Pic heavy and verbose! My CADs, wax, and off to production!

[lovedogs]

Final update to close this post:

We had a phone call with Caysie last night to level-set everything. She acknowledged and apologized for all of the communication issues and lack of follow-through, with a promise to do better in the future. We have a soft date of two weeks before my ring will be ready. SO's ring was finished but in the photo she sent us it didn't really look like the CAD (and we didn't like it at all) so they're going to work on it some more; soft date for completion is early next week. One of my bands is done but the other isn't. She hopes that one will be ready in the next week to ten days. She'd like to take some "family" shots of the rings together so we told her she could hold on to the bands until they're all done and then send them at the same time. If the ring will be finished shortly thereafter, we may wait and have them all sent at the same time so that she can take photos of all four together.

This is great news, Shiny. I've been following this thread, but didn't want to interfere since I've never worked with Caysie and wasn't sure my response would be helpful. But I wanted to say I think you have been patient and reasonable throughout this process, and have kept a level head during everything. I'm sure your ring will be wonderful, and I wish you the best!

 

[flash_and_fire]

Wowza, what a beautiful home for your asscher to live in! I'm a big fan of asschers and your center stone is perfection, literally!

 

[BlingDreams]

Almost three weeks later our rings are finally (almost) done. Unfortunately, things did not improve after the phone call where she promised to better. Because I know there are huge supporters of Caysie on here who are ready to jump to defend her if there's the slightest negative thing said, we're going to keep it to facts and not opinions/emotions.

Since the call, commitments by her, with the timelines she gave:
- Photos of his finished ring within a week (didn't happen, never happened)
- Notification/photos when my bands were done, within 7-10 days (didn't happen, never happened)
- Bridge of my ring remade within 1 or at most 2 weeks (didn't happen, and caused the most difficulty). The work was started on 8/9. Given the history of delays, even though she said it would take at most 2 weeks we set our independent appraisal appointment for 3 weeks out, as a 50% buffer. We sent her an email with the information of the appraiser and that it needed to arrive on the 29th. When she hadn't replied/acknowledged it within a couple of days, I sent a text with the same information asking if she got it and if there would be any problem at all getting it delivered by the 29th. She replied no, no problems. Fast forward to last Saturday (8/26), when we hadn't received any word on my ring (or any ring) being completed even though it had been over two weeks. She replied that my ring was NOT done but she'd have it ready to ship on WEDNESDAY (the day after it was supposed to arrive for the appraisal); actually, she said she'd have the rings on Tuesday but wanted to take photos first before sending it out. We had been given absolutely no word prior to then that there were ANY delays or problems, and she had confirmed that she would be able to ship for arrival on 8/29. And, of course, we had seen the multitude of other projects both here and on IG that had been finished throughout those weeks while ours were still sitting undone.

The ensuing conversation was not pleasant. She claimed not to know there was a "hard date" for the appraisal, and asked me to resend the details (for the third time) on how my ring should be finished. While reviewing the specs she had given me previously for the ring, to make sure I sent the correct information to the appraiser, we learned that she'd decreased the melee used by 25% but didn't tell us. She'd simply said a "few" stones were 1/200th of a mm too large for her bench to be happy with so she was replacing those.

There's a lot more too but it's just too draining to go in to. In the end my ring was completed yesterday and sent to the appraiser yesterday afternoon; it will be examined tomorrow. Fingers crossed everything is as it should be. Bands are supposed to be done tomorrow.

 

[ac117]

@ILikeShiny I'm very sorry things didn't get better. Unacceptable and so frustrating, I'm sure. I really do hope your ring is as spectacular as you expect it once you finally receive it.

 

[mrsgreeneyes]

Wooow. I hope she's reducing her fees as a goodwill gesture for everything she's put you through with this set. Not to further rain on your parade or anything, but it would be hard for me to not associate all of this negativity with my ring had I been through this. I sincerely hope everything is exactly to your liking because there is no way in hell I would want to have to send it back to her to fix something. What. A. MESS!

