Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the setting?

[little_birdie]

Hi everyone!

After some discussion with Whiteflash we'd decided that in order to get a setting like the tacori one that we loved, our best option was to go with Tacori for a custom setting to fit a heart shaped diamond. In one of my previous threads I had mentioned that I was concerned the prongs in the setting we had selected would distort the heart shape, however Whiteflash assured us that prong placement will be decided by Tacori's designers and they would make a note that we do not want the prongs to be too large-obstructive.

I haven't seen the ring in person (it's currently sitting in customs in Australia) but today my SO showed me the photos he received.





In all honesty, I'm concerned about the two lower prongs. I can see they play a very important role in securing the stone, but I do not like that they are so - prominent. I feel that they are distorting the shape of the diamond. My partner thinks I'm being silly (but if I am truly unhappy he is happy to us to get it altered until I am happy).

The problem is being 'custom' made I do not believe that Whiteflash will cover any alterations (we were not given the opportunity to approve design other than the original setting that is fitted for a RB). Also we are located in Australia, so it would be a large pain to ship it back to the US (not to mention costly). If we do go to a local jeweller here then we would void any Tacori warranty and the setting will not longer be a true 'Tacori'. Therefore any modifications is the last resort.

Do you think I am being oversensitive about the prongs?
I just feel so guilty because my partner had initially suggested buying the diamond overseas and having a local designer custom make a setting here until I fell in love with the Tacori setting and figured it would be easier to just have it all done through Whiteflash and now he may have to spend more getting the ring modified to my liking

 

[MarionC]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

I see what you are talking about, but I would not worry. It is possible that the photo does not do the ring proper justice. You are seeing a very blown up view and can't see all the sparkle. Wait until you see the ring in person. If you still think the prongs are a problem, perhaps you can get a local craftsman to shave them down a bit.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Honestly, those prongs are huge and looks out of place. I am so sorry

 

[redroze]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Pretty. They gave you a decorative prong which is quite nice, they are kind of heart shaped. the two bottom prongs are distracting from the shape. Can you ask them if the three prongs would be secure enough? You could also ask them to stay with a simpler prong.

 

[missy]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

I'm sorry I agree the prongs distort the shape of the diamond. I prefer the above illustration redroze posted.
I'm sure whiteflash will redo to your preference. Good luck!

 

[little_birdie]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Thank you everyone for your thoughts so far. redroze, those are my thoughts exactly. I would be happy with the decorative prongs if the two bottom ones were gone.
My problem is that we are located in Australia, so getting the setting sent back to Whiteflash for alterations would not be easy.
Should I contact them now or wait for my SO to collect the ring and look at it in person before deciding? (depends on when he decides to pop the question though, and time may be a factor for alterations. Given that the custom design is by Tacori I do not know if Whiteflash will be willing to fix it for us-the customer service rep at the time had refrained from directly answering the 'what if it goes wrong' questions.

 

[MarionC]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

The reason I suggested waiting to see the ring is because she cannot easily return it. Better to keep an open mind and see what it looks like in person before becoming upset. And the changes suggested can be done by a competent bench person where she lives.

 

[Niel]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

I would have the same feelings and thoughts about those prongs

 

[little_birdie]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Jimmianne, do you think that the modification would completely damage the Tacori warranty? (there is no Tacori in Australia), I am nervous that another jeweller could do more damage than good, also I feel terrible as the cost of the setting was already at quite a premium being custom platinum Tacori.

 

[Niel]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Honestly I don't think seeing it would change your mind. I'd have WF address it before its shipped to you.

 

[little_birdie]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Hi Niel,
The issue here is that it was shipped the day the pictures arrived and before I saw them today. It is already in the country sitting at customs.
It is far too late to have WF send it back to Tacori or assess it before it is shipped. I guess they're just too efficient. Also my partner saw the photos but did not think much of it (he did not really look, he's not too invested as long as I'm happy, but he did not think to show me the photos, he just wanted to surprise me when he had the ring-he accidentally let slip he had photos today which is the only reason I knew about them).

 

[Catmom]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Quite honestly the two bottom prongs make it look like a butterfly to me. I had to look twice to see that it was a heart. I do like the decorative prongs though, just not the two bottom ones. I'm sorry it has already shipped. Now the only thing to do is look at it when it arrives and see if you can live with it. I would contact Whiteflash right away though to let them know of your concerns and find out if having a local jeweler fix the prongs will void the warranty.

