So off we go with it. For the next three days I scrutinized every inch of it and here were my conclusions:
1. The hearts don''t look like the hearts in the picture, they don''t even really look like hearts.
2. One prong is crooked
3. One shoulder is bigger and deeper than the other and connects higher on one side then the other so it is visibly uneven and makes one heart higher than the rest.
4. The corners of the one shoulder look nicked.
From the top it looks pretty, from the side (if you''re examining) it''s a disaster.
So I took a little while to calm down and brought it back in yesterday. I shared all of my concerns with the jeweler/owner and she said, "yeah you''re right, let me go try to see what I can do. I always inspect everything before it goes out but I must have missed this."
So off she went to fix it. Eventually she emerges, I inspect the ring and...
1. The prong is now crooked in the opposite direction
2. She filed it down to make it look more even but one shoulder is still visibly lower and deeper than the other.
3. The shoulder still looks nicked.
So again I say the shoulder is higher than the other and she tells me it is because it is hand down and sometimes there are flaws like that. She said it is even around the top and that it is a beautiful ring and that she is sorry I''m disappointed with it. I was like yeah, I''m sorry I''m disappointed with it too because I guess I''m stuck with it. And that was it, that was all she had to say.
Please advise me on what to do. I so wanted this ring to be perfect and it''s nothing but a disaster.
What can I do???
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
If I can figure out how to post pictures I will.
Thanks!

 

[windowshopper]

take it back and say it unacceptable. you wnat it PERFECT. how did you pay them? if its credit card file a complaint if she is not accomodating

 

[Mara]

okay first off, did you see samples of this company's custom work before you said yes lets do it and paid them? if not, did you just expect it would look like the picture because they said they could do it? not all custom work is the same type of quality first off..as you are finding out. it also depends on your level of scrunity and margin for 'error' or nuances that may not be perfect.

secondly, what is your return policy on a custom design like this? can you take it back and point out the issues and have them fix it OR redo it? is that part of your return policy?

sure it sounds like it'd be easy to say take it back and have them make it perfect but honestly, i don't expect perfection from something like this...replication from a picture. sounds like their expectations and your expectations were not on the same page. this seems to be happening alot with custom work stories and for me it's all about a customer's expectations as to what the company can actually deliver.

anyway without knowing more about the return policy or what they promised you it's hard to say what to do but if you already took it back and asked them to fix a few issues and they made it worse in other ways, i wouldn't have alot of confidence in this place.

can you just get your money back and go elsewhere? that is what i would do. forget trying to get them to make it better, much less 'perfect'.

 

[Kaleigh]

Going custom is not always easy. Trust me I know. Did they show you waxes, do they work with Cads?? Sounds like you need to get your money back and work with someone that does quality work. I highly recommend Quest. They do excellent work. Many of us have had our rings made by them. So sorry you are going through this. Good luck!!!

 

[~*Alexis*~]

Yeah I have had problems with jewelers in the past. They can be a pain in the rear.

To post pictures just hit the attach file button on the top left. Hit browse and find the file. If you cannot attach them send them to Leniod. She can post them for you.