FINALLY got the wax. Computer design to wax...

[Ukieza]

I''m not sure if anyone remembers me but I was waiting for my wax to come back. Well, I FINALLY got to see it. It took MUCH longer than they estimated plus they missed my deadline and I was unable to view it for a week after that. Grr... Anyway... Here is the original CAD drawings I did of it. Some may remember after I post this image.

This was the design thread I had. This thread is the wax thread for this ring.

Ukieza

 

[Ukieza]

I apologize for these pictures. I was in a huge hurry and didn''t get much time to set up lighting or anything else. Plus, it was at the jeweler.

-Ukieza

 

[Ukieza]

Here is another.

 

[Ukieza]

And another.

-Ukieza

 

[Ukieza]

And the last... this one is miserable for focus. I believe my camera was focusing on the far side of the ring and not the front. It''s not a great camera anymore. Quite old actually.

Anyway.. any opinions?

-Ukieza

 

[MissAva]

Of course we remember, how could anyone forget? It looks pretty spiffy to me. Do you have an from the top shots? Will they be making the final ring, and if so when will it be ready? Oh I am so excited for you!

 

[AChiOAlumna]

It looks great!! How long will it take for them to complete the ring at this point? I hope for your sake it''s faster than the time it took to make the wax!!

Can''t wait to see the finished product!!

 

[Ukieza]

Matatora wrote:

Of course we remember, how could anyone forget? It looks pretty spiffy to me. Do you have an from the top shots? Will they be making the final ring, and if so when will it be ready? Oh I am so excited for you!

Thanks! As for top shots. All that is posted above is all that I got of the wax. I only had time for 4 shots. The guy looked at me weird when I wanted to take photos of it. It totally felt like I was on a car lot dealing with used car salesmen. Not such a great exprience so far and I''ll be posting another post after it''s all finished stating who the Jeweler is and the experience I''ve had with them. For now, I want to stay anonymous due to people snooping that may know me in real life.

AChiOAlumna wrote:

It looks great!! How long will it take for them to complete the ring at this point? I hope for your sake it''s faster than the time it took to make the wax!!

Can''t wait to see the finished product!!

Thanks! To answer both your and Matatora''s question, it''ll take 2 weeks according to them. But I''ve heard that several times before. Ugh. I was hoping to get it back by the end of the month just so I could have flexibility of when I ask her. They said they''ll try to get it to me by then. But then the guy wrote nothing down about it and didn''t look like he was sincere. Not happy about that.

Thanks for your replies! I hope things go a little more smoothly otherwise this jeweler will not be getting to do the wedding band.

-Ukieza

 

[fountainfairfax]

I''m so sorry to hear that for all the time, care and effort you took with the design that your chosen jeweler isn''t meeting the timeline they gave you

that''s very disappointing, because it does give you reason to be concerned...

however the wax looks great, very true to your cad design. when you look at it can you see the ring you imagined? Did they show you the wax with any of the stones in place? I can''t wait to see the finished result, thanks for sharing the process with us!

 

[LaurenThePartier]

It looks fantastic! I love the stones underneath the center stone!

Not sure about the prongs though . . . did they change the angle of them because of the worries of bending? It''s hard to see them so I can''t tell if it''s just the blurry picture or what . . .

It''s going to be gorgeous with the princess cuts, but I can''t help picturing how lovely this ring would be with Asschers.

 

[bluedawg]

Well, it''s coming together beautifully-- but I''m sorry that the customer service hasn''t been better.

Can''t wait to see the finished product.

 

[Ukieza]

Well, the jeweler called and stated they are working it now and will have it done June 4th. Wow... totally not cool. I wanted it before the beginning of June. Obviously they don''t really pay much attention to what the customer wants. How could it take them 2.5 weeks to go from wax to finished product if WF can do the full process in 10 days? Grr...

-Ukieza

 

[Kaleigh]

June 4th?? That is definetly not cool. Why, did they say they are backed up or what?? That''s a shame.

 

[mrssalvo]

have you decided to go ahead and proceed with them?

 

[Ukieza]

I'm not sure yet what to do. I might call WF just in case. I'm also going to call the jeweler and see what they say when I ask, "what if I don't like the finished product?" I'd like to call them on their number game with their AGS3 rock I mentioned in another post on here. That was frustrating.

Ukieza

 

[Kaleigh]

Sounds like this jeweler is yanking your chain IMHO. If you do decide to go with them you need to get everything out in the open and make sure they understand your expectations for this piece. If it were me I would go with Whiteflash.

