Is my setting uneven? Need more opinions!

[lovemochi]

Hey guys! This is my 18k white gold oval halo from James Allen. Now, it's BEAUTIFUL and incredibly sparkly. The diamond is everything I could have hoped for but I'm having a hard time unseeing what I think is the centre stone being set off to one side, or the halo has not been casted or built around the stone properly? Also not sure if the top edge or bottom edge of the halo is being overlapped by the diamond. Everything else about the setting is very nicely done. Just the setting of the stone....
It's actually not very noticeable if you just glance at it but if you really analyze it from the top, you'll notice it. Not sure if this is worth sending back to James Allen for. They said they will inspect it but does that guarantee a repair/replacement?
What should I do? I'm also afraid that the repair may come back worse or it might get lost in the mail... because everything else is so perfect!

 

[KKJohnson]

I would send it back, if there is a gap between the stone and halo its not been made or set properly

 

[distracts]

None of your pictures are directly straight-on so I can’t tell if there is actually a gap or it’s just the angle.

 

[lovemochi]

 

[OcnGypZ]

Try placing the ring on a candle as straight as possible. Last shot is still crooked.

 

[Rfisher]

Stock halo design, correct?
What I think you are seeing is the difference in your diamond (more elongated) shape vs the (less elongated) oval shape of the halo.
If a custom bench doesn’t go off exact shape of your stone, and they make the halo a generic oval shape it won’t match up then either.

If you love it, and think it’s perfect otherwise, and can forget about the gap - let it go. You probably are asking for more problems in shipping it back and forth and them tinkering with it. If they can’t custom make the halo to your stone - there’s nothing they can do fix it. Other than finding a different shape oval that matches the setting more close.

 

[lovemochi]

Unfortunately I don't have a candle and I'm not home with it. I'll post more pictures! I think maybe some angles accentuate it more.

 

[lovemochi]

Stock halo design, correct?
What I think you are seeing is the difference in your diamond (more elongated) shape vs the (less elongated) oval shape of the halo.
If a custom bench doesn’t go off exact shape of your stone, and they make the halo a generic oval shape it won’t match up then either.

If you love it, and think it’s perfect otherwise, and can forget about the gap - let it go. You probably are asking for more problems in shipping it back and forth and them tinkering with it. If they can’t custom make the halo to your stone - there’s nothing they can do fix it. Other than finding a different shape oval that matches the setting more close.

For a big company like JA, they probably use stock halos. I mean I love the ring, I think I am overthinking it. Its not incredibly noticeable either to the average person just looking at it. I'd probably be able to let it go. I'm much more anxious about shipping it back when the diamond itself is already beautiful and everything else is great.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I think you should stop taking pictures of the ring and *only* look at it with your eyes Kind, uncritical eyes. Rfisher hit the nail on the head in terms of your diamond vs. the proportions of the stock setting. Sure, it isn't a perfect fit. But it cost less and was a much easier process to buy than going custom! If this is the "tradeoff" then I think it's well worth it and easy to accept. Deciding to let it go and enjoy your ring is probably the best way forward!

 

[lovemochi]

I think you should stop taking pictures of the ring and *only* look at it with your eyes Kind, uncritical eyes. Rfisher hit the nail on the head in terms of your diamond vs. the proportions of the stock setting. Sure, it isn't a perfect fit. But it cost less and was a much easier process to buy than going custom! If this is the "tradeoff" then I think it's well worth it and easy to accept. Deciding to let it go and enjoy your ring is probably the best way forward!

Interestingly, I just spoke with a customer service rep who stated that the settings are actually cast from scratch to fit the dimensions of the center diamond, and that there should be no gap between the diamond and halo. So that makes me reconsider having it repaired. My partner did spend quite a bit of money on it so I'd hate for it to be less than perfect.

 

[Rfisher]

Hmmmm.
In my mind, if the sales rep isn’t mistaken (whole ‘nother issue there) this changes my stance.
Would you mind telling us how much just the ring setting cost? Everything but the main diamond?

 

[lovemochi]

Hmmmm.
In my mind, if the sales rep isn’t mistaken (whole ‘nother issue there) this changes my stance.
Would you mind telling us how much just the ring setting cost? Everything but the main diamond?

The setting itself was roughly CAD$2000, 18k white gold. The sales rep did say that I should speak with the service team in more detail to understand how the settings are made, so I've sent the email and I'm hoping to hear from them soon. I did specify in this particular e-mail that I'd like the entire setting to be remade instead of having just the halo tinkered with as I don't want the pave stones to lose their integrity.

I keep going back and forth between repairing it or not!

 

[Rfisher]

Same. I don’t feel there is a repair. Only a recast.
As for that price - hopefully someone knowledgeable can chime in if that’s appropriate for a custom cad pave halo or a stock one. That also will help you decide.