 

[SimoneDi]

I am sorry that this experience has not been what you expected. I think that your rings in the end will be very beautiful. As I said before, I don't really think that anyone else would have been able to create that design the same way that CvB designed it it for you. I think that someone like me who has done multiple projects with multiple vendors understands that custom designs/projects come with many variables and delayed timelines are not out of the ordinary, especially when the other party is going through a personal heartache. Caysie's husband was admitted in the hospital about a month ago in a critical condition. I assume that it is not her favorite subject to talk about and probably didn't want to adjust people's timelines from fear of not disappointing them, but I immediately assumed that my timeline will be delayed, for example. I also have been working with Caysie over the past 3 months and I just don't have the same experience. Perhaps a smarter move would have been to go with a simpler design or with a larger operation vendor, since her business is very boutique-y. Again, I am sorry that the experience was not what you imagined, but I hope that your rings are everything you wanted and more. I hope you don't have to wait too long for the proposal since you mentioned earlier that it would be at some point in the fall.
We are still very much looking forward to seeing your pretty e-ring!

 

[tyty333]

I'm so sorry ILikeShiny...I hope when you get the rings that they just blow you away and help you forget the not-so-smooth process.
I'm pretty sure your ring is going to be gorgeous heirloom quality and I cant wait to see pictures!!!

Proposal??? What??? I'd just refuse to take if off then he'd have to hop down on one knee...you've dealt with enough drama.

 

[BlingDreams]

@ILikeShiny I'm very sorry things didn't get better. Unacceptable and so frustrating, I'm sure. I really do hope your ring is as spectacular as you expect it once you finally receive it.

Thanks AC. We're hoping so too. We'll get the first glimpse of it tomorrow when the appraiser sends his photos and report.

Wooow. I hope she's reducing her fees as a goodwill gesture for everything she's put you through with this set. Not to further rain on your parade or anything, but it would be hard for me to not associate all of this negativity with my ring had I been through this. I sincerely hope everything is exactly to your liking because there is no way in hell I would want to have to send it back to her to fix something. What. A. MESS!

No offer of a reduced fee was given. As for the negativity associated with the ring, it's kind of weird. SO is SUCH a level-headed guy and a master at collaboration and coming to agreeable resolutions for all parties involved (it's essentially what he does for a living) so I've really leaned on him for sanity checks; having him agree that this has been a very poor professional experience has made it easier for me to deal with (for the record - all correspondence was done in a group text, so he knows all of the details/conversations and didn't just get "my side"). If anything, it's confirmed that we're a strong partnership. So yes, this has been a bad experience in terms of how a business should be run but SO and I have been a rock steady team throughout it so the ring itself won't have any bad memories, just the production of it.

And yes, if there are issues the appraiser finds I am going to turn it over to my SO to handle because I'm out of patience.

I am sorry that this experience has not been what you expected. I think that your rings in the end will be very beautiful. As I said before, I don't really think that anyone else would have been able to create that design the same way that CvB designed it it for you. I think that someone like me who has done multiple projects with multiple vendors understands that custom designs/projects come with many variables and delayed timelines are not out of the ordinary, especially when the other party is going through a personal headache. Caysie's husband was admitted in the hospital about a month ago in a critical condition. I assume that it is not her favorite subject to talk about and probably didn't want to adjust people's timelines from fear of not disappointing them, but I immediately assumed that my timeline will be delayed, for example. I also have been working with Caysie over the past 3 months and I just don't have the same experience. Perhaps a smarter move would have been to go with a simpler design or with a larger operation vendor, since her business is very boutique-y. Again, I am sorry that the experience was not what you imagined, but I hope that your rings are everything you wanted and more. I hope you don't have to wait too long for the proposal since you mentioned earlier that it would be at some point in the fall.
We are still very much looking forward to seeing your pretty e-ring!

Thanks SimoneDi, and I'm glad to hear your project is going well! However, and I'm sure you didn't mean it this way, but it's somewhat offensive and hurtful to me to say that Caysie designed this ring. We literally handed her every single element, metal choice, and finish and told her exactly how we wanted it all to intertwine. We put our heart and soul in to creating something that was uniquely "us". Did she do a spectacular job putting it together? Yes (or, at least I hope so). I'm not saying that that isn't a big deal and it certainly can make or break a ring, but in no way does she get sole creative credit. Numerous other designers could have taken on this project too. But I went with Caysie because of the strong recommendation from this board. And since that time I've found out things I wish I'd known prior, such as that she was banned from PriceScope, she's given people rings they'd purchased with center stones other than what they'd asked for, and has sent customers completed rings with the engraving done in the wrong style. These are important issues that SHOULD be shared so others are aware and make decisions/inquiries accordingly.

As for her personal issues, we are well aware of them, very sympathetic, and continually told her that putting our project on hold was okay, but her response was always the same - she'd rather keep working and get the rings done. We also continued to check on Zach and send well wishes. But, again, it comes down to COMMUNICATION. When things were delayed, for whatever the reason, there was no heads up from her. SO's band took so long to complete because SHE decided not to start on it for almost a month (which we discovered only when the due date was approaching and we inquired how it was going), she didn't order the diamonds for my band for weeks which further caused delays, etc.

