Prob w/ Custom Ring...what should I expect from jeweler?

[hopefulheidi]

Well this is definitely a post I never wanted to write but I would appreciate a wee spot of advice at this point because I''m not certain what to do about some disappointing results on the engagement ring my boyfriend just had custom made for me. To make a long story short, I pointed my boyfriend in the general direction of a jeweler that I''ve used a few times in the past. Just last year this individual created a custom pendant for me that matches the design of the engagement ring that I''ve been dreaming about for the past couple of years. There was a small issue with the size of the milgraining that I pointed out both in the CADs (was assured the milgrain would be smaller in person) and in photos of the finished piece. The jeweler did an amazing job of creating the piece in record time and although I was still a bit underwhelmed by the milgrain when I received the necklace, he did, in good faith and at no cost, polish it down for me to make it appear more delicate. I didn''t really have any qualms about him creating my engagement ring from inspiration photos that I sent his way.

To start off, we were told the process would take 5-6 weeks but somehow it stretched into a 16 week ordeal. Obviously this was a bit disappointing but I''m not even going to complain about that aspect as even jewelers are human and things happen. There were certainly times when my boyfriend could have been quicker to respond to the jeweler''s emails, so I''m willing to say that both parties had a hand in the protracted timeline. The first CAD of the ring was created fairly quickly but it was obvious that this jeweler had missed some of the more important details from the photos (ie the center head was sitting on top of a solid band rather than snuggled down into the band, attached to the inner portion of the shank, the scallops were round rather than elliptical etc). Of course what we wanted to accomplish with a 2 ct stone and a flat edge for the wedding band to run up against, was a bit tricky and the design of that head took forever to tweak to perfection and I''m also understanding of that fact.

I start to lose some of my patience when it comes down to issues that we pointed out on the CAD and that we were told wouldn''t be an issue in the finished piece; mainly a gap between the sides of the band and the center stones. My boyfriend mentioned his concern a couple of times and was told it wouldn''t be noticeable in real life so he signed off on the design with the expectation that this was the case. When we were sent small photos of the "finished" piece (jeweler forgot to engrave the bottom of the shank even though we had mentioned that point in our original request) we were able to see the gaps but we were again told that it wouldn''t be obvious when we saw the ring in person.

So we received the ring and my boyfriend immediately noticed that the center stone seemed a bit cockeyed and that the gap was in fact noticeable to the naked eye. Also, the portion of the shank that had been engraved was thinner than the rest of the band even though this engraveable bit was designed in to the original piece. The heads on the center stones don''t touch as they did in the CAD design so the two accent diamonds aren''t tucked underneath the center stone quite as much as I wanted. A few bits of milgraining aren''t quite straight but we''re willing to overlook that as we understand this is a custom piece.

When I broadly mentioned to our jeweler that we had some concerns about the finished piece, he was quick to tell me that my boyfriend signed off on all of the design elements so anything that we don''t like about the design can''t be changed. I totally agree with this statement as the design was our ultimate responsibility and he isn''t to be blamed for our choices. He also went on to say that "these things are not designed to be critiqued with a 10 power loupe in hand, as I don''t use that much magnification when making them" which I don''t entirely agree with. We don''t even have a loupe. We''re not looking at magnified digital images. We''re simply noticing things that are visible in normal lighting conditions at an arm''s length away. These are things that we were assured would not be an issue on the final piece which is the only reason my boyfriend signed off on them.

Which basically leads me to my question...
I would like to persue these concerns with my jeweler, but I''d like to make sure my expectations are reasonable. Technically we did sign off on the designs and the photos of the finished piece, but we only did so under the advisement of our jeweler; we trusted him at his word. When we received the ring, our concerns were realized and there are some things about the ring that we''re not quite happy about. We don''t want to cause problems with this jeweler but we''d also like the ring to be up to our standards. I also don''t want to wait another 16 weeks to get the ring back as we''re already planning our Oct ''08 wedding so I''m anxious to officially be engaged already.

In my non expert opinion, the issues that we''re noticing could quite possibly require a CAD redesign and an entire recasting (provided our jeweler is even willing to offer this as an option). Should I just write myself off as being overly critical and accept this beautiful ring, perceived flaws and all or are we right to ask that these issues be addressed as we originally mentioned them in the CAD process and we still feel they are a problem on the finished piece?

Please help me define my expectations on a custom piece of jewelry.

