Please help - question about milgrain bezel and tourmaline

[Mreader]

Guys I am in need of some expertise and advice. So I have a beautiful tourmaline and I told the jeweler that I wanted to set it in an art deco halo. I was completely inspired by @swaye2010 's aqua ring (you can go to her page and look at her avatar) so I sent the stone to that person I essentially showed him the photo of the ring and said to do that with the milgrain bezel in YG and the rest in white. CADS approved; said milgrain added after etc. Yay. I got a call yesterday that the ring was done and they were shipping it out. I was so excited! He was talking about how gorgeous it turned out etc. Then he said in an offhand way that they didn't milgrain the bezel because of the thickness. I was really distracted while talking to him because my 5 y/o was vying for my attention. So I couldn't process it. But then I called him back to ask for more clarification, because the more I thought about it, the more troubled I was. I had specifically asked for the milgrain bezel and he never mentioned it would be an issue to do this. When I called back, he told me that the jeweler didn't do the milgrain for a couple of reasons. One is that tourmaline is soft and so pressing milgrain into the bezel (which is done after the stone is set) is risky and it could crack the stone. The second had to do with the fact that it is alot of thick metal. I don't really get that part. Anyway he said he that since I was worried, he would send me photos of the ring before shipping it, and then I could decide what I wanted to do and if I was resolute on milgrain then he would take it back to the jeweler and ask about it and see if it can be done. He went on to say how beautiful it is and he doesn't think it is necessary. I called him about 3pm CA time but I still don't have photos so emailed again this morning (probably won't here back right away because of time difference). Anyway I was REALLY hoping to show you guys pictures to see what you thought and if I should leave it be, but I don't yet have them but since I still feel troubled I felt compelled to write and get your input. I definitely don't want to risk breaking the stone. Any thoughts? I'm attaching a pic of the stone; I mentioned this project in a couple of other threads. @swaye2010 would love your input as well of course since we are working with the same person

 

[femmemannequin]

The turmaline STONE is gorgeous!

 

[Rfisher]

~ no expert ~
unfortunately they did not tell this to you beforehand.
if it were me, I’d be asking about possibility of full refund if the ring were shipped to me and I did not love it in person. Photos to approve will only tell you part of the story.
It’s not what you asked for. They may have a good reason, but they should have known/made you aware your specific stone was not eligible for the agreed upon design so you could back out of the transaction in a timely manner.
this is my feeling since milgrain always seemed to be an integral part of your wishes.

after hearing the bench’s non-desire to do the milgrain due to your stone, I would only press them to “try” if I were indeed willing to eat the entire cost of stone and setting if the worst would happen. Does this designer only use one bench? Do they have access to other goldsmiths who have more experience and confidence with milgrain and tourmaline?

could they re-do the setting with the milgrain casted in?
could they re-design the ring so “a lot of thick metal” doesn’t come into the equation?


I get custom is custom. You are on the hook for what you ask for and what they make you. But - there’s room in there for that not being the case for vendor just plain not producing what was agreed upon. If the vendor made the possible outcomes known and its agreed upon- that’s a different story. Or the vendor makes it known they have final design say and full leeway.


your stone is gorgeous. I hope you are able to post the vendor photos soon.

PS- I hope you do absolutely love it as it is. That’s the easiest scenario.

 

[Mreader]

~ no expert ~
unfortunately they did not tell this to you beforehand.
if it were me, I’d be asking about possibility of full refund if the ring were shipped to me and I did not love it in person. Photos to approve will only tell you part of the story.
It’s not what you asked for. They may have a good reason, but they should have known/made you aware your specific stone was not eligible for the agreed upon design so you could back out of the transaction in a timely manner.
this is my feeling since milgrain always seemed to be an integral part of your wishes.

after hearing the bench’s non-desire to do the milgrain due to your stone, I would only press them to “try” if I were indeed willing to eat the entire cost of stone and setting if the worst would happen. Does this designer only use one bench? Do they have access to other goldsmiths who have more experience and confidence with milgrain and tourmaline?

could they re-do the setting with the milgrain casted in?
could they re-design the ring so “a lot of thick metal” doesn’t come into the equation?


I get custom is custom. You are on the hook for what you ask for and what they make you. But - there’s room in there for that not being the case for vendor just plain not producing what was agreed upon. If the vendor made the possible outcomes known and its agreed upon- that’s a different story. Or the vendor makes it known they have final design say and full leeway.


your stone is gorgeous. I hope you are able to post the vendor photos soon.

PS- I hope you do absolutely love it as it is. That’s the easiest scenario.

Yes to your PS I hope I just love it. Because I hate trouble and I feel like every time I try to do something jewelry related something like this happens. And I agree I wish that there had been some sort of contact midway through the process saying that the milligram would not be possible. DK is doing a ring for me right now that is emerald and milgrain; I know those stones are delicate. They told me I would get the photos at 10 AM PST so in about an hour.

 

[marymm]

I do hope you love the tourmaline bezel ring! and if you do accept it, please do negotiate a reduced price -- the hand-applied milgrain would have been an extra labor fee component of your original price quote, so you should be credited at least that amount.

