Cartier Trinity Ring - Poorly made?

[Collectionneuse2Bijoux]

Dear all,

I have been consulting that forum for years during my passionate researches about jewelry and diamonds, but today I need to ask your help more directly as I could not find anyone with a similar issue online.

I went to a Cartier boutique with my husband to buy the classic trinity ring for our 3rd year anniversary. Everything went well, the salesperson even supported us in my request for an untouched ring, as the ones that are tried on inevitably get scratches immediately. It is the nature of this rolling ring, I know... it just made me feel extra safe to get a ring from the stock that had never been worn.

I give this precision because now, one week after I picked it up once engraved, it has scratched very unevenly!
When I checked quickly at the store I did not notice anything, but once home I felt and saw a slight bump in the yellow gold ring. I was annoyed but told myself it might have happened during the engraving and well, it was probably the first of many.
However, this slight bum that could not be seen unless scrutinized when the ring was all shiny, is now more and more apparent as I wear the ring.

The bump left a dark mark on the YG ring, that get scratched deeper a little more everyday. I kept wondering how could the ring have been so distorted with a simple engraving when I realized I was wrong! No, it had to had been cut to be inserted within the pink and white gold! I looked inside and noticed the WG and YG both have a visible cut. WG ring has also this issue of being scratched unevenly but it is way less noticeable than the YG for now so I could not take a good picture.

What should I do? Has this happened to anyone owning a trinity? My husband says they will not be able to do anything about it and I should let it go, as I am probably the only one looking at it so closely... but it bothers me to no end that such a high end brand could sell such a difformed product. It is one of their best seller, since 1924! How could it be made so poorly?

Thank you in advance to the knowledgeable people that will be able to tell me what is the reasonable approach. I have to say I am deeply disappointed by such a bad job on melting the rings back together... when they claim being the pioneer in the method!

P.S: Sorry for the black in the pics, I tried to hide the engraving. I hope it will not take away from focusing on my problem circled in red.

 

[chappy]

I'm totally shocked! I can't tell from your photos how bad it is, but the lines would bother me as well. I have one too, and because of your post I just went and louped all 3 rings; there's no bumps or cut marks on any. However, mine isn't engraved (other than their standard marks).

If it's not too far away, can you bring it in and ask? I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a finished product, without obvious breaks in a simple ring... Hopefully they will want to make it right!

 

[MarionC]

i would certainly go back and show it to them.

 

[Collectionneuse2Bijoux]

Dear Chappy, dear Jimmianne, thank you so much for your replies! Thanks to your support I decided to act on my concern and we called the customer service. They unsurprisingly said that they have faith in their quality checks, that what I describe (soldering the bridges of both YG and WG rings badly) should not happen and have asked that I bring back the ring to the boutique for further examination.
They refused to tell what would be my options if it is (or even if it is not) defective and said to wait for the salesperson to diagnose the issue first.
I am not very hopeful, despite the mark being noticeable on the naked eye... Even my husband saw it, it says a lot: I am not completely crazy .
I am relieved to hear yours was perfect even with a loupe, chappy. It makes me so sad too... I loved that ring dearly already, I feel like Cartier betrayed my expectations. I pictured myself wearing it for 50 years .

And even if they admit that it was indeed a manufacturing issue, I do not want to have to give it back. I am already attached to it, it is engraved and everything. If they ask if I want repair, I am terrified they will just use some kind of sandpaper and scrap the bump away, making the ring thinner and less valuable.
After all I read here about poor polishing or shining service that ended up rounding edges of beautiful, way bigger Love bracelets... I do not trust them and doubt they would go through the trouble to do more than that.

Anyway I will let you know tomorrow what is the diagnosis, thank you again for your valuable input . If anyone else has some testimony about their ring, it would help me going there strong!

 

[chappy]

@Collectionneuse2Bijoux I would try to relax and trust them, as long as they can admit their error. Good luck tomorrow!

By the way, is yours free of logos on the outside? I thought they stopped making that version, it's my favorite!

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Sorry to hear this I have a Trinity and it was resized by Cartier. I just rushed to check it out and I can see no evidence of where it was cut into on any of the rings. It looks perfect to me and I’d never be able to tell it was resized.

 

[Collectionneuse2Bijoux]

By the way, is yours free of logos on the outside? I thought they stopped making that version, it's my favorite!

