Refurb gone really wrong - what to do?

[alisonia333]

I'm so sorry to hear about all of this! It's a beautiful diamond and I hope it can be salvaged, even without the lovely setting. Sending you lots of dust! I'm quite curious to see how the jeweler is going to address this and how they will compensate you for all of the damage they've done and I and look forward to your full account.

Take care!

 

[Mico]

I am so so so sorry

 

[Circe]

Thank you to ALL of you who are being so kind - re-reading this thread, I'm struck by how great this community is (and I actually got kinda sniffly when a few people contacted me off-board to see if I was okay during the hiatus - y'all are NICE). I'm still aware it's just a thing, but I'm really hoping GOG can help me to bring it back to being a happy-making one and not a sad-making one.

P.S. - I just noticed when I checked RT that I apparently started this on Feb. 12th. Oy. Just to add insult to injury, that was six years to the day since we got engaged. Here's hoping I can at least have it resolved by the time we hit the 6th anniversary of the wedding!

 

[CharmyPoo]

I certainly did not know about the bruted girdle issues, either!

Circe, did they facet the diamond all the way around or just where it might have been damaged? That was one thing I was not clear about.

Just for a quarter or so of the perimeter ... the part that coincides with it being out-of-round.

That just sounds wrong. I bet they are lying but not much you can do. I think giving you back a refund is the least they can do.

 

[Phoenix]

Circe, I am very late to this thread but wanted to chime in to say sorry and hope you get, at the very least, a refund from the original jeweller; and also to wish you luck and hope GOG can fix your ring for you.

 

[missy]

Aww, Circe, I'm so sad for you. It may just be a thing but it's an important thing that signifies something beyond it's actual material worth. I hope GOG can help make this right. And darn it- I hope the jeweler who messed this up so badly and lied about it to boot does the right thing as well...though beyond a refund and apology not sure what that might be. But at least a refund and apology!

Sending continued good thoughts your way!!

 

[dianabarbara]

oh circe I'm so sorry.

what happened is just unacceptable.

I hope Jon will sort this out with you asap and that these mixed feelings you have now towards your ring will magically dissolve.

*happy dust*!!

 

[GemFever]

Oh man, I checked in just to see if there were new pics, of the good kind, and found out about these frustrating developments. Good luck with it all Circe! I hope it won't be much longer till you have a resolution you're happy with. Lots of dust!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I certainly did not know about the bruted girdle issues, either!

Circe, did they facet the diamond all the way around or just where it might have been damaged? That was one thing I was not clear about.

Just for a quarter or so of the perimeter ... the part that coincides with it being out-of-round.

Well, well, well..that certainly points to damage being corrected, doesn't it? Otherwise, why didn't they facet the whole girdle??? Gosh, that wasn't even a smart cover-up!

 

[Circe]

So I gotta some good news, and I gotta some bad news.

Good news is, I went out and saw Jon at GOG today: he popped the stone out of the setting, and though the girdle is, weirdly, now faceted in just that one quadrant, it wasn't chipped, and isn't out of round. It was just kind of crappily set so as to appear that way, with the faceting in a somewhat ... um, suggestive location. On the one hand, I feel silly for assuming the worst. On the other hand, given that a lot of things went worse than I imagined ... I figure it evens out.

Bad news is ... the setting remains borked, and now the stone is loose. Argh. But, honestly, at this point in this whole stupid saga, I didn't want it in that setting anymore: after the first, second, and third setting adventures, it was just too much to find out about the replaced-without-notice sidestone, and to worry about what was under the prongs. So, I don't know what I'll do with it - keep it for a colored stone, maybe?

At this point, we're waiting to hear back from the insurance company to see what they say. No idea if they'll consider a jeweler surreptitiously faceting the girdle sufficient for a claim ... or if I can just make a claim for the setting itself. Guess we'll find out. If they reject the whole thing, I'll pop it into the lucky-filigree-find I posted a few pages back: otherwise, I will in all likelihood be coming here to seek further advice from you, oh wise ones ....