 

[little_birdie]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Thank you everyone for your honest opinion.

My heart did sink when I saw the photos.

I have emailed WF for now, I was expecting to receive the ring photos at the same time as my partner, but only he was informed otherwise I might have caught this while it was in transit here (though too late to make a difference given it was posted on the same day)

 

[MarionC]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

I hope WF says that you can change the prongs without voiding the warranty.
I did not think the prongs looked right, but that is only one view of the ring.
I am surprised that WF would be insensitive to the heart shape - they are very good at what they do...[ Did they set it or was it Tacori?]
That's why I said not to be upset until you actually see it.
So - it may be wrong. I did not want to be negative because that only feeds people's distress.
If it looks this odd in person I think WF should be responsible for making it right.

Also, you can insure the ring which might help a little with peace of mind if you have it corrected locally. What is the Tacori warranty and how important is it? Tacori is a good brand and should not have any problems.
When do you think you will have the ring in hand?

 

[pyramid]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Think that is just the style of the setting and not done incorrectly. I am in the UK and have asked someone else here to
look and they like the setting as is too. I don't like the other setting picture posted and feel it makes the bottom of the
stone look bald or narrow.

If you look at the v shape in the design of the prongs and imagine just that it would be like a conventional heart setting,
and maybe even better because of the angle of the v on the lower prongs, the extra post on the outside of the v's is what
makes it bigger. This I feel is an intended design feature.

Looking at the original setting for a round the design is exactly the same. It is not just a prong setting, it is a
designer prong setting with a design which is square shaped. Maybe if you saw it three dimensionally in person
you would have seen this instead of seeing it two dimensional online.

I actually think it goes with the Tacori setting of the ring shank and makes the ring a bit more fancy.

 

[junebug17]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

SO to collect the ring and look at it in person before deciding? (depends on when he decides to pop the question though, and time may be a factor for alterations.

Little_birdie, as unromantic as it is, I think you need to take a peek at it when it arrives. Time could be a factor here, and I think it will just be easier to address all of this now.

I scaled down the pic to give a better idea of what it might look like IRL. Try not to be too upset - all you can do for now is wait to see it and contact WF to find out what your options are if you're unhappy. Sounds like the best bet would be to send it back to WF and have Tacori do the alterations. Keep us posted!

 

[cctiny]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

I'm sorry I agree the prongs distort the shape of the diamond. I prefer the above illustration redroze posted.
I'm sure whiteflash will redo to your preference. Good luck!

ditto.
Never be afraid to tell the seller that you are unhappy. It never hurts, and you never know. They might re-do it. Thank God I listened to fellow PSers who urged me to voice my concerns when I thought there was nothing I can do about a custom ring that came out not to my expectations.

 

[pyramid]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

http://www.whiteflash.com/engagemen...-flat-edge-solitaire-engagement-ring-2551.htm

On the original picture these are not tiffany type close fitted prongs to the edge of the diamond outline but more feature prongs with a three dimensional design. It is giving the round a sort of square peg design to square off the diamond. Maybe the sales assistant
should have advised you of this look.

Also notice the ring band has a squared look and more importantly so does the under carriage of the diamond so
the prongs under the diamond would need to be changed too as that is the design feature, chunky and flat prong sides.
The other picture posted by Rozin has a quite square flat shank but the prongs are rounded and of a different look.
This is reminiscent of the antique box setting without the box to make a round diamond look larger or square art deco
look. The shank is also antique looking.

 

[momhappy]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

If you're wanting to maintain the integrity of the heart shape, then no, those prongs don't work. To be honest, when I first looked at the images of your ring, it just looked like an odd-shaped diamond as opposed to the heart shape that it was intended to be. Even in the scaled down image that was posted above, the shape still looks odd. What size is the center stone? I think that maybe the only way that you could get away with those side prongs (without distorting the heart shape) is if the center stone was very large. I realize that the ring probably looks much different in person, but I wouldn't risk it. I'd have them fix it before they send it to you. This isn't really about whether or not the setting was done correctly or incorrectly (because there is more than one way to set a stone), but it's about what is aesthetically-pleasing to the person wearing the ring. Clearly, OP is not happy with the shape (and I wouldn't' be either) and therefore, it should be addressed.

 

[junebug17]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

I'd have them fix it before they send it to you.