I think also you should think about how you feel about the lack of communication about change in design. For that matter, if they had originally declared they were unable to accommodate the milgrain detail, perhaps you would chosen another vendor entirely.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Mreader]

OK guys the pictures are here please give me your thoughts. And @marymm It’s interesting that you say that. There is no way they are going to give me a credit. Because on more than one occasion that he said “I really should’ve charged you more for this than I did”. This is the second time a vendor has said that to me. The first time had to do with a commission to cut

a stone. So again I feel like I have bad jewelry juju like I said before to @AnastasiaBeaverhausen. Here are pics:

 

[chrono]

The ring is gorgeous but this comment:

Because on more than one occasion that he said “I really should’ve charged you more for this than I did”.

This comment is bothersome to me. It might be true but a good vendor would not say this to the customer.

 

[marymm]

FWIW, I think it is GORGEOUS! Honestly, I love it ... and I think the no-milgrain bezel actually enhances the center stone without detracting from the overall design ... what do YOU think @Mreader ?

eta: agree with @chrono re vendor's pricing comment ... presumably he's in the business and should be expected to have the requisite knowledge to correctly price his projects! If he is not, then that's on him ... and/or is a marketing ploy he uses in order to make his customers feel like he's doing them a favor ... both of which I find less-than-welcome in vendors I do business with. YMMV

 

[wildcat03]

I think it looks absolutely lovely. I do think I would like the milgrain as well. Perhaps this is just me being nitpicky, but without milgrain I would probably like that yellow gold bezel a touch thinner.

 

[Mreader]

@marymm I think it's super beautiful too. I am still going to think on it for a bit (I just got them) and try to visualize added milgrain. I just don't want to take the risk of hurting the stone, so I am leaning toward not doing it but wasn't sure it that was truly the issue or not. I also don't understand from a technical standpoint the difficulty of doing it bc of the thickness.

ETA - the side of the bezel looks milgrain and that’s the part I thought would stay polished.

 

[Diamond Girl 21]

I think it's absolutely beautiful, but of course ultimately it's up to you.

 

[marymm]

Are there yellow diamonds or engraving on the side of the YG bezel -- or is it the reflection of the white halo diamonds?

Can the vendor ship it to you for examination so you can decide about the milgrain, or is he requiring you to choose prior to shipment?

 

[Mreader]

Are there yellow diamonds or engraving on the side of the YG bezel -- or is it the reflection of the white halo diamonds?

Can the vendor ship it to you for examination so you can decide about the milgrain, or is he requiring you to choose prior to shipment?

Not yellow diamonds - not that I ordered anyway! I was thinking that was milgraining but perhaps it's just a reflection as you say. We didn't really talk about the second question and whether or not it would be a requirement to fully decide.

 

[Mreader]

@Rfisher any chance you can play around with your awesome photoshop skills and put milgrain on it to see what it looks like???

 

[Rfisher]

FWIW I think it’s a beautiful ring @Mreader as it currently is.

im sorry about the ‘should have charged you more’ comments. They are troublesome to hear, and don’t think you are the only one ever being told this.

I think I might guess what the thickness comment was in relation to the missing millgrain. In thinking of doing a mockup to ‘see’ what it might look like -
to use the same size milgrain tool centered on the yellow gold area, that was used on the white, it would look odd.
so either size up the beading ( which some folk would also consider odd) or move the bead to either edge of the gold bezel. Maybe that’s harder to do, maybe they might think that looks odd. Maybe do a double line of Milgrain?

not trying to talk you into adding milgrain - just speaking on it.

Edited : just saw your request -

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

I do hope you love the tourmaline bezel ring! and if you do accept it, please do negotiate a reduced price -- the hand-applied milgrain would have been an extra labor fee component of your original price quote, so you should be credited at least that amount.

I think also you should think about how you feel about the lack of communication about change in design. For that matter, if they had originally declared they were unable to accommodate the milgrain detail, perhaps you would chosen another vendor entirely.

Just my 2 cents.

I love how it looks right now, but more importantly you need to love it too. I agree though that if you were originally charged for milgrain, then I would try to ask for a credit back or maybe they cover shipping costs.....something at least. I'd be hesitant to have them do the milgraining as it sounds like the jeweler does not feel confident enough to do so.

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

FWIW I think it’s a beautiful ring @Mreader as it currently is.

im sorry about the ‘should have charged you more’ comments. They are troublesome, and don’t think you are the only one ever being told this.

I think I might guess what the thickness comment was in relation to the missing millgrain. In thinking of doing a mockup to ‘see’ what it might look like -
to use the same size milgrain tool centered on the yellow gold area, that was used on the white, it would look odd.
so either size up the beading ( which some folk would also consider odd) or move the bead to either edge of the gold bezel. Maybe that’s harder to do, maybe they might think that looks odd. Maybe do a double line of Milgrain?

not trying to talk you into adding milgrain - just speaking on it.