As we've said from the start, her ability is not in question. Her heart and personality is not in question. Her organization and communication is what has caused all of the issues we've encountered.

I'm so sorry ILikeShiny...I hope when you get the rings that they just blow you away and help you forget the not-so-smooth process.
I'm pretty sure your ring is going to be gorgeous heirloom quality and I cant wait to see pictures!!!

Proposal??? What??? I'd just refuse to take if off then he'd have to hop down on one knee...you've dealt with enough drama.

Haha! Thanks, me too. And I'm truly very hopeful they will be as spectacular as we imagine. It's been 9 1/2 weeks now since wax approval so if it can't be done by now I don't have much hope .

There were no glamour shots done prior to shipping so my first glimpse of it will be the appraisers photos. I'm expecting "business" and not "artistic", so I'm HOPING my SO will let me see it (play with it, dare I dream?) when we get it back. We actually were talking about the proposal last night. He has SO much going on at the moment (possible huge promotion at work, kids going to college, etc.) that I keep telling him I don't want him to stress over it. We have such a lovely life as is that truly, just sitting on the couch together having some wine and playing cribbage would be a fine time to propose (as long as I won the game too - ha!).

 

[Acinom]

So sorry about your experience...
Unfortunately I can relate with what you are experiencing. In my case Caysie was creating a colored stone set for me. I was not in a hurry and not on a deadline. But Caysie made some promises about the process she was not able to keep. I got a ton if excuses when I contacted her, but in never did she communicate proactively. She was at that time going through a rough time with her son. Then the holidays came and then her staff was experiencing difficulties. Probably all very true, but I missed the professionalism and proactiveness.

The project became a bit tainted for me as a lot of things that could go wrong indeed went wrong. Therefore it took a while before I could enjoy the rings. But the rings were stunningly made and I could forget about the communication mess in the end.

I think she is a lovely person who makes a lot of promises in order not to disappoint. But she does not seem to be able to keep those promises. It's her responsibility as an entrepreneur to get the business side of things run smoothly as well.

I have no doubt that you will love your ring when you see it and hope you can leave this behind sooner than I could.

Thank you for sharing your story. You are right that she has a fee fans on PS who react fiercly on posts like this. Every vendor has strong and weak points though...

 

[yennyfire]

Aww, I was hoping for a much more promising update. I'm so sorry that you've continued to have problems. I'd agree with your assessment that communication and being over committed is the primary issue, despite the fact that the intention is nothing short of pure and golden. I do hope that you ADORE your ring when you see it and can put this chapter behind you and love your ring for what it represents to you and FI. Looking forward to photos and another update once you've seen it!

 

[lovedogs]

@ILikeShiny I'm so sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience--especially that the experience didn't improve. It sounds like you and your SO have an incredible and strong relationship that (if anything) has gotten even stronger throughout this process. Hopefully the ring will remind you and SO of that togetherness and strength rather than any of the unpleasantness that has occurred with the production of the product.

I hope you love it, and that it is everything you wanted and hoped for.

 

[soxfan]

But I went with Caysie because of the strong recommendation from this board. And since that time I've found out things I wish I'd known prior, such as that she was banned from PriceScope, she's given people rings they'd purchased with center stones other than what they'd asked for, and has sent customers completed rings with the engraving done in the wrong style. These are important issues that SHOULD be shared so others are aware and make decisions/inquiries accordingly.

Whoa. I have never seen any threads on that. If those two things indeed happened, the customers that they happened to should be posting about it, not you. You are posting here say, and that is very unfair. Unless there is indeed a thread on those two issues and I happened to not see it. In that case, please post the link. Thanks.

 

[BlingDreams]

Whoa. I have never seen any threads on that. If those two things indeed happened, the customers that they happened to should be posting about it, not you. You are posting here say, and that is very unfair. Unless there is indeed a thread on those two issues and I happened to not see it. In that case, please post the link. Thanks.

It's in the private FB group. People are afraid to post their bad experiences on PS because of being jumped on, as I have. Thankfully I have friends who have clued me in to know that I'm not alone in my issues and it's just that they're not being publicized.

 

[BlingDreams]

Okay...I'm going to jump in. I have closely followed this post because I am currently in the process of having Caysie produce a ring for me...a rather expensive endeavor for me and my husband because we are NOT wealthy folks. This is the first time EVER I've had anything customized for me and now I am worried (reasons I cannot go into publicly).