Momhappy, WF already shipped the ring…that's why I said in my post the only thing the op can do at this point is wait to receive it and take it from there.

 

[msop04]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

If you're wanting to maintain the integrity of the heart shape, then no, those prongs don't work. To be honest, when I first looked at the images of your ring, it just looked like an odd-shaped diamond as opposed to the heart shape that it was intended to be. Even in the scaled down image that was posted above, the shape still looks odd. What size is the center stone? I think that maybe the only way that you could get away with those side prongs (without distorting the heart shape) is if the center stone was very large. I realize that the ring probably looks much different in person, but I wouldn't risk it. I'd have them fix it before they send it to you. This isn't really about whether or not the setting was done correctly or incorrectly (because there is more than one way to set a stone), but it's about what is aesthetically-pleasing to the person wearing the ring. Clearly, OP is not happy with the shape (and I wouldn't' be either) and therefore, it should be addressed.

This exactly. Obviously they can't change it prior to shipping, if it's already in customs... I would most definitely ship it back and have Tacori fix it to your liking, making sure not to send until you "okay" the photos (which should've been done anyway). If any non-Tacori jeweler touches your ring, it voids the warranty through Tacori. That's their policy, so don't let anyone but Tacori change anything. Best of luck, OP!

 

[momma2boys]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

I completely agree with msop04 regarding the Tacori warranty. My e-ring is Tacori and I know that only Tacori can fix/size their stuff to maintain it. I had the ring resized and the engraving touched up and it was returned to me looking brand new with no added charges. I was very impressed.

I apologize in advance if I missed this in a previous post, but why, why, WHY did you not get to see the ring before it was shipped? I am shocked that WF would not allow that, despite the setting being originally made to fit a RB - even more the reason to get final approval that everything is to your liking!! I know it's a moot point now, this is just such a fixable issue and it's so unfortunate that you are in this situation. Maybe I'm not understanding something correctly........

 

[VRBeauty]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

First, I don't think you're being too picky. The setting does not compliment the shape of your center stone, it seems to obscure it.

Truthfully, I'm kind of surprised that WF and Tacori would agree to put a heart-shaped stone in that setting in the first place, because it seems like those prongs would clash with the heart shape no matter how they're placed. That said, the best possible prong placement of even these decorative prongs would be a three-prong arrangement like the one redroze posted. Were you told beforehand that they would making your ring with five prongs?

 

[little_birdie]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Thank you again for all the responses, I'll try to answer the questions as well as I can.

I fell in love with the shank of the ring first and foremost. We emailed WF asking if the setting could be modified to suit a heart shape-we were told yes BUT they had never had it done before so they could not provide images of how they would look. It would be done through Tacori-WF would not custom make a design so similar.

I had voiced my concerns at the time about the pointy square prongs (yes we were aware of that) and requested smaller, round prongs but were informed that was not a possible. I had emailed an image as an example of another tacori ring with rounded, smaller prongs to demonstrate my point.

This is a direct copy from one of the emails I received:

'They said they would not be able to use the prongs like the picture you sent. It is a similar style overall, but they would not be able to make them smaller. Unfortunately they did not have any pictures to provide us with the heart shaped center stone.

I also asked them about the placement of the prongs as well. They said they would need the diamond in-house, and their design team would assess whether a 3 or 5 prong head would look best once they have it there.

This isn't a design that we have ever done with anything other than a round, so unfortunately I have very little additional info that I can add that would be helpful. Since we've never done this design with a heart with them, I'm not sure how it will turn out in terms of the design specifics. I hate to have so little to add, but I'm at a bit of a loss. However, I can say that I'm confident in their abilities as designers, so I'm sure they will build something that is true to the design you see online, and is durable as well.'

She suggested that if were were concerned then we should consider another ring style instead-we could not find any with the shank we liked with a different prong so we did not have any other options if we wanted that shank. I figured it would be fine as long as the square prongs were positioned at the two curves of the heart (which they are) and the point of the heart.

We were told through email that we would be informed when the ring was ready-only my partner received that email, not me so I was shocked when he told me it was already at customs. When I looked at the emails the emails stating the ring was ready, photos, and ring had been shipped were all sent to my SO on the same day. I had not expected that and similarly as others had mentioned, assumed we would have seen the photos and been able to comment before it was shipped to avoid this mess (I am REALLY hoping they do not expect us to pay for shipping and taxes twice!($830 AUD Taxes which is not a small sum to us)


ETA: the centre stone is 0.9ct, we'd spent some time looking for a heart with the shape that we loved so it would be a real shame to have it obscured by the two bottom prongs on the outside v

 

[FancyIntense]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

The prongs are distracting, but maybe less so in person.