 

[lovemochi]

The service team sent a repair order yesterday with this description:

JA####### REPAIR - Please inspect and repair gap between halo and center stone; Halo to be oval shaped and not rounded.

I mean this gives me a bit more confidence because it seems like they know what it is that I am looking for with the "repair".

If they recast it for free, I would be happy.

 

[BMI]

I agree with your initial post that the stone looks to be set slightly off to one side. When you look at just your diamond in relation to your shank (ignoring the halo) does the stone seem to be set perfectly straight up and down? In your pictures, to me it looks like the stone is ever so slightly rotated and shifted to the side on one end. This will be a very simple fix if that is the problem. It is also possible that the halo opening is a tiny bit wider than your diamond in the center but if the stone is straightened out I don't think it would be as bothersome to you (and if it is you can still request they recast the setting). If you are anything like me I suggest you send the ring back for them to fix, especially since you stated you are having trouble unseeing the problem.

 

[Lykame]

Congratulations on your engagement and your beautiful engagement ring!

So I had a similar concern that my setting was wonky, and I did two things that helped me suss out what the issue was.

Firstly I realised that if I turned my ring the other way around so that the side facing towards me was now facing away from me, the thing I was seeing was still on the same side visually, even though the ring was flipped.

Secondly, I put the ring on my other hand, because that changed my direction of view. In my case I realised that what I was seeing were the angles and essentially an optical illusion, and that essentially resolved my issue because I realised that getting it reset was not going to help.

Try that, if it's still an issue then it certainly sounds like the communications you are having with James Allen are promising.

Best of luck!

 

[lovemochi]

I agree with your initial post that the stone looks to be set slightly off to one side. When you look at just your diamond in relation to your shank (ignoring the halo) does the stone seem to be set perfectly straight up and down? In your pictures, to me it looks like the stone is ever so slightly rotated and shifted to the side on one end. This will be a very simple fix if that is the problem. It is also possible that the halo opening is a tiny bit wider than your diamond in the center but if the stone is straightened out I don't think it would be as bothersome to you (and if it is you can still request they recast the setting). If you are anything like me I suggest you send the ring back for them to fix, especially since you stated you are having trouble unseeing the problem.

It mostly looks up and down to me. But for some reason in that one picture it looks a bit tilted to one side? I think the main problem is that the halo is not fit for my stone and whoever set it did not place it smack center, leaving the gap there. I'm surprised because I see others' JA halo rings and they do not have gaps between the diamond and halo even at other angles, so I think mine was just not set properly and passed QA for some reason. I am leaning more towards sending it back now but I'm going to see what the service team says. If they do recast it for me then I will send it back.

Congratulations on your engagement and your beautiful engagement ring!

So I had a similar concern that my setting was wonky, and I did two things that helped me suss out what the issue was.

Firstly I realised that if I turned my ring the other way around so that the side facing towards me was now facing away from me, the thing I was seeing was still on the same side visually, even though the ring was flipped.

Secondly, I put the ring on my other hand, because that changed my direction of view. In my case I realised that what I was seeing were the angles and essentially an optical illusion, and that essentially resolved my issue because I realised that getting it reset was not going to help.

Try that, if it's still an issue then it certainly sounds like the communications you are having with James Allen are promising.

Best of luck!

Thank you for your suggestion! It is still an issue, and I'd prefer to wear it on my left ring finger. I just find it a little frustrating that other people's photos of their JA halo settings are essentially seamless, and I ideally would not want a gap in mine, much less an uneven one!

 

[Lykame]

It mostly looks up and down to me. But for some reason in that one picture it looks a bit tilted to one side? I think the main problem is that the halo is not fit for my stone and whoever set it did not place it smack center, leaving the gap there. I'm surprised because I see others' JA halo rings and they do not have gaps between the diamond and halo even at other angles, so I think mine was just not set properly and passed QA for some reason. I am leaning more towards sending it back now but I'm going to see what the service team says. If they do recast it for me then I will send it back.



Thank you for your suggestion! It is still an issue, and I'd prefer to wear it on my left ring finger. I just find it a little frustrating that other people's photos of their JA halo settings are essentially seamless, and I ideally would not want a gap in mine, much less an uneven one!

Oh it wasn't to suggest you should wear it on your right finger, it was just to check if it was a setting design that made you see that 'gap' more from the side you were looking at (i.e. if you put it on your right finger the gap would then look more prominent on the left of the setting). From everything you're saying it doesn't sound like the case, it seems like an issue with the actual setting, in which case I hope James Allen are able to resolve the issue for you, even if that means a remake.

 

[lovemochi]

Oh it wasn't to suggest you should wear it on your right finger, it was just to check if it was a setting design that made you see that 'gap' more from the side you were looking at (i.e. if you put it on your right finger the gap would then look more prominent on the left of the setting). From everything you're saying it doesn't sound like the case, it seems like an issue with the actual setting, in which case I hope James Allen are able to resolve the issue for you, even if that means a remake.