 

[oldminer]

You are not the first person to have a problem with a custom made piece. A CAD image can be an excellent depiction of what the final piece will resemble, but not all CAD designs or CAD designers are equal. SOme designs are better than others. Some designs really can''t be built properly or can''t be worn comfortably. Sometimes a designer will create, the the best of their computer ability, a design which a consumer will sign off on, but still have little idea if the final piece will be satisfactory. How can a relatively novice consumer know for sure that a 2 dimensional design will eventually be totally rendered with all proper dimensions and design detail? It is not possible.

A coputer screen does a good job of showing you the piece, but just like the millgrain issue, other things may look acceptable or not be quite right in the design which might or might not be handled after the piece is constructed in metal. It would take a truly expert CAD designer and jewelry maker to know what can and can''t be accomplished.

You are now in a zone whree you can''t rush things if you want them to work out in the long run. You may have to allow far more time than you want to have the ring done the way you want. It is better to spend the time working with your jeweler than to sue in court. It is less costly and likely to be successful in the long run cooperating together. A lawsuit will take much more than 16 weeks and won''t get you the right ring any sooner. All custom made things have an element of risk associated with the creation of an indiviualized piece. A stock item or one made over and over again by a brand name designer can be counted on for some degree of consistency. Truly custom made pieces have more risk which you now are well aware of.

 

[Pandora II]

Did your jeweller give you any kind of guarantee at the beginning on what would happen if things weren''t to your liking. Do you have email copies of all your FI''s discussions with the vendor?

I had a few problems with my custom e-ring. I sent it back to be fixed with a list of what a lot of people would have thought minute changes.

The vendor has been fantastic. Confirmed that I was neither nuts or completely OCD, and is fixing all the points as best as is technically possible.

I would like to think that most people would offer this kind of customer service.

 

[hopefulheidi]

Thanks for the response David. Right now a lawsuit is the farthest thing from my mind and I honestly can''t imagine this situation coming to need such an intervention but I do agree with your points. We knew going the custom route was risky, but I was kind of hoping to bank on my past experiences with this jeweler as a bit of insurance that we''d end up happy with the finished product. And don''t get me wrong, the ring is beautiful and I''d be incredibly fortunate to wear it as is, I just think there are a few details, that are important to me, that were overlooked. From what I understand there was an influx of personal drama in this jeweler''s life recently and I''m afraid to say that I don''t think my ring got as much attention from him as it might normally. Since this ring is so important to me, I might be approaching it a bit more emotionally than if I was say, buying a custom made sandwich hehe so I''m kind of hoping to either hear someone say that I''m setting my expectations much too high, or that I have a valid complaint in raising my concerns.

 

[hopefulheidi]

Pandora...
There weren''t specific guarantees up front although this jeweler''s website does mention that he wants each customer to be happy with the finished product and as such he''s willing to rework any non design related issues. I think that may be part of the problem. In a way, these issues are a result of the way in which the jeweler designed the ring which would technically make them "design issues" but we also raised our concerns during the design phase and somewhat skeptically signed off on the designs when we were assured these things would not be issues on the finished piece. This leaves me wondering where the blame lies. Should we have pushed him harder about our concerns before giving him the ok and if so does that mean we only have ourselves to blame for these flaws and he''s under no obligation to fix them? Or does the fact that we noticed these things prior to casting mean he is morally obligated to fix this situation, even if it means a complete recast?

We definitely have all of the emails sent back and forth between the jeweler and us but I''m hesitant to start using his words against him at this point. Unfortunately we are in a position where we would still like the jeweler to create my wedding band so that it matches the engagement ring in both the type of metal used (WG palladium alloy, not everyone is offering this right now) and the style, as each designer tends to put their own spin on things. It''s a little too early for us to start burning our bridges with this jeweler so I feel like we''re walking a thin line between getting the engagement ring the way we want it and losing the chance to have a completely matching wedding band. Oy vey.

Saddest of all, my boyfriend is actually feeling guilty about these flaws because he chose to go with a custom ring rather than paying more for a ring we couldn''t design together. He sees this as his fault because you "get what you pay for" and in his mind he saved some money over a designer piece so he''s getting what he deserves. He doesn''t seem to realize that he still paid more for just the setting than some people do on their entire ring and that even if he hadn''t, he should still be able to expect quality work from a custom vendor.