ILike Shiny your experience has me so concerned, I'm contemplating just forfeiting my down-payment on my project (of course, I generously over-paid) and just cancelling my custom order.

If I'd known Caysie had been BANNED (banned???) from PS, I may have reconsidered utilizing her. Given how others praise her (and reading nothing negative about her), I "assumed" she was in good standing on this website, a website with people and experiences I VALUE and RELIED upon (also...perhaps foolishly) to make my decision about my custom ring.

I would have appreciated knowing if someone was "banned" and for what reasons...it's not gossip...it just seems to be common sense (IMHO) to share THAT side of things, when so many folks are otherwise partial to Caysie. SMH about a number of things...stomach hurting...feeling annoyed and angry.

Replies please???

I wouldn't advise canceling your project. She has dozens of truly happy customers and fans. Our project just was one problem after another and talking about it seems to be taboo. As always, I recommend being up front and open about your concerns, expectations, etc. I have two other bespoke projects going on with other things in life and both are going effortlessly. It's all about communication.

 

[SimoneDi]

I wouldn't advise canceling your project. She has dozens of truly happy customers and fans. Our project just was one problem after another and talking about it seems to be taboo. As always, I recommend being up front and open about your concerns, expectations, etc. I have two other bespoke projects going on with other things in life and both are going effortlessly. It's all about communication.

Whoa! @ILikeShiny one thing is for you to be upset with your own situation, but completely different to advice that people take their business elsewhere when they have not expressed any issues with their actual project, but concerns based on what you share. Obviously, based on your feedback and that of others, CvB's weakness is her communication and optimistic promising of timelines that can vary due to various reasons. But this thread has turned unpleasant really quick and as a "happy" customer, I can't appreciate that. I don't understand what your motive is? What do you want? Free rings? To turn back time and get them sooner? To end her business? What is it? As to other people "being afraid" to post on PS, please. And for the record, this is my very first project with Caysie and it is still in the the pre-cad stages (my delay, not hers). Even if I wasn't working with her, I have seen how many other people have been happy with their creations and I would have felt compelled to defend her. Perhaps if you are that unhappy, you should just return your setting, ask her for a refund and take your business elsewhere. I don't understand how badmouthing her is helping you.

 

[PintoBean]

@tlfiore - I kinda liken this to car buying. People love BMWs and rave about them right? But then we found out that batteries were exploding in them when they were parked in garages, which in turn caused house fires. This didn't happen to every BMW but it happened to some. The public was made aware of the issue. If you want to buy a sporty luxury car and BMW is still one of your top contenders, I'd suggest you go speak to a rep and find out how they've handled the battery issue and what the lessons learned are so that this can be avoided in the future. This also lets you get a feel for what service will be like when you return for maintenance and what not.

So, before you jump into a bling project, try to take a similar approach, whether it's CVB or another vendor you'd like to work with. You see what they CAN deliver on this forum but now it may be a matter of if you're comfortable with their communication style.

 

[ac117]

I wouldn't advise canceling your project. She has dozens of truly happy customers and fans. Our project just was one problem after another and talking about it seems to be taboo. As always, I recommend being up front and open about your concerns, expectations, etc. I have two other bespoke projects going on with other things in life and both are going effortlessly. It's all about communication.

Whoa! @ILikeShiny one thing is for you to be upset with your own situation, but completely different to advice that people take their business elsewhere when they have not expressed any issues with their actual project, but concerns based on what you share. Obviously, based on your feedback and that of others, CvB's weakness is her communication and optimistic promising of timelines that can vary due to various reasons. But this thread has turned unpleasant really quick and as a "happy" customer, I can't appreciate that. I don't understand what your motive is? What do you want? Free rings? To turn back time and get them sooner? To end her business? What is it? As to other people "being afraid" to post on PS, please. And for the record, this is my very first project with Caysie and it is still in the the pre-cad stages (my delay, not hers). Even if I wasn't working with her, I have seen how many other people have been happy with their creations and I would have felt compelled to defend her. Perhaps if you are that unhappy, you should just return your setting, ask her for a refund and take your business elsewhere. I don't understand how badmouthing her is helping you.

@SimoneDi I'm confused....ILS said "I wouldn't advise canceling your project."?! Am I missing something? It even sounded like she was saying many people have been happy and it's possible tlfiore will be too, even if she (ILS) wasn't.