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well overall, I think that IS good news!!! I think I would pursue something from the vendor who damaged the setting and not your insurance company. I don't think it is worth claiming a damaged setting just in case you need to use it for something more important later on. The insurance company of the jeweler is the one who needs to be refunding your money and paying some damages for the setting, in my opinion.

 

[Circe]

That ... is an interesting point. Hm. I'm not sure how I would go about that. Small claims court?

 

[diamondseeker2006]

First I would speak to the owner and tell him/her that you need a refund and compensation for the damage to your setting.

 

[Karl_K]

So I gotta some good news, and I gotta some bad news.

Good news is, I went out and saw Jon at GOG today: he popped the stone out of the setting, and though the girdle is, weirdly, now faceted in just that one quadrant, it wasn't chipped, and isn't out of round. It was just kind of crappily set so as to appear that way, with the faceting in a somewhat ...

How does Jon feel this effects the value of the stone if any and if it lessens it will he state so in writing?
He may not be able to, not having seen the stone before it was messed with but maybe he can in general.

 

[Circe]

Then that goes on my list of e-mails to send tomorrow. I know I DO NOT want to give them another chance to fix the ring themselves - I feel like I can't trust them to be honest, and I would really like to stop feeling paranoid about something this symbolic. But compensation for the damage ... hm. Just gotta figure out what a comparable setting costs these days, I guess.

 

[Circe]

So I gotta some good news, and I gotta some bad news.

Good news is, I went out and saw Jon at GOG today: he popped the stone out of the setting, and though the girdle is, weirdly, now faceted in just that one quadrant, it wasn't chipped, and isn't out of round. It was just kind of crappily set so as to appear that way, with the faceting in a somewhat ...

How does Jon feel this effects the value of the stone if any and if it lessens it will he state so in writing?
He may not be able to, not having seen the stone before it was messed with but maybe he can in general.

That's a good question, and one I wish I'd asked directly while I was there - I'll include it in an e-mail.

 

[Karl_K]

Bad news is ... the setting remains borked, and now the stone is loose. Argh. But, honestly, at this point in this whole stupid saga, I didn't want it in that setting anymore: after the first, second, and third setting adventures, it was just too much to find out about the replaced-without-notice sidestone, and to worry about what was under the prongs. So, I don't know what I'll do with it - keep it for a colored stone, maybe?

Careful if you say you can use the setting for a colored stone then you can use it for a diamond and there is no loss.
It is either junk aka a loss or it is not.

 

[Agneau]

Circeeeee.
I was holding back tears while reading through this whole thread. It's a freaking emotional roller coaster.
Shock, sadness, hopeful, happy, excitement, shock, fumes, disgusted, disappointed, unsure but hopeful = order of my emotions.
Thanks for keeping us updated.

 

[Circe]

Bad news is ... the setting remains borked, and now the stone is loose. Argh. But, honestly, at this point in this whole stupid saga, I didn't want it in that setting anymore: after the first, second, and third setting adventures, it was just too much to find out about the replaced-without-notice sidestone, and to worry about what was under the prongs. So, I don't know what I'll do with it - keep it for a colored stone, maybe?

Careful if you say you can use the setting for a colored stone then you can use it for a diamond and there is no loss.
It is either junk aka a loss or it is not.

Good point. Call it a worst case scenario. If I were to use it for anything else, I'd have to sink enough cash into it to replace the sidestone, fix the head again ... more money than its worth. So it is probably a loss - just weirdly hard to let go of a thing I loved, you know?

I mean, I'm writing this in a pair of ten year old pants that are too ratty to wear outside, but man, I loved them when I got them for how they fit and then I loved them for all of the cool things I did while wearing them, things they evoked. I may be a bit of a hoarder.

 

[Karl_K]

Good point. Call it a worst case scenario. If I were to use it for anything else, I'd have to sink enough cash into it to replace the sidestone, fix the head again ... more money than its worth. So it is probably a loss - just weirdly hard to let go of a thing I loved, you know?

I mean, I'm writing this in a pair of ten year old pants that are too ratty to wear outside, but man, I loved them when I got them for how they fit and then I loved them for all of the cool things I did while wearing them, things they evoked. I may be a bit of a hoarder.

believe me I understand and I'm a first class hoarder.
I'm a little better since I got married but its hard.