Edited : just saw your request -

I know it's been said before but it really needs to be said again.

@Rfisher: your photoshop skills are amazing. Thank you for all your contributions to PS. You're always willing to jump in and help others. Thank you again for all that you do.

 

[Rfisher]

@Mreader Can you attach your CAD to this thread?
no big deal tho. I’m also now thinking I may have gotten my memory mixed up on your strong wishes for milgrain for this ring, with a different project. :embarrassed:


awww shucks - thank you @AnastasiaBeaverhausen

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

FWIW I think it’s a beautiful ring @Mreader as it currently is.

im sorry about the ‘should have charged you more’ comments. They are troublesome to hear, and don’t think you are the only one ever being told this.

I think I might guess what the thickness comment was in relation to the missing millgrain. In thinking of doing a mockup to ‘see’ what it might look like -
to use the same size milgrain tool centered on the yellow gold area, that was used on the white, it would look odd.
so either size up the beading ( which some folk would also consider odd) or move the bead to either edge of the gold bezel. Maybe that’s harder to do, maybe they might think that looks odd. Maybe do a double line of Milgrain?

not trying to talk you into adding milgrain - just speaking on it.

Edited : just saw your request -

After seeing this mockup, my feelings are: a smooth bezel seems to make the tourmaline pop more, but milgrain makes the setting look more complete/coherent. Two very different looks! Much be so hard to choose.

 

[Mreader]

@Mreader Can you attach your CAD to this thread?
no big deal tho. I’m also now thinking I may have gotten my memory mixed up on your strong wishes for milgrain for this ring, with a different project. :embarrassed:


awww shucks - thank you @AnastasiaBeaverhausen

Yes thank you and how serendipitous that you added the mockup at the same time I was asking! Here is the CAD; they don't have the stones or the milgrain on it since they are added after.

 

[Mreader]

I love how it looks right now, but more importantly you need to love it too. I agree though that if you were originally charged for milgrain, then I would try to ask for a credit back or maybe they cover shipping costs.....something at least. I'd be hesitant to have them do the milgraining as it sounds like the jeweler does not feel confident enough to do so.

Well as I said the same person did @swaye2010 's ring and that is why I went straight to the source because it was basically exactly what I wanted haha. So I thought "what could go wrong?"

 

[Rfisher]

For some reason I was thinking this wasn’t a DK ring?
****ooooor- just the exact same cad program I guess?****

I’m really suprised if they chose to made the bezel this thick (their words) but I’ll add tall/perpendicular too
that it wasn’t addresed with you as an issue for milgrain in the first place.

but we can guess all day long about it
I’d contact them back and ask for a clearer explanation.
id need that myself before being able to decide on path forward.

( still a very very pretty ring )

 

[Mreader]

@Mreader Can you attach your CAD to this thread?
no big deal tho. I’m also now thinking I may have gotten my memory mixed up on your strong wishes for milgrain for this ring, with a different project. :embarrassed:


awww shucks - thank you @AnastasiaBeaverhausen

I’m doing two projects both were supposed to be with milgrain

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

I’m doing two projects both were supposed to be with milgrain

Did you ask DK if they're comfortable will adding milgrain to this ring? If you do end up having someone else do it, then I'd ask the current jeweler to cover the costs.

 

[voce]

Gorgeous ring, but it sounds like a vendor I wouldn't want to work with.

 

[Mreader]

Did you ask DK if they're comfortable will adding milgrain to this ring? If you do end up having someone else do it, then I'd ask the current jeweler to cover the costs.

The second project is with DK. Because I was inspired by a ring that he built on his page. So with each of these projects I went with two different people because it was each their rings. I’m still mulling everything over.

 

[AnastasiaBeaverhausen]

The second project is with DK. Because I was inspired by a ring that he built on his page. So with each of these projects I went with two different people because it was each their rings. I’m still mulling everything over.

Sorry my previous post was confusing. I meant, if this vendor still doesn't feel comfortable with adding the milgrain but it's what you really want, then it might be worth asking DK is they think it's feasible? If both vendors hesitate...then maybe it's not worth the risk?

 

[Mreader]

Gorgeous ring, but it sounds like a vendor I wouldn't want to work with.

Their work is beautiful. Swaye has done a lot of pieces with them. This has just thrown me for a loop.

 

[Mreader]

Sorry my previous post was confusing. I meant, if this vendor still doesn't feel comfortable with adding the milgrain but it's what you really want, then it might be worth asking DK is they think it's feasible? If both vendors hesitate...then maybe it's not worth the risk?

Right OK. Yes I think I’ll probably either just take it as it is or ask the same person to millgrain I don’t think I would bring it to a different person to do it. At least not right now. You kind of hit the nail on the head about the two different looks in that one makes the stone pop but the other is more cohesive. Right now my eye favors the milgrain bezel. I’m planning on talking to the vendor again to you see what the jeweler feels.

 

[Mreader]

Also is an aquamarine made from the same material as an emerald? Therefore would not that be delicate as well? Yet that is the inspiration piece that they made and it was milgrain.