 

[MissAva]

I am not telling you what to do...
However I would not work with a jewler that acts the way this one has. Latel delivery, not respecting your original time line for finished product, unclear with stone info....just doesnt sound like a good choice. I dont know anything about WF from my own experiences, that said reading PS has lead me to belive that they are quite good. Call them hear what they have to say. If you wait too long to call another place it will be June no matter what.

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 5/18/2005 4:23:46 PM
Author: Ukieza
I'm not sure yet what to do. I might call WF just in case. I'm also going to call the jeweler and see what they say when I ask, 'what if I don't like the finished product?' I'd like to call them on their number game with their AGS3 rock I mentioned in another post on here. That was frustrating.

Ukieza

Not to add further fuel to the flame...but I have had experience (several threads on this!) with a chain-yanking jeweler....and my question to you is...what's to say the ring is even going to be DONE on June 4th like they say? I'm only asking because when I was in a similar situation, not a single deadline given to me was ever met. Do you trust they will be handing you a finished ring on June 4th? And if you don't like the final ring, are they amenable to fixing it to your liking? I'm a little concerned with your prongs - I know the final ring is worked on and polished and evened out and all that stuff...but they seem "tacked on" to the wax and I'm worried they won't come out as you hope they will.

It can't hurt to contact any of the jewelers mentioned here (Quest, WF, etc) and ask whether they can get a ring to you by June 1st (2 weeks from today) or 4th. At least you know they will deliver on time, and with a superior quality product.

Just my 2 cents...I wish you luck...dealing with a custom job and a jeweler who seems to drag their feet and give you a runaround is NO fun...

 

[Ukieza]

First of all thank you everyone for your help. Without you I would be lost.

I called the jeweler a few minutes ago and asked what would happen if I didn't like the finished product. He said that the wax was my chance to bring up concerns. With their normal rings they have a 30day return but since its custom.. it's mine. So I told him I was a bit concerned with the european shank part of my wax that the sales guy reassured me that it would be just fine when it comes out. But my concern was there wasn't enough wax in that location to make it look right... they'd have to add metal.. which probably isn't easy. Then I asked about the price it was going to be. He said the price of metal fluctuates so he can't know at this point. So, not only will I be stuck with whatever the jeweler finishes.. which might be an unacceptable ring.. but I will also be stuck with who knows what price! Which was already high in my eyes. I was hoping for at least $200 less... My requests to keep it under a certain price will most likely not be met since they haven't met any of my requests to hit deadlines.

The second piece of this is that I called WF and asked them about some stones. They have no access to AGS graded princess yet which is fine.. I understand that.. not a problem. I asked about custom jobs. The sales associate stated that it's 10 business days from the time they get the stone. Which means there is no way they can meet the June 1st deadline. Looks like I'm out of luck for that either way. I haven't called quest because I don't have access to a "long distance for free" phone currently. I'll do that soon... I hope. The problem is finding the stones. I need twenty 0.04 carat E SI2's and 1 AGS cert'ed 0.50 carat F SI1. I don't care about the AGS cert on the 20 little ones... not a big deal.... Ugh.

To all of your points, it's true, I don't even know if I can trust that they'll get it done the 4th. If they get it done the 4th there is no way I'll beable to sneak off to get it. It'll have to wait until the next week and I can say I'm working late. This sucks. Not to mention that before I went to see the wax I requested that one of the channel stones be put in the wax and the center to be put in too. Was that done? Of course not. With no excuse as to why... granted, I didn't work with my normal associate but still...

Right now, I'm exhausted because of this... I'm thinking I'm going to just call the local place.. cancel my order there and lose my $99 for the wax and run. The wax is almost worthless in my mind.. grrr.. I thought this was suppose to be fun. Maybe it's a sign?

Ukieza

 

[FireGoddess]

By the time they have the wax cast, they should absolutely be able to give you a firm price. They know how much metal they will be using to cast, and they know how many diamonds they are going to need. You should absolutely not still be waiting to hear a final price.

All my instincts say to run from this place, even if it means losing $99 for the wax. They are not being upfront with you, and could end up costing you a lot more than you bargained for. If you don''t like the ring because of their WORKMANSHIP, they should ABSOLUTELY be willing to remake it for you. Design flaws...unfortunately your liability, but the workmanship...is all theirs.

 

[MissAva]

I agree with FireGoodess, call WF and tell them your situation. Then send them an email with the following, all of your pictures, you stone requirements, your budget. I would then ask them if there is anything you have not yet thought of. These are professionals and they may be able to think of things that you cant. Ask them if they can do the ring and what is the earliest day they could have it compleated by. It can never hurt to ask.

