Need Help -- lost and found diamond -- defective ring?

[jessepenn]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here.. I need some advice about the engagement ring that I gave to my girlfriend.. We live in Japan, and also I bought the ring from a fairly high-end shop here after months of research..

It has a quite a unique looking design which i hadnt seen before which is why I decided on it, but after a two months of wearing it, the ring bent a bit which in turn let the diamond fall out.. Needless to say, it was quite stressful and traumatic (especially for my girlfriend) but we found the diamond after some hours searching..

We took the ring back to the store, and they said that the ring was a little bit too loose, and maybe my girlfriend might have held something heavy or hit the ring on something which warped the metal...(90% platinum), which let out the diamond..

So they adjusted in their shop to make the size smaller, however when we got back the ring, the curvature of the design seemed a bit squished which made the ring seem a bit different from the original design..

But we overlooked this, and my girlfriend was real hesitant with wearing the ring, so she wore it just maybe three times in two weeks... After which, when re-examining the ring, we noticed that the main body of the ring seemed to be bending a bit.. the diamond was still secure, but because we the curvature of the ring was noticably changed, we took the ring back...

We complained and had a heated discussion at the shop, in which they basically said that 90% platinum+alloy is actually much softer than 18k gold and its not uncommon for this to happen.. What they said they could do is ask their design studio to alter slightly the ring design, which we agreed to....

So essentially my question(s) are this:


1) is 90% platinum+alloy really that easy to warp or bend?

2)Does each time the store adjusts the ring, cause the ring constitution/structure to become weaker?

3) Is it possible that the ring was defective to begin with, and if so, how would we know?

I would like to ask them just to make a new ring, but I would only ask this if I know that the ring structure is already damaged, or if I knew that the ring is somehow defective..


I can attach a picture if needed...

any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated!

Attached are a picture of the ring (pre-adjustment.. I''ll attach another view in a separate post, as I havn''t figured out how to put multiple photos in a single post

Cheers...

 

[monarch64]

Hi Jessepenn: you can reply to this thread and post the same photo you posted in the other thread here....

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Yes, hand worked platinum alloys are easier to bend than most 18K white gold alloys.

I imagine a design like this should be purpose made to the correct size, and then the diamond should be set later - this is what I would do in my store.

It seems the store is now attempting to resolve the problem - I would let them do what they feel is best.
And ask them for a warranty that the stone will not fall out again for say 5 years.
Manwhile I would insure it. Then your lady should have no more concerns (but no brick laying please).

 

[jessepenn]

Here is another view of the ring..

 

[jessepenn]

Thanks Garry H for your comments...


The store is suggesting adjustments to the design, but was wondering if that by repeatedly adjusting the ring, if that weakens the structure of the ring?

Also, the suggestion of a warranty of the stone not falling off for 5 years.. Is that a reasonable/standard request to make for jewelry stores?

Thanks again..