No, it has the “Cartier” on the pink gold ring. I would also prefer a version free of logos, but well, it is fairly easy to hide? I am including another picture with the logo, you can see the dark mark I am concerned about above the C.
Thank you so much for your support, I appreciate your kind words .

Logan Sapphire, thank you very much for checking on your ring. I am glad it is well resized! I really cannot believe I got the only crooked trinity ring out there? But it is definitely good to hear it seems a rare occurrence.

 

[hathalove]

I’m not at home so I can’t check my trinities. But I have seen this before on another Cartier trinity that my friend has.

I’m just curious if you are able to describe your makers mark on the inside of the band. It’s the mark after all the other stuff. Cartier size serial number then there is a mark. What is on your ring?

 

[LLJsmom]

Good luck!! I hope they resolve this issue to
Your satisfaction, as it should be.

 

[Collectionneuse2Bijoux]

Hathalove, thank you so much for your message! So it has happened to others?? Wow, what did your friend do? Did she noticed only after a while? I cannot believe Cartier can sell rings with such blatant flaws.

I looked inside my ring and it says “© Cartier 54 Gxxxx1 Au750” with the poinçon as the attached picture. Sorry I cannot see perfectly clearly with naked eyes but I am 90% sure it is it!

 

[Collectionneuse2Bijoux]

Thank you LLJsmom ! I will soon be able to update you all. Crossing fingers!

 

[hathalove]

Hathalove, thank you so much for your message! So it has happened to others?? Wow, what did your friend do? Did she noticed only after a while? I cannot believe Cartier can sell rings with such blatant flaws.

I looked inside my ring and it says “© Cartier 54 Gxxxx1 Au750” with the poinçon as the attached picture. Sorry I cannot see perfectly clearly with naked eyes but I am 90% sure it is it!

I was curious if it was made at the same location as yours but she has a different mark. I’m actually the one who noticed it on her ring she didn’t really care and she said her eyes weren’t that great to notice so it didn’t bother her.

As you may know Cartier is made in quite a few different countries and with a main hub in Switzerland. All of the various countries having their own made in country mark.

I know we can get emotionally connected to jewelry but please try and rememeber It is a ring and Cartier will likely try and make it right for you. My SA has never done me wrong and has always taken care of an issue I might have. Whenever there are humans behind a product there is always a possibility of a mistake here and there. I’ve seen problems at all the big jewelry houses. Tiffany, Cartier, Bulgari, VCA etc...

I really do hope they make this right. For me it would be an exchange for a new ring and new engraving.

Keep us posted and definitely take the ring in!

 

[Bron357]

Well that’s very disappointing for you.
My opinion with “luxury brands” is that they aren’t as luxurious as they once were.
The prices are as high as ever but the “customer experience” feels more like a supermarket checkout than a special moment.
Unfortunately it seems that they ”dropped the ball” on your ring. It is in my humble opinion are poor execution of a cut and repair. On gold it should be virtually invisible. Platinum is more difficult, it will often show a “seam”.
Don’t worry about the repolishing causing the loss of gold, it will be a tiny tiny amount ie won’t register on the weighing scale.
Hope it all goes well for you.

 

[Collectionneuse2Bijoux]

Hathalove, Bron357,

I know I repeat myself but thank you so much for your messages. It really means a lot. I admit that sometimes I do have too high standards, but that is exactly why I go for luxury brands with established reputation. I want a piece of art, by the original designer and perfectly executed. The feeling that I possess a little wonder of craftsmanship is what makes me crave for them.

I actually bought the Amulette de Cartier necklace in lapis lazuli a few months ago and noticed a tiny imperfection in the gold above the diamond. I told the salesperson when I came back for making the chain longer, and he offered to buff it out with polishing when they would work on the chain. But I was too worried that it might decrease its value by removing gold... I let it go because I was afraid to be one of those pesky customers that are just too picky and annoying. And again, I did not want to insist and maybe end up having to give back my necklace that I already got attached to. It is probably stupid to want to keep the piece you got in the first place if it is flawed... Anyway just to say yes, it would seem brand name does unfortunately not guarantee pristine and well-crafted items anymore. Let’s hope at least the customer service will live up to their name.

