Urrrrgh! I am getting increasingly frustrated with the jeweler I am supposed to be working with. I'm so angry and so worried that I'm about to have a really bad experience when I go to pick up this ring...
A while ago, I emailed Richard Homer asking him if he wouldn't mind helping me find the perfect stone for a Leon ring. To me, that ring is the "big project" and I have no problem waiting patiently and happily for all of those details to fall into place. In the mean time, I have put a deposit down on a sapphire ring at a local jeweler.
When I first went into his store, I looked at a series of gemstone rings. I complimented him on "his" designs being delicate and unique. He thanked me and continued the conversation contributing to (and DEFINITELY not correcting) my impression that he had designed and made all the rings himself. I tried on a sapphire ring with a diamond halo and fell in love. I asked him how much it would be to reset it from yellow gold to white gold. He initially said he couldn't do it because it would be a waste of the time he spent on the ring and of the material. (Which kept me under the impression that he'd put it together himself.) I said I could compensate him for all of that, just name his asking price. He gave me one and we went on to discuss a time period for the work. I said my birthday was on 26th September and I would be traveling after that so would it be possible to have it done before then? (This was the end of August.) He said yes, but "just in case" he would set the "promised by" date as late as the 25th of September. With all those details set, I agreed to purchase the ring and left a deposit.
Just before I left, he mentioned that he would make the shank wider because the ring would have to be enlarged for my finger and he thought it would look better that way. I was horrified that he mentioned this as if it were just a passing thought - after the paperwork had been done, after I'd laid down the deposit, and after a looong discussion and negotiation about how I wanted it exactly the same, just with white gold instead of yellow gold. I know Leon for example will want me to sit back and allow him to take artistic liberties if he wanted, but this wasn't discussed with the jeweler at hand. I immediately said "no no no no no"- that I loved the ring as it was and didn't want any changes. He said okay.
About 10 days ago, I went back into his store again to look at some new gem stone rings he'd put out. Both him and a sales person never said a word when I complimented him on "his" designs again and asked where he came up with such unique creations. After leaving, I went to look at some other stores in the mall and found that one of the stores had almost all the same rings we had been talking about as "his" designs (though I did not see my particular ring.) I was so angry, because part of my justification for buying the sapphire ring from him was that it was unique and the workmanship was acceptable. Now, I'm very worried about how well he is going to be able to reset my ring, which had pave. It isn't a good idea for me to do anything while I'm angry though, so I did not go back to the store, figuring that if he has deviated from the agreement, I will not be bound to complete the purchase. (Though I was told recently by a friend that because it is a "custom" piece, I might be...)
Yesterday (23rd), I rang the shop to ask whether my ring was ready as I hadn't had a call from him. (He said he probably wouldn't need until the 25th and he'd call as soon as it was ready.) I didn't have the article number when I called so I described it to him. He seemed to have NO idea what I was talking about and said he didn't recall a sapphire ring which he was resetting to white gold. This made me nervous so I went to the store this morning (24th) to ask about the ring. The sales person spent a LONG time checking the computer, going out the back to speak to him, talking to another sales person, checking the computer again etc. I asked if I should speak to the jeweler myself and she said he couldn't come out because he was busy. I had to leave for work so I asked if it would be ready by tomorrow (promised by date) and she said she thought so.
All this is making me really nervous. I keep thinking things like:
- What if the ring isn't his own creation like he lead me to believe?
- Will he have taken artistic liberties which I didn't authorise?
- Is the workmanship going to be terrible?
- Has he even started on my ring? Is he going to rush to get it finished by tomorrow and thereby do really bad work?
- Can I back out of the purchase and get a deposit back on a "custom" piece?
- What if the ring isn't ready by tomorrow? I'm going away...
Any input is really appreciated- How I should handle this, what my options are, and what to expect.
A while ago, I emailed Richard Homer asking him if he wouldn't mind helping me find the perfect stone for a Leon ring. To me, that ring is the "big project" and I have no problem waiting patiently and happily for all of those details to fall into place. In the mean time, I have put a deposit down on a sapphire ring at a local jeweler.
When I first went into his store, I looked at a series of gemstone rings. I complimented him on "his" designs being delicate and unique. He thanked me and continued the conversation contributing to (and DEFINITELY not correcting) my impression that he had designed and made all the rings himself. I tried on a sapphire ring with a diamond halo and fell in love. I asked him how much it would be to reset it from yellow gold to white gold. He initially said he couldn't do it because it would be a waste of the time he spent on the ring and of the material. (Which kept me under the impression that he'd put it together himself.) I said I could compensate him for all of that, just name his asking price. He gave me one and we went on to discuss a time period for the work. I said my birthday was on 26th September and I would be traveling after that so would it be possible to have it done before then? (This was the end of August.) He said yes, but "just in case" he would set the "promised by" date as late as the 25th of September. With all those details set, I agreed to purchase the ring and left a deposit.
Just before I left, he mentioned that he would make the shank wider because the ring would have to be enlarged for my finger and he thought it would look better that way. I was horrified that he mentioned this as if it were just a passing thought - after the paperwork had been done, after I'd laid down the deposit, and after a looong discussion and negotiation about how I wanted it exactly the same, just with white gold instead of yellow gold. I know Leon for example will want me to sit back and allow him to take artistic liberties if he wanted, but this wasn't discussed with the jeweler at hand. I immediately said "no no no no no"- that I loved the ring as it was and didn't want any changes. He said okay.
About 10 days ago, I went back into his store again to look at some new gem stone rings he'd put out. Both him and a sales person never said a word when I complimented him on "his" designs again and asked where he came up with such unique creations. After leaving, I went to look at some other stores in the mall and found that one of the stores had almost all the same rings we had been talking about as "his" designs (though I did not see my particular ring.) I was so angry, because part of my justification for buying the sapphire ring from him was that it was unique and the workmanship was acceptable. Now, I'm very worried about how well he is going to be able to reset my ring, which had pave. It isn't a good idea for me to do anything while I'm angry though, so I did not go back to the store, figuring that if he has deviated from the agreement, I will not be bound to complete the purchase. (Though I was told recently by a friend that because it is a "custom" piece, I might be...)
Yesterday (23rd), I rang the shop to ask whether my ring was ready as I hadn't had a call from him. (He said he probably wouldn't need until the 25th and he'd call as soon as it was ready.) I didn't have the article number when I called so I described it to him. He seemed to have NO idea what I was talking about and said he didn't recall a sapphire ring which he was resetting to white gold. This made me nervous so I went to the store this morning (24th) to ask about the ring. The sales person spent a LONG time checking the computer, going out the back to speak to him, talking to another sales person, checking the computer again etc. I asked if I should speak to the jeweler myself and she said he couldn't come out because he was busy. I had to leave for work so I asked if it would be ready by tomorrow (promised by date) and she said she thought so.
All this is making me really nervous. I keep thinking things like:
- What if the ring isn't his own creation like he lead me to believe?
- Will he have taken artistic liberties which I didn't authorise?
- Is the workmanship going to be terrible?
- Has he even started on my ring? Is he going to rush to get it finished by tomorrow and thereby do really bad work?
- Can I back out of the purchase and get a deposit back on a "custom" piece?
- What if the ring isn't ready by tomorrow? I'm going away...
Any input is really appreciated- How I should handle this, what my options are, and what to expect.
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