What do I do now?

[thirston]

Well, I''m in a slump over a ring I had made recently and would love to get some insight from you gals/guys here on PS.

This ring was recently made by one of the PS vendors. I had sent them several photos of similar settings (some from you PS ladies and some from a Tiffany&Co. setting) I liked and picked out the center stone from their inventory.

I''m a little bothered by the look of the ring and I can''t tell if it''s just poor photos, me being anal, or if there are actually a few things that could be changed. Please, if after reading this you think the ring is beautiful and it''s my own mind decieving me don''t hesitate to say so.

For one, doesn''t the setting look a little tall? What I mean is, I think there is a lot more metal (height) at the pointed ends of the pears than I care for. From the bottom up, the round shape of the ring seems to be hitting a cliff where it meets the V on the pears. Is it because the baskets are set a smidge too tall? Also, the pears seem to not be angled down from the horizon or level of the RB''s girdle enough. They look to be maybe 30degrees or less and I think all of the similar rings I''ve seen are closer to the mid or upper 30''s. I was told by the vendor that it wouldn''t be possible to angle them more because it would bring their butt ends away from the center RB... hmmm. Also, when I zoom into the bottom left most picture and look closely at the foremost split prong, I think I see that one side or claw, is thicker than the other. I realize it''s magnified and even if it''s slightly off I might not notice but I''d still love to know if you see it too.

I''d feel bad making the vendor recreate the ring but... I was never sent photos of the wax as proofs prior to it being made. I was told they "forgot" to take photos of the wax. Maybe I''m being too tough because it''s a large purchase, and means so much to me? Please help ease my mind.

 

[JessesGrl]

It is your right to be anal with such a big purchase...however I think you are "nit picking"...the ring looks beautiful, but if you are not satisfied it will probably eat at you

 

[Kaleigh]

Is it the V prongs that look a little high??? Tell me exactly what you don''t like???

 

[onedrop]

I don''t know if you are nitpicking or not, but I cannot see the problems that you listed. That said, if the issues will bother you, I would contact the vendor. In addition, it is hard to tell from photos how the ring will look in real life. What I mean is some of the problems that you listed may not be as visible or problematic when you actually see the ring.

 

[sjz]

I think it depends on how you want the ring to look on the finger. The way it is right now, it's going to span the finger and look like a line of stones. If you want to showcase the RB more, and have the pears appear to be more like accent stones, then I agree with you, the pears are set to level to the RB as you look from the "horizon" angle. If you want the RB to appear to be set higher than the Pears, the pointed end of the pears could be lowered, and I think that effect would be achieved. I wouldn't do anything with the rounded end of the pears, though, or you will have gap between the diamonds that I think you wouldn't like.

 

[jennalyns]

It''s beautiful! I don''t understand the problems you see... I would say wait until you get it and then scrutinize it, because the pictures are magnified, and they tend to play tricks with your eyes because of the lighting and the angles they''re shot at. One picture I got looked like there was a nick in my band, because of a reflection, but when I got it it was smooth and perfect, no nick!

I don''t know about pointing the pears away more because then maybe you couldn''t see them as well from the top... does that make sense? It doesn''t look super-high to me, but maybe they could make it a tiny bit lower if you feel it''s too high.... You are the one who needs to be happy, and they will fix it if there''s a problem, but I think it looks perfect and wonderful!

 

[Demelza]

I understand being stressed out after a big purchase. Custom work, too, can be even more stressful. Having said that, I think the ring looks great. It looks to me like the pears angle down nicely. The heads don't look particularly tall to me -- I would say average height. Perhaps it would be helpful if you showed us some of the pictures you showed the vendor. My other suggestion would be to hold off judgement until you actually get to see the ring in person. That will give you a whole new perspective. It is kind of a big oversight that the vendor "forgot" to show you pictures of the wax.

 

[MrsFrk]

Honestly, I think it looks yummy as is!
Photos are not, I think, a good way to gauge the looks of a piece of jewelry. They tend to magnify flaws that are in person almost undiscernable, and the scale is totally off. Wait until it is on your hand- if you don''t love it once you have the real McCoy in front of you, then contact the vendor and discuss your options.

 

[Maxine]

It looks very nice, but then again I don''t know what your expectations were.....what you wanted/expected it to look like......By all means make sure that you really like it....I agree, it might look different in person...