Every time I read this thread I cuss a little in my head that this happened to you and about the vendor but I try to put that aside and post a calm and helpful reply rather than a rant that don't help.

 

[Circe]

Thanks, DS, Agneau, and Karl - I really, really, really appreciate the good advice and the kind and sympathetic sentiments. Composing an e-mail to the company owner now and hoping I don't come off like some chiseler ... I really have tried absolutely everything else first.

 

[Laila619]

Oh Circe, I'm so sorry!

We've all had bad jeweler stories, but this really takes the cake.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I think you are on a good track with contacting the owner of the company. In your communications with the jeweler, if they refuse compensation (money or a brand new mount for you maybe, to use for something else?) then it could be a good time to mention that you have been documenting your experience and will be detailing the outcome and naming the vendor when it is all resolved Perhaps it will light a fire under their butt to do right by you.

Great news about the diamond not being smaller or off round. Keeping the big picture in mind, this is the most important thing in my mind

Setting: I love the vintgae octagonal bezel. I would put my stone in there. You will need a great jeweler and one who can hand make and solder the new pieces in my opinion -- the inner bezel removed, a new seat created, refining and adding milgrain to the bezel, perfect little hand cut prongs... like the refurbishment I had done on my ring, this work can only really be done by hand and it is painstaking. Can Steven Kirsch do that? He is in NYC.... its not hard work I think, but so delicate. Anyways, that is what I would do because that mount is DA BOMB and so comfortable and practical. You asked a few pages back whether I wear my ring all the time. The answer is yes. I take it off to work out, and to do things with my hands like housework, and to sleep. But I wear it all the rest of the time. So far the gallery work is fine, the milgrain intact, and the shank unbent (the benefits of hand forged metal -- such strength). It does not catch on thingsa nd it cannot hurt my kids. And the diamond is protected. A few times a week I do hit or catch the basket on something which really freaks me out because I think the main delicate part of my ring is the delicate cut-out gallery. And I would cry if it was bent In fact, one side has an area where two of the gallery struts are slightly bent already, likely from a similar hit sometime in its life. I can see it with my eyes, but have not opted to fix it because, as you know too well, a lot can go wrong when you mess with these old mounts! Anyways, so far no additional damage with 8 months of good heavy wear. Your octagonal mount looks lower stance, and a little less delicate than mine so I think it would wear even better.

 

[Circe]

I think you are on a good track with contacting the owner of the company. In your communications with the jeweler, if they refuse compensation (money or a brand new mount for you maybe, to use for something else?) then it could be a good time to mention that you have been documenting your experience and will be detailing the outcome and naming the vendor when it is all resolved Perhaps it will light a fire under their butt to do right by you.

Great news about the diamond not being smaller or off round. Keeping the big picture in mind, this is the most important thing in my mind

Setting: I love the vintgae octagonal bezel. I would put my stone in there. You will need a great jeweler and one who can hand make and solder the new pieces in my opinion -- the inner bezel removed, a new seat created, refining and adding milgrain to the bezel, perfect little hand cut prongs... like the refurbishment I had done on my ring, this work can only really be done by hand and it is painstaking. Can Steven Kirsch do that? He is in NYC.... its not hard work I think, but so delicate. Anyways, that is what I would do because that mount is DA BOMB and so comfortable and practical. You asked a few pages back whether I wear my ring all the time. The answer is yes. I take it off to work out, and to do things with my hands like housework, and to sleep. But I wear it all the rest of the time. So far the gallery work is fine, the milgrain intact, and the shank unbent (the benefits of hand forged metal -- such strength). It does not catch on thingsa nd it cannot hurt my kids. And the diamond is protected. A few times a week I do hit or catch the basket on something which really freaks me out because I think the main delicate part of my ring is the delicate cut-out gallery. And I would cry if it was bent In fact, one side has an area where two of the gallery struts are slightly bent already, likely from a similar hit sometime in its life. I can see it with my eyes, but have not opted to fix it because, as you know too well, a lot can go wrong when you mess with these old mounts! Anyways, so far no additional damage with 8 months of good heavy wear. Your octagonal mount looks lower stance, and a little less delicate than mine so I think it would wear even better.