 

[MissAva]

Date: 5/17/2005 11:35:27 AM
Author: Ukieza
I apologize for these pictures. I was in a huge hurry and didn''t get much time to set up lighting or anything else. Plus, it was at the jeweler.

-Ukieza

When I look at the prongs in this (the first) and the third picture they look uneven and differently applied to the base....

 

[noobie]

Date: 5/18/2005 5:37:14 PM
Author: Ukieza
Then I asked about the price it was going to be. He said the price of metal fluctuates so he can''t know at this point. So, not only will I be stuck with whatever the jeweler finishes.. which might be an unacceptable ring.. but I will also be stuck with who knows what price! Which was already high in my eyes. I was hoping for at least $200 less... My requests to keep it under a certain price will most likely not be met since they haven''t met any of my requests to hit deadlines.

This is the biggest piece of BS and a huge pet peeve of mine. They should commit to a firm price before you commision the job, before wax, unless you go crazy with changes or it''s an intricate or tricky design.

Using the price of metal crap is a ruse to charge you whatever he feels like. The 30 day range for platinum is $853 to $881 per ounce. Your ring looks like about 6 grams or so no more than 8 grams. That price change would increase the cost of your ring by a whopping $5.31! Even at the one year high and low, the difference in your ring is $26.60.

If it were me, I would cut all ties with this jeweler and run. You might also think about delaying the ring to get it right. You have invested so much time into it, it would be a shame to not get it perfect due to trying to meet a deadline.

 

[mrssalvo]

I agree, let go of the $99 and take your business someplace else. I am having a custom job done now. I sent pics and they gave me a quote before they had my stone. The project has ended up a bit more challenging then they expected. Once the first wax was completed they had trouble getting the diamonds to sit right in the wax so they went ahead and modified the design and determined that they were going to have to hand carve a new wax. The price has stayed the same despite all the extra work. they want the customer to be 100% happy. I also agree you might reconsider your timeline. I know how excited you must be but you don''t want to sacrifice quality workmanship for a quick product. you have a beautiful design and it should be done right. Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

[Kaleigh]

Good luck and let us know when you find the right jeweler to make your ring. Hang in there I know it''s frustating to say the least.

 

[Ukieza]

Thanks everyone for the help and support. I''ve decided that when the jeweler calls this morning I''m going to ask him for the price. If it''s under my budgeted amount I MIGHT stay with them as long as they ensure me that if I don''t like the piece that I don''t have to buy it. Which won''t happen.. so I''ll be leaving them. My only concern is resizing, cleaning and maintenance on loose stones. How much does all that cost? I already know I can''t have it for my deadline and if I get someone else moving on it I could probably have it done before they could do any changes necessary.

WF or Quest, here I come! (or another local dealer if I find one that I like)

Grrr!
Ukieza

 

[mrssalvo]

i have a local jeweler who cleans my rings for free whenever I go in. I recently wanted to seperate my e-ring and wedding band that had been soldered together and he didn''t charge me for that either. I have yet to purchase anything from him but I hope to very soon

It''s definitely good to build a relationship with someone local for these purposes. Most small local guys would be more than happy to provide those services and you could always plan on buying some earrings etc. for and upcoming b-day

 

[Kaleigh]

I agree with mrssalvo, most local jewelers will be more than happy to do this type of service for free in hopes that when a special present is needed for birthday, annivesary you will come to them. I have several jewelers that do this for me. Some I have bought from and some I haven''t but hope to soon.

 

[Ukieza]

Well, I''ve talked with WF a little, Quest has my drawings to give me an estimate and I have talked with a couple other local jewelers. One states they made a custom ring for someone over night but I''m guessing it wasn''t that detailed. Some were stating 3 weeks... I also called my current jeweler and told some guy there (my associate was busy with a customer) to hold the process and do nothing with the wax until I call back. One local vender already came in with an estimate that was close to $1000 less. If that isn''t cool then I don''t know what is. They state 4-6 weeks.. I cringe every time I hear that because my current jeweler told me the same. A local guy that seems to do this by himself gave an early estimate after I described it over the phone as $1500-1000 less. That was nice to hear too. Said he might be more expensive but he''ll do it correctly.. well I didn''t tell him the original estimate. That''s crazy amounts! I''m an idiot for not doing this in the first place.

-Ukieza

 

[mrssalvo]

Don''t be too hard on yourself. We all have learned some expensive mistakes in one way or another. The good news is you found out BEFORE the ring was finished and you have a do-over.

Good luck, sounds like you''re on the right track.