Sorry for the long reply, again I sincerely appreciate your feedback , I have now a better perspective on things and will be more confident at the store!

 

[Collectionneuse2Bijoux]

TL;DR: So I went to the store... and now we wait.

The salesperson who sold us the ring took care of us and was nice and patient, just like last time. But I do not think any satisfying ending will come out of this.
We spent a good hour there; I was trying to show him what bothered me but with the Cartier lightning he had a tough time seeing it at first. I then made him feel the YG ring between his fingertips, and he admitted that he did feel some slight bump and suggested that the ring might be deformed. Maybe it fell?

When he uttered those words I immediately felt defeated. I realized that although he did not seem to think I was being dishonest, he would probably not take my side on this. "It has been more than a week already, who knows if it did not happen while carrying something and the pressure damaged the ring" "You say it is slightly loose, maybe the fact it did not fit perfectly aggravated the problem" etc.

I do not know if it is Cartier policy to basically deny any responsibility up front. It seemed as he was torn between what "his boss would say" (his words) and the fact that he saw we were just a couple genuinely upset about this problem... I could tell he listened and was thinking a lot about how to handle this issue properly. He admitted seeing the cut line inside the WG ring somehow, when to me it was way more difficult to see that the YG issue? He even used a loupe and was still not making any decisive comment about it, it was frustrating that he had a tool and that I was there thinking "but I can see it with my naked eyes, how come you struggle with your extra resources?".
He gracefully brought two other brand new trinity rings to compare and none had the problem I was facing!
He asked us to leave the ring as it would be sent to some craftsperson to give a final diagnosis. "However, this person will probably not be able to determine the cause and why this happened". I told him, if I had dropped it, how come the damage would be exactly where those two cut lines were visible? In two of the three rings? Anyway wouldn't the ring be deformed randomly?
I am still intimately convinced this is a craftsmanship issue... he said if dropped, the ring could have been weakened and it would show at the soldering line. He said he had seen it happened before on people dropping rings and snapping them... He did not seem to accuse me though, he suggested it could have very well happened during the engraving, and he would checked to see if any issue was reported then. Well, you see where this is going right?

Even if they find out that there is a structure issue (and they better do, that is so obvious!! It is the least I am expecting from a professionnal), they will deny that it was there when I bought it.
My husband ended up suggesting he could pay for the repairs if it was needed and I got irritated: why would he pay for an issue that was there to begin with?? My husband replied that it was our fault for not examining the ring closely enough at the store... So I said, the resizing is free right? I am between 53 and 54, what if I were to go down in size so they can just fix the uneven area and everyone is happy: I have a repaired ring, my husband does not have to give even more of his hard-earned money and Cartier does not have to do anything they would not for any normal client.

The salesperson said I should not just go down in size for the sake of saving money, as if I end up being uncomfortable neither my husband nor him would be happy about it. So for the time being, we wait for the diagnosis and then take a decision.

Sorry for the probably unnecessarily long report/rant, I tried to include as much details for anyone who could end up experiencing the same pain as me. Conclusion: please always, always check in the store even if you are afraid to look like the picky/OCD customer and don't want to burden anyone. You ended up having to live with your regrets. Maybe I should not have complained at all? Now I have no ring, I don't know how long this will take and the result is very likely going to be even more infuriating than a poorly finished ring.

Anyway thanks to anyone still reading and I will let you know how the story ends.

 

[bmfang]

Sounds like this is becoming a common occurrence for Richemont owned “maisons”. I have heard similar tactics being used when watch purchasers who have bought a watch from one of Richemont’s maisons and noticed something wrong/unusual with it within a week or two of purchase.

Standard response: Maybe it was an inadvertent bump that you didn’t notice happen that has caused an issue with the case back.
You’ve put your new watch too close to something with a magnet and that’s why it has been running out of spec (in this case, the watch was purchased, worn once for 20 mins and then put back in the watch box, but when the owner checked it the next morning in his watch box, the watch was running 10s faster than the day before, well out of spec).

I.e. it’s always the purchasers fault, never the brand.

Needless to say, this has put me off any purchase of “grail” items from any Richemont owned brand in the future. OP, your situation with your Cartier ring is just confirming what I have heard anecdotally about a lot of “luxury” brands that have origins in Europe (whether France or Switzerland). Once they have your money, who gives a rats @$$ about customer service.