Ring Paranoia

[ASTjitters]

Ok, I''m not a regular poster on here, but I think that I''m just too nervous and would like someone other than my boyfriend to tell me things will be ok!

After over a 2-month journey of us purchasing a beautiful VS1 G 1.43 round ideal center stone, searching and searching for settings, and finally buying 2 more .25 ct side stones and designing a wedding set, the day is nearing that it will finally be done! We found a highly recommended jeweler in our area - all he does is custom work. We have spent over 3 hours discussing things with him. We were a bit paranoid about leaving our center stone with him, but he assured us it would be ok, and his store had insurance. OK. He also showed us several works he had done, and we were extremely impressed with his workmanship - especially with pave. (We read the horror stories about bad pave on pricescope here so we wanted to make sure we got someone that knew what they were doing.)

Anyways - our three stone, pave ring and matching band. We were told it would be done sometime around Thursday-Saturday. Well, since we were leaving this weekend, my BF calls today to see if maybe they are done. Well, no. Not a big deal. But he got another surprise - the jeweler told him that it was still "sent out" getting the pave work done. And also informed my BF that, the center stone and two side stones were set. Ok - now here is the WHAT?!?! We were NEVER told our ring - let alone our stone - would leave the SHOP!!! AND, we were under the impression HE was doing the pave work! We are trying to be rational here, and not freak out. Well, probably me moreso than my BF. Oviously I think the jeweler should have TOLD us this would be happening!

But here are my questions, and hopefully I will be unfreaked out after I read some of your replies:

1.) My main paranoia with the stone is I heard about stone-swapping. But has anyone actually had this happen to them? We are going to be getting an apparaisil right away, but I still worry! I know other people have had worries on here too, but I''ve never read about it actually happening to someone. I''d think that this jeweler, who''s been doing this for over 20 years, would get a bad reputation if that ever happened and be out of business ...

2.) I''m a very "typical" engineer - and sometimes expect perfection. Maybe this is a little out of the question, but I asked the jeweler if the pave on the two bands would kind of "line up" - like when the rings were sitting next to eachother, the diamonds would sit next to eachother. He said, well probably. To me I think that should be no problem,?! But maybe that is something silly to expect with .01 stones?

Yes, I''m a very neverous person! Maybe I''m just anxious that the day is finally coming!!! Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[mrssalvo]

you can do a seach on stone swapping and some old threads will pop up. First of all, you should learn to be able to recognize your stone or have it lazer inscribed. If you''re unsure what to look for, have the jeweler teach/show you a characteristic that will help you identify it so you can know it''s your''s when you pick it up. taking it for follow-up appraisal is always a nice way to verify too.
But, it is extremely rare that a reputable jeweler who risk ending their career, losing their business and Jail time in order to take your stone. The payoff for them just wouldn''t be worth the risk. I seriously wouldn''t worry about it at all and just by learning your stone will hopefully help to give you some peace of mind..

 

[ASTjitters]

MrsSlavo - Thanks for the comment. Actually, my BF has looked at the stone several times under a microscope-type-thing to look at diamonds close up (I don''t know what it''s called) - because when we bought the diamond we got it appraised also (to make sure we got what we paid for). There is actually a distinct characteristic of the diamond - a small black inclusion near the center - we''ve been told 2x my different jewelers it was there, and that is the reason it is a VS stone (so we were told!).

I''m just a paranoid person I guess!

 

[alyson423]

Hi! Your stones and ring plans sound beautiful and I can understand why you would be nervous- after all, there''s a lot of time and energy invested there! I would just try to anticipate the happy moment you pick up your newly finished rings, and get to try them on.

Other ladies with pave e-rings and bands should maybe weigh in on the "diamond lining up" issue. Is this about craftsmanship, or just a matter of how you happen to position the rings? Is it unrealistic to expect stones that tiny to line up? I don''t have any answers, just thought I''d throw out the questions, and wish you luck on your projects- I bet they''ll be beautiful!

 

[decodelighted]

I''m sure wherever the piece is being sent out to is somewhere this jeweler uses a lot if they SPECIALIZE in custom work ... pave is so specialized, it''s like a great resteraunt buying their pastries elsewhere.

On the "lining up" thing ... I think you''ll find that no matter how much teeny diamonds in two rings CAN "line up exactly" -- in practice, they''ll almost NEVER be "right". Rings with good craftsmanship should have equally spaced stones & similar millgrain etc (if appl) but -- remember, what looks good on the page or in pix is just a moment in time, not how stuff exists "in life" and "in action".

I was obsessing like this one time in a jewelry store and my Ever Helpful friend said "Yeah, yeah, yeah ... now imagine it covered in dog slobber & Cheetos dust ... ''cause THAT''s how it''s REALLY gonna look." Exaggeration? Of course! But ... you know ... kinda true!

 

[Mara]

pave lining up has to do with the rings lining up...my wedding band moves so my w-ring is typically not aligned with the stones on my ering but honestly 1 pointers are so tiny that you probably won''t even be able to focus in on them all that individually when they are set...the sparkle is pretty blinding.

i would caution one thing...''perfection'' with custom is kind of a tall order IMO. there are different levels of perfect to people. i would just caution that if the ring is hand-made that there could be small nuances that make it unique, not totally symmetrical and not totally ''perfect''. sometimes people are disappointed when they get a custom piece. anyway, i love my custom rings but i also don''t expect them to be absolutely spot on perfect. just my two cents...good luck and please post pictures!

 

[mrssalvo]

another thing you can do is have the rings soldered together so the diamonds are lined up when the two rings are next to each other. I prefer my rings seperate and in tiny stones like you''re using I doubt it will be really noticable. My sister has a channel set ring with 2 or 3 pointers and had her wedding band soldered so the diamonds would be perfectly in line on both rings at all times.

 

[londonblue]

from what i''ve read, diamond swapping just doesn''t seem all that common and almost more like an urban legend almost.. the type of stories that are spread by fear. i''m always surprised by how often i hear of that concern by people who i talk to. to make some quick money, it seems like it would be easier to sell crap diamonds on ebay for "dirt cheap prices"


if you''re checking the pave to see if they''re lining up, maybe it''s time to get a more mesmerizing stone
but i was curious since that never occured to me, so i pulled up some photos of our rings we just had made. 1 ptr diamonds are so tiny that half the time they''ll probably end up lined up anyway just because of their size, when they rotate on your finger. here''s some photos of our rings, sometimes they just line up by chance
btw, 2mm bands w/ 1 pt melee.

the rings were made to go together so i would think if you''re getting both rings made at the same time both using 1 pt melee it should be no problem.

 

[ASTjitters]

Hey everyone

I appreciate your responses. Actually, with the custom rings, this jeweler makes all his rings with square shanks, unless you really, really want the "round" ring - he does this so that they sit nice on your finger. And if sliding becomes a problem, he also will put in what he called "springs" on the inside of the band to hold it in place. So hopefully the rings will line up nice.

LOL - re: the diamond - it is a VERY mesmerizing diamond. When my BF and I recieved it both our jaws dropped - it just amazed us! I think I''m just being anal/anxious/excited about my rings being done (hopefully TOMORROW!) and want them to be "perfect"!

If they get done soon, I''ll be sure to post pictures!!!