Ah I see, my apologies for misunderstanding! But yes I still see the imperfection. There is an unevenness to it as well, but I'm hoping the service team will reach out to me soon so I can figure out if it is worth sending the ring back or not!

 

[lovemochi]

I've been looking through reviews of the same setting on their website and came across photos of how I want to halo to look. I think it's achievable given that the center stones on these guys are even chubbier than mine.... but you see that the top and bottom edge of their halos are not covered by the stone like in my situation.

 

[tigertales]

I see the gap on the lower right hand side. It seems to me they just need to properly orient the diamond, without needing to recast the setting. And having done that, might also laser in some white gold solder to build up the halo edges evenly.

just my 2cents!

 

[lovemochi]

I see the gap on the lower right hand side. It seems to me they just need to properly orient the diamond, without needing to recast the setting. And having done that, might also laser in some white gold solder to build up the halo edges evenly.

just my 2cents!

Thank you! I think that the halo is too wide but not tall enough for the diamond, which is what is also making it look rounder than it should. I'd definitely prefer if they recast it entirely as I'm afraid of the rest of the setting losing its structural integrity. I can't imagine getting it back with pave stones falling out!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Hmmm. Curiouser and curiouser.

So $2k CAN is about $1500 USD, which seems low to me.. So it would surprise me if it is truly a custom piece (i.e., cast to your diamond specifications) rather than a stock setting that is ordered in the size that most closely fits your stone. It also would not surprise me if the sales rep did not know the difference between these two modes of fabrication

But either way, definitely talk to the setting fabrication department!

 

[lovemochi]

Hmmm. Curiouser and curiouser.

So $2k CAN is about $1500 USD, which seems low to me.. So it would surprise me if it is truly a custom piece (i.e., cast to your diamond specifications) rather than a stock setting that is ordered in the size that most closely fits your stone. It also would not surprise me if the sales rep did not know the difference between these two modes of fabrication

But either way, definitely talk to the setting fabrication department!

I've spoken to about 4 different people now who have all said the settings are cast from scratch.
I forgot to mention that the price of the setting was with their 25% discount, so the actual cost is a bit more! I believe I had a CAD $700 discount on the setting with that 25%.

 

[Lykame]

Ah I see, my apologies for misunderstanding! But yes I still see the imperfection. There is an unevenness to it as well, but I'm hoping the service team will reach out to me soon so I can figure out if it is worth sending the ring back or not!

Ah don't worry about misunderstanding, I clearly didn't explain myself properly the first time around!

Really hope it gets sorted for you.

 

[Lykame]

To these people you're talking to, I would strongly suggest sharing those pictures perhaps with some detailed annotations and pictures of your own ring with what you're not happy about. You may have already done that but would recommend it if you haven't.

It's a beautiful halo, it will look stunning!

 

[lovemochi]

To these people you're talking to, I would strongly suggest sharing those pictures perhaps with some detailed annotations and pictures of your own ring with what you're not happy about. You may have already done that but would recommend it if you haven't.

It's a beautiful halo, it will look stunning!

That is a really great idea. I sent some pictures but without detailed annotations. I'm going to get on that right now! Thank you!!

 

[MamaBee]

It took me a bit to find what you were saying but then I just saw it. If you look at the diamond’s edge all around you can see a dark line between the edge of the diamond in the setting which shows its seated in below the halo. If you follow your eye up to the right in one of the photos..the line is gone because the diamond overlaps a little. It may be that it was set incorrectly and it just needs a push to the side a teeny bit..or you need a new setting. I do see what you mean now. It should be reset or redone by JA. Your diamond is BEAUTIFUL!

 

[lovemochi]

It took me a bit to find what you were saying but then I just saw it. If you look at the diamond’s edge all around you can see a dark line between the edge of the diamond in the setting which shows its seated in below the halo. If you follow your eye up to the right in one of the photos..the line is gone because the diamond overlaps a little. It may be that it was set incorrectly and it just needs a push to the side a teeny bit..or you need a new setting. I do see what you mean now. It should be reset or redone by JA. Your diamond is BEAUTIFUL!

I'm glad I'm not seeing things. What you see is exactly what I noticed about mine. I think the halo is just not tall enough for the stone, so shifting the stone over a bit may not even solve the height problem of the halo, only the width (if at all).

I have decided to just send it in to JA, give them a chance, and hope for the best. I will be so so happy if they recast and I have made it clear that I would prefer a recast. I hope it does not come back looking even worse, or unchanged.

I know this might be a long shot but does anyone have any experience with JA repairs/recasts? I'm so nervous ugh!!

 

[lovemochi]

I shipped it out today!

I decided that if the halo cannot be recasted then I will likely just exchange it for a non-halo pave setting