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Engagement Ring - I'm not happy with how it turned out...

T

Tiddles

Rough_Rock
Joined
Apr 1, 2021
Messages
12
Hi all,
First time poster here, so please go easy on me :D

A bit of background: Planning on proposing to my long time partner and wanted to get an engagement ring made. I wanted a 1.5ct Ceylon Blue Sapphire center with 0.65Ct Diamond set around the sapphire in a star pattern. Very similar to the ring worn by Dianna. Also wanted 0.07ct diamonds to be set along the ring, 5 diamonds on either side of the sapphire center. I wanted the ring made in 18ct yellow gold.

The issue: I'm really not happy with how the ring turned out. I'm very new to jewelry, never worn any and never did any research into it until I actually wanted to get this ring made. See attached pictures of how the ring turned out. I do not have the ring with me personally to take better pictures, these were sent to me by the jeweler.

To my untrained eye, i feel like the top crown (not sure if I'm using wrong terminology here) seems very bulky compared to others I've seen online. The biggest issue i have is the diamonds along the sides of ring.... the white gold or silver the jeweler used to set these stones in to the yellow gold ring just seems wrong.. I personally feel like the finish is sub par.. There seems to be an uneven merging of two different coloured metals along both sides.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter.. am I over thinking it? is this how this arrangement would look regardless what jeweler i went to?

Or can this done better? If you think so I'm open to any ideas on how to salvage this? Any ideas on what I can do to make it look better?

Looking forward to your responses. Thank you.
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I agree the shank doesn’t look good.

The workmanship of the prongs looks good but you shouldn’t be seeing the basket under the sapphire - the diamond halo should be right next to the sapphire so you don’t see metal underneath.

I also don’t like that the halo looks like it is sitting on some kind of platform

If I were you I’d have set it all in white metal. Or I wouldn’t have bothered with the stones on the shank - you won’t see them when it’s worn anyway. The attempt to set the shank stones in white was misguided IMO

Did you get a computer image of how it would look before it was made?

I agree if I were you I wouldn’t be happy with this.

where did you get it made?
 
Ionysis said:
I agree the shank doesn’t look good.

The workmanship of the prongs looks good but you shouldn’t be seeing the basket under the sapphire - the diamond halo should be right next to the sapphire so you don’t see metal underneath.

I also don’t like that the halo looks like it is sitting on some kind of platform

If I were you I’d have set it all in white metal. Or I wouldn’t have bothered with the stones on the shank - you won’t see them when it’s worn anyway. The attempt to set the shank stones in white was misguided IMO

Did you get a computer image of how it would look before it was made?

I agree if I were you I wouldn’t be happy with this.

where did you get it made?
Click to expand...

Thanks for your response Ionysis. I 100% agree. I saw the 'basket' and i thought to myself whether I should be seeing it or not!

Unfortunately not.. I did not get a computer generated picture. The jeweler had similar pieces that were pre-made which looked perfect but the sapphire inn those rings were too small for my partners hand. So i had to get this custom made. I assumed it would turn out similar to what he had in his display... i assumed wrong.

I need to figure out how to salvage this.. do go to another jeweler with the stone and ask them to remake the ring? I'm honestly not sure at this point. hence seeking the forum members opinion.
 
Honestly I would not trust this jeweller to get it right. I would retrieve your stone and get this done properly. It’s an engagement ring and is going to be work for life. The quality has to be correct.

Are you based in the US ?
 
I'm currently living in Australia. Long story short, I got the ring made by a jeweler in Sri Lanka.

That's a very valid point you make, it is for life. I will work on retrieving the ring and see if a local (Australian) jeweler can work on it.
 
I wouldn’t pay for that setting.

I would get the stone sent to you and leave the setting with the Sri Lankan jeweller to sell on.

You might not even be able to (or want to) use those diamonds - in a properly set ring they may not be the correct size for that stone.

Sri Lanka is amazing for stones. I buy from there very frequently. Not so much for custom work - I’d never get a SL jeweller to do my setting.
 
I agree that I do not think it is "fixable". It is best to start from scratch.
 
Thanks for all of your responses. I will retrieve the stones asap and go consult a local jeweler and start from scratch...
Learnt a good lesson. Hopefully I can find someone here that can make it the way i want it to look like!
 
I am sure you can. It’s a classic style which most good jewellers could manage well. I’m certain you’ll find a decent Oz jeweller to help you. If you need recommendations there are a lot of members on here who live your way.
Don’t be discouraged. It’s a journey. Am sure it’ll all work out in the end.

please come back and update us on how it goes.
 
Agree with others. Get your stone back and start again with a more qualified jeweler.
 
I think your concerns are absolutely valid.
Can you share price point of the original setting (sans sapphire).
 
Yeah I dont think you can fix that. Frankenstiening a ring to fix it while reusing parts is almost never recommended as there isnt much you can do to reshape the part your keeping. There are a lot of issues with that setting, I would try to let it go if youve already transfered the money as I cant see them reliably fixing it. If you havent sent any money yet, then can you opt to let them sell it through their instagram instead?

