Problems with Scott Kay!

[crazydogs]

I have been wearing my two Platinum Scott Kay rings together for 1 ½ years…the set was an upgrade, I wore my other (albeit not too nice) set for 18 years with no problems. Well the head from my e-ring is being worn away, it is now a little concave…you can see where the metal is being worn. So 2 weeks ago I had the jewelry store send the set back to Scott Kay…thinking something must be wrong. After Scott Kay had it for a week they said it’s not defective, it’s the platinum not the diamonds that is rubbing. Well I have looked at this thoroughly for a long time and am 99% sure it’s the diamonds from the wedding ring that is causing the wear, it’s a shared prong set. They said they can rebuild the heads for $460 but it’ll just happen again. Or they can fuse the two rings together.

Basically Scott Kay is saying it’s totally normal to have your prongs eaten away when wearing the rings together…not to mention the bezel for the surprise diamond on the ering which is “mushed”. I wish I had taken a pic of the rings before I sent them away…but I had no idea that Scott Kay wouldn’t fix them…I thought for sure there was a defect.

I’m at a loss here; I thought designer sets were supposed to be designed to avoid this very problem. Ideally I’d like to wear the rings unsoldered but I don’t want to worry about them continuing to wear so I’m leaning towards getting them soldered…(any idea how much I should size them up if I do this?). Is this something that I should have expected with this set? It doesn't look like the pictures uploaded so here's a link to the rings. Thanks for any help!

http://www.solomonbrothers.com/support/ProductPages/M1019RDPP_89290.asp

http://www.solomonbrothers.com/ProductPages//B1019RDPP_73099.asp

 

[crazydogs]

I''m trying one more time to get the stock pictures of the rings~!

 

[crazydogs]

Here''s the wedding ring....

 

[denverappraiser]

There’s no way to answer your question about what’s rubbing on what without looking at both rings but I’m inclined to think that they’re probably right. If you’re in doubt about their advice, show the pieces to an outside expert and get an opinion on what your choices are. Many jewelers have people who are skilled at this sort of thing and there are a few appraisers out there with bench experience that may be able to guide you.

Soldering them together at the bottom is generally good advice.

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ICGA(AGS) NAJA
Professional Appraisals in Denver

 

[oldminer]

Rings worn together do wear away and rub eachother. I frequently recommend soldering sets such as yours together. A small diamond on the side of each ring will be hidden permanently when you solder them.

"Designer" items are as good as the designer. Some designers are better than others. There is no uniformity to the world of who or who is not a "designer". A fine jeweler may make superb items for high end stores and never be recognized by name by anyone. Today''s "Designers" bring out a line and hope to create a "name" for their products. Some succeed better than others.

I''d say the rings look pretty substantial, but they definitely have zones where they would rub themselves if worn side by side.

 

[mrssalvo]

have you talked to the jeweler you purchased the scott kay from? I would expect my jeweler to be the go between b/c it was the jeweler who sold you the set and led you to believe that the set should be worn as a set without causing major damage to the rings. it is known that shared prong sets will eat away at the prongs, some makers say they have designed a way around it (memoire for example has a puzzle type design so the rings fit together, no banging and rubbing) but any jeweler I've discussed shared prong sets with say they will eventually need replacing, they are just not designed to be heirloom pieces. anyway, i'd go back to the jeweler and see what they say. maybe they can at least get Scott Kay to replace it for you or be willing to work with you on finding a set that won't destroy itself. I must admit, I'd be very surprised if this happened to me, b/c I too believed Scott Kay to be a designer who would have done it right, 1 1/2 years with major repair needed b/c you wore the set as a set is

IMO...

i agree that a independent appraisal would be helpful in determining the actual cause, although I don't see any reason for the scott kay folks to not be forthcoming in their finding. sounds like they were, just not willing to own up to a possible design flaw.

 

[Venice]

Crazydogs, I have the exact same set as you! I''ve had mine a year now. I do have some horizontal scratches on the prongs. When the rings are spaced up perfectly with each other there is a very slight gap between them. I think that the scratches are caused by the rings turning on the finger during normal wear. I showed them to my jeweler and he had them repolished - they looked like new! Since then I only wear the rings on one side so that the scratching is only on one side.

