Problem with my James Allen Setting =(

[minmin001]

So I found that one of the melee is missing on my setting this morning.
I am aware that with a pave setting things like this will happen at some point but just didn't expect it to be so soon. I had the ring for 8 months and I am very careful with it. I put it on when I go out and take it off as soon as I get home and never wear it if I go biking or etc.
James Allen has an excellent service where they will fix the ring for me but my fear is this will go on every 8 months? The shipping will add up(they gave me a quote of $74 from fedex but I think it will be cheaper if I go with USPS) and since I have decided to keep the setting for a long time after careful thinking this is something for me to think about.
Is there anything else that I can do to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen any time soon? Where did you get your paved setting and how has it been working out for you?
Thank you for your input!

 

[mrssalvo]

Sadly, it's just the nature of the beast so to speak when ou have a pave setting. Even designers who are considered to be the best at pave will have someone lose a stone. You might find a good local jeweler with an in house bench to have it serviced and lost stones replaced. It would be a lot cheaper than shipping it back to JA every now and then.

 

[sphenequeen]

I am sure that the ring took a hit that you were unaware of - happens to everybody, even the most caustious of people. I would not send it to just anybody but rather directly to JA who is familiar with the ring and the work involved in setting that pave. The worst thing is to take it to a jeweler who is going to charge you for the work and the stone just to have to send it to JA to repair their mistake.

I don't know how long his policy is for replacements of melee, but most jewelers only offer to replace these little stones for about a year before you start getting charged. It is considered normal wear and tear.