Someone with exp. tell me Jewelry repair...

[246204]

I had my engagement ring repaired earlier this month, I had a damaged prong tip on the center stone. I jeweler told me that the whole head was bad because the person who did the work originally didn't know what they were doing and had shaved down the prongs too much so it was too weak. Since I had been wearing it for ten years and done a lot of things with it on I really shouldn't have I kinda thought I might have been the reason the prong tips were so thin.... So he said what he would do is order a new head. I agreed, I assumed that the ring would look the same after the repair it doesn't. It was a peg head that looked like a narrow upside down "A" (with a small flat top) from the side and lined up exactly with the side stones/ring band, so I thought that is what it would be still. But it looks like he cut out that part and soldered in a basket or something. It looks shoehorned in there to me, kinda crooked, and the prongs seem huge and sort of curve compared to before.

I don't know what to do, if this is my fault for not asking to begin with, if it's possible to get my ring back to the way it was....etc. Any opinions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Tiffany

I forgot to add the center stone is a lot lower than it was before looks I don't know squat to me, used to look so delicate..

 

[246204]

more pictures

 

[Gypsy]

Did you get anything in writing, and do have 'before' pictures?

 

[Christina...]

yeah, I agree, it looks like your diamond is being swallowed up by those prongs and it's definitely sitting too low. It looks like the head is too big for the stone and that he tried to make it work anyway. I would definitely go back and tell him that your not satisfied and that you want the head to be of the same style it originally was. Do you have before photos?

 

[246204]

No I don't have any before pictures because I'm an idiot. I just never thought to and I am kicking myself for it now. The claim ticket I got just said "order and replace 14k white gold head remount stone". I just don't know what to do, I mean he did do the work, but it is so depressing to have my ring look so, well junky.

Tiffany

 

[GirlyGirl]

They way you describe it, it sounded like your ring needed the prongs retired, rather than have the head replaced.

I agree with Christina that going back and telling him that you are not satisfied is the right thing to do. It does look like he jammed a too big head onto your ring. Perhaps he was hoping you wouldn't notice.

I have no idea why some jewelers have no standards. I am very sorry you are going through this.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I can't tell that much from those pictures except it looks like they used a head for a princess cut which I think probably protects your stone a lot more than just plain prongs. The head does match the side stones when you look at it from the side. I think the stone looks pretty high from the side compared to the side stones, too. If it is not straight or something like that, that is another matter. But I would want my corners protected if I had a princess cut stone.

 

[Gypsy]

Since you have no documentation and no pics basically you are stuck with their good will, the promise of repeat business as a carrot, and the threat of yelp as a stick.

Is the bench that did the work onsite, or did they send the repair out? Cause that's going to make a difference. If you were smart enough to go with an in house bench you will be better off. If the bench is off site then you might get finger pointing (MY instructions were clear, THEY screwed up. And: Their instructions weren't clear, I was just doing the best I can).

Go in there, tell them you are unhappy with the repair because it doesn't look the same head at all, and that's what you were promised. And just try to appeal to their humanity and their desire for good word of mouth. If that doesn't work tell them something like, "I hate having to post negative reviews on yelp and on other boards, is there any way we can work this out."

But basically since you have no proof of any problem (and I agree with DS the prongs and profile look fine to me) you are stuck with whatever you can negotiate with them.

 

[Christina...]

I guess I shouldn't have said that it's set 'low' because I'd have to agree with both Gypsy and DS that it actually does sit high off the finger, I guess what I mean is that it sits deep in the head, if that makes more sense? The prongs still look really large and bulky to me, so maybe that is what you are seeing too? I agree that you should have V tip prongs to protect the fragile corners but if it were me I would want them to be more dainty. Perhaps they could file them down some? Gypsy and DS have much more setting experience than I do, if fact they are my go to gals for my projects, so they will have a better idea and understanding of what can or should be done. I'm anxious to hear how you make out, so be sure to post back. Good Luck!

 

[246204]

Thank you guys for the responses. This work was done in house, I actually waited forever to get my ring fixed because we were living in bakersfield previously where no one did in house repair and I didn't trust a store at the mall to mail it away. It always had a princess head but the prongs (?) idk maybe that is the wrong word, used to be straight now they are way bigger and curved. I know that it is higher up than the side stones but it used to be higher and the head was smaller at the base and matched the size of the rest of the band. When you would look straight down at it you wouldn't see the bars on the sides of the center stone.

So I guess I am pretty much out of luck on this. I just don't understand why he would replace it with something that looks so different. The whole ring is very square why would I want the center be curved? Pictures were the best I could do since all we have is the phone. Thanks again.

Tiffany

 

[Gypsy]

Tiffany, I didn't say you were out of luck. I said that "don't be surprsed if they tell you you are out of luck" BUT don't just assume you are without talking to them. Tell the guy what your issues are and tell him this is a very sentimental peice and having it not come back the way it was promised is upsetting and that you would appreciate it if they modified it to look the way it did, with a new head of the same design as the old one. And then see what they say. There are decent jewelers/people out there and they may tell you: "we're sorry, we'll fix it right away". I just wanted to prepare you for the situation where they don't say that. But I never said don't ask for the modification. You relied on what they said, had a verbal contract, and then they subsitiuted a different product for what you ordered, and paid them. You do have rights. It's just that you would be in a better position if you had before and after pics and a receipt that said, " ring head will be replaced with one of same design and repaired ring will look the same in all design aspects to original" or something like that.