Words of wisdom all around. I genuinely don't know why it's been so hard for me to complain to this jeweler (over and over and over again). I don't think of myself as being all that traditionally female in terms of reticence: maybe it's simply having grown up poor, and feeling like any complaint about service/money is like shouting poverty to the rooftops. Irrational, but true.

And, hey, as the one decent thing to come out of this so far - finally have that Sarin you mentioned wanting a few times!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Circe, it is a matter of them doing what it right. First, all the delays should have resulted in a call to you telling you that they had had some problems. Second, it shouldn't have been returned to you the first time in such horrible condition. Also, if the person broke on of your shank diamonds in the process, they should have been honest and told you. Now, the ring really is not the one you gave them to work on, and at the very least, your money should be refunded because you didn't get what you paid for. Some additional credit would be nice since you do not feel you can use the setting without having it redone elsewhere. I don't care if you are a billionaire, people need to be accountable when they mess up. And EVERY vendor has mess-ups...but it is all in how they handle it! And you DO need to post the vendor in this case eventually, because others need to know when there is benchwork that is below expectation so they can weigh the risks of working with the vendor.

 

[Circe]

Circe, it is a matter of them doing what it right. First, all the delays should have resulted in a call to you telling you that they had had some problems. Second, it shouldn't have been returned to you the first time in such horrible condition. Also, if the person broke on of your shank diamonds in the process, they should have been honest and told you. Now, the ring really is not the one you gave them to work on, and at the very least, your money should be refunded because you didn't get what you paid for. Some additional credit would be nice since you do not feel you can use the setting without having it redone elsewhere. I don't care if you are a billionaire, people need to be accountable when they mess up. And EVERY vendor has mess-ups...but it is all in how they handle it! And you DO need to post the vendor in this case eventually, because others need to know when there is benchwork that is below expectation so they can weigh the risks of working with the vendor.

Thanks, DS - you're right, and I fully intend to. It's up to them if it's a wholly negative story or if it has an element of .. . rehabilitation, or whatever you want to call it. I just didn't want to post while I was away because I know how things explode! And since I got back, I've been playing catch-up. Can't wait until I teach my last class of the week and have a minute to set down and put things in order, properly.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi Circie,

As a mother you will have to stand up for your children in a number of different circumstances. Look at talking to the jeweler as practice for your children. Just be calm. Even if the jeweler says no, you will have the inner satisfaction of knowing you over came something you were a bit afraid to tackle. Rehearse your points and go for it.

If you can't do it, bring your husband. Men still have more authority than women.

Sorry this happened to you.

Annette

 

[Dreamer_D]

Good advice from Annette and DS.

In addition to addressing the mount, I would also want to hold them accountable for the faceting done on the girdle with out your opinion. Me? I would wait until it was resolved -- good or bad -- to post the vendor so there was the added reason for them to do right. If moral obligations were not inherently enough

 

[SoonerSage]

I've been following your post, I am so sorry this happend. I hope GOG can fix it. Sounds like arrogance, inexperience, and deceit.

Regardng your insurance policy. Look closely at your policy. Have you reported a loss or claim yet? Most, if not all, policies have some time provision to file a claim, i.e. 30 days, 60 days, or as soon as reasonably possible from the date of loss. If you miss the date, you are barred from recovering on a claim. Don't miss the date if you plan on filing a claim.

Further, I do not beleive that your loss must be total. The purpose of your policy is to make you whole, accomplished by repair, replacement or replacement value. Your policy will most likley dictate what your remedy is.

As suggested, demand, in writing, which will be easier for you, that they reimburse you for your expenses, the cost of your setting plus the damage to your diamond (or cost of the diamond if unrepairable). Give them 7 days to respond to you in writing. State that you are giving them seven days to send you a check. You can certanly make the overture that you will contact the BBB, etc.

Oh, if you do file a claim and your policy pays any indemnity, they will subrogate against the jeweler. The jeweler will pay one way or another. Would be nice if they would pony up for their damage now, rather than you having to file a claim.

Best of luck to you. Any insurance questions or you need help writing a letter, let me know and I can help you with it.

 

[Karl_K]

any news?