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OMG, it nearly broke!!!

T

talamasca

Guest
When I finally received my e-ring, though I wanted tapered elegant shoulders they ended up too thin and I knew I would probably need to replace the ring at some point, but I didn't expect to be thinking it just 6 weeks later!

I accidentally caught my ring on the fridge shelf and nearly had a heart attack when I checked it over as I looked down into my stone and I could see straight through the stone to the ring and my finger and I initially thought perhaps the bottom of the stone had chipped or something, but when I took the ring off to look closer I realised with major relief that the setting was at an angle and it was the shoulders of the ring which had bent. I was able to easily push them back into a relatively straight position, but obviously the shoulders are way too thin and weak so I need to replace the ring.

I absolutely LOVE the open curved V setting with thin prongs, but I would like higher and wider shoulders so I'm wondering whether to stay with the same design and just have the ring width at 3mm with a bit of a taper on the shoulders to 2.5/2.8mm or may be have split shoulders for a bit of extra strength???

The only thing I'm curious about with the split shoulders is would they look OK being 'filled in/full metal' and plain as most of the designs I've seen have diamonds on the splits and a bridge/open shoulder which I definitely don't want.

Or if I went with split shoulders may be I could have a millgrained design on them instead of leaving them plain as I've already found a wedding ring I love which has millgrain on it.
 
T

talamasca

Guest
My e-ring

Side in Box.JPG

Side on Finger.JPG

Thin Shoulders.JPG
 
T

talamasca

Guest
The wedding ring I like

Wedding Ring Style.jpg
 

kelpie

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
2,362
I'm so sorry! My ring was also too thin and bent after 9 months of wear, the jeweler made the shank heftier and you can't tell the difference or that any work has been done. I hope it can be fixed to your satisfaction...however I recall there were some minor things you were unhappy about with the setting in the first place so it might be a good reason to have someone else re-make it or at least overhaul so it's exactly what you wanted. Good luck!
 

ooo~Shiney!

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 6, 2010
Messages
1,501
Every time I see that stone I love it more !!!
I am so sorry that happened, but I bet it can be redone to your satisfaction. :))

I am sure there are plenty of jewelry experts here that will be weighing in,
I just wanted to offer my support !!!
 

Aoife

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
1,779
I was afraid this might happen, but I'm so sorry it did!

Your lovely ring not only has thin shoulders, it has a very open gallery, and those two things combined create several points where even a small knock can result in torsion that destabilizes the ring. I strongly suggest you do not wear your ring until you've either repaired or replaced it, because I think you may be at a high risk for losing your beautiful stone. Even though you were able to twist the shoulders back into line (and :shock: how scary is that!) the metal is weakened even more at that point. It may look the same, but it's not.

If I were you, I'd be thinking about having a different jeweler remake the mounting, since you had such difficulties with the jeweler who made this version.

You have my sympathy, Talamasca, I hope you are able to get this taken care of very quickly.
 

KaeKae

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
May 27, 2009
Messages
2,390
talamasca, so sorry this happend to your stunning ring. My mother did something similar to her ring, 45 years ago! For some reason, my memory tells me that she shut a window on it, but that couldn't be, could it? Surely she would have broken fingers, too. I'll have to ask my aunt if she remembers the story.

Six weeks after, can you get a refund on the setting? There is no way, in my mind, that a six week old setting should break that way.
I'll second the idea that you choose a new benchman to make your new setting.

I love the wedding ring you posted. I wear my polished split shank solitaire with a band that is simliar to the center, milgrained, portion of the band. I like the contrast.
 

Aoife

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
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KaeKae|1316962601|3025018 said:
Six weeks after, can you get a refund on the setting? There is no way, in my mind, that a six week old setting should break that way.
I'll second the idea that you choose a new benchman to make your new setting.

This kind of problem just goes hand-in-hand with very thin settings, so I don't think this is necessarily a problem with the jeweler as much as with the basic design. There have been multiple threads on PS about the risks of ultra-thin rings, and I'm afraid this falls under that heading.
 

KaeKae

Ideal_Rock
Premium
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Aoife|1316963939|3025030 said:
KaeKae|1316962601|3025018 said:
Six weeks after, can you get a refund on the setting? There is no way, in my mind, that a six week old setting should break that way.
I'll second the idea that you choose a new benchman to make your new setting.