 

[PintoBean]

Whoa! @ILikeShiny one thing is for you to be upset with your own situation, but completely different to advice that people take their business elsewhere when they have not expressed any issues with their actual project, but concerns based on what you share. Obviously, based on your feedback and that of others, CvB's weakness is her communication and optimistic promising of timelines that can vary due to various reasons. But this thread has turned unpleasant really quick and as a "happy" customer, I can't appreciate that. I don't understand what your motive is? What do you want? Free rings? To turn back time and get them sooner? To end her business? What is it? As to other people "being afraid" to post on PS, please. And for the record, this is my very first project with Caysie and it is still in the the pre-cad stages (my delay, not hers). Even if I wasn't working with her, I have seen how many other people have been happy with their creations and I would have felt compelled to defend her. Perhaps if you are that unhappy, you should just return your setting, ask her for a refund and take your business elsewhere. I don't understand how badmouthing her is helping you.

@SimoneDi - I think you misread OP's quote she is NOT advising to cancel the project.

 

[SimoneDi]

@SimoneDi I'm confused....ILS said "I wouldn't advise canceling your project."?! Am I missing something? It even sounded like she was saying many people have been happy and it's possible tlfiore will be too, even if she (ILS) wasn't.

I am going blind! Thank you for the correction @ac117 and my apologies to @ILikeShiny for my response on that incorrectly perceived advice. Nonetheless, I am still trying to understand what the motive behind showing all the vendor's alleged dirty laundry is..

 

[Ariadne_Theia]

Whoa! @ILikeShiny one thing is for you to be upset with your own situation, but completely different to advice that people take their business elsewhere when they have not expressed any issues with their actual project, but concerns based on what you share. Obviously, based on your feedback and that of others, CvB's weakness is her communication and optimistic promising of timelines that can vary due to various reasons. But this thread has turned unpleasant really quick and as a "happy" customer, I can't appreciate that. I don't understand what your motive is? What do you want? Free rings? To turn back time and get them sooner? To end her business? What is it? As to other people "being afraid" to post on PS, please. And for the record, this is my very first project with Caysie and it is still in the the pre-cad stages (my delay, not hers). Even if I wasn't working with her, I have seen how many other people have been happy with their creations and I would have felt compelled to defend her. Perhaps if you are that unhappy, you should just return your setting, ask her for a refund and take your business elsewhere. I don't understand how badmouthing her is helping you.

This is why people don't post bad reviews. I didn't post a review of the vendor I worked with for the exact same reason. You get personally attacked (suggesting the motive is to destroy someone's career) by people who very rightly, feel a personal connection with the vendor.

 

[SimoneDi]

@SimoneDi - I think you misread OP's quote she is NOT advising to cancel the project.

Yes! I stand corrected. My apologies for that one again.

 

[LLJsmom]

I am so sorry @ILikeShiny . It seems like some people are not a good match for some vendors. If I were in your shoes I would be very frustrated too. I do so hope and truly believe that your rings will turn out to be everything you hoped for and so much more. Thank you for updating us. I appreciate your candor.

 

[Austina]

Oh no @ILikeShiny I'm so sorry this whole process has been so stressful. I've been wondering about your ring and waiting for the photographs. You must be so disappointed that things haven't gone to plan.

I hope when it arrives it's everything you're hoping for, and won't be tainted by the whole experience.

The mark of a good company is not how they handle things when everything is going well, but how they handle things when they're not.

Everything crossed that it will be your dream realised when it's on your finger.

 

[derbygal]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. These are the details I want to know before deciding on a ring designer. Seeing so many perfectly "happy" customers doesn't really tell the whole story.

 

[BlingDreams]

I am going blind! Thank you for the correction @ac117 and my apologies to @ILikeShiny for my response on that incorrectly perceived advice. Nonetheless, I am still trying to understand what the motive behind showing all the vendor's alleged dirty laundry is..

It's okay. I'm glad you understand now

And I guess my question to you would be why is it considered airing "dirty laundry" to talk about vendor issues? Why isn't it simply what it is... stating facts about what has transpired for the benefit of others so they can make inquiries or decisions accordingly? We do it on Yelp. We do it on Google+. But it seems that, on here, it's taken much more personally.

 

[Acinom]

Wow @SimoneDi
It's posts like yours that make a thread go ugly. It's fair you apologized for not reading the post correctly. But it's beyond me why you suggest that OP wants a free ring or end CvB's business??? OP is not unhappy about the design or the execution (she has not seen the rings yet) but about the communication. Even succesful or popular vendors face critisism now and then and I feel it's healthy that customers can share praise as well as things to improve.,

 

[Ella]

Pricescope is a place for good and bad vendor reviews, period. Users should feel comfortable posting their own experiences with vendors whether good or bad. The reason to post these reviews is not to ruin someone's business, but if someone is giving poor service to customers, that is something potential customers should know before they decide whether that vendor is the right fit for their project.