I have to ask have you seen the stone yet in person?
 
Rfisher said:
I think your concerns are absolutely valid.
Can you share price point of the original setting (sans sapphire).
Click to expand...

Hi Rfisher, the jeweler quoted 400k LKR (Sri Lankan Rupees) for the whole thing. Im unsure as to what the exact breakdown was.
 
qubitasaurus said:
Yeah I dont think you can fix that. Frankenstiening a ring to fix it while reusing parts is almost never recommended as there isnt much you can do to reshape the part your keeping. There are a lot of issues with that setting, I would try to let it go if youve already transfered the money as I cant see them reliably fixing it. If you havent sent any money yet, then can you opt to let them sell it through their instagram instead?

I have to ask have you seen the stone yet in person?
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Unfortunately not. Its still in Sri Lanka and will be shipped to me within the next couple of weeks. I've already paid for this so I will have to accept the ring as is for now.

Looking at all the other members posts, looks like my best bet is to take it to a local reputed jeweler and salvage the stones then re-forge another right with a better setting.
 
Ionysis said:
I am sure you can. It’s a classic style which most good jewellers could manage well. I’m certain you’ll find a decent Oz jeweller to help you. If you need recommendations there are a lot of members on here who live your way.
Don’t be discouraged. It’s a journey. Am sure it’ll all work out in the end.

please come back and update us on how it goes.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the encouraging words and advice. I will hopefully have the ring with me within the next couple of weeks. I will update you all back on the progress!
 
Ditto previous posters - first step needs to be to confirm that what you’ve bought is actually a mined sapphire, verify its origin (since Ceylon is important to you), and find out what treatments its had (if any). Material, origin, and treatment will hugely affect value.
 
Tiddles said:
Unfortunately not. Its still in Sri Lanka and will be shipped to me within the next couple of weeks. I've already paid for this so I will have to accept the ring as is for now.

Looking at all the other members posts, looks like my best bet is to take it to a local reputed jeweler and salvage the stones then re-forge another right with a better setting.
Click to expand...

Ask for some jewelers in australia. There are a fewer posters here like Bron and Arkieb who may be able to help you. What city are you in by the way?

Mostly Id just sit still till the stone arrives though. The photos you are getting are in a light tent. It is very hard to tell what it might look like in real life.

If you can, then try to get a gemalogical institute of colombo report mailed with it. I dont know if this ship has sailed as it is already set but ideally you would do this. There are not many labs in australia, only one I can remember is spectra (I think) and I am not sure if its still operational.
 
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Thanks for the recommendations. I will get the stone tested by a third party. I will check if the jeweller will provide me with any reports, i doubt he would at this point.

qubitasaurus said:
Mostly Id just sit still till the stone arrives though. The photos you are getting are in a light tent. It is very hard to tell what it might look like in real life.
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Very good point, i probably should wait till i actually see the ring in person before i start worrying about it and planning ahead too much.

What city are you in by the way?
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I'm based in Adelaide, South Australia.
 
Mixing metals in a ring needs a lot of skill and clear vision of what you want. If you can find pictures of what you would like the end product to look like, it will be immensely helpful to both you and the jeweler.

Many rings have white gold crown and yellow gold band. That way the points of contact of the metals are not generally visible. I have seen many halo rings that have yellow gold throughout except for the center stone prongs to bring out the coolness of color of the center stone. There are many ways you can mix metals. Make sure you have a clear vision of what you want.
 
A few questions.

Is this returnable if you don't like it? If yes, then just have a look at it when it arrives.

Have you already brought up your concerns to them? I would be neutrally and politely bringing up the things you are unhappy with. Tell them what you expect, ask to have it remade, and ask for the stone to be 'verified' by a Colombo lab while unset. They may be willing to remake it. Or even possibly refund you and send out the stone loose. You don't know until you (politely) ask.

Have you seen this particular sapphire in detail/video/good lighting? It looks like a beautiful color in the lightbox, just be sure it is also beautiful under normal light conditions too.

Good luck!
 
Tiddles said:
Thanks for the recommendations. I will get the stone tested by a third party. I will check if the jeweller will provide me with any reports, i doubt he would at this point.


Very good point, i probably should wait till i actually see the ring in person before i start worrying about it and planning ahead too much.



I'm based in Adelaide, South Australia.
Click to expand...

Yes just sit tight. Can't plan well in the face of too many unknowns.

Sorry it's many years since I have been to adelaide and I actually dont know a jeweler there or anyone who could recommend one. It's not so easy to reach anywhere else right at the moment. So maybe have to ask around locally.
 
400K Sri Lankan rupees is a fraction over 2000 USD.

What would be your budget for a new ring / remake? You are unlikely to save much by reusing stones.
 
I would have the stone checked before it ships. Shipping gemstones back to Sri Lanka is such a huge pain in the @ss and risks the gem getting lost in transit, damaged, etc.
 
chrono said:
I would have the stone checked before it ships. Shipping gemstones back to Sri Lanka is such a huge pain in the @ss and risks the gem getting lost in transit, damaged, etc.
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Exactly this.
 
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