This kind of problem just goes hand-in-hand with very thin settings, so I don't think this is necessarily a problem with the jeweler as much as with the basic design. There have been multiple threads on PS about the risks of ultra-thin rings, and I'm afraid this falls under that heading.

I remember those threads, now that you mention it. (Can I claim I didn't remember due to painkiller brain? I think some of them were right when I was recuperating from surgery, so I spent hours on here, but.... :loopy: :loopy: :loopy: )
 
T

talamasca

Guest
Kelpie - I would prefer to have the current ring modified if possible, but I'm not sure whether a Jeweller would be able to add more gold to the shoulders. I know when the bottom half of a ring wears it can be removed and a newer piece added, but I don't know if this can be done with the shoulders and if it can I'm not sure what that would entail??? With the shoulders being soft/weak I would worry as well that if the stone needed removing for the work to be done that the prongs would end up being even more weakened too, especially as the stone's already been set twice!

oo~shiney - thank you :D I LOVE my stone more than anything and was so relieved it was the ring that was damaged!

Aoife - I've decided not to wear my ring as I don't want to risk losing the stone, especially as it does sit a bit high up and I'm sure I'll knock/catch it again! Can I ask your opinion on what I should do with regard to the design as I really want to keep the open gallery, so what would be best for the rest of the ring? The ring was supposed to have tapered shoulders which were going to be very high and starting further down than they do now, similar to the pic below so if I were to do this design but have the shoulders at least 2mm thick (though actually I'd even be happy having them 3 mm with a little taper as they come up to meet the setting) would that be strong/secure enough for everyday long term wear? If not, what would be the best solution for the shoulders in order to keep the open gallery?

I'm going to visit a local Jeweller this weekend, a friend had her commitment rings made by them so I'm hoping I can trust them to do a good job and I think I will have to stick my hand in my pocket this time I go down the CAD route. If I would've have known then what I know now I would definitely have paid the extra £300 to save all of this hassle!

Out of curiosity, does you know whether the ring could be melted down and used in the design of the new ring as it would be such a waste to do nothing with it?

KaeKae - Hmm may be your mum just caught it when closing the window?

I can't go back to the Jewellers who did the ring as I hate confrontation! I'm a bit of a wuss :roll: and I expressed my concerns about the workmanship at the time, but they just fobbed me off! Plus, since they managed to put 2 small scratches in my stone as well I don't want them anywhere near it again!

I love the sound of your rings. I really like the wedding band as it has a bit of everything, plus with it being from the high street we can keep costs down since the wedding just seems to be costing more and more :roll: :lol:

High Shoulders V Gallery.JPG
 

Pandora II

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 3, 2006
Messages
9,613
I think you will need to go for a complete reset I'm afraid.

With the gold, you could give it in as part payment, but they can't melt it down and resuse it for 'your' ring if that makes sense.

Are you going to go with 18kt this time?
 
T

talamasca

Guest
Thanks Pandora - I'll ask if they'll take it as part payment.

I'm still going to stay with 9ct, especially since we'll have the extra cost of CAD's this time, plus the wedding ring is in 9ct. To be honest it being 9ct doesn't bother me and wouldn't it be softer in 18ct?
 

Pandora II

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 3, 2006
Messages
9,613
It is more mallable - and might lessen the chances of the stone getting scratched during setting.
 

SB621

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 25, 2009
Messages
7,864
This is more of a meet in the middle ground suggestion but if you sature (sp?) your wedding band and ering together that would probably be enough support to not have to change your ering, but still give it more structural support.
 

chrono

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 22, 2004
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38,364
Sarahbear621|1317039684|3025747 said:
This is more of a meet in the middle ground suggestion but if you sature (sp?) your wedding band and ering together that would probably be enough support to not have to change your ering, but still give it more structural support.

Soldering the two together will certainly add a good amount of strength and stability to the e-ring as long as not being able to wear them separately will not bother you. At this point, I would not wear the ring until the issue is resolved.
 

Frenchcut

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Dec 1, 2010
Messages
280
Don't wear the ring anymore, the metal has been weakened and you could lose/damage your gorgeous stone...

please bring it back to the jeweller who made the ring (or to another jeweller if it makes it easier for you ) asap! Your stone definitely deserves a setting you you can enjoy for decades :)
 
T

talamasca

Guest
Putting the two together is quite a good idea, but I've gotten really excited about having the ring I originally wanted made so, money willing, that's what we're going to do, but it will probably not be for a couple of months and in the meantime my lovely stone is sat at home in its box :((
 
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