James Allen Settings - do I need to be concerned?

[tonyjlopez]

Those of you who have followed me know I am looking for a 2+ carat princess in the $18-30,000 range.

This starts with the setting, as I do not want to get the setting and diamond seperately, and then need to bring them to a local jeweler to be set. We moved to Los Angeles a few months ago, and so do not know any reliable jewelers in the area. Even if I knew someone, who would want to walk into their jeweler with a diamond and setting that you bypassed them on purchasing?

We are not fans of a vintage look, so ultimately fell in love with this setting (with all diamond side stones). It looks absolutely gorgeous in the flashplayer images:

http://jamesallen.com/#!/engagement...cess-shaped-diamond-engagement-ring-item-1521

We could not find a similar setting at GOG, WF, or James Gavin. Since we are getting the setting at James Allen, I decided to get the diamond there as well. Those same diamonds can be purchased through WF. I am waiting for ASET images on 3 diamonds that are on hold.

Their customer service and reputation of JA here at PS seems to be strong. I went to JA based upon the reccomendations here. In my conversations with then they have been very helpful.

But I have a very serious concern: the setting. It troubles me that all of the high quality images there are CG - and they look stunning in those images. But the images of actual rings using those settings? Sorry - I do alot of photography, and the only word I can think of to describe them is pathetic. Gray, dimly lit, and poorly focused. My 5 year old could take better pictures with an iphone.

Today I did a search on JS and there are numerous complaints here that the quality of their settings do not live up to the images on the website. Enough complaints to cause concern. That diamonds fall out and it is expensive and time consuming to have them reset. (who wants to send an engagement ring across the country and be without it?) That the actual settings are of poor quality and that the casitngs have many flaws.

The setting, like the diamond, should pop. I probably spent two months hunting down this diamond and setting. I am paying $4000 for the setting and wedding band, plus the cost of the diamond, and for $30,000 or more, that setting better be absolutely perfect -period. Or I will send it back.

I do not want to go through all of this trouble over something expensive and important only as an exercise in futility. (And if I sound testy those postings about the settings have raised some concersns and are upsetting) Add to this the Yelp ratings which are attrocious. I rely on this forum infinitely more than Yelp - but someone was left unsatisfied enough to write those bad reviews, and can't just be dismissed.

So please, if anyone can fill me in on their opinions of the settings by JA I would very much appreciate it. Especially if you bought a channel set piece. I would appreciate photos too!

I know that people who have bad experiences are more likely to make a post, both here and at Yelp, so the searches I did may lean unfairly towards the negative. I would definately like to hear the positive comments and experiences.

I do not want to get ahead of myself and miss out on getting exactly what we want at JA if they are the absolute best choice.

Thanks!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I do not recall anyone here getting that setting, so I could not venture to guess the quality. But I can almost guarantee Good Old Gold can get a setting similar that because they carry a large number of brands (20 or so) and just show very few settings on their site. It might be worth asking just so you can have two sources of diamonds.

 

[Niel]

Diamond settings are note upkeep than plain shanks. Even well made ones can have this issue. With that said, if.your concerned id go elsewhere. You can buy the stone separately and have it set locally or go with Other online vendors for your stone and setting like good old gold or wf or brian Gavin. If you were buying a diamond band. Personally i couldnt recommend ritani highly enough. There quality is outstanding and many people have called them "tanks" and things like that because they are delicate but super study. Wf or gog sell them. So might a local store if you went thay route. Good luck

I dont usually like the ritani on wf wevsite, but if you look at ritanis actual website, even just the homepage, the settings are just too pretty

 

[Christina...]

Hi tonyjlopez! Congrats on your upcoming engagement!

I've owned three different JA settings, a knife edge solitaire and two pave styles and I thought all were well made for the money spent. I haven't had any structural or durability issues in the two years that I've owned my pave band. There of course are risk for any setting containing diamonds and you need to consider your lifestyle when making a choice. I will say though that as much as I love the HD player on JA's site, I don't think that it gives a truly accurate view of what the ring will look like IRL. The images are magnified greatly so when you receive your ring it will appear much more delicate than the images portray. I love d how delicate my first pave band looked in the video, but when I received it, it was much too dainty and I felt that there was too much metal, so I ordered the next larger size, and when I received that one it was perfect and exactly what I expected the first version to look like.

I've seen many JA disappointment threads in the past few months as well. But the one thing that all of them have in common is JAs desire to make the customer happy. They really do go out their way to make things (regardless of whose error it was it seems) right. I have no problems recommending JA to anyone on these boards or to my friends and family.

 

[WhitehouseBrothers]

Tony, If you look at the setting work under magnification, it should be clean, neat, and a high finish just like the rest of the mounting. The channel should be straight and brightly cut back to reveal the stones. If you look at the work under magnification, a nice job will be free of burs, the stones are all straight inline with one another, minimal gaps between stones, and a smooth edge of metal that has been hammered over the edge of the stone. The CG image you sent looks great. It takes a real craftsman to do work that would reflect the quality of that image.

In platinum, often the first sign of an inexperienced jeweler is the sizing area. The sizing should not be visible. There should not be a flat spot or unevenness to the sizing area. The inside of the shank should look as good as the outside.