 

[mrssalvo]

well, it does look a little high for my tastes, but I don't think it's too high. Here's a pic of Kmom's here pears sit lower from the center, more like accent stones.

ETA: just looked at both pics and there is a lot more space in the basket of your ring. I personally like K-moms better. it's too bad the vendor "forgot" the wax but i'm sure they will make it right if you want it changed.

 

[thirston]

Thank you all for your replies. This is the main photo I sent to the vendor (I did send others as well). I believe the side stones have a more dramatic angle in this photo, similar to that which I wanted.

sjz explained it best when she talked about the pears "showcasing" the center stone. I know that the one concern my girlfriend had when we were looking at 3 stone settings was that she wanted the center stone to stand out.

I think that if the pears were just angled a little more that would fix everything. The V''s which I was worried were too tall would thus be shortened, and the angle issue would be fixed at the same time

I hope this is an easy fix for the vendor. I''d hate to think they''ll have to recast the ring. I just wish I was able to see the wax proof and I could have sorted this all out sooner. Ohh well.

 

[Maxine]

The one you posted is very graceful...it flows...do you have pics at any other angle???

 

[mrssalvo]

Honestly,
If it was the Tiffany ring pic you sent them, they came pretty close IMO. The minor differences may have something to do with the size of the stones involved. anyway, you need to be 100% happy so I would have them make the changes

 

[thirston]

Mrssalvo, I agree.

As far as the angle goes. Sevens One posted photos of her ring in this original post of mine and I like that angle as well. I''m not quite sure why my ring turned out with such high baskets and shallow sloping pears.

I worry the vendor is going to just try and talk me out of the changes again. I guess I need to be firm, but I feel bad being firm over measurements like ''a smidge'', or ''just a tiny bit'' etc...

 

[Demelza]

Ah, I see what you''re saying. Yes, the pears could be a bit more on a slope. As for the height of the stones, I don''t think yours looks any taller than what is shown in the photo. I''ll be interested to know what the vendor has to say.

 

[mrssalvo]

sevens'' posted k-moms collage. it does look like her pears sit a little farther away from her center than the pears in your ring.
don''t worry about the vendor, they should have let you see the wax first which might have made a difference.

 

[mrssalvo]

I agree your setting doesn''t look to be any higher than the Tiffany setting. Also, K-mom''s center is a 1 carat, yours is 1.2, maybe that''s another reason it''s sitting up there. I honestly don''t think it will be that high in person though. Did they tell you how high it is in mm?

 

[Demelza]

I agree with Mrs S. Try not to worry too much about the vendor. They really make a big mistake by not first letting you approve the wax. This might have been preventable. Having said that, I would still take a look at the ring in person. These differences may or may not continue to bother you.

ETA: Comparing your ring to the Tiffany ring, I really think they came very close. The only difference to my eye is the angle of the pears.

 

[ame]

holygod that is beautiful! The only thing I see that you are worrying about is the height. I see what you mean by how high the whole thing is. It can all go down a little bit.

 

[thirston]

I would love to see the ring in person but if I still don''t like it then what? I''d have spent time and money to ship it back and lost hundreds of dollars when the vendor only partially refunds the custom setting. Gosh, I wish I wasn''t so passive sometimes. I''ll speak with the vendor tomorrow and exlain to them that my main issue is the angle of the pears and the height of the V prongs. I hope those can be solved without too much trouble.

Thanks again for your time,
-Thirston

 

[Kaleigh]

Thirston,
I believe that the V prongs are too high, IMHO. This can be changed easily. I hope this helps, good luck!!!!!

 

[Demelza]

I know what you mean. I have a very difficult time being assertive and worry about being a pain. The thing is, if you get the ring and don''t like it, they really should be willing to pay for all the costs associated with you having to ship it back and forth. After all, you never approved the wax. I think that''s a good idea -- call them tomorrow and tell them what your concerns are. See what they suggest. Maybe they''ll say they can monkey with it a bit before they send it to you or they''ll offer to make a new one or they''ll tell you to take a look in person and then send it back at their cost if you still don''t like it. If it''s the vendor I think it is (based on the photos), I''ve heard nothing but positive things about their customer service. Hopefully they''ll come through for you. Sorry you have to go through this. I know from personal experience, it''s tough.