Here is an example from Blue Nile I thought was done rather well.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Do you have a photo of the side of the ring?

The shape of your diamond is really very beautiful and it is a shame that those prongs ruin it. I am not sure how much effort or if it is even possible but removing those bottom two prongs and changing the top prongs to be plain claw prongs will make a huge difference.

Or if you are willing to start over again - have you considered doing a halo?

Love this one ..


Another Halo


This is how Simon G does the prongs


Another more simplistic option


Verragio has options



Unique prongs done right

 

[CharmyPoo]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

I personally would not accept the ring. I know others asked to see it first but I am wondering if it will be cheaper for you to just not accept the package and return it to sender. Get more pics first.

I am looking at the second pic and considered with the profile. It looks very BOXY and just not right.

 

[leyhuong]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

I agree with CharmyPoo. They should have consulted with you regarding the design with CAD or something for the prongs. It is rather unacceptable to just finish it and ship as fast as possible without concerning your preference. You should reject the package so that it will be returned to WF. They need to address their lack of attention to customer' opinion. People customize because they want beautiful pieces of jewelry not because they will have to be uncomfortable of the result. Good luck

 

[teobdl]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Shame on Tacori for even making that.

I also asked them about the placement of the prongs as well. They said they would need the diamond in-house, and their design team would assess whether a 3 or 5 prong head would look best once they have it there.

This isn't a design that we have ever done with anything other than a round, so unfortunately I have very little additional info that I can add that would be helpful. Since we've never done this design with a heart with them, I'm not sure how it will turn out in terms of the design specifics. I hate to have so little to add, but I'm at a bit of a loss. However, I can say that I'm confident in their abilities as designers, so I'm sure they will build something that is true to the design you see online, and is durable as well.'

She suggested that if were were concerned then we should consider another ring style instead-we could not find any with the shank we liked with a different prong so we did not have any other options if we wanted that shank. I figured it would be fine as long as the square prongs were positioned at the two curves of the heart (which they are) and the point of the heart.

It's called technology. Sounds like their design team needs to go back to school and learn how to do CADs. And if they did a CAD, why did they not immediately stop and come up with a new mounting strategy? At least consult with the buyer?? Wow. Tacori lost a lot of respect in my eyes.

 

[msop04]

Re: Photos of my e-ring, am I being too picky about the sett

Shame on Tacori for even making that.

I also asked them about the placement of the prongs as well. They said they would need the diamond in-house, and their design team would assess whether a 3 or 5 prong head would look best once they have it there.

This isn't a design that we have ever done with anything other than a round, so unfortunately I have very little additional info that I can add that would be helpful. Since we've never done this design with a heart with them, I'm not sure how it will turn out in terms of the design specifics. I hate to have so little to add, but I'm at a bit of a loss. However, I can say that I'm confident in their abilities as designers, so I'm sure they will build something that is true to the design you see online, and is durable as well.'

She suggested that if were were concerned then we should consider another ring style instead-we could not find any with the shank we liked with a different prong so we did not have any other options if we wanted that shank. I figured it would be fine as long as the square prongs were positioned at the two curves of the heart (which they are) and the point of the heart.

It's called technology. Sounds like their design team needs to go back to school and learn how to do CADs. And if they did a CAD, why did they not immediately stop and come up with a new mounting strategy? At least consult with the buyer?? Wow. Tacori lost a lot of respect in my eyes.

To say I'm shocked this was the response from Tacori would be an understatement! Tacori pieces are supposedly handmade by master jewelers, and even if not, they will customize anything -- yes, anything. To switch to another style of prongs would be the easiest change I could possibly imagine. Needless to say, I'll just add this to the list of reasons not to go with Tacori... besides that of being completely overpriced and underwhelming IRL, they seem to be incapable of executing minor deviations, while unable to recognize when a design isn't aesthetically pleasing. They seriously dropped the ball on this one.

Do NOT accept that package. Once you do, you'll have to pay for all that stuff again with nothing to show for it. I would seriously consider going with another vendor who can give you what you want without making ridiculous excuses-- like they've never made that style before. Ummmm... hello??!! Custom pieces are just that... CUSTOM.