Scott Kay offers a yearly complementary cleaning, tightening of prongs and polishing, something they should have done for you when you sent the set in. I am very surprised to hear that Scott Kay would handle a situation like this. I have found them to be most delightful whenever I called them with questions before my ring was sent. They also put in F color stones because my main stone is an E color (they use F-G, vvs-vs stones).

I hope that you find a solution to your problem. I look forward to reading any advice you may get.

-Venice

 

[crazydogs]

Venice,

I spoke with Scott Kay yesterday, they did not want to talk to me, they have a policy where you need to deal through the jewelry store. He did say they''ve never had a problem with this set before and it''s the way they''re being worn. Not sure how I can be wearing them wrong. They fit well and don''t spin...but apparently they must.

I didn''t know that they offer complimetary polishing and tightening. They wanted to charge $95 to polish them. They would solder them together for $30. Anyway, the end of the story - they are charging me $150 to rebuild the bezel, solder them together and size them up 1/4. I know it''s expensive to work on Plat, and this price is good given the work...but at the same time I can''t help but feel I shouldn''t even be dealing with any of this! And now I''ll have the soldered together..... at least I won''t have to worry about them rubbing against each other. I have read where some people like them soldered together...but the general consensus is to keep them separate.

I''m glad to hear you don''t have any problems. I wore my rings the same way too to keep the damage to one side. It''s a shame my rings had such problems. They did say it wasn''t defective. Must have been me but I just can''t imagine what I could have done. Maybe not taking them off when I wash my hands? I don''t sleep with them and I have a desk job. I just don''t know....I think I should have stuck with my old plain set....albeit the gold was getting very thin (and yes I used that as part of the justification to upgrade!)

 

[Venice]

Crazydogs, My mistake! After reading your latest post, I went to the Scott Kay website to re-read their FAQ''s. They do offer yearly complimentary cleaning, but I guess they must charge for the other maintenance.

This is what is written on their site:

"What happens if I need to make adjustments or repairs to my ring?

We offer a variety of services for Scott Kay customers, including repairing, resizing, stone tightening, etc. Scott Kay also provides an annual cleaning of your precious Scott Kay piece free of charge with an insured-shipping fee. Please visit your authorized Scott Kay retailer in order to have your Scott Kay jewelry sent to us to be serviced, or to learn more about the services that are provided to our customers.

We prefer to do all repair services in our studio whenever possible, as we have expert jewelers, polishers and setters using the latest technologies and who are thoroughly familiar with our custom designs. If an authorized Scott Kay retailer repairs or sets your stone, they are responsible for their work. We warranty all our services against defect if we perform the adjustment or repair."


Like you, I also had a wedding set that so thin. I finally got an upgrade to the classic round brilliant (AGS000) with tapered baguettes. The wedding band had two tapered and one straight bar baguette. I had these soldered together because it looked better that way. I would feel bad, too, if I ever had to solder my Scott Kay rings together. They look so beautiful as two separate pieces - and they cost a small fortune to boot! Have you thought about getting the thinnest ring spacer possible, and wear that every day except on special occasions? I might do that because I wear my rings from morning to night every day! I just love them! I get so many compliments almost every day about how beautiful the set is. People actually grab my hand. I never got that with my last two sets - and they were F and E ideal cuts!

I am glad that you called Scott Kay and demanded attention to your problem. I expected quality service to be part of the price that was paid. Please keep us informed about your progress.

-Venice

 

[lyra]

It would be such a shame to have to have those rings soldered together. It's disappointing to hear that this obviously matching set of rings don't actually get along so well together. What about wearing a plainer WB with the ER, and having the SK WB as a RHR? Not the best solution I know. I don't know what a spacer is, does anyone have a pic? That sounds like it may be a better solution. I had my original set of 3 rings soldered together and never liked them after that, but that's just me. I like to change things up a bit, so I prefer to have separate rings.

I suppose you could have the diamonds reset into another setting as an option too.

 

[Moko]

I ordered a Scott Kay ring recently and now I am waiting for my ring to arrive.
Now I am very worried too. I am afraid to wear the two rings together.
What’s the point for upgrade?

I went to see Scott Kay website, now they do not show matching bands for e-rings now.
We used to be able to see a matching band when we click "Match this ring."

I am wondering if they removed it because of some problem like yours or just updating the website. Hope they can fix this problem without soldering the sets for you and Not charging you too much.