All vendors occasionally have problems, but the good vendors use those opportunities as a way to do better for future customers.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

There's so much I'd like to respond to, but I will restrain myself since others have expressed some of my concerns. As someone else said, not all clients and vendors are a good match. The right client for Caysie is one who appreciates gifted design an an excellent quality outcome and who does not have a need to micromanage and can be flexible on the timeline if it should take longer than expected. I always mentally allow an extra month so I am not disappointed. But even if there was a reason that my project was late, I would know that it was worth it because the end product will be outstanding. I have 100% trust in Caysie and her bench. I am proud to have her heirlooms!

The OP said today: "It's been 9 1/2 weeks now since wax approval.."

Standard time for custom would be 6-8 weeks after CAD or wax approval (if no custom cut stones are involved), so it kind of blows my mind that such a huge big deal is being made about a ring being one and a half weeks late.

Good luck, Shiny. I hope you love the ring.

 

[yennyfire]

It's my ring that ILS is referring to where the engraving wasn't completed as discussed. I refrained from posting that because I didn't want to start a firestorm, nor did I want to damage Caysie's reputation. The truth is that I WAS unpleasantly surprised when I saw the first photo of my ring, but told Caysie that I wanted to see it in person before I made a decision about it. When I asked why the engraving was different, she said that what we discussed wasn't possible with the length of the octo sides. And I have no problem with that. My problem was the fact that this wasn't communicated to me before the engraving was begun. I would have asked what my options were, rather than just taking what the engraver decided looked good. Do I love the engraving? I'm not sure. It's growing on me, but it's definitely not what I envisioned. We had missed timelines too, but I had told Caysie upfront that I wasn't in a rush and then when her husband got sick, I told her to put my project on the bottom of the pile and take care of clients who's proposals were waiting for a ring, etc. So the fact that I waited quite a bit longer than expected was fine with me, though some periodic communication would have been appreciated.

Caysie truly is a talented and gifted artist. I really think that she's grown so big, so fast (coupled with illnesses, etc.) that she just can't keep up and doesn't want to disappoint anyone. I think that if she can figure out how to manage that, things will run much more smoothly. Perhaps a more formal contract/work order, spelling out details and completing a change order when changes are being made to that original contract? I don't know, but I do think there's definite room for improvement on that front. There's just no way that one person can manage everything, no matter how amazing they are...

ILS, I feel for you, I really do, but I'm disappointed that you chose to post something shared in a private FB group here. I chose not to post here for a reason (namely that I think PS is a much wider net than a private FB group and therefore FB is a "safer" place to seek feedback without doing potential damage to a vendor's reputation). I hope you'll consider that in the future before sharing something that isn't yours to share...

I do hope that you love your rings when you receive them!

 

[SimoneDi]

Wow @SimoneDi
It's posts like yours that make a thread go ugly. It's fair you apologized for not reading the post correctly. But it's beyond me why you suggest that OP wants a free ring or end CvB's business??? OP is not unhappy about the design or the execution (she has not seen the rings yet) but about the communication. Even succesful or popular vendors face critisism now and then and I feel it's healthy that customers can share praise as well as things to improve.,

@Acinom , I wasn't referring to OPs actual experience when I expressed my curiosity around her motives, it was the mention of other alleged instances that I found peculiar. I just don't understand why that was shared without being backed up by facts, threads, etc. and I didn't think that was nice. I am not trying to downgrade OPs actual experience, or feelings, etc. Perhaps as someone who works as a vendor (in a different industry), issues like this are way too familiar and in my own experience, when an issue is being discussed with the other party and closed in some amicable way prior to being escalated, the situation doesn't have to explode unnecessarily, people can take their lessons and move on. There is nothing wrong with sharing experiences, positive or negative, but the fact that OP went above and beyond seeking for bad reviews and then sharing them here on supposed behalf of other people is what I found tasteless.

@ILikeShiny I do wish you all the best and I do sincerely hope that you love your ring and are happy every time you look at it. I didn't mean to create an argument, but simply defent a vendor that I have had only positive experiences with. As others have said, some of us work better with some vendors vs others. I guess it is all part of the learning process. Anyhow, all the best to you.