New quandary - need advice desperately!

[diannec18]

Hi PSers

First I want to thank everyone who helped me in my search for a diamond and engagement ring setting. My FI proposed two weeks ago, and I literally can not stop staring at my stone, it's the most sparkly thing ever!

But, as soon as I laid eyes on the setting, I knew something was wrong. I put off addressing it for a week, to just enjoy my beautiful ring and being engaged, but last friday, I took it in to a local jeweler and they confirmed that there are a number of issues with the ring.

First backstory:
I'm allergic to nickel and am not a big fan of platinum, so trying to find a setting I liked, and we could afford was a long and painful process. I finally decided on ArtCarved, because they make their settings in Palladium and have a long and reputable history. So once settling on them, I had to find a jeweler who could get the ring, as not all jewelers work with ArtCarved. We ended up going with a jeweler about an hour and a half away, primarily because his prices were the lowest we heard and he wasn't too far away.

Dealing with this guy turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. First, he promised the setting would be in and complete within two weeks tops. It took almost two months. Then, when he finally got it in, he started telling me details about the setting, despite having been told multiple times that I wasn't supposed to know what setting my FI had picked (I narrowed it down to two and let him have final choice). I actually had to cut him off midsentence as he started giving me the item number over the phone, and had to say it multiple times before he shut up, he just kept talking over me. The a-hole loves to hear himself talk.

So I was really hoping that we'd get the ring and be done with him forever. So silly of me....

Here's the formal diagnosis from the local jeweler I visited:

• The stone is sitting in a setting made for a .75 ct diamond. Apparently ArtCarved only makes settings in .25 ct increments. The jeweler, however, told me that he was getting the setting made to my stones specs. So he blatently lied, and my .69 stone is sitting in a setting for a .75.

• Additionally, the stone is set crookedly and off center. I'm going to try to post photos, but if you look at it from the side, you can clearly see that the prongs extend way further on one side than on the other

• Finally, the prongs are a huge mess. They aren't evenly spaced, and they arent uniformly shaped.

Getting a new setting is not an option (I'm very attached to this one, and someone would have to pay me a lot of money to start the setting search over again, it took so long the first time) so I realize my stone will always look a bit small in the setting.

The first jeweler I took it to didnt want to attempt to fix it because they didnt want to be liable if something went wrong. So I visited another local jeweler who said he would attempt to reset the stone and fix the prongs for $120. If he is unable to do so, he wont charge me.

I contacted the original jeweler and they told me that they stand behind all their work and will get it fixed. They told me to ship it to them and they would put a rush on it and overnight it back to me.
Here are my issues:
-the jeweler is full of shit. he's given me no reason to believe I would have my ring back any time soon, based on past experience (and being without my ring for longer than the amount of time it takes to shower is tough, can't imagine days let alone weeks)
-if they sent the ring out in this condition in the first place, are they even capable of doing any better? I really don't understand how they could think this was acceptable.
-However, $120 isnt cheap, and I'm somewhat concerned since the first jeweler wouldnt do it.


What are you guys thoughts? What should I do? (Pics to follow)

 

[diannec18]

Photos

 

[diannec18]

More

 

[diannec18]

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[EvangelineG]

I'm so sorry that your setting has been messed up!

From what I can see in the pics the prongs are a mess and I would definitely want it fixed too. I would go with your gut on the first jeweller. First thing I would do would be to call Artcarved directly to see what they recommend. Explain your experience with the first guy, that you don't trust him to continue work on the ring, but you need it fixed. Maybe they can help?

 

[Sphene]

Check its still your diamond

 

[diannec18]

I have. Luckily it's inscribed with it's cert number, so easy to tell...

 

[FightGravity]

Sorry you are dealing with this - it must be so disappointing.

I would try to return the setting ASAP and get a new one elsewhere. Get your credit card company involved if you need to. I know you're attached to this particular setting, but I don't think this one is ever going to be right for your center stone. If you really want to keep it, I would contact art carved directly - the jeweler did a terrible job setting it, but I think even set correctly, the prongs are going to overwhelm your stone. I would see if there is any way for them to modify the prongs on the existing setting to improve the situation.

 

[telephone89]

I would also rec returning the setting. That is a very easy setting to replicate, there has got to be someone within budget who can do it w/o nickle and a much better job. I get that you're attached to it, but you could be dealing with issues related to it for years to come. That might turn sentiment to resentment, and I dont think you want that toward your ring!

 

[mrs-b]

cherryiice -

.75ct and .69ct isn't that huge a difference when working with stock settings. Your setting, to me, looks like it was made for a 1ct - which is around 6.4mm. A setting for a .75ct diamond isn't only meant to cover a .75ct stone. It's meant to cover from around .65 up to .85, so your stone would definitely go into a stock .75ct setting. However, your setting looks considerably oversized, so I'm guessing you're a full setting size up - and your setting is actually for a 1ct stone.

I'd return it and start again with someone else, if this was possible. As a previous PS'er said - it's not a hugely complicated ring; I'd go custom for this. Are you in the US? If so, try David Klass or Brilliantly Engaged jewelry.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I agree that it is very normal for a setting to come in increments that cover a range of stone sizes. So if that head was for a .75 ct stone, you have the right size. It looks like they have a very poor bench doing their setting work, and part of it could be because they are not used to working with palladium.

I would also return it because they may not be able to make the prongs perfect, and once you have another jeweler work on it, you have no hope of returning it.

It is not hard to find rings made of palladium. Ritani is a nice brand carried by many fine jewelers and most of their rings can be made in palladium.

https://www.ritani.com/engagement-rings/french-set-diamond-band-engagement-ring-in-palladium/4761

 

[diannec18]

Thanks everyone for the advice, but a different setting is not something I want.

Is there any way to know for sure that the setting was for a 1 ct? If I can prove it, I can make the jeweler order the appropriate size...

 

[Sphene]

A square peg will not go into a round hole I honestly do not think that any jeweler can make this setting work and at the moment you risk loosing the diamond because the prongs may not be gripping the diamond well enough

Why not look a round for a colored stone for the setting so you can wear as a right hand ring (save for another diamond) or as another chose has an E-ring and have your diamond set in a size appropriate setting

You get the best of both worlds then.