 

[ame]

I have no worries that this vendor will make it perfect. I think it''s beautiful as it is but I can see what you mean about the angles. If it''s not what YOU want, get it taken care of.

 

[Jennifer5973]

Get it redone. It's a gorgeous ring but I suspect you'll never be happy. The skipping of the wax was an unfortunate misstep.

 

[windowshopper]

the ring is magnificent from the top --there is one thing that bothers me and it may just be me as i am ridiculously anal...............there seems to be way too much space underneath the stones. The pears seem really shallow (you cant see the culet/point of the pears from the side and there is an abundance of space between the culet of the center stone and the band beneath...........................so perhaps yes it might be a bit too "tall"

 

[noobie]

Date: 8/18/2005 10:24:32 PM
Author: Jennifer5973
Get it redone. It''s a gorgeous ring but I suspect you''ll never be happy. The skipping of the wax was an unfortunate misstep.

I agree. If you are not happy, it will eat at you forever. To me, the stones look like they are set higher than the picture.

 

[yellowfan]

Thirston:

You paid for this ring. Do not feel bad in getting the adjustments made. You need to be happy with your ring or it will eat at you! I am sure this vendor will correct it. I have purchased from them as well.


Don''t feel bad about standing up for what you want.


Lori

 

[aljdewey]

I can relate exactly to the worry over the pictures......I went through the same thing when the same vendor made my custom e-ring.

What I learned from that is this: the pictures don''t honestly tell you how it''s gonna look in real life......seriously. You can see the pic on the left is from the vendor in the "controlled" lighting/depth of field, etc. situation. The prongs looked HUGE to me. It looks like they raised up WAAAAAAY over the stone. I called the vendor, and he said "the problem with pictures is that they don''t capture things the way our eyes do...." and he''s right.

We worked it out that he would ship it to me, and still had an issue with the prongs, he would pay the shipping back and modify it however I wanted......that''s how strongly he felt that I would think differently in person. And he was right. I got the ring, the prongs didn''t look ENORMOUS (as you can see from the real life wearing it picture on the right).

I''m a firm believer in making sure you are satisfied, so don''t think I''m suggesting to settle......far from it. I''m suggesting that you look at the RING instead of magnified pictures of the ring before you make any changes. Especially when it''s one''s first custom project, and they haven''t seen that picture/real life phenomina yet, there''s just no way to really tell if you''re satisfied from these types of pictures....honestly.

Good luck, and make sure you''re completely happy. Big purchase, and you should love it.

 

[s95]

I have to agree that the pictures never do these rings justice. I had the same issue. I looked at my pictures and said, uh-oh, I''m going to have to have them straighten this and that and this looks off, etc, but when it came, it was beautiful and I didn''t have any more second thoughts. The height issue, I''m not sure about. I think having it on your hand and judging in person, though is important. The center stone sure does look beautiful in the pictures!!!

 

[jennalyns]

Date: 8/18/2005 10:02:47 PM
Author: thirston
I would love to see the ring in person but if I still don''t like it then what? I''d have spent time and money to ship it back and lost hundreds of dollars when the vendor only partially refunds the custom setting. Gosh, I wish I wasn''t so passive sometimes. I''ll speak with the vendor tomorrow and exlain to them that my main issue is the angle of the pears and the height of the V prongs. I hope those can be solved without too much trouble.

Thanks again for your time,
-Thirston

If this is the vendor I think it is, they are really good about fixing things... I had sort of a similar problem- I had a ring custom made that was beautiful, but different from what was originally agreed upon. I knew from the pictures that it wasn''t the same, but I decided to try it in person anyway. They shipped it to me, and while it was gorgeous, I didn''t fall in love with it because it just wasn''t the same (I was having my wedding set copied in platinum; the new set was curved differently and had a different look, and I was emotionally attached to the old one). So I sent it back and they remade it, no charge, and the only money I was out was shipping it back to them (they didn''t charge me to ship the remade one back to me). Well worth it in my opinion, because the remake was awesome! I''m in Japan, btw, so it was quite a process with the shipping back and forth. It took a long time mostly because the time difference made communication difficult, but it was so worth it. I guess what I''m trying to say is if you get it and you still don''t like it because it''s different from what you originally asked for, they will make it right (if it''s who I think it is!).

Good luck!